There I was, nervously clutching a $77,000 check to Tesla, thinking, "We’ve got to start placing some big bets. We’ve gotten as far as we can on grit."
Just a few years earlier, I’d launched Crisp with $500 to my name.
As a first-generation European immigrant, I was starting from scratch. I was so broke I’d skip dinners with friends just to save money.
I struck out 21 times before I finally landed a client. I was working seven days a week, collapsing into bed at 2 or 3 in the morning, just trying to keep the lights on.
But little by little, it started to work. The team grew and the wins got bigger.
And that’s what led me to this moment… signing a $77,000 check to Tesla, betting it all on what could come next.
Because now, I’m seeking faster growth
— unreasonably faster.
One growth strategy we were banking on was a new referral program for our clients, and the industry-standard prize for such a program was an Amazon gift card. But I had a different idea.
So I went down to my local Tesla dealer and nervously clutched a $77,000 check. We’ll give away a Model S, I decided.
Driving the Tesla off the lot, I pushed away thoughts of failing and losing damn near a hundred thousand dollars. I had just bet a significant portion of my personal savings, and a part of me wondered if I was out of my mind…
$77,000 bet
I had to remind myself that if you don’t go for it, your odds of succeeding are zero. By placing the big bet, I’d given myself and my organization a chance to achieve a quantum leap. The risk weighed on me so much that I developed an eye twitch leading up to the conference in Vegas where we were to give it away.
And then I upped the ante. I bought the title sponsorship at our industry’s largest conference and flew out half of our team. Our presence was huge (and expensive). I paid for a booth near the stage, our logo in the pool, our name as the WiFi password, and our brand on every napkin.
And then, after my keynote, I gave away the Tesla.
Business exploded. In the following year, we doubled our revenue and our headcount. It was a huge turning point for us, and I realized the truth of the old adage:
Big risk, big reward
A year later, I bet big again — much bigger. I decided, “Let’s host our own conference.”
This time it wasn’t a $77,000 bet. It was a million-dollar bet before we sold a single ticket. We decided to give away not one, but three Teslas.
“Go big or stay home,” I thought.
So we booked a speaker lineup that included names like David Goggins and Chris Voss.
We decided to give away not one, but three Teslas.
"Go big or stay home," I thought.
Almost daily, I thought about the awful and very real possibility of our conference being a huge financial wipe-out. Some nights I’d fall asleep imagining us only selling a few tickets and having to file for bankruptcy. Did I bet too big?
But… it worked. 500 lawyers attended. We also successfully launched a brand new offering in the form of our coaching program. The Crisp Game Changers Summit was instantly established as our industry’s premier event.
Since that first conference, we’ve now given away 19 cars.
What began as a video company became a video marketing firm and then a law firm growth partner. Now, we’re the leading force behind the industry’s most committed attorneys.
BUILDING WHEN OTHERS PULL BACK
When the world shut down in 2020, most companies pulled back. I went all in… again.
I signed the papers on a $20 million investment to build Crisp’s new 60,000-square-foot headquarters in the middle of the pandemic.
People said it was reckless. That I was out of my mind.
And I’ll admit, I wrestled with it. But I believed in our long-term vision, not the momentary fear.
That bet paid off.
Today, we are able to host thousands of law firm owners and their teams, right here in our world-class training center.
And we’ve done it on our terms, at our standard.
A STADIUM-SIZED BET
When you’re chasing unreasonable growth, you can’t play it safe.
So I made the next move louder, riskier, and more public than anything we’d ever done.
In 2022, we hosted the most ambitious event the legal industry had ever seen: The Game Changers Summit at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
An NFL stadium. And not just any stadium — a Super Bowl stadium.
If we couldn’t fill it, it wouldn’t just cost a fortune. It would have been a public disaster. A spotlight on failure.
But failure never came. Thousands of the most ambitious law firm owners showed up to the largest law firm growth conference on Earth.
They came to hear from speakers such as John Morgan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin O’Leary, David Goggins, Jesse Cole, and a performance by Boyz II Men.
And what we delivered wasn’t just an event. It was a defining moment that raised the bar for the entire legal industry.
THE RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
Since then, we’ve expanded to become the nation’s #1 law firm growth company.
We’ve been named one of the fastest-growing companies in Atlanta, nine years in a row. Earned multiple Top Workplace in Atlanta awards.
Ranked on the Inc. 5000 list seven times.
And I was honored with Entrepreneur of the Year recognition from Ernst & Young.
I get it. It might sound like a brag.
But these aren’t participation trophies.
They came after the risks, the sacrifices, and the uncomfortable bets that most people avoid.
So I’m going to keep placing big bets… ones that scare me as much as that $77,000 Tesla did.
Because here’s what I’ve discovered:
The enemy of untapped potential is complacency. The antidote is courage.
Michael Mogill
About
Michael Mogill
Beyond being the Founder and CEO of Crisp, Michael Mogill is the author of The Game Changing Attorney, a #1 best-seller on Amazon in the legal category, and the host of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, the most listened-to podcast for growth-minded law firm owners.
Michael has helped thousands of attorneys — from solo and small firms to large practices — differentiate themselves from competitors, improve their leadership and business operations, and earn millions in new revenue.
Michael’s approach is to take everything he’s learned generating massive growth in his own organization and help the country’s most committed law firm owners do the same for theirs.
A sought-after speaker, Michael often presents at national conferences on innovative ways to create exponential business growth. His advice has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Inc., Avvo, ABA Journal, The Trial Lawyer, Huffington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
He’s helped thousands of attorneys — from solo and small firms to large practices — differentiate themselves from competitors and earn millions in new revenue.
Crisp has been named to the Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest-growing companies and has been awarded Best Places to Work.
Michael’s approach is to take everything he’s learned generating massive growth in his own organization and help the country’s most ambitious law firm owners do the same for theirs.
A sought-after speaker, Michael often presents at national conferences on innovative ways to create exponential business growth. His advice has been featured in publications such as Forbes, Inc., Avvo, ABA Journal, The Trial Lawyer, Huffington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Michael Mogill
We’re on a mission to help 10,000 law firms grow their revenue by $10,000,000 each ($100B impact).
Everything we’ve built, from Crisp Experience to Crisp Recruit and
The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, exists to move that $100 billion vision forward.
CRISP IS THE #1 LAW FIRM GROWTH COMPANY IN THE NATION, AND HAS BEEN NAMED TO THE INC. 5000 LIST OF FASTEST-GROWING PRIVATE COMPANIES IN AMERICA.
“Crisp has exceeded all of my expectations. The people that I’ve met there and the things that I’ve learned have gone far beyond anything I would’ve imagined. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
ALEXANDER SHUNNARAH
Alexander Shunnarah Personal Injury Attorneys
We want the most game changing attorneys in the country to get the best cases, grow the strongest law firms, and make the greatest positive impact in their communities.
Law firms that work with Crisp see an average growth of $3.2 million and a 2–10X increase in average case value.
“Crisp has exceeded all of my expectations. The people that I’ve met there and the things that I’ve learned have gone far beyond anything I would’ve imagined. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
ALEXANDER SHUNNARAH, Alexander Shunnarah Personal Injury Attorneys
Crisp IS on a mission to help over 1,000 law firm owners grow their revenue by $1 million+ ($1 billion+ impact) in the next 5 years.
We want the most game changing attorneys in the country to get the best cases, grow the strongest law firms, and make the greatest positive impact in their communities.
Law firms that work with Crisp see an average return on investment of 300% and a 2-10X increase in average case value.
