For mid-market businesses, inflection points such as geographic expansion, M&A activity, or founder succession can put organisational culture to the test. Inflexion’s experience shows that aligning culture with growth ambitions is critical to unlocking sustainable success during these pivotal moments.
“Culture isn’t some abstract concept that’s there to create a pleasant workplace, it’s the concrete set of behaviours and attitudes that directly power your strategy,” explains Freddy West, Managing Director for Portfolio Talent at Inflexion. “When companies scale rapidly, they often focus exclusively on operational metrics while neglecting the cultural framework that made them successful in the first place.”
Considering culture will significantly support a company’s growth ambitions. Inflexion has helped over 120 businesses to turbocharge their growth and so is well versed in navigating these delicate times.
Blue Light Card: Embedding purpose during transition
For companies built around a social mission, scaling without diluting purpose presents unique challenges. Blue Light Card demonstrates how to navigate this successfully.
As the UK’s leading online discount marketplace exclusively serving the key worker community, the company’s entire ethos revolves around its commitment to everyday community heroes. When the founders decided to plan for succession in 2022, preserving this purpose-driven culture was paramount, and funding from Inflexion would support the transition.
Their approach centred on leadership continuity, with the founders remaining involved as board members to provide strategic guidance while empowering the executive team. CEO Alidad Moghaddam, who joined in 2023, works in close partnership with the founders to ensure growth initiatives remain aligned with the company’s mission.
The C-suite was expanded with new Chief Commercial, Technology, and Product Officers, creating a robust foundation reflective of its growth ambitions.
They formed the core of our leadership team and complement existing tenured BLC executives, bringing fresh thinking to the leadership while maintaining a purpose‑led culture.
This balanced approach has yielded impressive results: customer numbers have increased by over a third since Alidad took the helm, and the business has delivered over €440 million in annual savings to its members, while staff headcount has grown by more than 25%.
But numbers only tell part of the story. The business has been recognised by numerous accolades, including being named Best Workplace in Tech, for Women, and in Well‑being. Blue Light Card also supports a dedicated Foundation delivering granting programmes to charities and organisations that support those within the Blue Light community.
This highlights Blue Light Card’s emphasis on embedding purpose into daily operations, not just mission statements. Regular communication reminds employees how their work directly benefits key workers, reinforcing their sense of purpose. “Employee engagement is key to help make sure our colleagues don’t feel left behind during a period of high change as we have new processes, new systems and new people,” Alidad says.
Lintbells: From Hertfordshire start-up to values-driven global brand
The journey of pet supplements company Lintbells from local champion to global leader demonstrates how preserving culture can accelerate international growth rather than constrain it.
Founded in 2006 by two friends, Lintbells was built on twin pillars: a passion for improving pet health and a commitment to scientific rigour. By 2017, these values had propelled the company to become the UK’s preferred choice for joint‑related pet supplements. But the founders recognised that international expansion would require a different expertise.
When Inflexion invested that year, the company was ready to accelerate its next phase of growth, particularly in the US. “You can get your money anywhere,” Founder Dr. John Howie explains, “but we wanted a partner with the expertise and people to help us scale without compromising what made Lintbells special.”
The subsequent growth journey was carefully orchestrated to maintain cultural continuity through a planned leadership transition. Shortly after Inflexion’s investment, a new Chair was appointed alongside Fiona Hope as CCO. Fiona’s marketing expertise from companies like Coca-Cola proved invaluable, but her cultural alignment was equally important as she transitioned to CEO in 2022, allowing John to step back from day‑to‑day operations.
“I arrived at a business with a very strong core – a trusted product, a dedicated team of under 70 people, and an open, warm culture driven by integrity and critical thinking,” Fiona recalls.
This disciplined cultural preservation guided Lintbells’ expansion into the US market and its acquisition of Walkin’ Pets, a specialist in mobility aids. Rather than imposing Lintbells’ practices onto the acquired company, leadership sought complementary cultural elements that could strengthen both organisations.
“We moved forward in a well thought‑through way to drive a level of scale I’d not have imagined when I founded it,” John says, “but we never lost sight of why we started the company.”
This focus on cultural continuity created value throughout the partnership. In 2024, Lintbells was acquired by US‑based pet company Vetnique, generating a 5.5x return for Inflexion. The cultural alignment with the acquirer made the transition remarkably smooth. “Vetnique’s ethos mirrored our own – science-backed products and a strong focus on doing things the right way,” John explains.
Lintbells’ culture and values have been central to so much of what the company has achieved. This goes beyond attracting talent – it central to what customers buy into every time they choose Lintbells’ products.
How culture preservation can accelerate growth
- Drives innovation Strong cultures provide the psychological safety needed for creative risk-taking, balancing standards with experimentation to enable consistent innovation.
- Speeds up decisions Shared values reduce the need for oversight, empowering teams to act confidently and quickly – a key edge in fast-moving markets.
- Guides strategic choices Culture serves as a decision-making compass, helping teams across locations make aligned, autonomous decisions as the company scales.
- Attracts and retains talent Distinctive cultures draw like-minded professionals and help retain top performers, even through periods of growth or change.
- Protects customer experience A strong culture safeguards the customer promise by maintaining consistent experiences, even as the company expands.
Inflexion focuses on helping portfolio companies design stronger organisations, build better boards and management teams, create effective performance management and incentives, and improve overall organisational health.
Each investment, regardless of size or stake, has full access to Inflexion’s value acceleration support which includes international expansion, M&A, digital enhancement, talent management, commercial effectiveness and ESG strategy.
