Scale To Win with Dominic Monkhouse

Monkhouse & Company
  • 4.6 (7)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Wide awake at 3am, wondering how your business turned from a 15-person rocket into an 80-person rollercoaster? Hit play. This show is for founder CEOs who want practical wins, not platitudes. Every fortnight, Dominic Monkhouse - who scaled two UK tech firms to £30m+ in five years (twice) - grills people who’ve actually done it: operators, battle-scarred founders, and experts who cut through noise. You’ll learn techniques that stop fires, speed up decisions, and give you time back. What you’ll get: field-tested methods that will all contribute to one of three vital goals – freeing up your time, building a leadership team that can lead without you, and installing systems that you can be sure will work. No recycled LinkedIn fluff. No crappy ‘inspiration’. Just clear actions you can run this week. Why listen now? Because growth shouldn’t mean chaos. Twelve of Dom’s clients have exited. His 2-Day-a-Week CEO Blueprint shows leaders how to make sure they spend their time doing things that ONLY they can do - not covering tasks that could be done by others. He coaches scale-ups, writes books people actually read, and asks the questions you wish investors would. If you’re stuck between “we’re onto something” and “this might kill me,” this is your edge: honest stories, hard numbers, and repeatable systems to build a business you’re proud of - without losing yourself along the way. Grab a notebook, and hit follow so the next time you’re staring at the ceiling at stupid o’clock, you’ve got a plan - and a playbook - waiting in your ears.

  1. Jun 18

    $40M/Tech Founder Reveals the Smart Way to Run & Grow Your Company With AI in 2026 | E369

    In this episode, Nikola reveals his contrarian belief that AI can be better than humans at customer service (not instead of humans, they'll do very different work), why he spent two hours on the phone with Vodafone when he got their confirmation email with someone else's name on it (and why that's not really about AI or humans), why they built a "token leaderboard" internally to track which AI tools they're using most, why junior developers will definitely beat senior ones at learning these tools (plasticity just goes down as you age), how AI gives him superpowers as a CEO (a chief of staff reminding him he promised something 4 days ago), and why their business model is "Rolls Royce for large enterprises, BMW for everyone else." He also shares his journey from a Serbian family to the University of Cambridge, how his PhD supervisor convinced him not to do a PowerPoint job at McKinsey, and why he ended up founding a voice AI company instead of working in finance (he wanted to be "a proper monkey" as well as a PowerPoint monkey, in his words). What you'll learn: 🤖 AI can be substantially better at customer service (humans already lost their role long ago in most companies) 📞 The Vodafone example: edge cases, six different humans bouncing you around, why most companies lack taxonomy of failures 💼 Rolls Royce + BMW model (premium high-touch implementation + self-serve platform for SMBs) 🧠 Plasticity matters: junior devs will beat senior ones at learning AI tools (nature's law—ability to learn new things decreases with age) ⚡ AI superpowers for CEOs (chief of staff reminding you of commitments, transcription of meetings, Slack tracking) 🎯 Why Google can't compete (they care about ads and compute use, not customer service—you go down their priority list) 📊 "Token leaderboard" to track which AI tools you're using most 🏢 From consulting motion + tech to becoming a platform business About the Guest: Nikola Mrkšić is CEO and co-founder of Poly AI, a Series D company building voice AI agents for enterprise customer service. The company is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge where Nikola met his co-founders and the whole senior research team. They'd all worked on building really good voice agents for their professional and academic lives. The business started with an idea to prove voice technology can be a good thing in people's lives, not just "that pesky thing that gets you to not speak to a human when you really want to speak to a human." Connect with Nikola Mrkšić - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikola-mrksic/ -------- Sign up to receive our weekly Scale To Win newsletter: https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com Follow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:17 Series D company background and voice technology focus 02:33 AI surpassing human customer service capabilities 05:18 Personal story of frustration with customer service 08:07 Successful AI implementations in hospitality and finance 10:58 AI handling sensitive customer service cases 13:16 Broad societal changes due to AI integration 15:00 Impact of AI on workplace efficiency and team dynamics 19:30 Young people naturally adapting to AI tools 23:30 Discussion on younger generations and AI fluency 24:46 AI improving individual weaknesses in the workplace 29:10 Transition of Poly.ai to a more platform-based model 33:01 Challenges of scaling B2B SaaS in different markets 36:01 Immigrant perspective in building successful companies 40:08 Nikola's educational journey and serendipitous career path 48:21 Competitive position against major tech companies

