What does it take to scale a consultancy fourfold, while keeping culture, autonomy, and team spirit at the centre?

In this episode of Climb in Consulting, Nick Synnott sits down with Tobias Robinson, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Cross 8, to explore exactly that.

Tobias’ story is anything but typical. From starting as a contractor to co-founding a consultancy that’s grown from £2M to £8M in just three years, he shares his unfiltered take on entrepreneurship, leadership, and how to grow a values-driven business that still delivers commercially.

This episode covers:
- Why Tobias believes schools need to teach entrepreneurship early
- Cross 8’s journey to £8M and the systems that made it happen
- Why Toby prioritised hiring experienced consultants over the traditional pyramid
- Cross 8’s global fire engine expedition and why it says everything about their culture
- The power of practical skills, risk appetite, and building a business that works for life, not just the exit
- How Tobias manages multiple ventures without burning out, and why Oliver Burkman’s philosophy changed how he works

Whether you’re growing your consulting firm, thinking about your next move, or just love a good entrepreneurial story, this episode is packed with lessons.

Enjoy the show!

Episode 154: From Side Hustle to £8M - Cross 8’s Journey with Tobias Robinson

As a management consultant myself I’ve always been lucky to have mentors who have guided me through my career. 

When I was in house I regularly had quality time with Senior Partners that helped me rapidly accelerate my career and has continued to help since I’ve gone out on my own. 

While I had this great resource and knowledge bank to draw on I know many friends in Consulting aren’t as lucky with some only speaking with senior partners on a monthly or quarterly basis. 

That’s why I created this podcast. 

I wanted to help people like you who want to accelerate their careers in consulting by interviewing leaders in the field to share the advice, tips and strategies that they used to get to the top so that you can to so that you can too.

In each Episode I’ll be interviewing a senior figure in the industry so that you can learn from them. We’ll be going deep in to their background, how they succeeded and what their advice would be for you.

This podcast is brought to you by Create Engage the Digital Marketing agency for the disruptive Management Consultancy.

Digital Marketing has moved forward, but most consulting firms haven’t. Many Consulting firms still see their corporate blog as their sole Digital Marketing channel and find themselves frustrated when these blogs yield little if any results.

To help those of you who want to harness the power of Digital Marketing to grow your Consulting Business but don’t have the knowledge, capacity or in-house capability to do so I launched Create Engage, the first Digital Marketing agency for the Management Consulting Industry.

If you’d like to find out more about how Create Engage can help you use Digital Marketing to take your business to the next level then drop me an email at Nick@CreateEngage.co.uk or go to our website 

www.createengage.co.uk where you can download our free case study that breaks down down the Digital Marketing strategies used by one successful Consulting firm to help them grow over 400% in just 3 years and gives you the secrets they used, so that you can apply them in your own firm.

Episode 154: From Side Hustle to £8M - Cross 8’s Journey with Tobias Robinson

Climb In Consulting