Guy Blaskey: How to scale smart, lessons from a £30M exit

Starting a business is a huge effort, but scaling it to new heights takes a great deal of skill. So, I wanted to hear from a serial founder who has not only grown and scaled a multi-million-pound business, but also decided to start from scratch and do it again.

Guy Blaskey founded healthy pet food business Pooch & Mutt in 2007. Having scaled it to £30 million in sales, he sold the business in 2023 for £11.5 million. Since then, Guy has founded Detrash to upcycle waste products into high quality watches.  

Keep listening to hear Guy’s advice on what he learnt about a sales strategy, selling a business & why laying the operational foundations is one of the most important things you can do. 

Guy’s advice: 

• Think about how you can do things differently
• Don’t spend too long on your business plan; get going and make a plan afterwards
• If you need a retailer, remember it’s less about the product (and less about you) and more about what makes your buyer’s life easy: filling a gap in their range, price point etc.  Think about them
• Always think about your customer and how you can help them achieve a result
• It takes time and rigour - and some failures - to get everything right and become a strong business
• You need a strong understanding of the finances; it’s not just about the brand
• Budget properly; predict sales and follow through
• Don’t overfund early on; if you start small you can track the money and see what works and what doesn’t
• Produce the product and get going with a small budget before considering looking for VC
• Marketing and distribution channels are quite as important as the product
• Work on your business rather than in your business; in other words, delegate the knowables

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Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2025 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.  Email us at [e-mail] or DM us on instagram @fallowfieldmason.

FF&M recommends:  
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Zencastr for recording remotely 

MUSIC CREDIT Funk Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod.  Link &  Licence

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