When SharkNinja launched in a small brick building in West Newton in 1994, even CEO Mark Barrocas could not have predicted its incredible success over the next three decades. The company netted close to $5 billion in revenue in 2023 and boasts a meteoric annual revenue growth rate of 20 percent. 

Keeping Boston as home base — SharkNinja is headquartered in Needham — has helped sustain growth. “I think our success is inextricably linked to Boston, especially with the engineering resources and pipeline of schools that we have.” 

That’s what Barrocas shared in a fireside chat with Jon Chesto, business reporter at The Boston Globe. Eastern Bank sponsored the event, which was held at The Harvard Club in Boston near the end of 2024.

Bob Rivers, executive chair and chair of the board at Eastern Bank, saw the event as an opportunity to add value to how heads of local companies think about strategies for their businesses, learning from each other in the process.  In his opening remarks, Rivers says, “Our intent here today is to really provide some interesting insights and value to you, and maybe raise some questions in your mind about opportunities for your own business.”

Formulas for business success

Five years ago, Barrocas began shaping the leadership philosophy that would propel SharkNinja forward. The result was the development of five core “success drivers,” which emphasize principles like “progress over perfection,” “winning is a team sport,” and “communicating for impact.” These drivers have been instrumental in fostering a winning mindset across the company.

At the heart of this mindset is SharkNinja’s catchphrase, “outrageously extraordinary,” which Barrocas explains reflects the belief that everyone can achieve greatness — provided they overcome their fear of failure and aim for “big, audacious goals.”

Inspiration for such goals often comes from unexpected sources. For example, consumer testing revealed that a significant number of users struggled with hair getting tangled in their vacuum cleaners. Recognizing this as a challenge worth solving, SharkNinja’s engineers set their sights on a new goal. The result? The development of the Shark vacuum, which, according to Barrocas, is now the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the world.

Bruce Ginsberg, CEO and founder of New England Ice Cream and a fellow Eastern Bank client, found the concept equally motivating. “Talking about setting big audacious goals in a game worth playing was really motivating to me. In a sense, that’s what I did with my company when I founded it 25 years ago,” he says.

So what does “big and audacious” mean for businesses of all sizes, and how can they identify goals that truly push the boundaries? According to Barrocas, it’s about stepping outside the comfort zone. “Realistic and achievable goals are not what you want to be shooting for,” he advises. “Often, businesses focus on problems they can easily solve, but a lot of those might not get your business to where it ultimately needs to be.” Instead, businesses should think bigger and explore challenges that demand innovation and a shift in perspective.

Recipe for successful scaling of business

Achieving such scale over such a compressed period of time is no easy feat, but impressive growth is achievable if a business has a “beacon” by which it operates, Barrocas says. 

For SharkNinja that beacon is its mission statement: positively impact people’s lives every day in every home around the world. “It drives how we approach product development, how we sell our products, how we market our products, how we build our company culture,” Barrocas says. “The measure of success is not revenue, it’s tied to whatever beacon you find and how you’re achieving — even over-achieving — it.”

The same guiding beacon helped SharkNinja navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Barrocas shared how SharkNinja drew inspiration from the COVID-19 pandemic, using it as a cautionary tale about the risks of relying solely on China for production. The household appliance company has since diversified its supply chain to include production centers in Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia. “Not being in any one country makes us a much healthier company, it helps us with predictability and cost,” Barrocas says.

The key takeaway for business strategies to navigate uncertainty is that success relies on various factors, such as culture and mindset.  “The right mindset guides action without paralysis and helps break [large goals] down into bite-sized chunks. It helps you learn from people that have a lot of experience,” Barrocas says. Having the right can-do mindset helped SharkNinja diversify its supply chain, and as a result, “we think we’ll be able to navigate today’s landscape very well,” he adds.

Navigating an uncertain landscape also involves bracing for tariffs, which Chesto points out, is likely top on business leaders’ minds.

Leaders with humility

In addition to abiding by a beacon, business leaders need the humility to recognize when they’re not on the right path and to course-correct, Barrocas says. He has seen business leaders marching ahead in the wrong direction because of an inability to accept mistakes. 

An ability to retract bad decisions is especially important because leaders also need to make decisions fairly quickly, Barrocas says. “Many companies experience paralysis where no decisions are made because everyone’s stopped and waiting on the leader. But if as a leader you have humility, you can course-correct when you see the need and quickly move on,” he adds.

The lessons from the event resonated with the attendees. It was reassuring for some attendees to hear how a leader of another company only reaffirmed steps they were already leading in their own businesses. “Attendees repeatedly shared how much they enjoyed learning how Mark leads the company, how he sets the direction and keeps everyone focused while innovating and making changes at the same time and of course all while keeping a commitment to our local economy,” Rivers of Eastern Bank says. 

Eastern Bank prides itself on being “Greater Boston’s hometown bank,” offering a robust suite of products and services designed to support businesses of all sizes. From tailored lending solutions and cash management tools to expert advice on succession planning and employee benefits, Eastern Bank is committed to providing the resources businesses need to succeed.

Massachusetts, and particularly the Greater Boston area, offers fertile ground for businesses, thanks in part to the region’s “incredible workforce and talent pipeline,” Rivers says. SharkNinja is a prime example, having leveraged the state’s resources to scale its operations. “Outreach to local universities for talent has been a huge catalyst when our business started to scale, and I can’t think of a better place to raise kids for talent seeking a strong quality of life for their family,” Barrocas says.

Event attendee Anthony Samuels, founder and owner of DRB Facility Services (and an Eastern Bank client), walked away with actionable insights. “It was great to hear from a local CEO who is successfully growing a company from the bottom up. Sometimes we get stuck in not wanting to look at that big picture, and having the opportunity to meet other CEOs and share perspectives inspired my thinking,” Samuels says.

Ginsberg also appreciated the event’s focus on fostering growth. “Putting on the event showed a willingness and an interest on Eastern Bank’s part to help their customers continue to grow,” he shares.

Central to the discussions was the idea of returning to business basics during times of disruption. Barrocas emphasized the importance of building foundational pillars that will sustain a company long after its leaders have moved on. “These will be the principles that will drive the business for the long term,” he says. Such principles are crucial for maintaining stability and ensuring resilience during uncertain times.

Through its tailored financial services and deep community connections, Eastern Bank is a steadfast partner for businesses navigating change. “We will continue to work toward preserving the values we adhere to — whether that’s housing, or immigration, or diversity and inclusion, we’re really focused on making sure that Massachusetts continues to be a great place to live, work, and raise a family,” Rivers says. “It’s all about a focus on seizing the right opportunities and staying focused on doing what’s right for your business in the long term.”