Founder Of The Week: Andrew McLernon

Tell Me About Yourself and Interlink

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Interlink, a B2B lead generation company approaching our ninth year in business. We’ve grown on average 75% year on year since we started in 2018 and so we’ve had to become specialists in reinventing ourselves year after year.

We specialise in AI-driven demand generation for enterprise technology companies operating in global markets, combining advanced intent-targeting technology with highly personalised, human-led engagement to deliver quality demand generation at scale. In short, we help enterprise tech businesses connect prospective clients with their sales teams.

We identify as a market disruptor and try to achieve this by developing cutting-edge solutions for our clients but also creating the best possible workplace for our staff. An example of how we do this is working a 4-day work week (with 5 days’ pay).

What Inspired You To Start Interlink, and What Problem Were You Trying To Solve?

I always wanted to start a business and experience fast growth and scale from the driving seat. The opportunity to do it in the digital media industry came to my co-founder Jay and I when we were both working in sales roles but becoming increasingly frustrated at what we were selling.

We experienced low client retention driven by poor-quality leads, lack of transparency and misaligned incentives. Too often, technology companies were investing heavily in demand generation without seeing meaningful, long-term results. We believed there was a better way to operate. We founded Interlink in 2018 to focus on quality, trust and outcomes, not volume for its own sake. By combining AI-driven insight with human judgement and ethical practice, we set out to build a more effective, transparent and people-first approach to lead generation.

What Has Been Your Biggest Challenge So Far, and How Did You Overcome It?

My biggest challenge has been having the patience to build the right foundations before scaling. There were moments when we could have grown faster by hiring aggressively, but that would have meant taking something to market before it was truly best in class. Instead, we focused on mastering the fundamentals: our technology, client success and delivery. Over time, we’ve had to rebuild structures and processes repeatedly, not because they failed, but because we outgrew them.

I’ve learned there is no finish line in business. Embracing constant evolution and learning has shaped how I lead and enabled sustainable growth.

Can You Describe a Pivotal Moment That Significantly Shaped the Direction of Interlink?

A major turning point was deciding to move away from an outsourced model and start generating leads in-house. While we had been working with a small number of high-quality external data partners, we realised that relying on third parties ultimately put a ceiling on our growth and limited how much control we had over quality and innovation.

Bringing creation of our product in-house allowed us to build and train our own teams, embed our values into the work and scale without compromising standards. It also gave us greater transparency for clients and ensured we stayed aligned with the principles the business was founded on.

For your business: Success is being the best lead generation company in the industry. That’s always been our reason for existing. While our goals and objectives have changed over time, that “why” has stayed the same and continues to guide our decisions. As well, we know our success is directly tied to the wellbeing and satisfaction of our team and this reinforces our commitment to making Interlink a place where everyone can do their best work, be their authentic selves and grow alongside the business.

As a founder: We often talk about a goal or a ‘destination’ when planning our next phases of growth, but the truth is those destinations change again before you ever get to them. As the saying goes, it’s the journey, not the destination. Success for me is staying present and finding joy in the often-messy growth phase, rather than waiting for it all to come at once at a destination we may never arrive at.

What Advice Would You Give To Someone Thinking About Launching Their Own Startup?

I have only been a founder of one business, and I have a co-founder. Neither of us had any experience of running a business and so having each other for support and company in the early days was crucial. If it’s your first time running a business, I would encourage looking at starting with a co-founder.

Coaching has been incredibly valuable to me on this journey. Often people do not see the extent of the pressure and stress behind the scenes for founders and having an outlet where you can embrace the difficult moments, learn about why you feel how you do and predict future patterns is incredibly valuable.

Be clear on your DNA as a business and don’t feel like you should change it to suit an opportunity that presents itself. Be your authentic self because authenticity is rare. I feel like when you speak about your business as your authentic self, passion can take over in a positive way and people listen to you.

Know your numbers, all the time. Learn how to spot future trends by knowing your core metrics inside out and track them meticulously. When you know your numbers, they turn into dials that you can turn as and when you need to. Don’t be afraid to let people know that you enjoy it. Life is too short not to.

What’s Next for Interlink? Any Exciting Developments We Should Watch Out For?

Over the last couple of years, our focus has been on global expansion after getting the foundations right. We now operate across London, India, Singapore and New York, and in the past 12–18 months we’ve built a formal sales function, which was the final piece of that groundwork. With those fundamentals in place, we’re now focused on scaling with intent.

The next phase is about going deeper into what matters most to our clients. That means understanding their challenges, identifying where we can unlock opportunity, and evolving our technology and services around genuine needs. Client success sits at the centre of everything we do.

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We wanted to know a bit more about the man behind Interlink, so we’ve put together the exclusive Founders’ 5 with Andrew McLernon.

Never hire a ‘top performer’ when you have a feeling they might not be a good culture fit. We learned this early, and the best thing we did was take decisive action as soon as we realised we had made a mistake.

The ever-evolving workplace trend towards flexibility with intentional connection. How can a business foster the optimal working environment that provides balance between remote flexibility and in -person mentorship?

Culture is what happens when nobody is watching. It is a company’s immune system.

A book, “The Almanack of Naval Ravikant”.

Want to be featured as TechRound’s Founder of the Week? Know someone who deserves to be recognised as a founder making waves in the startup landscape? Find out more about this weekly feature and how to get involved here.