Two operators. One partnership. Built from complementary experience.
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.
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. That is where the marketplace understanding became operational and personal - running advertising, managing catalogue, dealing with account health issues, and learning what the platform actually rewards. He has since launched more than 25 brands on Amazon and managed over $10 million in marketplace revenue.
John brings a combination of experience that few operators at this level can offer. He has led large-scale corporate businesses with full P&L accountability and built his own brands and businesses from scratch - which means he understands what is required at every level of a business, from boardroom strategy to the practical realities of running a marketplace account day to day. His experience spans sales leadership, marketing, digital commerce, operations, and international expansion across businesses ranging from start-up through to £400 million in revenue. That breadth is what allows him to move across every dimension of a client's business and see the full commercial picture.
John's lens: Commercial strategy and growth. John identifies the opportunity, defines the approach, and drives the execution - across every part of the business that needs to move.
James Wakely
Operations. Finance. Supply chain. Commercial infrastructure.
James has spent 20 years in operations, finance, and commercial leadership across physical product businesses. He is an AAT-qualified accountant with hands-on experience running supply chains, managing P&Ls, and building the operational infrastructure that allows businesses to scale without breaking.
His most significant leadership role was as COO and then MD of a consumer goods business, where he grew revenue from £8.9 million to £15 million - not through marketing or market expansion, but by building the operational and commercial systems that made growth possible and sustainable. He has worked across businesses ranging from start-up to £20 million in revenue, with SKU exposure exceeding 15,000 across multiple categories.
James's expertise spans international supply chain management, China sourcing, margin and landed cost analysis, inventory strategy, 3PL relationships, CRM and commercial systems implementation, and the financial modelling that underpins sound expansion decisions. But his value extends beyond the operational and financial core. The leadership roles he has held - running businesses, managing P&Ls, and working across every commercial function - have given him a clear understanding of how growth actually works and how every part of a business connects. He sees how a supply chain decision affects margin, how a margin decision affects pricing, and how pricing affects the commercial case for entering a new market. That joined-up commercial thinking is what separates an operator from a specialist.
James brings that level of seniority and breadth to Scale With's clients - the kind of capability that growing businesses need at a critical stage but rarely have the resource to hire full-time.
James's lens: Operational delivery and commercial reality. James ensures businesses can actually deliver on what they are building - and that the numbers make sense at every stage of the process.
Why it works.
Most business partnerships combine similar skills and similar instincts. That can work when the business is doing one specific thing well. It tends to break down when the business needs to do several things simultaneously - when growth decisions and operational decisions need to be made at the same time, with a full understanding of the implications of each.
John and James have different instincts. 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.
That is not a common model. Most service businesses at this level sell senior involvement and deliver through teams. Scale With is structured the other way - deliberately small, deliberately selective, and directly accountable throughout.
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.