Leading Through Growth: A Conversation with Bakul Chibber

Q: Before we dive into operations and scaling, could you share a little about your background and the experiences that have shaped your approach to building and growing businesses? 

A: I have over 40+ years of experience in different industries (architectural design, construction, consulting, IT, and now private equity) in small 10-person family firms to large corporations like AT&T and IBM. I have an MBA from Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, in Finance and International Business.  

My operating philosophy has been shaped by being close to the realities of execution — understanding that strategy only creates value when it is supported by the right people, processes, systems, and culture. As a COO, my focus is on creating alignment: aligning strategy with execution, aligning people with priorities, and aligning resources with the areas that create the greatest value. That means building strong teams, establishing operating rhythms, improving decision-making, and creating accountability throughout the organization. 

Over time, I’ve learned that scaling a business is both a science and an art -- the science is having the right metrics, processes, and systems and the art is knowing when to introduce structure without losing the entrepreneurial energy that made the company successful in the first place. Those experiences have shaped my belief that the role of an operating leader is not simply to manage today’s business — it is to build an organization capable of creating value long into the future. 

Q: You've helped organizations scale through periods of significant growth. What separates companies that scale successfully from those that struggle?  

A: Scaling a business means shifting from individual heroics to building infrastructure. The most successful companies thrive because they transform unscalable, "founder-driven magic" into standardized, measurable, and highly repeatable company-wide systems. 

Q: Many founders focus heavily on products and sales early on. At what point does operational excellence become a competitive advantage?  

A: The companies that scale successfully are rarely just those with the best products. They are usually the ones that can author a smooth transition from being founder-driven organizations to systems-driven organizations. Operational excellence becomes a competitive advantage much earlier than most founders realize. It starts as an internal necessity, but eventually becomes an external differentiator that customers, investors, and partners notice. 

Q: When Keystone evaluates a company, what operational characteristics give you confidence that the business can become much larger?  

A: Oh, that’s our secret sauce 😊 There are many operational indicators I look for in evaluating a potential investment target: 

• The first question is whether success is systematic or dependent on a few exceptional people. It’s a red flag if everything goes through the founder. 

• Does management know its numbers? If management has to "look into it" for basic operating metrics, that's a warning sign. 

• Can growth occur without proportional cost increases? 

• Is there a culture of continuous improvement? 

• Is the management team deeper than the founder? This is often the single biggest operational risk. 

• How disciplined are financial operations? 

• Does the organization make decisions quickly? 

• Is there operational transparency? 

When evaluating a potential investment, an initial small dose of skepticism is healthy. As the evaluation progresses, these gates either start coming down or remain in place. It gives me confidence if most, if not all these gates are down by the time we have to make the final ‘go/no-go’ decision. 

Q: What are the most common operational mistakes you see companies make as they grow?  

A: Before I get to the operational mistakes, I must make a point about the vision and mission of the company – unless the company has a clear-eyed vision and mission, it will be hard pressed to get to the operations stage. But as companies grow, the most common operational mistakes include failing to document repeatable processes (here’s my favorite word, ‘repeatable’ again 😊), mismanaging cash flow, hiring without clearly defined roles, and trying to do too much at once. These missteps often lead to bottlenecks, burnout, and a loss of the personal touch that drove initial success. 

Q: How do you balance moving quickly with building processes that can support long-term growth?  

A: This is one of the hardest challenges in building a company. In my experience, it's not a choice between speed and process — it is about introducing the right amount of process at the right time. Companies that fail, tend to make one of two mistakes: 

1. They build too much process too early and become bureaucratic. 

2. They build too little process too late and fall into disarray. 

The companies that scale well, stay in the middle. 

Q: What role does culture play in operational execution, particularly as organizations expand?  

A: This is a very interesting question – much has been written on this topic. As companies grow, culture becomes the invisible operating system that determines how decisions are made, problems are solved, and standards are maintained when leadership is not in the room. Processes tell people what to do. Culture determines what people do when nobody is watching. For investors evaluating potential investments, that is why culture is not a "soft" issue — it is a leading indicator of whether operational excellence can survive growth. 

Q: How does Keystone work alongside portfolio companies beyond providing capital?  

A: At Keystone we have over 150 years of cumulative leadership, entrepreneurial, business development, technological, management, and operational excellence. The relationship is a partnership between Keystone and the portfolio company's leadership, with Keystone providing resources, discipline, and expertise. We do much more than provide capital -- we act as strategic partners, operating advisors, and catalysts for transformation. Our role is to help management teams build a valuable company. As our CEO, Promod Sharma says, our goal is to make the pie larger so that everyone gets a large share. 

Q: Looking ahead, what operational capabilities will matter most for companies building in AI, defense, and other emerging technologies? 

A: For companies building in AI, defense, advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, space, quantum, and other emerging technologies, the operational capabilities that matter most will be different from those building a traditional businesses. The winners will not only have breakthrough technology — they will have the ability to commercialize, scale, secure, and continuously improve that technology. Future winners will excel at moving from: Research → Prototype → Product → Production → Global Scale