Making The Grade – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Investors typically expect 8 out of 10 of the businesses they invest in to fail.

Less than 1 in 100 start-ups manage to achieve funding beyond Series D or an exit.

These humbling stats often leave founders less than optimistic. 😩

So, how can building a successful business feel less like an uphill battle?

And how can you scale a business with actual options to exit in 2025, and beyond?

💥 To help us get answers to all of the above questions, and more, we’re excited to share the upcoming launch of our brand new podcast: Making The Grade.

Every Thursday, you’ll be able to tune in and hear first-hand experiences from Founders, Investors and senior Go-To-Market Leaders as we explore the factors driving the decline in graduation rates.

But we won’t just be discussing the obvious problems at hand.

You’ll be leaving every episode with actionable insights, expert advice and hopefully, feeling a little bit more optimistic about thriving in a competitive market and scaling more wisely.

Our first episode will launch next Thursday, July 31st. But until then, make sure you tune into our season trailer to get a preview of some of the fascinating conversations we had.

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week! 

What does it really take to graduate from seed to exit in today’s start-up climate?

In our first episode of our Making the Grade Podcast, we’re joined by serial founder and currently CEO of ESG Book, Justin Fitzpatrick, to unpack the real story behind startup growth. 

From the messy pivots, M&A strategies, co-founder dynamics, and what it really looks like when you fall off the VC track, Justin shares his first-hand experience of growing and exiting multiple businesses, and leaves us with plenty of practical advice to help you scale more wisely.

Episode Chapters: 

02:04 - Justin’s career journey as a serial entrepreneur 

04:55 - From scaling pains to pivoting and product-market-fit reality checks 

09:42 -  Finding the right co-founder 

15:15 - Why poor win rates aren’t always a sales problem 

17:34 - Building resilience as a CEO 

21:41 - M&A lessons from the trenches & what makes an acquisition work 

28:40 - Falling off the VC Track & finding alternatives 

31:42 -  What founders actually need to graduate to the next round 

33:54 - Why sustainable growth is smarter growth

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week! 

While VC news often dominates the headlines, more often than not, the VC route isn’t the best fit for a business. 

So, what do you do if venture capital isn’t the right path for your start-up?

In today’s Making The Grade episode, we’re unpacking the evolving world of start-up funding and why VC might not be the best fit for every founder or business. 

To help us do that, we’re joined by Eyal Malinger and Oren Peleg, the co-founders of Resurge Growth Partners - a new kind of investment firm pioneering a model they call venture equity, blending the best of venture capital and private equity to better serve ambitious, capital-efficient founders. 

From investor dynamics and growth expectations to exit strategies and go-to-market missteps, we’ll be challenging the traditional narrative and exploring what alternative paths to scale could look like in 2025 and beyond. 

Episode Chapters: 

01:30 - From PE & Consulting to building a new investment model

03:30 - The gap between VC expectations and real-world business performance  

05:10 - Introducing Venture Equity & the huge opportunity it presents 

10:30 - Funding beyond VC & the silent deal killers 

18:10 - Lazy marketing, broken models & other founder mistakes 

21:30 - The metrics that really matter 

30:00 - What it takes to be a successful early-stage founder & what’s really at stake 

34:15 - Where to start if you want a successful exit in 2025 

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week! 

Too many founders stay in the CEO seat for too long. Often to the detriment of their company, their teams and themselves. 

It’s not about giving up. It’s about knowing when you are no longer the best person to lead the business into its next chapter. 

One example of a founder who knew the time was right and made that leap with clarity and intention is today’s Making The Grade guest, Robert Newry. 

After 11 years as CEO of Arctic Shores, Robert chose to step aside and take on a brand new role as Chief Explorer, allowing him to focus on the things that energise him most: thought leadership, customer evangelism and rethinking how we assess human potential. 

In this conversation, we explore what it really takes to scale a venture-backed company sustainably, and why sometimes the boldest thing a Founder can do is to let go. 

Whether you’re a founder thinking about what’s next for you, or you’re currently going through the trenches, fundraising, this episode is packed with lessons on resilience, reinvention and scaling wisely. 

Episode Chapters:

01:30 - Robert’s early failures and family roots in entrepreneurship

03:50 - Learning from failure: Hong Kong’s startup mindset

05:30 - The origin story behind Arctic Shores

08:10 - Rethinking psychometrics: uncovering potential beyond the CV

13:00 - Designing AI-resilient hiring tools in the age of ChatGPT

18:00 - Why stepping down as CEO wasn’t a failure — but a growth move

21:00 - Creating the role of Chief Explorer & transitioning out of CEO

36:00 - What founders need to stop doing when they raise capital

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week! 

Too many startups hire ahead of demand, invest in the wrong leaders, or scale sales without a clear ICP - all mistakes that can cost millions and kill momentum.

Today’s Making The Grade guest knows exactly how to avoid those pitfalls.

We’re joined by James Bagan, Investor at Frog Capital, Chair and GTM advisor for investors. 

James has been on both sides of the scaling journey. He’s built world-class sales functions, turned around broken go-to-market engines, and led multiple exits. 

In this episode, James joins Tom to unpack what it really takes to build a GTM engine that lasts. From the shift to capital-efficient growth, to why RevOps is the unsung hero of scaling, to the leadership traits VCs should be hiring for, but so often overlook.

Whether you’re a founder, CRO, or investor, you’ll walk away from this conversation with practical strategies to help you scale sustainably and avoid the most expensive mistakes. 

Episode Chapters:

01:30 - James’ unconventional path to multiple exits

05:30 - How GTM has changed: the shift from growth at all costs to sustainable growth

08:40 -  The 3 biggest mistakes founders make when building GTM teams

14:30 - Why RevOps is the ultimate GTM alignment tool (and when to hire them)

19:40 - Finding the right fit: fractional vs full-time RevOps teams 

22:30 - The underrated traits of top GTM leaders in 2025

29:30 - Leadership stage-fit: the danger of hiring for tomorrow’s problems instead of today’s

35:20 - The number 1 skill every commercial leader must have (hint: it’s not closing deals)

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week! 

US expansion is one of the fastest ways for a venture-backed SaaS company to accelerate growth…or blow up months of momentum, burn a painful chunk of cash, and leave a trail of “scar tissue” behind.

In this Making the Grade episode, Tom Glason sits down with Natalie Johnson, a seasoned revenue leader who’s lived the 1 to 10 million ARR journey multiple times - across the UK and the US - and now leads revenue at one of Europe’s fastest-scaling AI companies, AutogenAI.

In this episode, Natalie unpacks what actually works when expanding into the US, why outbound still works and why AI is not an IT rollout but an organisational transformation that rewires how modern revenue teams operate. 

If you’re scaling through the messy middle and considering the US leap, this one’s packed with battle-tested guidance you can apply immediately.

📚 Episode Chapters

01:15 - Lessons from two scaling journeys 
03:12 - US expansion mistakes 
16:26 - Navigating the messy middle 
26:08 - Autogen AI’s Growth Engine  
30:46 - Outbound strategies that actually work 
35:34 - Hiring Revenue Leaders in 2026

⛳ Mentioned in today’s episode: 

• AutogenAI: https://autogenai.com/uk/
• Glyphic: https://www.glyphic.ai/

🎧 Continue listening… 

Make sure you listen to Season 1 Sean Williams - From $60m exit to building an er-defining AI company

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week! 

Welcome back to Season 2 of Making The Grade. 

This season, we’re digging into what it really takes to scale beyond early traction… the ups and downs of the journey from £1 million to £10 million in ARR… and why so many startups are struggling to make that leap.

Each week, we're joined by experienced Founders, Investors, and senior Go-To-Market leaders to unpack the lessons, trade-offs, and decisions that define the £1m to £10m stage.

We’ll explore how to build effective GTM functions and hire truly stage-fit talent, how AI is reshaping go-to-market, what changes we can expect to see in 2026, and what capital-efficient scaling actually looks like in practice.

All with one core question in mind:

How do you build an enduring B2B SaaS business that scales sustainably, stays capital-efficient, and creates real exit optionality?

Expect honest conversations, hard-won insights, and practical advice you can apply straight away, because scaling can be done differently.

Our first episode of the new season will be dropping on Thursday, February 5th, so make sure you hit subscribe to be notified of when it's ready! 

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week! 

What does it really take to make the leap from CMO to CRO and to build a revenue function that actually scales?

In the final episode of Season 1, Tom is joined by Florence Broderick, CRO at General Index, to unpack what it actually takes to make the transition to CRO and what founders should know before hiring their first CRO. 

Florence shares candid insights from her transition to CRO, why she believes marketing leaders can make exceptional CROs, and how she’s balancing growth with capital efficiency in 2025 and beyond. 

If you’re a founder or GTM leader navigating growth right now, you won’t want to miss this episode. 

Episode Chapters

02:30 - Flo’s career journey from dreams of big corporates to CRO 

08:30 - Managing imposter syndrome in a new role 

14:30 - Building her CRO playbook 

22:10 - What every CRO should nail in their first 90 days 

27:30 - Why ‘rockstar CVs’ often fail 

31:45 - The CRO skills that matter most in 2025 

38:10 - AI that uses the needle & metrics that matter 

46:50 - Getting more women into sales

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week! 

What do you think of when you hear ‘exited Founder’? 

Someone travelling the world or sitting on a remote island sipping cocktails? 

Today’s Making The Grade guest may change your perspective… 

We’re joined by Sean Williams, Co-Founder & CEO of AutogenAI, the AI bid writing software. Before AutogenAI, Sean co-founded Corndell Ltd, which he grew from scratch to 350 people and sold to THI Holdings for $60m. 

In this episode, Sean discusses how to build with an exit in mind, why you need to keep control while fundraising and why US expansion isn’t as easy as some Founders might think. 

Episode Chapters

02:18 - From bid writer to CEO - Sean’s career journey 

08:40 - Post-exit reality & why Sean decided to jump back in the Founder seat

14:36 - Selling a business during Covid 

18:57 - More about AutogenAI and the opportunity 

23:12 - Fundraising without losing control 

27:26 - US expansion do’s & don’ts  

29:33 - GTM in the AI-era - what actually works 

33:43 - Hiring GTM leaders 

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week! 

In the start-up ecosystem, there are a few truths that never change - scaling is harder than it looks, over-hiring can kill momentum, and knowing when to hand over the CEO reins might be the hardest call of all. 

In this episode,Ed Barltett, Founder & CEO of Hicomply, unpacks how to successfully scale with a lean team and build a GTM engine that actually produces an intent-led pipeline. 

Ed breaks down why stage-fit leadership beats vanity headcount and how to plan a smooth CEO transition when the time is right. 

If you’re a founder starting to think about what might be next for you, then this is the perfect episode to listen to.

Episode Chapters

02:02 - Ed’s path into Tech 
10:40 - Finding your niche in a $500B market 
12:44 - Comparing the UK and US markets 
17:02 - Staying lean & focusing on speed of execution 
19:10 - Building a realistic GTM stack in an AI-driven world 
31:58 - Founder transition & handing over the CEO reins 
36:47 - Exit prep 101 in 2025 and beyond

Enjoyed today's episode of Making The Grade? 

If you took something valuable from the episode, we'd love for you to... 

✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform. 
✔️ Share your ideas or guest suggestions with us at podcast@scalewise.com
✔️ Stay in the loop with the latest from Making The Grade and ScaleWise by following us on LinkedIn or YouTube. 

See you again next week!