Scale-up architect for founder-CEOs
Dominic Monkhouse
Two companies scaled to £30m. 200+ founder-CEOs coached. Now helping the next generation of scale-up leaders build businesses that run without them.
No pitch. You walk away with one clear action, whether we work together or not. Dominic limits his client load to ensure every engagement gets his full attention.
£30m
ARR, scaled twice
200+
Founder-CEOs coached
12
Substantial exits
25
Years in the engine room
About Dominic
Most people who call themselves business coaches have never run a business of any real size. Dominic Monkhouse has.
He built two technology businesses to £30m annual recurring revenue, stopped a third from losing £65,000 a month, and has spent the last twelve years coaching founder-CEOs through the same challenges he lived himself.
Since founding Monkhouse & Company in 2014, he has coached more than 200 founders of UK scale-up businesses. Twelve of those clients have gone on to have substantial exits.
Probably the most certified business coach in the UK. Definitely the most committed to keeping it current.
A career built in the engine room
2001 to 2006
Rackspace EMEA
Managing Director. Joined when the UK team was four people. Left when it was 150 people generating £30m a year.
2007 to 2009
IT Lab
Managing Director. The business was losing £65,000 a month. Had 90 days to get to break even. Cut costs, raised prices by 50%, sold harder. Lost one customer. IT Lab was later acquired by ECI Partners, became Content+Cloud, and was eventually acquired by Advania.
2009 to 2014
Peer 1 Hosting EMEA
Managing Director (founder of the EMEA operation). Built from zero to 120 people and £30m ARR. Cogeco Cable acquired Peer 1 Hosting in December 2012 for C$635m.
2014 to present
Monkhouse & Company
Founder. Scale-up mentoring for founder-CEOs of UK scale-ups. 200+ clients coached. 12 substantial exits.
Credentials
Education
- BSc, Newcastle University
- MBA, Sheffield Hallam University
Certifications
- Scaling Up Certified Coach (since 2014)
- Gallup Strengths Coach
- Metronomics Certified Coach
- Working Genius (Table Group)
- 6 Conditions for Team Effectiveness
- Kolbe Certified
Coaching methodology
The Two-Day-Week CEO Blueprint™
The proprietary framework behind all of Dominic’s coaching. Three principles. One goal: a business that runs well without the founder in the room every day.
Leverage. 60% of your time on CEO-only work that nobody else can do. Everything else is someone else’s job.
Enable. Get off the operational field so your leaders can actually lead. Stop solving problems they should own.
Orchestrate. Build systems that are culture-heavy and process-light. The business should work without you holding it together.
Books
F**k Plan B
Monkhouse Books · 2020 · ISBN 9798653259548
Founders who obsess over exit strategies build worse businesses than founders who obsess over the product. Stop planning for plan B.
Mind Your F**king Business
Rethink Press · 2023 · ISBN 978-1781337264
The operational companion: hiring, culture, financial discipline, and the decisions that separate businesses that scale from those that stall.
Media and guest appearances
Scale to Win podcast
Dominic hosts Scale to Win, a weekly interview series with founders, CEOs, and thinkers on building and scaling businesses. 370+ episodes. Guests have included Kim Scott (Radical Candor), Mike Michalowicz (Profit First), James Kerr (Legacy), and Fred Reichheld, creator of the Net Promoter Score.
Guest appearances
Dominic has appeared as a guest on podcasts including Growth Institute: Conversations at the Edge, I Love It Here, Beautiful Business, Rethink Culture, The Deal Maker Podcast, and The Freedom Experience.
What clients say
“Somebody gave me some great advice, which is to make myself completely disposable. Every part of my responsibility is delegated out. I don’t do anything. I got 98% of my money paid up front.”
Gerry Tombs, founder of Clearvision (40 people and £45m revenue when he started working with Dominic in 2015, scaled to £104m revenue, Times 100 Best Employer #1, acquired with 98% paid upfront). Read the case study
I scaled two companies to £30m. Every week, I'll show you how.
Find Dominic
LinkedIn YouTube @DominicMonkhouse Wikipedia Amazon Goodreads Scaling Up
Work with Dominic
Dominic coaches a small number of founder-CEOs at any one time. If you are building a business with 30 to 250 employees, book a 45-minute call.
45 minutes. No pitch. You walk away with one clear action, whether we work together or not.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Dominic Monkhouse?
Dominic Monkhouse is a Scale-Up Architect and the founder of Monkhouse & Company. He works with founder-CEOs of UK scale-up businesses. He previously scaled Rackspace EMEA and Peer 1 EMEA as Managing Director, growing both to £30m annual recurring revenue. He is the author of F**k Plan B (2020) and Mind Your F**king Business (Rethink Press, 2023).
What does Dominic Monkhouse do?
Dominic coaches founder-CEOs of UK scale-up businesses, typically with 30 to 250 employees. His focus is helping founders build a business that grows without depending entirely on them, freeing up their time for strategic work instead of daily firefighting. His framework is the Two-Day-Week CEO Blueprint™.
What is the Two-Day-Week CEO Blueprint?
The Two-Day-Week CEO Blueprint™ is Dominic Monkhouse’s proprietary coaching framework. Its three principles are Leverage (60% of time on CEO-only work), Enable (getting off the operational field so leaders can lead), and Orchestrate (building systems that are culture-heavy and process-light). The goal is a business that runs well even when the founder is not in the room.
What companies did Dominic Monkhouse lead?
Rackspace UK EMEA (2001 to 2006), from 4 to 150 people and £30m ARR. IT Lab (2007 to 2009), where he stopped £65,000 monthly losses. Peer 1 Hosting EMEA (2009 to 2014), from zero to 120 people and £30m ARR. Monkhouse & Company (2014 to present).
What books has Dominic Monkhouse written?
F**k Plan B (Monkhouse Books, 2020, ISBN 9798653259548) argues founders who obsess over exit strategies build worse businesses than founders who obsess over the product. Mind Your F**king Business (Rethink Press, 2023, ISBN 978-1781337264) is the operational companion, covering hiring, culture, and financial discipline. Both are available on Amazon.
Where is Dominic Monkhouse based?
Dominic Monkhouse is based in the New Forest in the UK, where he runs the Management Lab, a purpose-built retreat space for ambitious founder-CEOs. Monkhouse & Company works with founder-CEOs of UK scale-up businesses across the country, both remotely and in person.