From Failing Startup to 8-Figure Exit in 14 Months
Co-op Health was going nowhere in January 2020. I fixed their team in 8 weeks. COVID hit. They scaled 667 times over the next 6 months with a leaner team. Business sold for 8-figures
The Pattern
What Was Broken at Co-op Health (And Probably Your Team Too)
Constant Firefighting
The team spent 80% of their time reacting to crises. Zero time for strategic work. Everyone was burned out. Innovation was impossible. Every day felt like crisis management.
Building the Wrong Things
Several failed attempts to fix their product. Months wasted on pointless work. Tech team disconnected from business goals. The product was fine. They just weren’t marketing it.
Sound familar?
Toxic Culture
Tech team didn’t trust leadership. Leadership didn’t trust tech team. Blame culture. People hiding problems. Good people behaving badly. Trust was dead.
Experience
I've Been Fixing These Problems for 30 Years
I’m Lee Clayton. 30 years as a technology leader across high street names like Co-op, Charity Commission for England and Wales, Energy Ombudsman, and Cumberland Building Society.
Same three problems everywhere I’ve worked:
- Firefighting.
- Wrong priorities.
- Toxic culture.
Over the last decade, I systematised the solution.
Co-op Health proved it works under extreme pressure.
30
years
3
co-op roles
£XXM
proven exit
667x
scale
The System
How I Fixed Co-op Health in 8 Weeks
Three problems. Eight weeks. Then COVID tested everything.
January 2020
Joined Co-op Health
Broken trust. Several failed product attempts. Going nowhere.
JANUARY-MARCH 2020
Fixed the Foundation (8 weeks)
Measured and fixed trust. Stopped pointless work. Protected capacity. Team was ready.
March 2020
COVID Hit
Most companies collapsed. Co-op Health was positioned to scale.
MARCH-SEPTEMBER 2020
The Scale (6 months)
Front-end team self-organised.
Fulfilment team worked front-line.
Scaled 667 times with a leaner team.
4,000th largest pharmacy → 6th largest in England.
March 2021
Sold for £ 8-figures
14 months total.
Complete transformation from foundation to exit.
“The thing I’m most proud of? The fulfilment team members who chose to work on the front-line because they cared about getting medications to people who were scared and vulnerable. That’s what happens when teams are connected to the mission, not just the metrics.”
— Lee Clayton