Episode 14: Rhys Hefford – Build, Scale, Exit, Repeat: A Serial Founder’s Playbook

Building. Scaling. Exiting. Starting again, without losing yourself in the process.

In this episode of the Unlocking Value podcast, John Howard speaks with Rhys Hefford, a serial founder who has built, scaled and sold multiple professional services businesses over the past fifteen years.

Rhys has launched six firms and successfully exited two, typically taking each from start-up to around £2 million+ in EBITDA before handing over to new leadership teams. His experience gives him a unique view of how to build, scale, exit and start again without losing sight of the life you want to lead.

Together, John and Rhys explore what drives repeat founders, how to design a business that fits your personal goals, and how to know when it is time to step aside and let others take it further. They discuss succession planning, bringing in new leaders, the realities of early-stage growth and why self-awareness is as critical as ambition when building lasting value.

Key discussion points include:

• What keeps a serial founder coming back to build again
• How to align business design with personal purpose and family life
• Recognising when the business needs new leadership
• Building value in the early stages and focusing on what really moves the needle
• The discipline of narrowing focus and avoiding over-analysis
• How to prepare a team and structure for a successful exit

For founders and leaders in professional services, this is an honest, reflective conversation about building multiple multi-million-pound businesses, creating space for others to lead and finding a way to scale without burning out.

🎧 This episode is available to stream below or on any of your usual podcast platforms (such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts)