Inflexion Point

A true entrepreneur, Mark Neale always knew he wanted to build his own business. After a few early ventures in retail, he founded Mountain Warehouse in 1997. From opening the first store in Swindon almost 30 years ago, Mark has led the company through nearly three decades of change - navigating the rise of e-commerce, international expansion and the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic. In this episode of Inflexion Point, Mark joins Inflexion Partner Tim Smallbone, to share the journey from those early days to becoming a global outdoor retail brand, reflecting on the pivotal moments, lessons learned, and what it really takes to scale a business.

Ocorian, a leading corporate, fund, and trust administration business, has undergone a remarkable transformation since partnering with Inflexion in 2016. In this episode of Inflexion Point, Ocorian CEO Chantal Free and Inflexion's Managing Partner Flor Kassai delve into the combination of organic and inorganic growth that has fuelled Ocorian's success, including a strategy-led M&A programme and the transformational acquisition of Estera, which doubled the size of the business overnight. They also explore Ocorian's relentless focus on integrating acquisitions, its commitment to being a client-led firm, and its ambitious plans to expand its global footprint into the US market.

Alex Dacre is Founder of Marlowe plc and CEO of Inflexion carved-out GRC, a leading governance, risk, and compliance tech-enabled services and software business. In this episode, Tim speaks with Alex and Inflexion Partner Isabelle Pagnotta about how Alex identified a significant gap in the regulatory market, the pivotal role of taking GRC private in scaling the business and what the future holds and the opportunities presented by AI.

In this episode, Elliot Isaacs, founder of skincare business Medik8, speaks to Tim Smallbone about forming the idea for the business in the back of his dad's pharmacy, the importance of a scientific and results-led approach, the development of their flagship product; crystal retinal, and what really sets Medik8 apart from the competition.

dss+ is a global business headquartered in Switzerland that supports clients to reduce risk, transform culture, maximise impact and improve sustainability by operating more responsibly. In the first episode of the second series of Inflexion point, Tim Smallbone speaks with Davide Vassallo, dss+ CEO, and Inflexion Partner and Head of Business Services, Isabelle Pagnotta, about the key to making an impact and how that can ultimately save lives. 

Now celebrating its 31st year, Aspen has grown from a small, local manufacturer of condensate removal pumps, to a company with close to 400 employees worldwide and selling to over 100 countries. In this episode, Tim and CEO Adrian Thompson delve into the importance of having a high-quality and reliable product, the challenges and opportunities of international expansion, lessons learnt from ownership changes, why incentivising your team and empowering individuals is crucial, and most importantly why Inflexion liked the business so much - it invested twice!

Xtrac is recognised as the world's leading designer and manufacturer of transmission systems, and its impressive client base includes virtually all of the world's top motorsport teams. In this episode, Xtrac CEO Adrian Moore speaks to Tim Smallbone about the transformation he has seen the business go through since he joined in 1992, in particular the recent shift to more focus on hybrid and electric vehicles, building their new manufacturing facility and strengthening their product offering to include high-performance automotives.

Radius has grown from one man in an office above a hairdressers near Crewe, to employing 3000 people across 18 countries and making £4bn revenue. In this episode, Tim Smallbone speaks to Radius Founder and Chair Bill Holmes, and Inflexion Partner David Whileman, about Radius' story to date, the importance of taking your employees on the journey with you, and how the business is preparing to support its customers through the energy transition.

In eight years, The Goat Agency has grown from three guys with a big idea to the world's leading influencer marketing agency. In this episode, Tim speaks with Arron Shepherd, Goat co-founder, and Tom Pemberton, Inflexion Partner, about how and why Goat was founded, the future of advertising for brands, and how innovative use of data has ultimately set Goat apart from the competition.

Pet supplement business Lintbells had been growing successfully in the UK for over 10 years when it decided to take its products across the pond and take on the notoriously tricky US market. In this episode, Tim speaks with Dr. John Howie, Lintbells co-founder, and Fiona Hope, Lintbells CEO, about why they decided to try and crack the US, the challenge of doing this during a global pandemic, and the lessons they learned along the way.

The Scott Dunn story is one of agility and resilience; how moving fast and making smart decisions in challenging times set the business up for long term success. 

Chambers is the go-to legal directory that sat on the desk of almost every lawyer in the land. In this episode, we explore how a digital transformation was the key to unlocking its continued success.

In the first episode we speak to the founders of Inflexion, John Hartz and Simon Turner about the key moments in their journey that made the company the success it is today.

Welcome to the new podcast from Inflexion, exploring those crucial moments in a company's journey that change the trajectory of success.     ee85208335ec661b6dbc76ff1c9d98857e944338