Season 9 | Ep4 Ricky Burns: How to build £1.1M profit in year one (after losing it all at 32)

The RAG Podcast - Recruitment Agency Growth Podcast

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Ricky Burns: How to build £1.1M profit in year one (after losing it all at 32)

Ricky Burns made incredible money at 28

Then he drank it all away.

Partied it into oblivion and got hit with a massive VAT bill he couldn't pay.

Most people never recover from that kind of failure, but at 32, he decided to shut the business down and start again.

He went back into employment for 11 years.

Ran European divisions. Watched. Learned. Took notes on what actually works.

Then in September 2024 he launched Pulse Group with his co-founder Tony.

12 months later:

£1.4M in fees
£1.1M in EBITDA (profit)

I don't know anyone who's achieved these numbers in year one.

This week on The RAG Podcast, Ricky breaks it all down.

We cover:

How they hit £1.1M profit in 12 months (it's simpler than you think)
What killed his first business (beyond the partying)
The 10 years of lessons that made the comeback inevitable
Why he paired recruitment with SOW consultancy
The systems and client focus driving 83% margins
How AI is making them more efficient without adding headcount
Why work-life balance is now non-negotiable

This isn't your typical "I scaled fast" story.

This is brutal honesty about failure, sobriety, and building something sustainable the second time around.

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