Two operators. One partnership.
Scale With was founded by John Welbourn and James Wakely in 2025. Between them, they cover the complete picture of what it takes to build and run a product business - revenue and growth on one side, operations and commercial infrastructure on the other.
They first worked together over a decade ago at a UK consumer electronics and domestic appliances manufacturer. John was driving revenue and market presence. James was keeping the operations running and the numbers honest. It worked then for the same reason it works now: the two sides of the business were genuinely covered, not just nominally represented.
Scale With is the business they built from that dynamic.
Why we do this.
Most agencies sell hours. Most consultants sell frameworks. We built Scale With to sell outcomes - because that is what actually matters to a brand trying to grow.
We started this business because we kept seeing the same pattern: good products, real demand, and a growth plan that stalled - not because the opportunity wasn't real, but because nobody with the right experience was close enough to the work to make it happen. That gap is what we fill. Not advice from a distance, but the commercial and operational capability a business needs at exactly the stage it needs it.
Meet the founders
Two different instincts, one shared standard for what a growing brand actually needs.
John Welbourn
Commercial strategy. Marketplace operations. Go-to-market execution.
John has spent 25 years scaling physical product businesses. His background is in consumer electronics, domestic appliances, audio visual, and retail - categories where margin is tight, competition is fierce, and the difference between a brand that grows and one that does not is usually execution.
He has run businesses at significant scale. He grew a branded goods operation from £150 million to over £200 million in revenue over five years, then served as MD of one of Europe's largest private label television and white goods manufacturers - a £300 million P&L, a team of over 60 people, and 67% revenue growth delivered.
After leaving corporate leadership, he built his own private label brands on Amazon, generating over £3.6 million in revenue and launching more than 25 brands, with over $10 million in marketplace revenue managed.
That experience carries straight into Scale With's client work. For a UK and European HVAC brand, Amazon brand control has grown into a standing role advising on channel strategy as the brand plans its Direct to Consumer (D2C) expansion across the UK and Europe. When a US distributor grew uncomfortable holding excess stock and was ready to pull the arrangement, he acted first - a reciprocal deal that took the stock off the distributor's books, protected the brand's margin and cash flow, and released the brand's own Amazon account and direct-to-consumer launch behind it.
25 yrs
Scaling product businesses
£400M
Revenue experience, start-up to enterprise
£300M P&L
67% revenue growth delivered as MD
25+ brands
Launched and scaled on Amazon
“John identifies the opportunity, defines the approach, and drives the execution.”
Why it works.
Most partnerships combine similar skills and similar instincts. Ours doesn't - and that is by design.
John moves towards opportunity. James moves towards structure. In practice, that means a client gets both perspectives on every significant decision - the commercial case and the operational reality, in the same conversation, with neither suppressed in favour of the other.
It also means the work gets done. Scale With does not produce recommendations and hand them to the client to implement. Both founders are directly involved in the execution. When something needs building, they build it. When something goes wrong, they deal with it.
“Deliberately small, deliberately selective, and directly accountable throughout.”
What we cover.
Between the two of us, the full commercial and operational picture - not a slice of it.
If you want to understand more about how we work before starting a conversation, the How We Work page covers the engagement model in detail. If you are ready to talk, the quickest route is a 30-minute call - no preparation needed, just bring your situation.
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