Transitioning & scaling an employee-owned business - with James Leavesley

How do you take over from agency founders and scale the business without losing trust, culture or momentum?

James Leavesley is CEO of Torchbox, the digital agency for innovative nonprofits. He leads a 110-person team, having taken over as the agency transitioned to employee ownership.

In this episode, James shares how he:

• Scaled Torchbox from 50 to 110 people by changing how decisions are made, owned and communicated
• Replaced intuitive founder-style leadership with clear processes, without slowing the business down
• Took over from long-standing founders without trying to replace them or their personalities
• Shifted from protecting people in internal comms to being transparent with context, preventing speculation and unhelpful stories filling the gaps
• Keeps teams aligned using practical frameworks like the SCARF model and the Vital Few, even in a fully remote business
• Protects innovation from BAU through a dedicated innovation lab, close links to delivery teams and a client co-funding model

James offers a candid look at what really changes once an agency moves beyond founder-led scale, and what it takes to keep the business healthy as it grows.