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Unlocking Value
Unlocking Value is designed to give founders and owners of professional services firms more confidence when they're working toward an exit or thinking about taking on investment.
Across six episodes, our host John Howard speaks with founders, investors and advisors about the moments that define the transaction journey - how to get ready, what to expect and how to succeed.
We cover everything from value drivers and team alignment to investor expectations and life after the deal. You’ll hear from people who’ve sold their firms, taken minority investments, stayed on, exited and started again – and from those who advise or invest in firms like yours every day.
Unlocking Value
Episode 18: Olly Purnell – The Anti-Exit Strategy: Building a Consultancy Designed for Long-Term Independence
In a sector where scaling often leads to external investment or an eventual sale, what does it look like to build a consultancy that grows, stays independent and develops a long-term ownership model for its people?
Olly Purnell is the co-founder of Q5, the organisational health consultancy that has grown from a small London start-up into a global firm operating across multiple regions, all without private equity or a planned exit. Instead of organising their business around an eventual transaction, Olly and his co-founders focused on purpose, long-term stewardship and the belief that advisory is a vocation.
This episode explores the decisions that shaped the firm’s early years and the operating principles that allowed Q5 to scale with focus and consistency. Olly discusses how broadening ownership strengthened commitment across the organisation and why different firms choose different paths depending on the futures they want to build.
John and Olly examine what resilience looks like inside a consultancy. They discuss how leadership choices, cultural discipline and a clear sense of identity help boutique firms compete effectively and why the craft of advisory still matters in an AI-enabled world.
Key discussion points include:
- What it takes to build a consulting firm from zero and the early decisions that matter most
- How to scale a firm organically, without a grand plan
- Why Q5 resisted investment offers and broadened ownership among employees
- How ownership shapes culture, accountability and long-term performance
- Why independence can be a competitive advantage for boutique consultancies
- How AI and technology can elevate the consulting craft without replacing it
- Why advisory remains a vocation and what it means to build a firm designed to last
For founders, partners and leaders who want to build consultancy firms on their own terms, this conversation offers a practical blueprint for independence, culture and long-term value creation.
Host: John Howard, Partner at Garwood Growth
Guest: Olly Purnell, Managing Partner at Q5