FOUNDER DIARIES - Joel Dalton on Exits, Employee Ownership & Life After Scale
In this episode of Founder Diaries, Nitin Sharma sits down with Joel Dalton, exited founder of Clone, strategic advisor, and NED, to unpack what really happens after you scale a business — and what founders rarely prepare for. Joel shares the unfiltered story of building Clone into a £7m marketing services business, navigating Covid, founder burnout, financial blind spots, and ultimately choosing an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) as his exit path. This is a candid conversation about founder reliance, designing a business that can survive without you, and reclaiming time, energy, and purpose post-exit. Together, Nitin and Joel dive into why so many founders accidentally build “well-paid jobs”, the warning signs of burnout, and how to create a business that gives you optionality — whether that’s scaling, stepping back, or exiting entirely. What you’ll learn in this episode: * Why founder reliance kills exit value (and how to fix it) * What an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) actually is — and why it’s misunderstood * How Covid forced a hard rethink on resilience and value creation * The financial blind spots most founders ignore until it’s too late * Scaling pains: hiring too fast, protecting culture, and bad hires * Why most founders don’t really have a “lifestyle business” * The emotional reality of stepping away from a company you built * Burnout, pressure, and unlearning hustle culture * How Joel now helps founders escape the owner-operator trap * Why having a “fractional co-founder” mindset can change everything This episode is honest, reflective, and packed with lived experience — especially for founders questioning whether the business they built is still serving the life they want. Who this episode is for: * Founders thinking about an exit (now or someday) * Business owners feeling stuck or overly relied upon * Entrepreneurs approaching burnout * Leaders scaling past the owner-operator stage * Anyone curious about alternative exit routes like EOTs * Founders who want freedom without burning everything down 🔗 Connect with the guest Joel Dalton: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-dalton-02191421/ Clone: https://clone-media.co.uk/ 🔗 Connect with the host Nitin Sharma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nitin-rectools/ Discover recruitment tools and services: https://www.rectools.io/ New episodes of RecTalk, including Founder Diaries and Talking Talent, drop every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Look out for new episodes of The Mixed Grill — the official podcast of the Recruitment Curry Club — dropping on Thursdays. https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-recruitment-curry-club/ Listen on another platform: https://rectalk.co.uk/