    53 min

  2. Jun 4

    Here's Why Your Agency Will Never Scale (The Real Problem) | E368

    Setting up a business is a major life decision that should not be taken lightly—it is incredibly painful. The ups definitely outweigh the downs, but the downs can be dark. Having a co-founder makes all the difference. Matthew Duhig, CEO and co-founder of FX Digital, started the business at university with his co-founder Tom, to build a website for his sister's bridal shop for free. Fifteen years later, they've grown from £1.5M to approaching £10M revenue, from 20 people to nearly 80, and they've built connected TV applications for major media and sports companies. Along the way, they had one major near-death experience when a single client became 80% of revenue, then in-housed the work down to 60%—leaving Matt and Tom with no personal wealth or assets, living together, staring at the barrel. But they believed in their proposition, backed themselves against the wall, and won 4 of 5-6 bids they needed to win, which launched them into major tech company work and one of their best years ever. In this episode, Matt reveals his four contrarian beliefs about building businesses: (1) Running a business is incredibly painful and decision should not be taken lightly; (2) Vision comes from consumption (reading, listening, watching—not plucking it from air); (3) Don't make promises you can't control (resentment is harder to overcome than anything else in teams); (4) The job of an entrepreneur is to reduce risk (not take risks). He shares why he's an absolute delegator (sometimes great, sometimes backfires), how he managed to get off the tools when billing five days a week, why he stays in touch with 5-10 people at any given time who might be future hires, and how Barcelona became their second office (Jack the QA lead asked if he could relocate and Matt asked him to set up an office instead). What you'll learn: 💼 Why having a co-founder is massive (not dark and lonely on your own) 🚨 What near-death looks like (80% revenue from one client, they in-house the work at 60%) 📚 Vision comes from consumption (read, listen, watch—a year of immersion in industry) 🤝 Don't make promises you can't control (resentment is the hardest thing to overcome) ⚙️ The job of an entrepreneur is to reduce risk (not take them) 🎯 Delegation as core skill (sometimes great, sometimes backfires, but necessary) 📞 Keep a pipeline of 5-10 potential hires always (chat with them, stay in touch) 🌍 Barcelona expansion lesson (talent + cost benefits + less competition than London) Book recommendations: The Intelligent Entrepreneur - Bill Murphy Jr. - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intelligent-Entrepreneur-Bill-Murphy-Jr/dp/0805094296 Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits - Greg Crabtree - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Numbers-Straight-Talk-Profits/dp/1600374514 Simple Numbers 2 - Greg Crabtree - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Numbers-Straight-Talk-Profits/dp/1600374514 About the Guest: Matthew Duhig is CEO and co-founder of FX Digital, a business that builds connected TV applications for media and sports companies. He started the business with co-founder Tom at university when Matthew was 20 years old—Tom was away due to a bike accident in London ("Tom get well soon"), so they're running it together remotely. They grew from £1.5M revenue (7 years ago) to approaching £10M now, with headcount from 20 to nearly 80. The business evolved from web design work for his sister's bridal shop (free work) to building websites for a few years, then in 2015 they stumbled across connected TV—creating applications for TV like you create mobile applications, then launching them onto streaming platforms. That niche and doubling down on it propelled their growth. Connect with Matthew Duhig / FX Digital - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/matthewduhig -------- Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter: https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com Follow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:03 Starting FX Digital and early challenges 07:15 Surviving a critical business downturn 12:59 Personal sacrifices and work-life balance 17:10 Stepping back to foster leadership growth 22:25 Delegation and leadership management strategies 28:34 Benefits of hiring fractional leaders 32:48 Building and automating key business systems 35:03 Establishing a Barcelona office for expansion 37:30 Talent acquisition benefits in Barcelona 39:42 Influential books and educational resources 41:28 Sources of ongoing inspiration and learning

