Anton Roe: He Scaled a Team to 50 People… Then Lost Half of Them

Anton Roe thought he was doing everything right - growing fast, hitting targets, building teams. But somewhere along the way, things broke. People started leaving. The board lost confidence. And Anton had to face the kind of feedback no one wants to hear.

In this episode, he opens up about what it’s really like to lead through failure, and how those moments reshaped his approach to leadership, growth, and culture. From early days in the UK recruitment scene to launching businesses in Texas and Australia, Anton’s story is packed with honest insights for anyone navigating the messier side of growth.

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Transcript

Anton Rowe – What Losing Half a Team Taught Me About Leadership

In this episode of Fayl Tales, Loveth speaks with Anton Rowe — a recruitment leader who helped scale a UK business from 15 to 900 people across multiple countries. They talk about his unconventional start, learning to lead through failure, and what Texas, the UK, and Australia taught him about business and culture.

“It’s Anton from Matchmaker…”

Anton: I spent the first two years of my career leaving answer-phone messages saying, “Hey, it’s Anton from Matchmaker, can you call me back?” — which led to a few suspicious partners calling up wondering what kind of matchmaking I was doing!

Loveth: That’s a great icebreaker story.

Anton: It was actually a recruitment agency — just badly named. We eventually rebranded to Matchtech, but it stuck as a running joke for years.

Welcome & Guest Intro

Loveth: Welcome to Fayl Tales, the podcast that dives into the raw side of entrepreneurship. I’m Loveth, and today I’m joined by Anton Rowe, who spent 15 years helping grow a business to 900 people and launch internationally. He even spent time on the ground in Texas, learning hard lessons along the way.

Anton: Thanks for having me!

Loveth: You’ve had such an interesting journey — I’m excited to dig in.

Starting a Career Before the Internet

Anton: My recruitment career started in February 2000 — before I’d ever used the internet or sent an email. It sounds crazy now, but that was normal at the time.

I remember sending my first email, then calling the person to ask, “Did you get it?” Now our entire workday revolves around email. Back then, it was just a tool to help you do your job.

We actually had better work-life balance — you’d shut your PC at 5:30, go home, and that was the end of your workday. No smartphone, no Slack, no LinkedIn.

Loveth: That’s such a wild contrast to now.

Anton: It really is. Sometimes I think we had more balance 25 years ago than we do now.

From Cheese Factory to Recruitment

Anton: Before recruitment, I worked in a cheese factory in the UK. I was also a musician — played guitar and sang — and like most creatives, I thought maybe I could make a living from it.

Eventually I realized I probably wasn’t going to be in the top 0.1% of musicians, so I opened the newspaper (this was pre-internet) and saw a job ad for “Matchmaker.” I thought it was dating, but it was recruitment.

Loveth: And that’s how it started?

Anton: Yep. I met the founder, George Materna, at my interview. The second one went terribly — I fluffed my answers — but he called and said, “Everyone has off days, I’ll give you another shot.” That second chance changed everything.

Becoming a Top Performer & Struggling as a Manager

Anton: I was competitive and driven, so within two years I became the company’s top performer. Then they promoted me to team leader — which, in hindsight, was a mistake.

I had no management experience and probably came across as cocky. I assumed everyone was motivated like me. When people resigned, I took it personally and reacted badly.

But I had great mentors who coached me through that. They taught me that people leaving isn’t personal — it’s just part of business.

Learning to Lead Through Failure

Anton: That experience taught me a lot about humility and leadership. My manager, Adrian Gunn, was a huge influence — he’d give me honest feedback and keep me grounded.

It was a company growing fast — about 25% per year — so I learned a lot by simply trying to keep up. Growth forces change. You either evolve with it or get left behind.

Loveth: And sometimes it’s the hard lessons that stick.

Anton: Exactly.

Pitching a Vision — and Getting Knocked Back

Anton: After a few years, I pitched a new business unit to the board — my first real business case. They loved the plan but said, “We don’t think you have the experience yet to execute it.”

At the time, that stung. In hindsight, they were right. They hired someone senior above me and asked me to work alongside him. It was a huge growth moment.

I learned how to attract talent, sell a vision, and scale responsibly. But after a couple of years, costs were growing faster than revenue — and we had to restructure.

Scaling Fast, Cutting Back, and Turning It Around

Anton: We’d scaled too fast — opened offices too quickly, hired too many people. I had to help close two offices and let go of about 20 staff. It was one of the hardest years of my life.

We went back to basics — rebuilt the leadership team, focused on cost discipline, and realigned with the company’s culture.

It was brutal but transformative. Eventually, the business became profitable again. That turnaround remains one of my proudest career moments — and it couldn’t have happened without the failure first.

Going Global: Texas, Culture Clashes & Lessons

Anton: Then came the US chapter. Our company acquired a $60-million business with offices across Dallas, Mexico, Toronto, and Asia. I moved to Texas to help integrate it.

The culture shock was real — the Dallas office was 80% expats from London, and it felt like a transplanted UK office dropped into Texas. Very different from the collaborative, friendly “family” vibe back home.

It was more cut-throat, more sales-driven. They were making money, but there was no shared purpose. I realised that culture without clarity becomes chaos.

We eventually saw that the acquisition wasn’t as successful as we’d hoped — the market shifted from 4G to 5G, and demand disappeared. That experience taught me the importance of adaptability.

And funnily enough, one of the best lessons came from a little book called Who Moved My Cheese? — about how success can vanish if you don’t keep evolving.

Final Reflections: What 3 Countries Taught Me About Business

Anton: Working in the UK, US, and now Australia taught me that business culture changes everywhere — even between English-speaking countries.

In the US, people wanted to know your credentials first — where you studied, who you knew. In the UK, it was more about what you could deliver.

Then I came to Australia and had to unlearn the American way again. Here, it’s about relationships. You talk about your kids, coffee, the footy — and then you talk business.

Loveth: That’s such a great observation.

Anton: The biggest takeaway for me is that leadership and business success are always about people — understanding them, adapting to them, and never assuming what worked before will always work again.

Closing

Loveth: Anton, thank you so much for sharing your story — the wins, the challenges, and the lessons in between.

Anton: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Loveth: This is Fayl Tales — real stories and real lessons. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a friend and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch the full episode on YouTube and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn for behind-the-scenes clips.