Apprentify Group CEO Jonathan Fitchew features on the latest episode of BusinessCloud's The Naked Founder podcast, sitting down with Executive Editor Chris Maguire for one of the most candid conversations he has ever shared publicly. The episode is available now on Spotify, Apple and all good podcast platforms.

The partnership that defined a career

Jonathan's story begins long before Apprentify. In 1995, he and Andy Sawer founded Pareto Law from a broom cupboard in Salford - a sales recruitment and training business built on the principle that 80 per cent of outcomes come from 20 per cent of causes. Over the next 26 years, the pair grew it to £40 million in turnover and 400 staff, sharing an office - and more often than not, a hotel room on business trips - for every one of those years.

When Andy lost his battle with brain cancer in January 2021, Jonathan knew immediately that chapter of his life had closed.

Building again

What followed was Apprentify. Founded in 2019 and joined by Jonathan as CEO in 2022, the business has grown to £25 million in turnover and 250 staff, a new chapter built on the same values that shaped the last one.

In the podcast, Jonathan speaks openly about grief, about what drives him and about why Andy is never far from his thoughts. A photo of the two of them still looks down from his office wall.

Listen now

The Naked Founder is a BusinessCloud podcast hosted by Chris Maguire, available now on Spotify, Apple and all good podcast platforms. It is an honest, human conversation from a leader who has lived through as much as he has built.