What happens when a casual side hustle explodes into a million-dollar-a-month enterprise almost overnight? In this episode I am joined by Sam Penny, founder of Cheese Therapy, who scaled his cheese distribution business by 23x during the COVID-19 pandemic, in 18 months before choosing to exit. Sam takes us behind the scenes of his explosive growth, unexpected founder departure, and the moment he realised he was no longer energised enough to keep going. Sam opens up about the real cost of building a brand too dependent on its founders, and what he wishes he’d done differently to stay “sale ready.” Whether you're planning to grow through acquisition, raise capital, or exit entirely, Sam’s story is packed with hard-earned lessons that could save you time, energy, and equity. " You don’t sell your business when you’re exhausted, you sell it when you're energised.” – Sam Penny You’ll hear about: How bushfires and COVID catalysed a 23x surge in revenue• Why relying too heavily on founders can limit long-term business value• The importance of building SOPs and internal systems early• How co-founder departures can derail momentum• Why founder energy impacts valuations more than you think• The most overlooked steps to becoming “sale ready” before burnout hits   Connect With Sam Penny   LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sampenny/ Sam’s Linktree - https://sampenny.com/pages/start   Connect With Julie Wilkinson   LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliewilkinson-accounting/ Tik Tok – https://www.tiktok.com/@wasolutions YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUvq6gfNoP_4dfIJulL6C6A Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wilkinsonaccountingsolutions Website - https://wilkinsonaccountingsolutions.co.uk/   Find out more about our brilliant sponsor Acquisition Masters here - https://www.acquisitionmasters.co.uk/   Before you go, don’t forget to leave a comment and review if you got something out of this episode!