From £500,000 Spent to Zero Customers… to International Expansion

In this episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, Jonathan Larbey, Founder & CEO of T-Pro, shares the hard lessons learned while scaling a healthcare technology business internationally.

After achieving early success in Ireland, T-Pro attempted to replicate the same strategy in the UK. The result?

 Nearly £500,000 spent over two years
 Not a single customer acquired

Jonathan explains the pivotal changes that transformed their fortunes and set the company on a path to international growth.

•  Why T-Pro partnered with private equity firm Livingbridge and the role they played in accelerating growth

•  The reality of entering new markets organically – and why it can be slow, expensive, and incredibly challenging

•  Why T-Pro chose Australia and New Zealand as key expansion markets

•  The strategy behind acquiring two businesses in Australia and one in New Zealand

•  The challenges of integrating teams across multiple countries, time zones, and cultures

•  The integration framework T-Pro follows to maximise the success of every acquisition

•  Why they didn’t target the US market first

•  How they funded an acquisition when traditional bank financing couldn’t move fast enough

•  Why Jonathan has no interest in minority investments

•  How M&A will play a crucial role in T-Pro’s ambition to achieve Unicorn status

This conversation is packed with practical lessons for founders, operators, and anyone interested in scaling businesses through acquisition and international expansion.