If you run an agency and you’re feeling burnt out, growth is slow, or you’re wondering what the next chapter looks like… this episode is for you.
Because right now, a lot of agency founders are doing good work with good clients and still finding that growth feels harder than it used to. The usual options (scale harder, sell up, or just keep pushing) don’t feel that appealing.
My guest is James Rose, Founder & CEO of Inflective Group, a ‘new breed’ holding company that takes minority stakes in established, profitable independent agencies, to build shared scale while founders retain independence. We unpack what ‘founder-friendly minority investment’ actually means, why it’s different from traditional holding companies or private equity, and what it looks like day-to-day when you’re part of a group but still running your agency.
We also delve into what’s really happening in the agency market right now - the fatigue, the longer sales cycles, the pricing pressure, and where James sees the market going over the next five years.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why the jump from £2m to £5m is a very different game
The common reasons agency growth stalls
What founders should do next when they feel stuck
Why a fractional CFO and an advisory board can offer clarity and aid faster growth
James’s view on outbound sales, sales enablement, and why founder-led sales is often the fastest lever in a tough market.
If you want more clarity and a smarter way to think about growth without losing control or compromising culture, press play.
2:48 - Defining ‘Founder-Friendly’ Investment
5:12 - Value Beyond Capital
8:11 - Current Trends and Market Fatigue
10:14 - Avoiding the ‘Shiny Object" Syndrome
15:53 - Why Growth Stalls
20:12 - Advice for ‘Stuck’ Founders
22:18 - Pitfalls of Traditional Exits
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/traceyburnett
Website: www.leadstosuccessglobal.com
Got a question? Give me a call: 0044 7877 042 804
Book a call: https://calendly.com/tracey-burnett/triage
Contact James Rose on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesroseequitypartners/ or via email, [email protected].
Check out the website:https://www.inflectivgroup.com/
James Rose is the Founder & CEO of Inflectiv Group, an investment platform backing the top 1% of independent agencies through genuinely founder-friendly minority partnerships. In the past 12 months, Inflectiv has acquired equity in four established agencies across podcast production, brand strategy, activation, and market research.
Before launching Inflectiv, James scaled multiple founder-led businesses, including leading commercial growth at a video agency from £0.5m to £7m over five years, and advising numerous high-growth companies on go-to-market strategy, productisation, and revenue acceleration.
Having seen firsthand how hard it is to scale an agency — and how difficult it can be to translate growth into meaningful enterprise value — James built Inflectiv to give founders a smarter way to grow without losing control or compromising culture.
Tracey Burnett is the founder of Leads to Success Global and host of Marketing Momentum for Agencies (Top 5% of podcasts globally, ListenNotes). With decades of experience in lead generation, marketing and sales, including client-side roles at Unilever and Barclays Bank, she helps agency and consultancy founders sharpen their positioning, build trust with the right buyers, and create more consistent pipelines.
Tracey is known for practical, straight-talking advice and deep platform expertise, particularly on LinkedIn, where she’s invested thousands of hours refining what drives attention and real sales conversations.
Her consultancy has supported marketing and communications teams across government and a wide range of agencies, including creative-led, video production and UX specialists, as well as leadership, HR and interior design consultancies.
