If I were to describe Neal Gandhi in a sentence, I would say that he doesn’t rest on his laurels. He co-founded his first company at the age of 21 and sold it for £37M. Most people would have retired, but he then co-founded and sold another business, and then another one — this time for £72M.
But he had energy for more. In 2016 Neal founded TPXimpact that he took public and grew to £90M in revenue in only five years, including 16 acquisitions along the way.
Yet, after five years of hyper-growth and million-profit months, his chair asked him to step down as a CEO. In Neal’s words,
“ I came away shell shocked, came home afterwards, sat at home thinking, Oh, wow. I'm not going to be running this thing that I created.”
In this episode, Neal and I discuss his entrepreneurial journey, the reasons his board suggested he steps down despite achieving incredible growth at TPXimpact and what he would have done differently with a benefit of hindsight.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
01:29 Neal Gandhi's Entrepreneurial Journey
05:36 Stepping Down as CEO
09:17 Navigating the CEO Transition
14:35 Running a Business in Hyper-Growth Mode
16:57 "Honestly, It Was a Surprise"
22:49 Choosing a Successor
25:54 Do CEOs Have to Step Down?
28:52 What Could Have Gone Differently?
38:47 Transition to New Leadership
41:50 Next Steps
45:18 Advice for Founders and CEOs
50:14 Advice for Boards
55:28 Public vs. Private Company CEO Succession
58:48 Final Reflections
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