Who is Felix Velarde?
I’m a board advisor to the founders and CEOs of creative, marketing and digital agencies, working on growth, M&A and exit. I started one of the world’s first web design agencies in 1994, co-founded Head New Media and Underwired, and have chaired or advised more than 40 agencies. I wrote Scale at Speed and, with Michael Nutley, The Proposition Formula, and I founded and chair 2Y3X. More on the About page.
Who do you work with?
Founders and leadership teams of creative, marketing and digital agencies and agency groups in the UK, the US and elsewhere. My independent agency clients typically turn over between £2m and £20m, and are serious about scaling, buying to scale, or preparing for exit.
Do you work with agencies outside the UK?
Yes. I work with agencies in the UK and the US, and with groups in the UAE and Canada, often as they expand abroad or plan cross-border acquisitions.
How do you help agencies prepare for exit?
Usually three things at once. I make the agency worth more to a buyer, by fixing what buyers discount and building a succession team they trust to run it after the sale. I vet acquisitions, so that what you buy adds enterprise value rather than revenue alone. And I help negotiate the deal and the earn-out, so that the headline number is what you end up with. I’ve taken part in 17 acquisitions and exits as founder, acquirer or advisor, including client exits at 8.5x and 12x EBITDA. On the 2Y3X programme the Sale Accelerator and the Earnout Maximiser do the same work with a team: 2y3x.com.
What results do your clients see?
Higher valuations, engaged succession teams, stronger management, and faster growth that lasts. Clients’ exits have included multiples of 8.5x and 12x EBITDA, and the track record lists the figures with their sources.
What does a typical engagement look like?
Most start with conversations about your values, your business and leadership, your proposition and value drivers, and your financial goals. From there we create a board advisory plan of six to 24 months, with milestones tied to your M&A, exit or growth objectives.
What if my team isn’t ready?
We assess readiness first, then build capability. Together we find the gaps in leadership, structure and accountability, and build the systems and confidence your team needs to own growth. The aim is a team that runs and scales the business without depending on you.
How much do you charge?
Board advisory is a retained engagement, priced once we know what the work is, so I don’t publish a fee. The 2Y3X programme and the Scale at Speed course publish their own prices at 2y3x.com and scaleatspeed.com, and the Scalability Scorecard is free.
Did you found Head New Media?
Yes. I co-founded Head New Media with the creative director Jason Holland in 1997. It became the world’s most awarded digital agency, and in 1998 I sold it to Lowe Group, then the world’s fourth-largest advertising network, where it became the network’s digital arm, later MullenLowe Profero. I left in 2001 to run Underwired.
What is Head-Space?
A non-commercial online creative community that Jason Holland and I started at Head New Media in 1997. Everyone at the agency had a day a week to work on it, contributors came from all over the world, and it incubated community sites including Urban75 and John Lundberg’s Circlemakers.org. It won a Cannes CyberLion in 1999 and toured in the exhibition Digital Archaeology from 2010, and Forbes described it as one of the world’s ten most influential websites. It is still online at head-space.org.
Are you on LinkedIn?
Yes, at linkedin.com/in/agencychair.
How can I get started?
If you’re an agency founder, or the chair or CEO of an agency group, preparing for significant growth, succession or a sale, get in touch or book a call. I’ll reply personally.