Episode 166: The PE Playbook for Consultancy Growth

You’re running a consultancy doing between £5m and £30m. You’re winning work. You’re growing. And somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re asking a question you probably haven’t said out loud yet: is what I’m building actually scalable? In this episode Nick Synnott is joined by Ravi Monteiro, Partner at Growth Capital Partners, to answer that question. GCP has backed 54 specialist businesses over 26 years. Ravi has seen what separates the consultancies that scale well from the ones that just get bigger and harder to run. He’s seen positioning decisions that doubled a firm’s value. He’s seen acquisitions that destroyed it. And he’s seen businesses go from 70 to 400 people by doing something most founders wouldn’t think to try. This episode is built around the three decisions that have the biggest impact on whether a consultancy grows into something genuinely valuable: where you focus, who you hire, and how you think about growth beyond your existing client base. What we cover: - Positioning and where to place your bets - Hiring for growth, including when experience isn’t the most important thing - Organic vs inorganic growth and how to make acquisitions actually work - What to do now if PE could ever be part of your future If you are purely focused on growing revenue and building a stronger business, this conversation will give you a sharper view of how the best firms do it. If you have one eye on investment, acquisition, or an eventual exit, you will leave with a clearer picture of what that path actually requires and what to do about it now. Enjoy the show!