Beyond 1:1 Advisory, I’ve helped businesses with:
- Exit & succession planning
- Business reviews, audits, and action plans
- Growth & revenue strategies
- Governance & leadership pathways
- Branding, marketing & customer journey design
- Technology, digital & automation projects
Case Study: GrownUps®
Building and Scaling – From Startup to Fortune 500 Exit
The Challenge
- Building an online platform for a niche 50+ audience
- Securing capital and partnerships to scale
- Managing operations through financial and economic turbulence
- Exploring exit opportunities in a volatile market
My Approach
- Identified the 50+ demographic opportunity and built NZ’s leading lifestyle platform
- Negotiated investment with Sentinel and a joint venture with Yellow Pages, later regaining control
- Managed operations hands-on through growth and GFC pressures
- Engaged in multiple negotiations with local and international media companies, gaining valuable deal experience even when transactions didn’t close
- Ultimately, after years of positioning the business for sale, navigated a lengthy diligence process — but a successful pathway to exit
Results
- GrownUps became NZ’s largest 50+ site → 200,000 monthly visitors, 150,000 members, 10,000 articles
- The site was judged NZ's Lifestyle Website of the Year
- Secured major partnerships and financial stability through downturns
- Achieved successful sale to Cigna, with smooth post-acquisition integration
- Gained first-hand, hard-earned experience in complex dealmaking, negotiation and exit readiness
What It Shows
- Real-world insight into the messy reality of exits (multiple buyer discussions, lengthy DD, holding course under pressure)
- Strategic and operational resilience through tough cycles
- Ability to increase business value and achieve a successful outcome in challenging conditions
Your business might not be GrownUps —
but the challenges are the same: growth, succession, leadership, exit.
That’s where I come in.