    46 min

  3. May 21

    From Broke at 48 to Yo! Sushi Founder, Here's What I Learned | E367

    We will soon trust AI more than people with their own agendas. In 50 years, we'll realise 50%+ tax was madness when 20% could have worked. Digital voting will let people vote on issues, not political parties, and we'll have an executive of 40 people (like Singapore) instead of 1,000 MPs arguing endlessly. And Brexit will be remembered as the best thing that happened—because this entrepreneurial little island will reinvent how to govern, and the rest of the world will copy us as they've done throughout history. Simon Woodroffe, founder of Yo! Sushi and YoTel, original Dragon on Dragons' Den, performer at Edinburgh Festival, recording artist with the Blockheads, and now published author of "Yo Man," has built businesses across multiple industries starting at age 45—and he's got radical ideas about politics, taxation, and why megalomaniac control at the beginning is the right way to start any business. In this episode from Thailand (where Simon now lives with his Thai wife after being brought up in old Singapore), he reveals how he started YoSushi after a Japanese TV producer said "conveyor belt sushi bar with girls in black PVC miniskirts," flew to Japan when it was expensive and difficult (Japan was the last great mystery of the East 30 years ago), found 2,500 conveyor belt sushi bars nobody in the UK knew about, and opened Poland Street with everything he had in the world—only to have nobody come for the first two weeks. Then the second Saturday, there was a 100-yard queue down the block because they'd done something so completely different. He shares why he was nicknamed "the steamroller," why megalomaniac control is perfect at the beginning but you must let go after three years, how he hired Robin Rowland who closed all the Yo Below bars much to Simon's chagrin (but was absolutely right), and why he's earned roughly 1% of YoTel turnover every quarter for years—which has funded everything since and probably saved him from going broke. Book recommendations: How to Get Rich - Felix Dennis - https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Get-Rich-Felix-Dennis/dp/0091927447 Yo Man - Simon Woodroffe - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Yo-Man-Simon-Woodroffe/dp/1398616761 About the Guest: Simon Woodroffe is the founder of YoSushi (celebrating 30 years in January) and YoTel (now over 30 hotels worldwide, much bigger business than YoSushi), original Dragon on Dragons' Den (series 1-3), performer at Edinburgh Festival where he did a one-man show, recording artist with the Blockheads, and published author of "Yo Man" (his second book—the first was his autobiography). He's done a few things. He's 77 years old, was brought up in old Singapore, has lived all over the world, and now lives in Thailand with his Thai wife. His home base is Thailand because it's the best place he's found after searching everywhere. Simon started YoSushi at age 45 after a long, hard life that hasn't always been good. He's now a licensor of both YoSushi and YoTel, broadcasting on social media, and trying to give something back to the world to improve it—whether politically or directly helping one person at a time. He always said that when he was knocking on other people's doors, if he was ever the one whose door was knocked on (which is the situation he finds himself in now), he would always try to respond to everybody. And he does. Connect with Simon Woodroffe - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yosimonwoodroffe/ -------- Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter: https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com Follow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:01 Introduction to Simon Woodroffe's journey and achievements 02:37 Simon on world improvements and his life in Thailand 03:47 Predictions on digital voting and government change 06:37 A small executive model for better governance 10:00 Reducing taxes by changing government spending 12:00 Trusting AI over human biases for balanced insights 14:06 Launch of Simon's book, Yo Man, and the ATM story 16:57 Bringing conveyor belt sushi to London 20:05 Transition from steamroller to delegator in business 21:36 Successful expansion under Robin Rowland's leadership 24:10 Involvement in Yotel and its global success 28:59 Importance of theatre and 'ziz' in business branding 30:07 Letting go of control for business growth 31:28 Transition to TV and participation in Dragon's Den 35:14 Enjoying Dragon's Den and investments made 38:08 Overcoming challenges during Yo Sushi's opening weeks 42:29 Creative 'yo' brand extensions and their impacts 45:01 Making tough business decisions swiftly and confidently

