Interview: Founder Adam & Director Sharron

On the podcast, it’s Ads & Shaz doing the interviewing. It’s time to turn the tables and hear from Founder Adam and Co-Director Sharron to talk all things Juno: how we started, what we do and how this partnership came to be.

What does Juno do, and who do you work with?

Adam: We work alongside owners of established businesses who know their business could be better…but are often too close to it, or too busy running it, to make the changes themselves.

Usually the business is already successful and something is getting in the way of the next stage. Growth, people, structure, profitability, accountability, owner dependence. Or simply a lack of clarity about where it's all heading.

We help owners unpack what's really going on, work out what matters most, and then actually make it happen. The big difference is that we don't hand over a strategy document and disappear. We stay alongside the business through implementation.

Our team have all run businesses in their own right (former CEOs, COOs and GMs), so we bring real operating experience, not just theory. Ultimately, we want the business to create more for the people who built it. More confidence, more choice, more freedom.

Adam, what led you to start Juno?

Adam: Throughout my career I'd seen businesses being over-sold and under-delivered to by advisors. There was plenty of smart advice, but then the advisor would leave, and the business was expected to do the hardest part – implementation – on its own.

I could never understand why the people giving the advice weren't helping make it happen. Eventually I realised that often they'd never actually run businesses themselves. Implementation wasn't their skill set.

I kept coming back to the same thought: how good would it be to have someone who had genuinely run and grown businesses like mine, who understood what it felt like to sit in the owner's seat, and who didn't just tell you what to do but stayed around and helped make it happen? Someone on your side of the table, not advising from the sidelines.

That's really where Juno came from.

How did you find Sharron, and how did you know she was the right business partner?

Adam: When I started building Juno, I had to be pretty honest with myself about what I was good at and, more importantly, what I wasn't. I have a few strengths and plenty of weaknesses.

I knew I didn't need another version of me. I needed someone whose strengths complemented mine.

Sharron and I were introduced through a mutual friend. At the time she was looking for some assistance with a business she was working in, so we started working together in that context initially. It gave me the chance to see how she operated before there was ever a conversation about a partnership.

Shaz had a completely different skill set to mine. She could take an idea and turn it into action, brought structure, led people exceptionally well and generally made things happen. Just as importantly, our values were aligned: we both cared about people, outcomes and building something truly different.

We don't always think the same way, and that's a strength. We challenge each other, bring different perspectives and are comfortable calling things as we see them.

Over time it became pretty obvious to me: if I was going to build Juno into what I thought it could become, Sharron was the person I wanted to build it with.

Sharron, did it take much convincing?

Sharron: About a year. But it was probably less about Adam convincing me and more about me working out what I wanted to do next.

I'd taken a sabbatical after a pretty full-on career, and I turned 50 that year. It was a natural point to stop and actually think about what I wanted the next chapter to look like and how I wanted to spend my time. There was travelling, plenty of poolside margaritas, and more honest reflection than I'd done in years.

It became really clear that whatever I did next, I wanted to use everything I'd learned from running businesses, leading teams and navigating the messy reality of it to make a difference for others. And I knew I didn't want to do it alone. I wanted to build something with someone; to have that partnership, that challenge and that shared ambition.

What appealed to me about Juno was the opportunity to take all of that operating experience and use it to help business owners make real, tangible change. I wanted to actually be there while they made it happen, rather than just talk about what could be done.

Adam and I are very different people and that's ultimately one of the reasons the partnership works.

So yes, it took a year. But Adam didn't really convince me…I got clear on what I wanted, who I wanted to do it with, and the difference I wanted to make. Juno became the answer.

What have been some of your biggest challenges in building Juno?

Sharron: Building Juno while simultaneously figuring out what Juno should become. Those two things don't always sit comfortably together.

Adam: Moving from me being the product to building a business where clients get an exceptional Juno experience regardless of which advisor they work with. That's a significant shift and it doesn't happen overnight.

Sharron: Learning to let go ourselves…which is slightly ironic given we spend our time helping clients do exactly that. Finding exceptional people with genuine operating experience and the emotional intelligence to sit alongside business owners. Creating consistency without becoming corporate or formulaic.

Adam: Building awareness beyond our existing networks and referrals. Balancing growth with protecting the quality of client outcomes. And learning that deciding what not to do can be just as important as deciding what to do.

The underlying question we've always come back to is: how do we grow Juno without losing what makes Juno Juno?

And what did you get right from the start?

Adam: We stayed very close to our clients and listened. We focused on outcomes rather than hours, reports or activity. We made implementation part of the model from day one rather than treating it as an afterthought.

Sharron: We built the team around genuine operating experience rather than traditional consulting credentials. We built relationships based on trust and a willingness to have the conversations that actually need to be had. We didn't pretend to have everything figured out. And we changed things quickly when something wasn't working.

Adam: We also naturally played to our different strengths from the beginning, rather than fighting over territory. And we kept Juno human. For our clients and for our team.

What are you most proud of now?

Sharron: The tangible changes we've seen in clients' businesses, and what those changes have meant for their lives. Seeing owners become more confident leaders, improve profitability, build stronger teams, take proper holidays and create businesses that give them genuine choices about what comes next.

Adam: Building a team of seriously capable people who care deeply about client outcomes. Seeing clients build trusted relationships with the whole Juno team, rather than just with Sharron and I. Creating a place where people enjoy coming to work and feel proud of what they're building.

Sharron: Growing Juno without losing the personality, care and humanity that were there at the beginning. I'm proudest when a change in someone's business creates a positive change in their life. That's ultimately why we're doing this.

What's next for Juno?

Adam: We absolutely want to keep growing, but not for growth's sake. We want to reach more great business owners who would benefit from having Juno alongside them. Continue building an exceptional team and deepen the collective expertise within the business.

Sharron: Keep building the Juno community through our events, podcasts and content. Bring interesting business people together. Explore new ways for owners to experience Juno while protecting what makes the core advisory model work.

Adam: Our ambition is bigger than just building a great business. We want to change what business owners expect from an advisory firm altogether, and help more businesses create more of what matters.

Intrigued to learn more about what we do? Read more here, or get in touch. We love to chat.