84. What Scale Up Founders Go Through

In this episode we discuss: What scale up founders go through. We are joined by Jonny Burch, Designer turned Founder.

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We chat about the following with Jonny Burch:

• How can rethinking the office itself completely change how people connect, collaborate, and feel part of a company?
• What happens when leaders stop managing people — and start designing environments where people can do their best work?
• Is your company culture something you say — or something you can feel when you walk through the door?
• What’s the real cost of ignoring the “unwritten rules” that shape how your team communicates and collaborates?
• How do you balance flexibility, belonging, and performance when your team is spread across screens and cities?

References

• Https://linkedin.com/in/jonnyburch
• Https://jonnyburch.com
• hackweeks.com
• toy.studio
• foundupnorth.com

Biography

Jonny Burch is a designer and exited founder exploring AI through a product lens. He scaled Deliveroo’s consumer design team and went on to found Progression, a platform focused on skills, personal development, and career growth. After raising over $6M from US and UK investors and successfully exiting in 2024, he's now taking time to reflect, supporting teams with AI adoption at hackweeks.com as well as incubating future products under his personal software practice toy.studio.

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Summary

06:30 – Maximizing time as a CEO

08:30 – Office culture and space design

10:30 – The CEO Roundtable Retreat

17:00 – Building trust as a COO and CEO

19:30 – Force multipliers and structure

21:00 – Why growth makes CEOs feel disconnected

22:30 – The SaaS Flywheel and diagnosing business health

26:30 – Delegation done right

27:30 – Becoming the CEO

30:00 – The emotional weight of leadership

31:45 – How leadership changes your brain

32:30 – The paradox of influence and isolation

33:30 – Knowing your limits

34:30 – Lessons for leaders

36:00 – Final reflections

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