The founder’s journey – what our MD Jeremy’s learned
What motivates someone to launch their own business? For our founder/MD Jeremy Gadd, it was a ‘perfect storm’ in 2013 that gifted him the time to reflect, explore and spot a gap in the market he sensed he could fill.
Combined with more than a touch of entrepreneurial spirit, of course – well, no-one said running your own business was easy!
Jeremy with JGA’s Corrine Thomas
‘I knew it would be hard work and that didn’t bother me,’ Jeremy explains. ‘But how do you find the energy to keep going?
‘There has to be some element of the ‘evangelical’ in the founder/owner of a business. Not everyone wants to be at the top. The buck stops with you.’
Understanding the challenge of change
‘Transitioning to EO is like any major project – you have to prepare for the impact that change will have on you and your organisation’
Jeremy Gadd, JGA’s Founder and MD
Jeremy launched JGA in January 2014 and says: ‘I still get a buzz out of what I do. I’m involved in interesting and rewarding work most days.
‘Exciting, challenging, exhilarating – the last 10 years have been all three.’
The ‘gap’ he’d spotted in 2013 was that founder/owners were transitioning their companies to employee ownership (EO) but finding down the line that EO wasn’t ‘working’ as they’d assumed – that some people ‘didn’t get it’.
‘I could see clients were well served with the legal/tax aspects, but they weren’t understanding that transitioning your business to EO is a massive organisational and governance change as well,’ he explains.
‘It’s like any major project – you have to prepare for the impact that change will have on you and your organisation. Understandably, this wasn’t the main focus. We set about building JGA to meet this need.’
The unique nature of the founder’s role
Jeremy with business founders Chris Barrington Brown (Cunning Running), Neal Criscuolo (NC2) and David Sproxton (Aardman)
In the decade since, JGA has supported more than 100 clients at all stages of their EO journey, from exploring succession planning options to transition and beyond.
Through it all, Jeremy’s interest in what motivates someone to launch their own business – and how, in time, that shapes their exit strategy – has grown.
‘I still love meeting founder/owners,’ he confirms. ‘I take care to remain objective, but I can identify with their concerns and aspirations. I bring my experience and understanding of a unique role.
‘I understand why succession is something many don’t want to think about. So much of our work is about our identity, and that’s not necessarily appreciated by the exiting founder/owner.
‘Considering how they’ll spend their time after they let go of their business, involving their loved ones in the decision, is important to the employee ownership transition’s success.’
Planning his own succession
So what about Jeremy’s own succession planning at JGA?
He’d been exploring options for quite some time. However, being involved in interviewing 20-plus founder/owners and their leadership successors for ‘The Road to Succession’ research project clarified his thoughts.
JGA co-delivered ‘The Road to Succession’ with Telos Partners for the Employee Ownership Association last year.
‘It confirmed the time and effort it takes to find your successor, and that highlighted my own process as a founder/owner,’ he explains.
‘We’d been collaborating with Telos Partners for a while, we overlapped and shared similar values. Merging our two businesses just made sense – it was a no brainer.
‘I’m not retiring,’ he adds. ‘Quite the opposite! This is about growing JGA and Telos together. It’s a very exciting time.’
What 5 key things has Jeremy learned?
So what has Jeremy learned as a founder/owner that’s useful for our clients today?
Here’s what he says.
1. Trust your gut…
‘… Especially pre-transition if your succession planning includes EO. I’m kind of intuitive about the big stuff.
‘The detail will help you deliver but do the answers to the big questions come easily? If so, it’s probably the right thing to do.’
2. The best strategies fit on a single page
‘I came out of a company where a lot of time was spent creating/supporting business strategy that ended up in the second drawer down.
‘Yet at its heart a business is a very simple entity: you have a product or service you must sell for more than it costs to produce or deliver.
‘Revisit your strategy to clarify or update it, but keep it to a single page.’
3. Change evolves in different ways
‘One thing I’ve learned from employee ownership is that good change comes as a result of people reflecting, evolving and implementing their good ideas.
‘If you’re the one implementing the change, be mindful of how long it can take others to come with you.’
4. Communicate clearly – and allow enough time
‘People absorb information in different ways and at different speeds. I’ve learned to recognise that and help others recognise it too.
‘People will challenge you all the time. They’re not being difficult – they want to understand.
‘Work with it: communication should be encouraged, not dismissed. Communicate, communicate, communicate.’
5. Recognise the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want’
‘One of my biggest learns from building JGA – you can see ‘need’ but ‘want’ is the recognition that someone is able and willing to invest in your service or product.
‘Communicate in a way that enables others to understand the value you’ll add.’
Want to know more about our transition, people and governance support? Get in touch for a friendly, no-obligation chat.