Andrew McLernon is co-founder and CEO of Interlink, the B2B demand generation business he set up in 2018 with Jay Gorga, which now operates from offices in London, New York, Singapore and Pune.

In October 2025 the pair were highly commended in the Ones to Watch category of the LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders, with their entry highlighting the firm’s move to a four-day working week.

Based between Belfast and London, he tells Business Matters why Interlink has stayed self-funded, what an early hiring mistake taught him and why founders should invest in coaching sooner than they think.

What do you currently do at Interlink?

I am the co-founder and CEO of Interlink, a B2B demand generation business that operates globally from our offices in London, New York, Singapore and Pune.

We have grown by an average of around 75 per cent year on year since we started, so my role has evolved significantly along the way. In the early days, like most founders, I was involved in almost everything. Today, my focus is closer to that of a traditional CEO: the direction of the business, our growth strategy, our culture and making sure we continue to understand and solve the challenges facing our clients.

A large part of my job is making sure we scale without losing what made Interlink successful in the first place. That means continuing to innovate, but also protecting the culture we have built and creating an environment where people can do their best work.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

I had always wanted to start a business and experience the challenge of building and scaling something from the ground up.

The right opportunity came when my co-founder Jay and I were both working in sales within the digital media industry. We were becoming increasingly frustrated with what we were selling. Client retention was poor, lead quality was inconsistent and there was often a lack of transparency between providers and their clients.

Businesses were investing significant amounts in demand generation, but too often there was a disconnect between marketing activity and meaningful sales outcomes. We believed there was a better way to do it, so in 2018 we founded Interlink based on quality, transparency and long-term partnerships rather than simply generating volume.

That philosophy still underpins the business today. We combine proprietary AI technology and data with human judgement and highly personalised engagement, but the ultimate objective remains the same: helping our clients generate genuine commercial opportunities and creating relationships that last.

Who do you admire?

Having taken the leap myself, I admire anyone who starts a business in a bid to positively disrupt a market.

The passion my co-founder and I had when we started Interlink, we still have to this day. It is a passion to offer better quality and service in an industry we love.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

With the benefit of hindsight, there are plenty of things I could have done differently, but I also think a lot of the mistakes we made were an important part of learning how to build the business.

One of the biggest things I have learned is patience. When you are ambitious and growing quickly, there is always a temptation to move faster: hire more people, launch things earlier or chase the next opportunity. Over time, I have learned that getting the foundations right is more important. Sometimes slowing down in the short term puts you in a much stronger position to grow in the long term.

I have also learned how important culture is when hiring. Early on, we hired someone who looked brilliant on paper, even though we had doubts about whether they were the right fit for the business. We realised fairly quickly that we had made the wrong decision and acted on it, but it taught me not to ignore those instincts. Someone can be incredibly talented, but if they are not right for the culture, it rarely works.

If I were starting again, I would probably trust my instincts sooner and be more comfortable with the fact that building a great business does not always mean moving as quickly as possible.

What defines your way of doing business?

For me, it comes down to long-term thinking, authenticity and putting people first.

We have never wanted to build Interlink around growth at any cost. We have resisted investment throughout our journey in a bid to maintain control. This means we have had to make disciplined decisions about where and when we invest, but it has allowed us to push forward with disruptive internal initiatives like the four-day working week.

Staying self-funded felt important in our formative years. Looking to the future, we understand that continuing to grow and further improve our industry may involve investment, and that is something we are confident we could explore without losing our core values or culture.

The same principle applies to our relationships with clients. We want to understand the commercial challenge they are trying to solve rather than simply sell them a service. That focus on quality, transparency and outcomes was why we started Interlink and it remains fundamental to how we operate.

And then there is our team. We are proof that you can build a high-performing business without creating a culture where people are permanently exhausted. Our four-day working week is probably the most visible example of that philosophy, but it goes much deeper. It is about trust, flexibility and creating an environment where people can develop and do great work.

Ultimately, I think authenticity matters. Be clear about what your business stands for and resist the temptation to change that every time a new opportunity comes along.

What advice would you give to someone starting out?

Firstly, if you are starting your first business, seriously consider doing it with a co-founder. Jay and I had never run a business before Interlink, and having someone alongside you to share the decisions, pressure and uncertainty was incredibly important.

Secondly, know your numbers. You should understand the core metrics in your business inside out. When you understand what drives performance, those numbers become dials you can adjust rather than simply figures you review after the event.

I would also invest in coaching earlier than you think you need it. Founders experience pressures that are often invisible to everyone else. Having somewhere you can talk openly, understand your own behaviour and recognise patterns has been incredibly valuable to me.

Finally, be clear about the DNA of your business. You will constantly be presented with opportunities that could pull you in different directions, but not every opportunity is the right one.

Stay authentic, build something you genuinely believe in and enjoy the process. There is no final destination where suddenly everything in business is finished, so you have to find some enjoyment in the journey itself.

Read the full article →