    49 min

  4. May 7

    Former Hostage Negotiator Reveals Business Secrets & Negotiation Tactics | E366

    Conflict is not a dirty word. You don't need a trigger warning; you need to know the trigger better. Don't rush to solve the problem. And when you're negotiating, remember it's not about you. Scott Walker is a kidnap-for-ransom and extortion negotiator who's spent 20 years with a ringside seat into what makes human beings think, feel, and act—particularly in times of stress, overwhelm, challenge, and conflict. Over 300 cases across every major continent, and touch wood, every single person came back. That's a 100% success rate in an industry where the average is 93% (better than the All Blacks' win rate), and all those lessons apply directly to everyday business and life. In this episode, Scott reveals why 80% of his time on a kidnapping case was spent dealing with the crisis within the crisis (internal politics, egos, competing demands, silo thinking—not the kidnappers), why the conflict call with bad guys is essential (managing expectations when they want £10M but you're offering £250K), and the immediate action drill he learned after threatening grieving parents in his first case. He shares why most leaders spend their time dealing with internal politics rather than customers, why feeling seen-heard-understood is the only thing people want in a negotiation, and why resilience isn't something you hashtag on a mug—it only comes from doing hard things and being uncomfortable. Plus: how he went from Scotland Yard detective inspector avoiding paper cuts to three live kidnaps in his first week in the private sector, and why the All Blacks' motto "don't be a dick" is actually brilliant negotiation advice. What you'll learn: ⚔️ Why conflict is essential (embrace difficult conversations without being belligerent) 🎯 The empathy loop: demonstrate understanding first, it's not about you ⏸️ The immediate action drill: interrupt pattern, ride the 90-second cortisol wave, ask better questions 🧠 Why you don't need trigger warnings (develop skills to handle anything, don't control others) 🚫 Why rushing to solve problems is dangerous (buy time, find the real issue) 👂 How to listen at level five (not for gist or to argue, but for what's really being said) 💡 Why 60% of sales don't close (people think it's too risky for them personally, not the company) 📊 The crisis within the crisis (80% of time spent on internal politics, not the bad guys) Book recommendations: Legacy - James Kerr - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Legacy-All-Blacks-James-Kerr/dp/1472103536 Awaken the Giant Within - Tony Robbins - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Awaken-Giant-Within-Immediate-Emotional/dp/0671791540 How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie - https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0091906814 About the Guest: Scott Walker is a kidnap-for-ransom and extortion negotiator who's spent the best part of 20 years having a ringside seat into what makes human beings think, feel, and act—particularly in times of stress, overwhelm, challenge, and conflict. Over 300-plus cases (including piracy and extortion) across every major continent, and touch wood, every single person came back. That's a 100% personal success rate in an industry where the global average over 50 years is 93%—better than the All Blacks' win rate at roughly 90%, and vastly better than most salespeople's 30% close rate. Connect with Scott Walker - https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottaw/ -------- Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter: https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com Follow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to negotiation and life skills 03:09 Personal anecdotes about family and negotiation 14:08 Aligning with clients to uncover real issues 21:11 Developing resilience and managing emotions 25:37 Techniques for emotional control and effective questioning 29:12 Journey from the police to a negotiation career 36:54 Handling difficult workplace conversations 40:25 Book recommendations and learning influence skills 44:44 Final thoughts and closing remarks

    46 min

  5. Apr 23

    How to Spot Leaders Who Will Scale (Look for This, Not Confidence) | E365

    Failure is a better business school than an MBA. Most agencies will never scale because their founder is the product. Minority investment beats full acquisition. And self-doubt isn't a weakness to overcome—it's the edge that separates high performers from those who are growing. Luke Tobin, entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Unusual Group, has built and sold three companies in three different industries over 20 years (the largest being Digital Ethos with an eight-figure exit in late 2022), and he's learned that the people we look up to the most—the ones who seem to have it all figured out—are often the ones who struggle with doubt the most. The difference? They find a way to move anyway. In this episode, he reveals why imposter syndrome appears when you're stepping outside your comfort zone (which means you're doing something productive), why he's writing a book about doubt after interviewing 30 high performers from ex-SBS commandos to actors, and why doubt is actually the cost of admission to the next level. He also shares hard lessons from scaling to 90 people before his exit, hiring 5-6 people per month without proper vetting, and making the mistake of being the eye of the storm instead of creating mini-storms with good people. What you'll learn: 🧠 Why self-doubt is the cost of admission to the next level (imposter syndrome = you're expanding, not retracting) 📚 Why failure beats an MBA (founders with scars are shrewder, better, wiser) 🎯 Why most agencies never scale (founder is the product, won't delegate, sits at eye of storm) 👥 How to transition from basketball (50 people, you're on court) to football (100 people, you're off field) 💰 Why minority investment beats majority acquisition (founders lose motivation after 60-70% exit) 📊 The hiring mistake: loyalty vs capability (promoting based on tenure, not experience) ✅ Unique hiring practice: pay candidates for full week in business before offer (non-negotiable for mid-tier+) 🏢 Why remote work is dangerous for junior people (no water cooler conversations, no training) Book recommendations: Never Split the Difference - Chris Voss - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended/dp/1847941494 The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychology-Money-Timeless-lessons-happiness/dp/0857197681 The Obstacle is the Way - Ryan Holiday - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Obstacle-Way-Ancient-Adversity-Advantage/dp/1781251492 About the Guest: Luke Tobin is an entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Unusual Group, a holding company investing in marketing and creative service businesses to help them scale without losing control. He's been building companies for over 20 years with three successful exits in three different industries, each one bigger than the last. The largest was Digital Ethos, a performance marketing agency he sold in late 2022 after scaling to 90 people with an eight-figure exit. He's also a partner in a venture studio in San Diego rolling out consumer goods products, and he has 800,000 followers on social media where he shares success psychology week to week. Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter: https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com Follow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Luke's business background 03:14 Debunking common entrepreneurial myths 09:15 Perceptions shaping our reality and decisions 15:43 Biggest business failures and lessons learned 19:46 Preventing businesses from getting stuck due to founder focus 28:32 Transitioning from founder to CEO roles 30:07 Balancing remote and in-office work environments 35:58 Cultivating leadership and curiosity for business growth 40:19 Recommended books for personal and professional development

