While the Unusual Group builds the Service as Software engines of tomorrow, Succeed is the high performance pit crew that ensures those engines cross the finish line with a record breaking valuation.
Growth is something every founder obsesses over, but if it’s all still founder-led, the pressure grows and the options don’t. Agency owners can find themselves enjoying agency life, and then reaching a time where they would like to exit. Without the right structure in place, the risk is too high for a buyer, and the founder finds themselves with limited options.
With a staggering failure rate in the M&A space, where deals frequently collapse under the weight of poor due diligence or misaligned cultures, Succeed was built to tilt the scales back in the founder’s favour.
In a sit down with Ali Newton-Temperley, COO and Partner at Succeed, she discusses how they support agencies beyond the distress sale narrative and why Unusual Group is futureproofing agency success.
Ali, why does the market need Succeed specifically for agency and creator M&A deals, rather than a traditional brokerage?
Most M&A firms treat agencies like spreadsheets. They look at the numbers, slap on a generic multiple, and hope for the best. But creative agencies are people businesses, disguised as financial assets.
I’ve lived this from the inside.
I progressed quickly in my first agency, from sales and account management to Head of Sales within twelve months. I was tasked with building the first sales team to free the founder to focus on M&A. We built the team, released him from the founder-sales trap and I stepped into the Commercial Director role as we grew the agency to 80+ people. From there, I founded The Agency Growth Pad to help other agencies scale, and wrote Agency Exits, distilling lessons from founders who had successfully sold their agencies.
That experience taught me something traditional brokers miss: the value isn’t just in the EBITDA. It’s in the systems, the IP, and the way the business operates without you.
Succeed doesn’t just sell your agency. We help you build it for a high value exit, and match you with the buyers that will fit both culturally and financially.
You often hear about the human factor in M&A. Why is that so critical to the Succeed philosophy?
In my experience doubling agencies to 80+ staff and authoring Agency Exits, I’ve seen that even the most seamless processes will seize up if the culture is fractured. Building and scaling an agency isn’t an easy feat, and while founders give everything to their business, many struggle to quantify its true value or recognise the right moment to let go. M&A is an incredibly emotional journey. For a lot of founders, they’re selling their ‘baby.’ If we don’t address the human element of a transition (preparing you mentally for life after the exit) the deal often falls apart.
Agencies scale with Unusual Group before coming to Succeed. Unusual uses an 86 point Scale to Sale methodology to set founders up for Success before sale. Without giving away the secret sauce, what are the pillars of that methodology?
It’s proprietary for a reason, but it’s essentially structured into eight distinct sections. We look at everything from Sales Ops to AI Tech Enablement. A huge part of it is IP Generation, helping a service business document its ‘unique way’ of working, so it becomes a defensible multiplier.
When you put the right systems, people, and revenue model in place, you free the founder and the business starts scaling the way it always should have. This work reduces the risk to a buyer, and that’s how they value your business. Less risk, means a better deal.
We also look for the widening gap in the market. As we see in our work with Unusual Group, AI native agencies are operating 12-15% more profitably. At Succeed, we ensure those software-like margins are reflected in the final exit price.
To wrap up, if a founder is reading this and thinking about selling their business in the next 12 to 24 months, what is the very first thing they should do?
They need to know their starting line. You can’t map a route to an eight figure exit if you don’t have an objective, cold-hard look at what your business is worth today, and more importantly, why it’s worth that.
Often the biggest regret a founder can have is wishing that they had started preparing their business for exit sooner. Whether the intention is to sell now, in 5 years, or never, preparing for an exit reduces risk. That builds value for a buyer, and helps the founder sleep at night.
Don’t leave your exit to chance.
Whether you are looking to sell now or simply want to benchmark your progress against our 86 point methodology, get a professional perspective on your agency’s value.
About Succeed
Succeed is modern M&A for founder-led, digital-first businesses in creative, marketing & growth, MarTech/SaaS, and the creator economy. The Succeed team has built, scaled and exited their own businesses, providing them with unique insights. They understand that every move represents years of dedication, the livelihoods of a team, a founder’s professional reputation, and the foundation of their next chapter.
