Transforming a Family Business into a Global Brand

From family start-up to global brand: the Wolf Eyewear growth story.

Paul Avins sits down with CEO Tom Wolfenden to unpack the exact moves behind building a world-class sales team, scaling across borders, and keeping values intact while chasing exponential growth.

Discover how Wolf Eyewear scaled from a family business into a global brand with 2,000+ retailers. CEO Tom Wolfenden shares lessons on sales teams, culture, and scale-up strategy with Paul Avins.

What does it take to transform a family-run brand into a global scale-up with thousands of retail partners—while never losing sight of your values or community?

In this episode of the Grown Up Business Podcast, Paul Avins sits down with Tom Wolfenden, CEO of Wolf Eyewear Group, to unpack how he took over the family business and steered it towards ambitious growth, culture, and global expansion.

If you’re a CEO ready to quadruple your business, build a world-class sales team, and expand across markets without losing culture, this is your playbook.

Key Highlights

• Mindset matters: The bold shift from hustler to scale-up CEO.
• Sales engine = growth engine: Why building and leading a 17-person sales team unlocked Wolf Eyewear’s growth.
• Resilience in crisis: How they survived Covid by loaning over £500k of stock to support customers — building loyalty money can’t buy.
• Leadership at scale: How to deal with underperforming team members while protecting business culture.
• Investment in yourself = investment in the business: Why Tom doubled down on coaching and retreats to accelerate Wolf Eyewear’s expansion.

This isn’t just a story of scaling eyewear. It’s a blueprint for any ambitious CEO who wants to build a grown-up business that wins globally

About Our Guest – Tom Wolfenden

Tom Wolfenden is the CEO of Wolf Eyewear Group, a UK-based independent eyewear company stocked in over 2,000+ retailers and expanding internationally. Known for bold design and strong community values, Wolf Eyewear is a flagship example of how a family business can scale into a global brand—without losing its heart.

Resources & Links

• Connect with Tom Wolfenden on LinkedIn → Tom Wolfenden | LinkedIn
• Explore the Wolf Eyewear Group brand → UK Eyewear Brand | Wolf Eyewear for Independent Opticians
• Follow Paul Avins for scale-up insights on LinkedIn → Paul Avins | LinkedIn
• Transform your business at the Grown Up Business Retreat → The Grown Up Business Retreat 2025

Next Steps

Action now: Write down the 3 actions from this episode you’ll apply in your business over the next 72 hours.

Think bigger: Ready to build your own “grown up” business that scales globally? Explore free resources at ScaleUpCoaching.com.

Scale Up: Get actionable tips from Paul in your inbox every Saturday, Subscribe to Scale Up Saturday Newsletter

Level Up: Book a Call with Paul and Get ready to level up your business...