    44 min

  6. Apr 9

    Most People Overcomplicate Leadership (Here's What Actually Works) | E364

    Most people overcomplicate leadership. They're looking for the next framework, trying to do technical leadership that just doesn't work. Paul Adamson spent 25 years sailing yachts around the world—including two years circumnavigating with Eddie Jordan on an Oyster 885—and he learned that leadership isn't about theory. It's about making decisions without all the information, leading from the front, and remaining calm when the pressure is on. Then he walked into Oyster Yachts (the manufacturer of those luxury yachts) when it went into administration, won it out of admin by deliberately breaking the rules, and rebuilt it from zero to a £200M order book with 700 employees in four years. In this episode, Paul reveals why great leaders are energy-rich (not uninspiring boring managers), why you can't KPI great leadership, and why the three levers of state management—focus, inner dialogue, and movement—underpin everything in business. He shares his Virgin Atlantic story about blagging a gold card, getting upgraded to upper class by a flight manager who knew when to break the rules, and how copying Richard Branson into an Instagram post led to a phone call that changed everything. He also opens up about being diagnosed with lymphoma two weeks after leaving Oyster, how he applied everything he'd taught for years to his own health challenge, and why that gift led him to help raise £3M for follicular lymphoma research that could unlock cures for pancreatic cancer, leukaemia, and other incurables. What you'll learn: ⚡ Why great leaders are energy-rich and how to manage your state (focus, inner dialogue, movement) 🎯 The difference between managers (follow rules) and leaders (know when to break them) 🚢 How to lead without all the information (lessons from sailing in high-stakes environments) 💼 How to rebuild a business from administration to £200M order book (earn trust, two words) 🇬🇧 Why UK social conditioning makes it hard to be energy-rich vs American optimism 📊 Why you can't KPI great leadership—it's about being a lighthouse, not hitting metrics 💪 How to find the gift in every challenge (even lymphoma diagnosis) 🎤 Why copying Richard Branson into an Instagram post was the right move Book recommendations: Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/1846041244 Who Moved My Cheese? - Spencer Johnson - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Amazing/dp/0091816971 Shine: How to Navigate Life's Curveballs - Paul Adamson (forthcoming) About the Guest: Paul Adamson is a leadership and teamwork speaker who spent 25 years as a professional yacht skipper sailing luxury yachts around the world before transitioning into the business world about 15 years ago. His leadership development wasn't theoretical—it was forged at sea where you learn to lead from the front pretty quickly because in high-stakes environments, if you're not leading, you get into issues fast. Leadership at sea means making decisions without perfect information, remaining calm under pressure, and managing your emotional state when lives depend on it. Connect with Paul Adamson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-adamson -------- Sign up to receive our weekly Curious Leadership newsletter: https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com Follow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:03 Transition from yacht skipper to business leadership 07:45 Managing leadership styles through challenging transitions 15:05 Utilising energy richness and state management 19:00 Emphasising focus, inner dialogue and movement 23:00 The importance of rule-breaking for leadership success 27:00 Virgin Atlantic story – making customers raving fans 34:45 Rebuilding Oyster Yachts from administration to success 39:20 Strategic mindset: Earning trust to build a business 43:00 Achievements and challenges at Oyster Yachts 52:00 Transition from Oyster and personal health challenges 56:30 Navigating a lymphoma diagnosis with a leadership mindset 1:05:30 Paul’s book recommendations and personal insights on leadership

