Description

This week on ScaleUp Radio we hear from two founders whose journeys couldn't be more different, yet both offer powerful lessons for business owners.

On one side, Tom Hill, founder of Collina MEP, who took a bold leap from corporate life to build a boutique mechanical and electrical consultancy rooted in trust and long-term client relationships.
On the other, Sarah Turner, founder of Little Beau Sheep, who turned redundancy and creativity into a flourishing craft-based brand that champions British wool and has captured the imagination of customers worldwide.

Their stories challenge us to ask: does scaling come from decisive strategic leaps, or from organic growth and resourceful problem-solving?

Meet the Guests

Tom Hill – The Calculated Risk-Taker

• Left a senior regional director role to start his own consultancy almost overnight.
• Built Collina MEP as a boutique alternative to big firms, where every client feels their project matters most.
• Learned the hard way about over-promising, describing his first two years as "lonely and tiring."
• Broke free from the founder's trap by hiring permanent staff, which he calls "the best decision I ever made."
• Obsessed with culture, recruiting for personality and fit before skills to ensure a close-knit, approachable team.

Sarah Turner – The Creative Industry Ambassador

• Discovered felting after redundancy and turned a personal solution into Little Beau Sheep.
• First Etsy sale led to her post office staff becoming her first customer base.
• Defines her brand around provenance, proudly using 100% British wool to support farmers.
• Scaling turning point came when a BBC Countryfile feature left her swamped, leading to outsourcing fulfilment.
• Now a Freeman of the City of London, she has literally driven sheep across London Bridge to promote her industry.
• Her long-term ambition is to make a tangible impact on the price of British wool for UK farmers.

Key Lessons for Entrepreneurs

• Find Your Niche – Both founders thrived by creating a premium brand identity that avoided competing on price.
• Delegate to Grow – Tom built a team, Sarah outsourced fulfilment. Different routes, same outcome: freeing the founder.
• Culture is Everything – Tom proves people and personality drive service-based success.
• Champion a Cause – Sarah shows how aligning business with passion can build loyalty and influence an entire industry.

Leaps vs. Organic Growth – The Big Difference

Tom's journey is a story of calculated risk, structure, and culture, creating a consultancy that competes with giants by feeling boutique and personal.
Sarah's is one of creative discovery, resilience, and industry advocacy, proving that passion and purpose can turn a craft into a brand with real impact.

This echoes findings from the BizSmart ScaleUp Challenge Report:

• 43% of ScaleUp businesses doubled turnover within three years, but only by moving beyond founder dependency.
• 31.6% headcount growth among SmartBoard® members shows the importance of building teams and systems to support scale.

Final Thoughts

Scaling a business is not about choosing between a leap or organic growth. It is about knowing when to take decisive action, when to let go, and how to build something bigger than yourself.

Listen and Learn More

🎧 Listen to the full interviews on ScaleUp Radio:
https://directory.libsyn.com/shows/view/id/scaleupradio

📅 Book a call with Kevin Brent to discuss your scaling journey:
https://c.bizsmart.co.uk/widget/bookings/kb-30

This episode was created using Artifrical Intelligence