Private stake helps founders develop their business with a strategic property that can receive it to the next level. As a associate at Piper, a private stake firm based in London and specializing in buyer brands, Leon Hughes found his thrill helping companies scale from zero to 100 million pounds.
Leon sees Piper’s property way as a strategic collaboration. “It’s not just about the funds that you get invested into the business. You also get expertise and advice.”
Piper has an entire throng of experts that assist advise founders on various aspects of the business. Since Leon worked in ecommerce for Maximuscle before joining Piper, his expertise is in advising brands on their digital way. Here’s what he is keeping a close eye on as he identifies growth opportunities for Piper brands.
Testing customer propositions in real life
Customer purchase costs have risen sharply in the history five years, so Leon suggests finding product-trade fit before spending money on online advertising. “Avoid Meta and Google at all costs in the early stages,” Leon says. One of the brands he’s currently working with is going in-person to farmers markets, selling directly to customers, getting feedback, and learning from other brands to make sure their product’s customer proposition is sound.
Focus on customer retention
Leon uses metrics to assess the health of Piper’s brands. He finds the most significant ones relate to all around customer retention, such as lifetime worth (LTV) and subscribing to email subscribers. Your ecommerce website should be optimized to construct a long-term connection with the customer. He says, “How many people are shaking your hand and allowing you to communicate to them?”
Try recent ways of doing things
Leon is curious by nature. Working at Piper with exposure to different types of startups made him realize no one playbook works for everyone. “I thought I had a blueprint of achievement. I just needed to replicate that,” Leon says. Then, he came upon businesses operating with such remarkable efficiency and recent concept that he felt compelled to dedicate himself to further learning.
That’s why Leon started Shopify Geekmeets, a meetup where people from different brands could arrive together to distribute their experiences building on Shopify. If you’re an business owner, look for similar meetups or a throng where you can network and distribute knowledge.
More ecommerce growth in 2025
Piper’s decades in buyer brands makes Leon optimistic for 2025. He notes that global uncertainty seems to have lessened as recent government administrations receive over and worth rise rates have slowed. This increased confidence makes consumers and investors more willing to spend. The global economy looks luminous.
To discover more about private stake and Leon’s advice for startups, listen to the packed interview on Shopify Masters.
