This week we speak to Dean Hartley and hear all about some of the darker sides of business; the threat of VCs kicking you out of your own business, being caught in the 2008 RBS GRG scandal and what happens when you’re at strategic loggerheads with your fellow board members, and the personal low point of exiting a business.
INTRODUCING DEAN HARTLEY
Dean Hartley is the former CTO and owner of Monitor Audio, a business he helped purchase in 1998 and exited in October 2018 with a 50x ROI. He was instrumental in growing the business from £1.5M to £25M. He now works as a Consultant, EIR advisor and fractional CCO (Chief Commercial Officer). He's also an Angel Investor in start-up/scale-ups.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
[00:00:30] Starting the business and then buying another one
[00:08:45] A new role in a bigger business
[00:10:30] Raising external funding and buying founders out
[00:21:00] 2008 financial crash, GRG and the RBS scandal
[00:32:00] Where to look for growth finance in your business
[00:36:00] Exiting the business and the emotional difficulties it causes afterwards
[00:46:00] How to develop yourself and your role in a business
3 KEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS
• You learn a huge amount of skills as a start up founder
• There are risks that you sometimes have to take in business if you want to progress
• If you really want to scale a business you do need to raise finance
3 BEST MOMENTS
“they told us if we didn’t deliver, they’d replace us”
“it was very similar to the current Royal Mail scandal”
“we need to move on….. without you”
VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOU
Website: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/leeds-business-podcast/
Website: https:// www.chevettechnology.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanhartley01
Shout out tags: https://www.luma3.uk/
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ABOUT YOUR HOST
Phil Fraser went from an accidental kitchen table start up, with no investment, all the way to multi-million pound sale to a PLC 18 years later. He’s travelled the full SME business journey of launch, growth, scale and exit.
As well as hosting the Leeds Business Podcast, Phil now works with ambitious SME-owners as a Business Sounding Board (think somewhere between Business Coach and Business Mentor). In simple terms, he’s ‘a pair of ears and an extra pair eyes’ for SME Owners helping them to be better at what they do. Phil’s mantra is It doesn’t need to be ‘lonely at the top’. He helps Business Owners to be better business owners, by helping with their clarity and focus.
As a Business Sounding Board, he gives SME Owners the time & space to regularly discuss their challenges and opportunities, with no sense of judgement or bias, and in complete confidence. This allows them to explore their options in full, culminating with a list of issues to address/clarify, a clear target in mind, a roadmap to success, and a renewed enthusiasm and confidence for the challenges ahead.
Phil has appeared as a guest on over 60 podcasts, webinars and interviews, from around the whole globe, talking on a variety of business subjects. You can view them all at https://philfraser.co.uk/watch-hear-phil/.
LEEDS BUSINESS PODCAST
TCF, RBS, GRG, Global Restructuring Group, Derek Sach, Leeds, Leeds Business, Business in Leeds, Nous of Fraser, Business Sounding Board, Business Coach, Business Mentor,
Email: phil@leedsbusinesspodcast.com
