Scaling a high-growth business: lessons from John Veichmanis

Opening & introduction

John Veichmanis (Guest): I think there is a level of pride in building something. We've collectively built the business, and it's not that we've been babysitting what somebody else built five years ago. I think helping the team achieve that is an amazing reason to get out of bed every day.

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A 30-year journey in marketing and tech

Louisa Murray (Host): Tell me about your career journey to becoming CEO of Carwow.

John Veichmanis: Goodness — it's a long and winding road. In 2025 I'll have been working for 30 years; it's flown by, which is quite frightening. I had a lucky break when I left university. I studied marketing, which I really enjoyed, and I was literally in tears when I left — I’d had such a good time.

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The first website and falling in love with digital

John Veichmanis: My university — the University of Lancashire — called me up. This was before mobile phones, and I must have been the only marketing graduate in that day. They said, “We’re looking for somebody to build our first ever website to attract students internationally.” They asked, “Have you ever been on the internet?” — which now sounds ridiculous. I said yes, passed the first test, got an interview and the job. They taught me to code — and that’s how I fell in love with all things online. Back in 1995 not many people were doing anything online; my friends thought I was slightly mad. I took a risk, and it paid dividends.

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Staying one step ahead

John Veichmanis: Off the back of that experience, I’ve always tried to stay one step ahead. A few years later I was constantly being asked to come into different companies and talk about this weird new thing. I’ve got a curious streak and I’ve sought out companies that want to push ahead too.

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Accountability and leadership at scale

Louisa Murray: As CEO, how do you hold yourself accountable while leading a big company under pressure for profit?

John Veichmanis: My accountability is to provide direction — a collective mission and vision we’re excited about — and a path everyone understands. We can’t do everything overnight. One of the biggest challenges in scaling is we get so excited about building a rocket ship that we all try to reach the endpoint too quickly. Sequencing and explaining connectivity between teams is critical. If Team A is going 100mph but depends on Team B, I need to ensure those dependencies are clear so we can actually get stuff done and move in the right sequence toward the long‑term mission.

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An open desk policy

Louisa Murray: Do you have an open‑door policy?

John Veichmanis: I don’t even have a door — I have an open desk. We have nine offices across Europe, and I keep an open door on Slack too. We’ve built a very open, transparent culture.

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From COO to CEO: the loneliest job

John Veichmanis: Before becoming CEO I couldn’t conceptualise why people said it’s lonely — you’re surrounded by people and stakeholders. But it is quite a lonely role. I’ll get off the train one stop early to reflect on the day: what went well, what didn’t — a pause between leaving and getting home. If you don’t like your own company, there’s nobody else to blame. The buck stops with me, and I love that — but it’s the biggest difference from my COO days.

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Leading through challenges

John Veichmanis: It’s relatively easy to lead when things go well. It’s harder when they don’t — especially as we don’t make physical products; we’re a big group of people helping dealer and OEM partners and consumers sell and buy cars. We’re great at slick PowerPoints about where we want to get to, but when things aren’t going to plan, leadership is about being there for the team, listening, changing direction, explaining what we’ve learned and what we’ll do about it — staying on the path. Listen, coach, be agile, and be willing to say we made a mistake (or I did).

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Keeping an innovative edge

Louisa Murray: How do you keep an innovative mindset — any tips?

John Veichmanis: I use Todoist — whenever I have an idea, it goes into a folder of random ideas. Often I revisit the next day and delete the terrible ones. Culture matters most: hire for curiosity; hire people unafraid to build what doesn’t exist or to solve category‑first problems. Give people permission to take risks and accept that sometimes things won’t work — as long as we don’t repeat the same mistakes.

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Success, failure, and the 30% rule

John Veichmanis: Looking at product and tech tests — A/B testing new features — we see about a 3‑in‑10 (30%) success rate. That means more failures than wins — and that’s fine. We hack tests together rather than building polished products, just to see reactions. If you’re “winning” 80% of the time, you’re probably not trying hard enough or taking big enough steps. The key is keeping a repository of learnings so we don’t rerun failed ideas.

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Pride in building, not babysitting

John Veichmanis: What keeps me coming to work? I want to prove I can build an amazing technology business. It’s a privilege to be a CEO. Time goes too quickly; I can’t imagine getting bored. There’s pride in building something together — not babysitting someone else’s five‑year‑old work. Helping the team achieve that is an amazing reason to get out of bed every day.

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The art of partnership

Louisa Murray: Partnerships are a big part of Carwow — dealers and other relationships. What makes a good partner?

John Veichmanis: Listening. Early on we thought of ourselves like a retailer with the end consumer as number one. For a marketplace, that’s too simplistic. We must serve partners operating on the platform — manufacturers and dealers — who pay our bills — as well as consumers. Balancing both is complex and multi‑dimensional. I spend a lot of time on the road with OEMs and dealers to ensure we’re building a platform that serves their needs and our end consumers.

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Learning from the front line

John Veichmanis: We used to send only sales and account teams to partners. Now, literally everyone in the business spends time with dealers — in showrooms — to build deep appreciation of what matters to them. Many of us have never been car dealers; empathy and understanding are essential so we don’t design for the wrong use cases.

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The right CEO for every stage

Louisa Murray: Is there a “perfect CEO” for each growth stage?

John Veichmanis: I think so. I’m most energised by the growth stage — solving problems that haven’t been solved before. At Farfetch, we went from ~400 people to ~4,500 in four years — I joined around Series D and loved taking it through IPO. I’m probably not the best “Series A from nothing” person; I’m better at helping something scale once it’s reached a certain point. Find what you enjoy — and a company that lets you try new things. That’s a great interview question to ask.

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Getting the best from your team

John Veichmanis: Joining a business like ours isn’t for the faint‑hearted — growth is hard graft — but it creates amazing opportunities to try new things and grow your career as fast as the business. I talk a lot about clarity: what do you want from working at Carwow? Interviews are a two‑way conversation — this has to be the right place for your career. Put clarity around that so when opportunities arise you’re ready to jump. If we add 100 roles and have to hire 100 new people because our people weren’t ready, I’ve failed as CEO. Managers must be clear on what we’re giving — most people don’t work just for money — and honest about what we can and can’t do. That’s the foundation for developing the team and why people go the extra mile.

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Closing thoughts & reflections

Louisa Murray (closing reflection): John’s advice for aspiring leaders: find work you love and a company that lets you experiment — stay curious and you’ll succeed. His enthusiasm for the business really shone through; he’d be a boss I’d want to work for.

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