    1h 10m

  7. Mar 26

    The 80/20 Deal Structure: Why I Never Buy Businesses Outright | E363

    Council estate South London to 30 mergers and acquisitions. No capital, no plan, but always knew wealth was what he wanted. Lee Smith went from DJ to jewellers to law firms to web design and IT—then discovered mergers and acquisitions in 2014 and everything changed. Now he's building two sector groups to £10M in profit, buying businesses at 3-4x multiples and exiting at 7-10x, and he's got some contrarian views that'll make you rethink everything about UK business ownership. In this episode, Lee reveals why buying 100% of a business is almost always the worst deal structure, why you don't need to understand what a business does to own it successfully, and why by the end of this decade the most valuable asset in Britain will be an SME producing profits. He shares his ethical partnership structure that keeps founders and directors aligned, explains how he bought an HVAC company he barely understands and grew it while only being there one day per week, and why he thinks the UK government is waging war on business owners—making it harder to employ people, easier for rogue employees to sue, and creating a clear choice by 2030: own a business with options and spare cash, or be an employee struggling more than ever. What you'll learn: 🏢 Why you don't need to understand a business to own it (just need right people in right seats) 💰 How to structure deals that keep founders and key directors aligned (20% founder retention + director equity) 📊 What to look for when buying: £2M+ revenue, second-tier management in place, profitability doesn't matter 🎯 The buy-build-sell playbook: buy at 3-4x EBITDA, build to £10M+ profit, exit at 7-10x ⚠️ Why the UK government is anti-business (more taxes, more regulation, easier to sue companies) Book recommendations: Who? - Geoff Smart & Randy Street - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-Method-Hiring-Geoff-Smart/dp/0345504194 Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Grow-Rich-Napoleon-Hill/dp/9388423526 Die with Zero - Bill Perkins - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Die-Zero-Getting-Your-Money/dp/0358099765 The Fourth Turning - William Strauss & Neil Howe - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fourth-Turning-American-Prophecy-Rendezvous/dp/0767900464 About the Guest: Lee Smith grew up on a council estate in South London with no capital behind him and no plan to wealth—but he always knew wealth was something he wanted to achieve. His career path was unconventional: DJ, jewellers, law firms, then starting his own web design and IT company. In 2014, he discovered mergers and acquisitions, which "completely flipped the switch" in his life. He's now completed 30 M&A transactions and is building two separate sector groups (HVAC/construction and renewable energy) to £10M in profit. His key message to business owners: the UK government is waging war on individuals through cost-of-living, energy costs, and employment regulations. By 2030, there will be a clear choice—either own a business and have options and spare cash, or be an employee struggling even more than now. His ideal scenario: buy more businesses, make all employees shareholders through EMI schemes, so when they exit, everyone gets a payday that gets them onto the wealth ladder. Connect with Lee Smith - https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeantonysmith/ -------- Sign up to receive our weekly Scale To Win newsletter: https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com Follow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 02:03 Views on UK government's impact on business 06:58 Why Lee chose to buy into HVAC sector 08:44 Structuring deals with existing management in mind 12:28 Challenges small businesses face in scaling and compliance 14:36 Critique of UK government’s business policies 20:02 Advice for first-time business buyers 25:11 Offering employee share schemes to improve engagement 31:27 Reflection on challenges like contracting with tier one customers 35:27 Recommended books that influenced Lee’s outlook 37:46 The Fourth Turning's impact on Lee's family planning

