SaaS ScaleUps: Pearls of Wisdom from Entrepreneurs

James Bennet MBE is a corporate advisor supporting The Kings Trust, an entrepreneur, a ScaleUp Group Partner and former EY partner. In this episode John and James unpack the realities ofpartnering with large organisations. While many founders aspire to collaborate with big brands, James explains that these relationships are often slower and more complex than expected. Success starts with understan...

Paddy MccGwire is Senior Partner at Silverpeak with over 30 years’ experience of representing European growth technology businesses on M&A and financing. He’s also a Partner at ScaleUp Group. Tune into this episode as Paddy and John explore what truly drives long-term success in tech businesses, drawing on Paddy’s experience as an investor, adviser and entrepreneur. Central to the discussion i...

Mike Reid is Founder and Senior Partner at Frog Capital, anda Partner with ScaleUp Group. In this episode, Mike and John explore what it takes toscale a technology business successfully. They highlight that growth is driven less by product and more by people, with the quality of the senior leadership team being the single biggest factor. Founders must hire ahead of the curve, recognise when roles...

Sean Finnan is a Portfolio Non-Exec, Leadershipcoach, Investor and Partner at ScaleUp Group . A former Chairman at ActiveOps and Avvio , he also held senior leadership positions at IBM , HP and EDS . In this episode, Sean joins John to share insights fromleading both global enterprises and high-growth SMEs. Sean frames scaling as a systems challenge: spanning market, product, and especially people...

Adam Hale holds several board & advisory roles aroundPeople & Technology. He’s a Partner at ScaleUp Group and the former CEO at Fairsail, sold to Sage in 2017 for £115 million (23x return in 3.5 years). In this episode, John and Adam explore his journey throughtechnology leadership, entrepreneurship, and scaling SaaS businesses. Adam reflects on the lessons learned from helping grow Clue S...

In this insightful podcast episode, John O’Connell, Founder& Chairman of ScaleUp Group, shares the most common mistakes tech entrepreneurs make when raising Series A funding (£3m–£10m). Drawing on decades of experience as both an entrepreneur and investor, John O’Connell shares practical advice on how founders can prepare for the rigorous demands of fundraising, emphasising the importance of a...

Duane Jackson is a serial entrepreneur and tech founder ofB2B SaaS businesses, including Sodium, Staffology and KashFlow. In this candid conversation, Duane shares his remarkablejourney with John, from challenging beginnings in children’s homes and overcoming adversity, including time spent in prison, to building and selling successful technology businesses. He reflects on the pivotal role of supp...

Giles Fraser is the Co-Founder of leading communications andPR agency, Brands2Life, representing over 100 tech and health companies in Europe and the US. In this episode, John and Giles chat about the evolution oftech communications and what it takes to build standout brands in a competitive European market. Giles shares how he launched the agency during the dot-com boom with a focus on narrative...

Michael Tobin CBE is a serial technology entrepreneur & pioneer with over 40 years’ experience in the telecoms & technology sector. In this episode, John and Michael explore leadership,resilience, and navigating change in today’s evolving business world. He also shares the personal drive behind his success, his philanthropic challenges such as running 40 marathons in 40 days and trekking t...

From investor prep to post-deal growth—lessons in trust,timing, and scaling smart. Adam de Courcy Ling is the Executive Chairman at Blackdot Solutions - the UK technology company behind Videris, the most powerful investigations software for fighting serious, organised and economic crimes. An experienced software sector investor and director, Adam was an investor and director in fintech software ve...

Martin Neale , is CEO and co-founder of ICS.AI , a company dedicated to revolutionising public sector services through innovative AI solutions. Having bootstrapped ICS.AI with his pension, Martin took abold personal leap to realise his vision of AI’s transformative potential. Recently recognised in Parliament as a Leader in Public Sector AI Innovation, ICS.AI is pioneering conversational AI as the...

David Cocks  co-founded  CloudTrade  in 2009 and managed the company as CEO from day one. He grew CloudTrade into a global provider of intelligent data capture and document automation services, delivered by its own patented, machine-learning technology. David shares some incredible insight, tips and advice for fellow entrepreneurs. David dives deep into the realities of startup life, from not payi...

Matthew Elson   acquired  Evotix  (a health, safety and sustainability SaaS business) in 2011 and sold the business in 2023. He remains CEO, where he has led the company through commercial dispute, going from 10 to 150 staff, international expansion, growth funding, pricing strategies and much more. Today, Evotix is the leading player in its space in the UK and Ireland. Throughout this incredible...

Stuart Clarke  is the CEO of  Blackdot Solutions  – the UK technology company behind Videris, the most powerful investigations software for fighting serious, organised and economic crimes. A globally respected expert in investigations and cyber security, Stuart brings extensive experience in business leadership, consultancy, and operational intelligence. Blackdot’s mission is to empower investigat...

Our guest –  Frank Reeves , a distinguished entrepreneur and innovator in the travel technology sector, best known for his role as the co-founder and CEO of the bootstrapped travel tech firm, Avvio.com, from 2002 to 2022. Frank has a powerful story and some memorable points emerged from their conversation, which every self-respecting tech entrepreneur should heed. Frank recalls one of his biggest...

Simon Black is the Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officerof Lexical Labs, the company behind Tiro —the world’s leading AI-powered contract review software. With 25 years at a major law firm, primarily in Asia, Simonloved negotiating deals but grew frustrated with inefficiencies that wasted time and resources. Determined to drive change, he champions AI’s role in handling repetitive tasks, allowin...

Greg Wildisen is the founder and CEO of Panoram, a leadingGenAI software specialist for business and legal sectors. Panoram’s mission is to develop cutting-edge GenAI-powered solutions that enhance efficiency, ensure compliance, and drive profitability. By transforming how law firms and corporate legal departments operate, Panoram empowers them to deliver expertise seamlessly—anytime, anywhere. In...

David Williams  is the founder and CEO of  KAI Conversations , the industry-leading Conversational Intelligence (CI) platform which uses AI to analyse and reveal the impact of human conversations, providing real-time, actionable insights that drive better outcomes in pharma and healthcare.  David has founded, invested in, built and sold consulting and SaaS technology businesses in the customer man...