Unlocking Value
Garwood Growth
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About This Podcast
Unlocking Value is designed to give founders and owners of professional services firms more confidence when they're working toward an exit or thinking about taking on investment.
Across six episodes, our host John Howard speaks with founders, investors and advisors about the moments that define the transaction journey - how to get ready, what to expect and how to succeed.
We cover everything from value drivers and team alignment to investor expectations and life after the deal. You’ll hear from people who’ve sold their firms, taken minority investments, stayed on, exited and started again – and from those who advise or invest in firms like yours every day.
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Recent Episodes
Episode 36: Stephen Johnson – Hard-Won Lessons from 17 Years of Growth, Setbacks and Leadership
In this episode, John is joined by Stephen Johnson, founder and CEO of Roq, a consultancy focused on helping organisations deliver large-scale technology change.Stephen founded Roq in 2009 and has…
Episode 35: Duncan Ramsay – Inside the investor mindset: Building scalable consulting firms
In this episode, John is joined by Duncan Ramsay, a Partner in the commercial team at ECI Partners, where he works closely with management teams to help scale and grow businesses across the…
Episode 34: Jenny Burns – The Accidental CEO: The Leadership Path She Never Planned
In this episode, John is joined by Jenny Burns, CEO of Magnetic, an innovation consultancy that helps organisations solve complex problems and create new products, services and experiences at pace.…
Episode 33: Andrew Laird – Where values lead, growth follows: Rethinking how consultancies scale
In this episode, John is joined by Andrew Laird, Chief Executive of Mutual Ventures, a specialist consultancy focused on public service reform and local transformation.Andrew co-founded Mutual…
Episode 32: Tamzen Isacsson – The state of consulting today, from the CEO of the MCA
In this episode, John is joined by Tamzen Isacsson, Chief Executive of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA), the body representing the UK’s leading consulting firms.Tamzen works closely…
Episode 31: Jeremie Guillerme – Turning reputation into a strategic advantage
In this episode, John is joined by Jeremie Guillerme, Partner at Reputation Inc, a specialist consultancy focused on helping organisations understand, build and protect their reputation with the…
Episode 30: Jonathan Peachey - When cognition becomes free: What AI means for professional services
In this episode, John is joined by Jonathan Peachey, founder of Factory X and former board member at Next 15, where he spent several years leading M&A and transformation across a group of more…
Episode 29: Chris Allinson – First of the Next, Not Best of the Last
In this episode, John is joined by Chris Allinson, Managing Partner at Yonder Consulting, a firm that helps organisations rethink how they grow and where they compete as markets evolve.Chris has…
Episode 28: Adrian Hands - Coffee to Cash: Simple Habits That Keep Professional Services Pipelines Healthy
In this episode, John is joined by Adrian Hands, an experienced sales leader who has spent more than three decades in roles across technology, SaaS, media and e-commerce. Adrian now works as part of…
Episode 27: Emma Flin - How ‘Buy and Build’ Drives Growth and Value in Professional Services
In this episode, John welcomes back Emma Flin, an investment director at Sovereign Capital Partners, a private equity firm that focuses on backing and growing mid-market tech and professional…
Episode 26: Venkata Nori and Hari Sethalapathy - From Zero Clients to 400 Staff: Building a Global Oracle Consultancy on Trust and Outstanding Service
Hari Sethalapathy and Venkata Subbarayudu Nori are two of the three co-founders of Winfo Solutions, a global Oracle consulting business that has grown from three people with no clients to more than…
Episode 25: Andrew Brown - Fresh From Exit: How Founder Independence and a Great Team Secured the Deal
In this episode, John is joined by Andrew Brown, founder of Acuity Business Solutions, a consultancy he built and led for almost 20 years before overseeing its sale to the Scandinavian group Lumera…
Episode 24: Nick Synnott – The Personal Cost and Payoff of Building a Founder-Led Business
In this episode, John is joined by Nick Synnott, founder of Create Engage and host of the long-running “Climb in Consulting” podcast.Many listeners will know Nick for his work on marketing in the…
Episode 23: Rob Garner, Luk Smeyers & Deri Hughes - The Four Forces Shaping Consulting in 2026
This episode is a little different from our usual format. Rather than a one to one conversation, we are sharing the audio from a recent webinar hosted by Deri Hughes of Honeycomb Consulting Skills…
Episode 22: Dan Figueiredo - A Microsoft Insider’s View on AI in Consulting
AI is firmly on the agenda for professional services firms, but many leaders are still working out what it really means in practice – for delivery, governance, people, and trust with clients. In this…
Episode 21: Lizzie Meadowcroft – Professional Services Deals from Both Sides of the Table
Lizzie Meadowcroft is part of the value creation team at LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group. She works closely with management teams across the LDC portfolio, supporting growth,…
Episode 20: Claire Simm – Leadership Lessons from Growing Professional Services Firms
Claire Simm is Managing Director and Global Head of Regulatory Consulting at Kroll. She has built her entire career in professional services, moving between Big Four firms, entrepreneurial boutiques…
Episode 19: Unlocking Christmas – Reflections on our 2025 conversations and what comes next
To round off the year, the show takes a slightly different shape.In this brief episode, John reflects on some of the common themes from conversations in 2025 and says thank you to the guests and…
Episode 18: Olly Purnell – The Anti-Exit Strategy: Building a Consultancy Designed for Long-Term Independence
In a sector where scaling often leads to external investment or an eventual sale, what does it look like to build a consultancy that grows, stays independent and develops a long-term ownership model…
Episode 17: Pekka Metsaranta – No Co-Founders, No Roadmap, No Illusions
In this episode of The Unlocking Value Podcast, John Howard speaks with Pekka Metsaranta, founder and CEO of Sisua Ltd, a consultancy known for stepping in to help clients succeed with their most…
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlocking Value has published 36 episodes since July 2025, covering topics in Business, Entrepreneurship.
Unlocking Value is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 49m.
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