From Startup to Strategic Exit: Scaling and Selling Saulderson Media
Services delivered
Summary
When Scaled began working with Saulderson Media in 2023, the agency was a fast-growing but unstructured £1 million business. Founder Suhit Amin had built impressive momentum in the influencer space but wanted to transform the company into a mature, scalable agency capable of competing at the top of its market.
Over the next two years, Scaled worked hand-in-hand with Suhit to rebuild the business from the ground up – reshaping everything from organisational design and sales strategy to operational systems and financial visibility. The transformation more than tripled both revenue and EBITDA and positioned the agency for a successful acquisition by Journey Further in 2025.
This was Scaled’s first full end-to-end advisory engagement – from early-stage scale-up through to exit, and it now serves as a model for how founder-led agencies can convert raw growth into lasting enterprise value.
Challenge
Key challenges included:
- No organisational design or reporting structure, making decision-making reactive.
- Limited financial clarity, with no real-time view of profitability or project performance.
- Minimal sales process, with growth driven by inbound referrals rather than a repeatable GTM plan.
- Underdeveloped client services, leading to missed opportunities for retention and expansion.
Suhit saw a clear opportunity to professionalise and scale, but needed support to turn instinctive entrepreneurial success into a structured, performance-driven business model.
Our Approach
Scaled joined as growth advisors, with Simon Penson as Non-Executive Director, providing strategic guidance. The wider team supported sales, marketing, operations and automation with both strategy and execution.
Key focus areas:
Org Design & Leadership: Built a scalable operating model with clear leadership accountability and departmental ownership.
Operations & Finance: Implemented a new management system, forecasting dashboards, BI and automated reporting to boost visibility and decision speed.
Sales & Marketing: Delivered a full go-to-market strategy, rebuilt the pipeline, introduced structured outreach, CRM and forecasting, and repositioned for larger retainer-based work.
Client Services: Recruited a Client Services Director and team to formalise account management, drive retention and revenue growth.
AI & Automation: Embedded automation across functions to cut admin and focus on higher-value activity.
Impact
- Revenue increased by 327%
- EBITDA grew by 354%
- A clear organisational structure and data-driven decision-making replaced the founder-centric model.
- The agency’s delivery and client service matured, driving stronger retention and upsell.
- The brand evolved from a small creative shop into a credible, acquisition-ready influencer marketing specialist.
Culturally, Suhit and his leadership team gained a new level of commercial confidence and control – shifting from ‘reactive hustle’ to ‘strategic scale.’
The Exit
By mid-2024, with growth sustained and systems embedded, Suhit decided the next step was to join a larger organisation to accelerate both scale and learning.
Scaled worked closely with him to plan the exit, partnering with a leading M&A brokerage to develop a buyer universe aligned with his vision, focusing on independent networks where future upside existed.
Scaled then introduced the eventual acquirer, Journey Further, and played a central role throughout negotiations, helping shape deal terms, structure, and valuation.
The result was a competitive process, achieving a significant multiple on EBITDA, and an outcome that enables Suhit and his team to continue driving growth as part of a larger group.
Scaled remains involved throughout the earn-out period, supporting the integration and growth strategy post-acquisition.
Why it matters
For Saulderson Media, this wasn’t just a growth story, it was a transformation story. What began as a small, founder-led agency became a data-driven, commercially structured business that attracted a top-tier acquirer.
For Scaled, it marks a milestone: a complete growth-to-exit journey, demonstrating how a clear operational model, scalable sales process, and focused leadership can translate directly into enterprise value.
Ready to Grow and Exit?
Scaled helps agency founders like Suhit turn growth into enterprise value — from building scalable systems to structuring exits that maximise reward.
Download our free 72-page guide: Maximising Exit Value, designed to help founders understand the levers buyers care about most.
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