Ways to Wealth EP100: Retention Over Acquisition, with Leighton Wilson

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In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Leighton Wilson!

Leighton Wilson runs Ladder & Co, a performance-focused digital marketing agency based in New Zealand. After a decade in finance at ANZ working on database mining and wealth products, he transitioned through two marketing agencies before launching his own business in March 2020. Ladder & Co now helps SMEs achieve measurable growth through analytics-driven strategies.

The conversation covers entrepreneurship, wealth building, and challenges facing the New Zealand economy. Key topics include the difficulty of top-of-funnel marketing versus bottom-of-funnel conversion, why retention matters more than acquisition, and Wilson’s philosophy of doing what you say you’ll do.

They discuss investment strategies around concentration versus diversification, referencing Warren Buffett’s approach, and explore vulnerabilities in New Zealand’s property market, currency weakness, and the valuation gap for SMEs compared to international peers.

Wilson shares how he transitioned from employment to entrepreneurship during COVID-19, how referrals fuelled growth through retention-focused delivery, and his future plans including equity stakes in client businesses and treasury strategies for tax efficiency. The episode also highlights financial education gaps, property investment challenges, and the impact of the contractor economy on wealth creation.

Find out more about Ladder & Co here: www.ladderco.co.nz

Watch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here: www.eccuity.com/podcasts

#business #entrepreneurship #wealth #investing #digitalmarketing #newzealand #founders #economy