Bain

"Incidentally, Bain did not buy them with money – he kept most of that for himself. He mentored and inspired them, simultaneously giving them free rein, yet retaining control."

"When I was thirty-three, and my vehicle hove into view in the shape of LEK, I asked myself whether I was ready to become co-founder of a serious global firm – that was what we intended – to rival the giants of BCG, Bain and McKinsey. I pondered the question, and eventually decided I was ready, because: •  I really understood the concepts of strategy consulting and how to sell it. •  I could see a gap in the market for our first phase of success – we could build a British-based firm able to package and sell ‘American’ concepts in user-friendly ways to British and European bosses. •  Not only was there a gap in the market, but there was also a market in the gap – a big target market which was under-served. We could see something that our top competitors couldn’t: that the decision-makers in British and European companies were often put off by American ‘power salesmanship’ and jargon, by a lack of intellectual subtlety, and a failure to understand local nuances. We aimed to capitalise on that. •  Although we were a new outfit, LEK had partners who had worked for two of our top rival firms at a senior level, and we reckoned we would be at least the peers of the consultants we would be selling against. •  We were really excited about being in business for ourselves, taking whatever risks we wanted to, choosing who would work in our venture and reaping the rewards for ourselves and our people. •  We were confident about the economics of our new business if we could sell large chunks of business. We knew that strategy consulting was highly profitable, that it required no capital investment, and that it could be cash-positive very quickly."