Published on

Jan 2025

Rellium – Scaling Beyond Founder Dependency

Use Case

Scaling Rellium Beyond Founder Dependency: Building a Leadership-Driven, Growth-Focused Business

Rellium is a specialised electrical infrastructure provider serving hyperscale data centres, including industry giants like Google and Microsoft. Founded 14 years ago by four friends, the company grew into a key player in the telecoms sector. However, as demand surged, the business relied heavily on the direct involvement of its founders, creating a bottleneck that limited scalability.

The challenge

Breaking the Founder Bottleneck & Structuring for Sustainable Growth

With major contracts from hyperscale data centre providers like Google and Microsoft, Rellium had significant growth opportunities but lacked the internal structure to scale effectively. The business was overly reliant on its founders for decision-making, operational oversight, and client management. This led to:

Founder fatigue - Leadership was stretched thin across all areas of the business.
Lack of structured delegation - The management team wasn’t empowered to take ownership.
Reactive decision-making - Without a clear strategy, they were chasing opportunities instead of following a defined path.
Concerns about sustainability - Would the business survive and scale without the founders constantly involved?

Mike Millington

Co-Founder and Managing Director

We built this business with the hope that one day we would be working less, but we've found ourselves working even more and with no idea when that might change. We knew we needed a new approach - one where the four of us are less stressed.

Sergio Pereira

Co-Founder and Operations Director

We know that it’s one thing to have a strategy - but another thing to execute it. We were just keeping our management team in the loop but not actually giving them direction. We want to approach our management with a more structured and strategic approach - to give them confidence, ownership and a way to buy into it.

The Approach

Structuring Leadership, Strategy & Execution for Scalable Growth

Metavolve guided Rellium through a structured process to transition from a founder-dependent business to a leadership-driven organisation with clear strategic focus, competitive positioning, and accountability at all levels.

Our Scaling Masterplan Programme focused on five key areas:

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1. Market Positioning – Understanding the Competitive Landscape

"We are gaining greater insight into the complexities of our market. Seeing the boundaries of what we're working with. We thought we knew it, but now that we're unpacking it, there are interesting insights coming through."

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2. Competitive Advantage Development – Focusing on Strengths, Not Just Chasing Work

"We got caught in our own ego trip trying to prove ourselves, but the irony is that you can just be the best at what you do, and opportunities will come. The ego trap became winning work off these ICT companies instead of sticking to our niche."

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3. Growth Strategy – Defining a Scalable Path Forward

"I don't feel like we need to chase opportunities anymore or find more pipelines to keep growing. Now, we just need to focus on what we’re doing well and pick the next best opportunities that will come our way."

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4. Leadership Alignment & Accountability – Creating a Stronger, More Independent Management Team

"We used to assume that our management team understood what needed to be done, but in reality, we weren’t giving them the clarity or accountability they needed. Now, we have a clear structure for leadership alignment, and we’re seeing a real shift - our team is more proactive, decisions don’t always come back to us, and there’s a stronger sense of ownership across the business."

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5. Execution & Performance Tracking – Creating a Disciplined, Measurable Approach

"Before, we set goals without a clear way to track them. Now, we have a structured system that keeps us accountable and ensures we’re making measurable progress. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything we could do, we’re focused on what actually moves the business forward."

The Outcomes

From Founder Dependency to a Confident, Scalable Leadership-Driven Business

Just three months after completing Metavolve’s Scaling Masterplan Programme, Rellium is already seeing a profound transformation - both in their business and in themselves as founders. While they still have work to do in fully removing their dependency, they are no longer stuck in the day-to-day. Their leadership team is stepping up, execution is more structured, and strategic decisions are made with clarity and confidence.

More importantly, their vision for growth is no longer just an idea - it’s in motion. Rellium is actively scaling across Europe, the UK, and the US, with a team that is more aligned than ever before. Instead of questioning whether they can handle expansion, they know they can. The pressure of growth no longer feels overwhelming - it feels like an opportunity they are fully equipped to seize.

This shift isn’t just about better systems - it’s about becoming the kind of leaders who can build a business that thrives beyond them.

✅ Clear Strategic Direction & Focused Execution

‍"We had a good idea of what we wanted to achieve, and Metavolve didn’t really change what we had in mind, but what they did do is make it crystal clear on the path of how to get there. And that’s HUGE! I realised that there are many paths to get to that golden egg, but the right path gets you there so much quicker! And now 3 months later, we’re still early in execution, but the wave of change we’re going through now compared to a year ago is managed in a much more strategic way and with a much higher level of confidence because we back the decisions we’ve made through the coaching we’ve had."

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✅ Sharper Decision-Making & Competitive Thinking‍

"Metavolve changed how I think about business. Now I look at our competitors differently and constantly ask, ‘What’s your strategy? What’s your competitive advantage? How are you positioning yourself?’ We now have the tools to make better decisions because we understand how businesses actually work and operate."

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✅ Leadership Empowerment & Accountability‍

"We are now moving in a direction where directorship can unplug from everyday projects. The deeper we get into this, the more relief we feel knowing this is achievable. We’re building a business that doesn’t demand all of our time."

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✅ Extreme Confidence & Team Buy-In‍

"Our employees are bought into the strategy, and they’re talking about how confident they are about where we’re headed. That wouldn’t have been possible without the work we did with Metavolve."

Stephen Meade

Co-Founder & Projects Director

You’re helping us evolve. You’re bringing the thinking of four founders together and aligning that. We now have a level of clarity and structure that we didn’t even realise we were missing.

David Millington

Co-Founder & Technical Director

Metavolve didn’t just give us a strategy - they gave us extreme confidence and clarity. The way we think about our business, our decisions, and our future has completely changed. That specialised knowledge makes a massive difference.

In Short

By working with Metavolve, Rellium transitioned from a founder-dependent business to a strategically structured, leadership-driven company positioned for long-term success. With clarity, confidence, and an empowered team, they no longer chase short-term opportunities but execute a focused strategy designed for sustainable growth.

📅 Ready to remove yourself from operations with clarity and confidence? Book a 30-Minute Curiosity Call.