Private equity helps founders grow their business with a strategic investment that can take it to the next level. As a partner at Piper, a private equity firm based in London and specializing in consumer brands, Leon Hughes found his passion helping companies scale from zero to 100 million pounds.
Leon sees Piper’s investment strategy as a strategic partnership. “It’s not just about the cash that you get invested into the business. You also get expertise and advice.”
Piper has an entire team of experts that help 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 strategy. 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 acquisition costs have risen sharply in the past five years, so Leon suggests finding product-market 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 evaluate the health of Piper’s brands. He finds the most important ones relate to all around customer retention, such as lifetime value (LTV) and subscribing to email subscribers. Your ecommerce website should be optimized to build a long-term relationship with the customer. He says, “How many people are shaking your hand and allowing you to communicate to them?”
Try new 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 success. I just needed to replicate that,” Leon says. Then, he came upon businesses operating with such remarkable efficiency and innovation 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 come together to share their experiences building on Shopify. If you’re an entrepreneur, look for similar meetups or a community where you can network and share knowledge.
More ecommerce growth in 2025
Piper’s decades in consumer brands makes Leon optimistic for 2025. He notes that global uncertainty seems to have lessened as new government administrations take over and inflation rates have slowed. This increased confidence makes consumers and investors more willing to spend. The global economy looks bright.
To learn more about private equity and Leon’s advice for startups, listen to the full interview on Shopify Masters.
