# Season 9 | Ep14 Stuart Mitchell: How he built $3M in 3 years (then realised he hated his own job)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-rag-podcast-recruitment-agency-growth-podcast-1158173/season-9-ep14-stuart-mitchell-how-he-built-3m-in-3-years-then-realised-he-hated-his-own-job
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-rag-podcast-recruitment-agency-growth-podcast-1158173/season-9-ep14-stuart-mitchell-how-he-built-3m-in-3-years-then-realised-he-hated-his-own-job.md
Podcast: [The RAG Podcast - Recruitment Agency Growth Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-rag-podcast-recruitment-agency-growth-podcast-1158173)
Published: 2026-01-21T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://hoxomedia.com
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/161cd87e-ca0e-4643-9efd-5f489947dc0a.mp3
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Duration seconds: 4162

## Resource

Stuart Mitchell: How he built $3M in 3 years (then realised he hated his own job) Stuart Mitchell launched Hampton North in September 2022. $1.6 million year one. $2.5 million year two. On track for $3 million plus in year three. Now 10 staff and projects $1m profit for next year. I interviewed him on the show in the middle of 2023, and things were flying. But over the following 18 months, he nearly broke. His dad died. His wife fell pregnant. And the VP he'd promised her-the guy who was supposed to take the pressure off-pulled out in January. "I had to go home to my newly pregnant wife and have a really hard conversation." For 6 months, Stuart ground it out alone. High expectations, low empathy. The worst version of himself. Then at a wedding, his old running mate Greg Anderson said: "I think we should do this again." Greg joined in June and immediately told Stuart the truth: "There is nothing here. No process. Nothing written down. You're making it impossible for anyone who joins to actually do well." This week on The RAG Podcast, Stuart tells the full story. We cover: Launching just before the 2023 downturn and hitting $1.6M in the first year Losing his dad and how it derailed him for two months The VP hire that fell through one week after his wife fell pregnant Why he admits "I had my own company and I didn't like my job" How one hire professionalised a business built entirely on talent Building a $3M agency with 10 people (and why he'll never scale past 25) Why he takes profit first and doesn't care about a big exit The role this LinkedIn profile and brand played in attracting top-tier talent This isn't about sacrifice for success. It's about a founder who built a multi-7-figure business, then redesigned it so he could pick his kids up from school. If you've ever…

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