74. How to grow a business fast and exit successfully | Andrew Hulbert
episodePreviously titled “74. How to Grow a Business Fast and Exit Successfully | Andrew Hulbert” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
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What were the challenges faced by Andrew Hulbert growing up?
Welcome to All About Business with me, James Reid, the podcast that covers everything about business, management, and leadership. Every episode, I sit down with different guests who have bootstrapped companies, masterminded investment models, and built a business empire. They're leaders in their field, and they're here to give you top insights and actionable advice so that you can apply their ideas to your own career or business venture. What happens after you build and sell a company for 100 million and then step away from the business world before the age of 40? Today on All About Business, I'm joined by Andrew Hulbert, founder of Pareto Facilities Management, a company he built from scratch into a 50 million pound workplace services business employing more than 500 people.
In this episode, we discuss building a business from humble beginnings, the realities of entrepreneurship, and what happens when success arrives earlier than expected. Well, today on All About Business, I'm really delighted to welcome Andrew Hulbert. Andrew is an entrepreneur and is now chair of the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management, having built and sold a facilities management company called Pareto FM, which I believe you started from your bedroom at the age of 27 and exited for the princely sum of $100 million. That's right, is it, Andrew?
How did a knife lesson impact Andrew's life and choices?
Well, that seems like a good place to start. You are well-researched. That's great.
Thank you. Makes a change. That's my job.
That's my job. But I think let's begin with your early life because I think you... You grew up on a council estate in Oxford?
Yeah, so my family units from the council estate, yeah, I think I mentioned earlier, my grandmother moved there in 1953 in a caravan with my grandfather, and they built the family unit up from there. So they started in a caravan, didn't even have a house initially, but they ran the community centre. And it was my grandmother's funeral just a couple of weeks ago, which was tremendously sad, but she was 93, so she had a fantastic life.
So what was her name?
What inspired Andrew to start his business from his bedroom?
Jean Bradley. Jean Bradley. Jean and Bill Bradley.
So they went to Oxford.
Yeah, they went to Oxford. And do you know what was really magical about that funeral? There was also a children's home on the estate at the same time. And my nan and gran, they just opened their house to that children's home. They could come and eat in there whenever they wanted to. Food's a big part of my family, which I'm sure we'll explore today. And there were three kids from the children's home at the funeral who are now in their 60s. And they were still referring to my nan, Jean, as mum and dad, because that was part of the ones that brought them up.
Why did Andrew decide to sell his business?
And I think children's homes back in the 50s and 60s probably weren't quite as progressive as they are today.
You said family unit. I feel like that's an interesting way of describing a family. In my imagination, it's a sort of compound unit.
I wouldn't say compound. What is it?
Describe this. It was obviously a central place for people to come together.
What personal changes did Andrew make after selling his business?
It was. I would sort of describe it as a mafia type group, really. I didn't want to say that.
How does that work?
What effective sales strategies did Andrew implement in his business?
What was it?
What was happening? What I mean by family unit is in my immediate family, there are around 75 people. 75? Correct. I knew I was onto something, so go on, how does this work? Well, it makes Christmas Day a complete nightmare. 75?
What advice does Andrew have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Yeah, no one has a living room big enough to do it. In my family, everyone lives close by, so everyone's within, say, 10 minutes drive of each other. And when I was 11 and smoking for the first time, even before mobile phones and everything, my mum knew about it before I'd even got home, because someone had seen me who'd spoken to someone who'd told her before I got back, and I got a clip round the ear with my Marlboro Gold in my pocket at the age of 11. But yeah, no, what I mean by family unit is a really close group of family members that all looked out for each other. And every Sunday we would get together and eat together.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What were the challenges faced by Andrew Hulbert growing up?
0:00–1:29
2
How did a knife lesson impact Andrew's life and choices?
1:29–2:07
3
What inspired Andrew to start his business from his bedroom?
2:07–2:36
4
Why did Andrew decide to sell his business?
2:36–2:56
5
What personal changes did Andrew make after selling his business?
2:56–3:03
6
What effective sales strategies did Andrew implement in his business?
3:03–3:17
7
What advice does Andrew have for aspiring entrepreneurs?
3:17–4:07
8
How does Andrew define success beyond financial outcomes?
4:07–59:45
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from James Reed: all about business
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