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)

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✔️ Leave us a rating and review on your favourite podcast platform.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!