Hyper Scaling Under Pressure: Building Spark into a Market Challenger

What happens when you're asked to build a challenger brand inside a Fortune 500 company — and the stakes couldn't be higher? In this episode of the Lean Focus Podcast, Damon Baker sits down with Eric Conley, CEO of Chase Corporation, to unpack one of the most extraordinary growth stories in medtech: the launch and scale of Spark, Envista's answer to Align Technology's Invisalign. Eric didn't inherit a burning platform. He inherited something harder: a business with huge potential, enormous demand, and a delivery system already buckling under the weight. Lead times were two months in a market that expected two weeks. Customers were lining up faster than the company could deliver. It was "do or die" from day one. Eric shares how he: Scaled Spark from 200 trial accounts to over 5,000 orthodontists in four years, Launched seven manufacturing lines and hired 500+ people in California in just seven months — during a global pandemic, Expanded globally into Europe, Asia, Mexico, and China while building a 2,000-person team, Made the critical strategic bet to focus on orthodontists instead of chasing general dentists or direct-to-consumer models, Drove Mexicali's turnover from 50% down to 10%, proving culture change at scale, Leveraged automation, AI-driven treatment planning, and customer engagement to achieve both speed and quality This isn't steady-state leadership. It's leadership in the crucible — scaling at hyper speed, balancing legacy profit engines with future growth bets, and making bold decisions when failure wasn't an option. If you've ever wondered what it takes to lead under extreme pressure, this episode is a masterclass in speed, focus, and people-first leadership. Listen now and hear how Eric Conley turned Spark from a risky bet into Envista's growth story — and how that experience shapes his leadership today as CEO of Chase Corporation. 🔗 Subscribe to the Lean Focus Podcast 📩 Follow Lean Focus: https://leanfocus.com 📌 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lean-focus-llc/     See the full transcript here: https://leanfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Lean-Focus-Podcast_Episode-03_Eric-Conley.txt