What Building a $100m Business Really Taught Andrew Hulbert About People
Fri Jan 30 2026
What does building a $100m+ business really teach you about people, leadership and success?
In this episode of Built Not Born In Business, we sit down with Andrew Hulbert, founder of Pareto FM, to talk honestly about what it takes to build, scale and eventually step away from a business without losing yourself along the way.
This conversation isn’t about growth hacks or surface-level culture talk.
Andrew shares how building a people-first business from day one shaped everything that followed. From hiring without traditional interviews, adapting roles around real lives, and rewarding behaviour that actually matters, to the uncomfortable lessons that only come from responsibility, pressure and making mistakes at scale.
We also talk openly about:
What founders often get wrong about “company culture”Why treating people like humans is a competitive advantageThe leadership lessons that only come from losing money and trustWhat happens emotionally after exiting a businessWhy success doesn’t feel the way most people think it willHow family, time and perspective change once the business is no longer running you.
This is a grounded, honest conversation for business owners who care about how they build, not just what they build.
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What does building a $100m+ business really teach you about people, leadership and success? In this episode of Built Not Born In Business, we sit down with Andrew Hulbert, founder of Pareto FM, to talk honestly about what it takes to build, scale and eventually step away from a business without losing yourself along the way. This conversation isn’t about growth hacks or surface-level culture talk. Andrew shares how building a people-first business from day one shaped everything that followed. From hiring without traditional interviews, adapting roles around real lives, and rewarding behaviour that actually matters, to the uncomfortable lessons that only come from responsibility, pressure and making mistakes at scale. We also talk openly about: What founders often get wrong about “company culture”Why treating people like humans is a competitive advantageThe leadership lessons that only come from losing money and trustWhat happens emotionally after exiting a businessWhy success doesn’t feel the way most people think it willHow family, time and perspective change once the business is no longer running you. This is a grounded, honest conversation for business owners who care about how they build, not just what they build.