Richard Harpin, who sold HomeServe for £4.1B, advises founders to "hire their replacement" to scale and sell their businesses, avoiding being trapped. His method: scout talent constantly, hire for proven ability and hunger, test in small roles, promote fast, and delegate weaknesses. This builds self-sufficient companies, freeing entrepreneurs for vision and bigger ventures.
You didn't start your business to become trapped inside it. But maybe that's what happened. When you first quit your job, won your own clients and built out a team, you had every intention of making money, loving your work and traveling the world. Where did that reality go?
If instead of going on trips you're sending emails. If instead of taking afternoons off you're trapped in back-to-back meetings. If instead of hitting the gym you're mediating conflict and playing HR: something has gone wrong. And you need to fix it fast.
Richard Harpin knows how to replace yourself and sell your business. He founded HomeServe with £50,000 in 1993 and built it into one of the UK's leading home emergency services companies before selling to Brookfield Asset Management in 2023 for £4.1 billion. Today he invests in fast-growing businesses, and operates a growth program for founders and CEOs via his Business Leaders organisation. Harpin's goal is to double the number of large companies in the UK by providing capital, coaching, peer groups and community.
In 2025 Harpin published How to Make a Billion in 9 Steps, which became a Sunday Times bestseller upon release. Of the 9 steps, number 5 is "hire your replacement," a feat Harpin carried out before and after selling.
I interviewed Harpin about exactly what hiring your replacement means in practice. Here's how you can do it too.
Be on constant lookout for people who would make great hires, even if you don't need them straight away. If someone gives you good service, get their details. Notice the sales managers you warm to, the entrepreneurs that impress you, and the customer success managers who don't miss a detail.
Harpin met Jonathan, who would later run HomeServe UK, at a social event years before he needed him. "I thought, 'he's a smart guy,' so I wrote him in my little black book," Harpin said. "I couldn't afford headhunters back then, but when I'd saved enough, or more likely got the courage, I called him."
More than half (57%) of CEOs now say that attracting and retaining top talent is one of the greatest challenges facing their business. Always be collecting talent. When the time comes to hire, you'll have an endless supply of rockstars to choose from.
Harpin follows a simple process when hiring, which he learned from his days working as brand manager at Procter & Gamble after university. "At Procter & Gamble, we used to say: 'has done, can do, will do,'" Harpin explained. "Hire people who've done it before, have the ability to do it again, and are hungry to deliver."
This hiring framework applies whether you're recruiting entry-level employees or your eventual replacement as CEO. Assess someone's experience, proficiency and willingness on these three criteria, and don't skip any out.
A skills-based approach to hiring is five times more likely to predict job performance than relying purely on credentials. Skills without hunger won't take you far. Hunger without skills will burn out. Hire for both.
"Jonathan joined as business development director. After a year he'd done such a good job I made him MD of HomeServe UK, and that was my own job at the time," Harpin said. "Starting small gave me the proof I needed to hand over." Test them, then trust them. I had a similar experience at the marketing agency I sold in 2021. My ops manager began as a junior social media manager before she ultimately replaced 90% of my role.
Globally, 85% of companies are now hiring senior-level employees internationally, starting them in one role and watching how they grow in the business before granting greater responsibility. The right hire earns their stripes quickly. But they don't need to be CEO from day one. The best people aren't too proud to prove themselves on the ground. They know they'll rise up the ranks.
When someone shows signs of greatness, promote them fast. Keep challenging them and see what they're capable of. They will likely surprise you and themselves. The people who can replace you are not going to shy away from reaching new heights in their career. So push them to reach higher.
"The best people want to be promoted fast, and faster," Harpin said. "Challenge them, and if they rise to it, keep moving them up. Don't let them get bored."
Employees who are promoted internally are 70% more likely to stay long term, so moving your rising stars up quickly makes them more loyal and gives your business a leadership pipeline that lasts. Top talent won't wait around. Keep feeding their ambition or they'll find someone who will.
"I was never interested in the day-to-day," Harpin said. My role in HomeServe was the vision and the strategy, opening up the new countries before hiring chief execs to put into each of those." An ENTJ (on the Myers-Briggs assessment), visionary founder, he wants to own the (metaphorical) trains but put someone else in charge of them running on time.
A Harvard study found that 37% of employers rate experience as more important than education, but research shows experience alone isn't enough. What matters is finding someone who complements your strengths and fills your gaps. Someone you could see taking over one day.
If you don't know your strengths, you can't hire the person who will cover your weaknesses. But that's the most important thing to do. Trying to be good at everything is holding you back. Some people love the jobs you hate. Find them, and making a billion becomes simple.
Step 7 in Harpin's 9 steps is "evolution not revolution," a principle he stuck to even when selling his company. Rather than sailing off into the sunset upon exit, he pledged to support its transition to a new owner, overseeing the process and then becoming chair of HomeServeEMEA. Every time you've outgrown your role, step fully into the one above. Keep going until you improve at every level.
"When we sold to Brookfield, I didn't just disappear," Harpin said. "I stayed on as non-exec chair, promoted my two best people to run the business, and helped them succeed. Exiting doesn't mean abandoning ship. Leave it sailing stronger than when you captained it.
Hiring your replacement is about ascending to your next level of impact. Richard Harpin's journey from £50,000 startup to £4.1 billion exit demonstrates that entrepreneurs who build billion-pound businesses are those brave enough to promote themselves out of their current role. They recognize that staying in day-to-day operations keeps businesses small.
The formula is straightforward: spot talent before you need it, test them in smaller roles, promote fast when they deliver, and have the courage to let go when they're ready. Know yourself well enough to hire for your weaknesses. If you hate the operational grind, find someone who loves it. If you're a visionary who thinks in decades, hire someone who excels at executing quarterly targets.
Your business should thrive at the next level with you focused on what you do best. Build a business that runs without you, then use your freedom to build something even bigger.