    41 min

  8. Mar 12

    Think Big, Get Big: The Goal-Setting Strategy That Changes Everything | E362

    Work-life balance is a complete myth for founders and CEOs. The experience myth keeps people pigeonholed. Goals should force your identity change, not the other way around. Eric Partaker—McKinsey consultant turned Skype early team member turned restaurant chain founder turned CEO coach with 1.2M LinkedIn followers—breaks down why everything you've been told about building a successful career and company is backwards. In this episode, Eric shares why he went from world's worst procrastinator (bought books in 2000, didn't read them until 2010) to super producer, why he lost everything when his restaurant chain went up in smoke during COVID, and why that experience made him a better coach. He also unpacks the cultural differences between US optimism, UK scepticism, and Norwegian Janteloven (the law that says "you shall not think you are anything"), and why the Vikings' entrepreneurial spirit somehow disappeared from modern Norway. What you'll learn: ⚖️ Why work-life balance is a myth—it's really about work-life satisfaction 🎯 Why going for 10X goals forces identity change (not choosing identity first) 🌍 How cultural attitudes toward ambition differ: US vs UK vs Norway 📈 Why 10X is easier than 10%—and how it fundamentally changes thinking 🏅 Why we don't question Olympic athletes chasing gold medals but judge business people 💼 Why star performers deliver 800% more output than average in complex roles Book recommendations: The Now Habit - Neil Fiore - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-Habit-Overcoming-Procrastination-Guilt-Free/dp/1585425524 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Lencioni/dp/0787960756 Built to Last - Jim Collins & Jerry Porras - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Built-Last-Successful-Visionary-Essentials/dp/0060516402 About the Guest: Eric Partaker is a CEO coach, mentor, and peak performance expert who built a 1.2M+ following on LinkedIn over the last couple of years despite being 50 years old and "not a social media person" three years ago. His career has been a chain of massive pivots: started as a consultant at McKinsey, joined the early team at Skype (back when people actually used Skype before Riverside), helped with the blitz-scaling that led to a $2-3 billion exit to eBay about 21 years ago, then did a complete pivot to build a Mexican restaurant chain called Chilango. He went from being the world's worst procrastinator (so bad he bought books on overcoming procrastination in 2000 and didn't read them until 2010) to a super producer after reading The Now Habit by Neil Fiore. He credits Five Dysfunctions of a Team for helping him optimise leadership teams (particularly around avoidance of conflict and artificial harmony) and Built to Last for optimising company performance. His current mission: helping founders and CEOs stop pursuing the myth of balance, go for 10X goals that force identity change, and just have the courage to do whatever that critical thing is they're avoiding right now. -------- Sign up to receive our weekly Scale To Win newsletter: https://subscribe.monkhouseandcompany.com Follow Dominic on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/dominicmonkhouse Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Eric's diverse career journey and background 06:02 10x goals and their impact on mindset 09:45 Cultural influences on ambition and success 12:35 Work-life balance vs. work-life satisfaction 18:01 Fascination with achievement and peak performance 22:38 Transition from McKinsey to creating a restaurant chain 28:03 Reflecting on debt and expansion mistakes 33:30 Building leadership teams and hiring strategies 38:43 Importance of reallocating resources and hiring stars 40:42 Understanding and addressing business constraints 42:28 Books that transformed Eric's personal and professional growth

    48 min
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7 Ratings

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Wide awake at 3am, wondering how your business turned from a 15-person rocket into an 80-person rollercoaster? Hit play. This show is for founder CEOs who want practical wins, not platitudes. Every fortnight, Dominic Monkhouse - who scaled two UK tech firms to £30m+ in five years (twice) - grills people who’ve actually done it: operators, battle-scarred founders, and experts who cut through noise. You’ll learn techniques that stop fires, speed up decisions, and give you time back. What you’ll get: field-tested methods that will all contribute to one of three vital goals – freeing up your time, building a leadership team that can lead without you, and installing systems that you can be sure will work. No recycled LinkedIn fluff. No crappy ‘inspiration’. Just clear actions you can run this week. Why listen now? Because growth shouldn’t mean chaos. Twelve of Dom’s clients have exited. His 2-Day-a-Week CEO Blueprint shows leaders how to make sure they spend their time doing things that ONLY they can do - not covering tasks that could be done by others. He coaches scale-ups, writes books people actually read, and asks the questions you wish investors would. If you’re stuck between “we’re onto something” and “this might kill me,” this is your edge: honest stories, hard numbers, and repeatable systems to build a business you’re proud of - without losing yourself along the way. Grab a notebook, and hit follow so the next time you’re staring at the ceiling at stupid o’clock, you’ve got a plan - and a playbook - waiting in your ears.

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