Imagine turning your toughest growth challenges into your biggest breakthroughs—scaling with clarity, courage, and precision.Â
We won't just help you scale, we will help you Scale Smart.
I'm Diana!
A founder, builder, and strategist who has launched and scaled three companies: two of them from crushing debt to successful exits, and one that grew into a seven-figure real estate flipping business not intended for exit.
My first venture began at $50,000 in the red and grew into a thriving real estate brokerage, eventually acquired by one of the largest real estate firms in the world.
My third company, a design-build firm, was launched just months before the pandemic and immediately tested. A hard money lender I had worked with for eight years stole equity in two projects, leaving me $940,000 in debt. I had every reason to walk away, but I didn’t. I leaned into grit, vision, and strategy to build DG Design Group and then DG Design Group Builders from the ground up.
Through word-of-mouth, exceptional quality, and a reputation for design forward renovations, we earned national media attention from Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, USA Today, Home & Gardens, and several other national publications.Â
This journey wasn’t just about resilience.
It was about building elite teams, spotting potential others missed, and executing under pressure. I’ve since learned that design-build and construction companies have one of the highest failure rates in business second only to restaurants, especially in competitive markets like the San Francisco Bay Area. Beating those odds required relentless determination, operational discipline, and strategic thinking.
Now, through Scale Smart, I help small business owners grow faster, avoid common pitfalls, and build the kind of business they once thought was out of reach.
I work with a specific kind of founder, the ones in their incubation phase, navigating uncertainty, and standing at the edge of their next level. It’s not just about confidence, it's about courage. The courage to lead, to grow, and to build something bigger than themselves. If you’ve got the vision and the fire, I’ll help you turn it into a multi-million dollar company, and build the empire you know you’re capable of with clarity, strategy, and the right systems to make it happen.
What is Scale Smart?
─────────────
Scale Smart is a founder-led growth consultancy for small business owners ready to scale with clarity, courage, and strategic precision.
Built by an entrepreneur who’s turned deep debt into multi-million dollar exits not once, but twice; Scale Smart exists to help others do the same. We specialize in partnering with founders in their incubation phase or stagnation phase: the gritty, uncertain stage where vision meets resistance and most walk away. That’s where we step in.
We don’t just help you scale, we help you Scale Smart.
From real estate to redevelopment to design-build, our founder has built multi-million dollar companies from the ground up, overcoming setbacks like crushing debt, market crashes, frivolous lawsuits, and early-stage chaos. With hands-on experience, building teams, operational discipline, strategic partnerships, and a track record of national recognition, including features in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, Forbes, WSJ, USA Today and several other national publications.
Scale Smart brings battle tested strategy and systems to help you:
âś…
Avoid costly mistakes
âś…
Shorten your growth curve
âś…
Build a business that's scalable, sustainable and exit-ready
If you’ve got the vision and the fire, Scale Smart will help you turn it into a multi-million dollar company and build the empire you know you're capable of.
Scale Smart is built for founders in the trenches.
Not the ones with deep VC or Hedge Fund pockets or endless time to figure it out. The ones with grit, a big vision, and a business that’s on the edge of something great, but stuck in survival mode or spinning their wheels. Maybe you're straddling the line between your 9 to 5 and your side hustle, holding onto the dream that one day, you can leave the day job behind and go all in on building your business.
You’re not here for fluff. You’re here for strategy, structure, and the kind of clarity that turns chaos into a company that scales.
You're our kind of Founder if:
You're in your early or growth stage and feel like you've hit a ceiling.
You're juggling operations, sales, delivery, and wondering how to grow without losing your mind (or your margin).
You're self-funded or bootstrapped, maybe even in debt, but still showing up.
You know your offer delivers. Now you want the systems and structure to scale it.
You're done wasting time on one-size-fits-all advice and ready to build something that actually works for your business.
You don't just want confidence, you're ready for courage, clarity, and next-level execution.
Caught between the security of your day job and the untapped potential of your side hustle.
If you’re scrappy, underestimated, and ready to rise, then Scale Smart is where your next level begins.
Who It’s Not For:
- Founders looking for quick hacks without doing the work.
- Businesses with no offer, no traction, or no clarity on their audience.
- People chasing vanity metrics instead of real results. (Remember: ROI > EGO)
Structure for the Scale Smart Program
- 1–2 Strategic Sessions / Month (Zoom or in-person)
- Ongoing Slack or Text message check-ins (optional)
- Milestone-based accountability
- Mentor receives 5% Advisory Share
- At $2.5M Gross Revenue → Equity Share Discussion
What is your First Smart Move?
Join our waitlist and be notified as soon as the Scale Smart program is live!
Disclaimer:
The information shared in this curriculum is based on my personal and professional experience in flipping homes, redeveloping properties, managing new construction projects, and owning a Design-Build company. While my goal is to provide you with valuable tools, insights, and strategies to support your success, I make no guarantees of specific results, income levels, or business outcomes.
Real estate, flipping houses, and construction involve risk, and success depends on many factors including your individual effort, decision-making, financial management, market conditions, management style, and several other variables beyond my control. By participating in this program, you acknowledge and agree that I am not liable for any losses, setbacks, or unmet expectations, financial or otherwise.
This curriculum is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or professional advice.
