About The Grafter

The Grafter exists because Rachel needed it, and couldn’t find it.

Like many founders, her first business was built through sheer determination. It grew, it worked, and eventually it sold. But the exit wasn’t what it could have been. There was value left on the table, not because the business lacked potential, but because the preparation hadn’t started early enough. At the time, that felt like bad luck and bad timing.

Her second business, Difrent, was different. It was built with intent, momentum, and ambition; and exited for £13.3 million in just over 1,000 days. On paper, it was a success story. In reality, the journey was far harder than it needed to be.

The process was intense. The decisions were heavy. And despite having advisors around the table, there was no one helping with the human side of it all: the uncertainty, the trade-offs, the emotional weight of shaping an outcome that would define the next chapter of her life.

What Rachel discovered was a gap. There were plenty of people willing to talk about valuation, deals, and growth tactics. Very few willing or able to help founders think clearly about what they wanted, what they were giving up, and how to prepare properly - years before those decisions became urgent.

So she built the service she wished she’d had.

The Grafter was created to help founders navigate growth, fundraising, and exit decisions with clarity, structure, and experienced support. Not to pressure or give generic advice. It’s rooted in lived experience, not theory. And it’s designed to start early enough to make a real difference.

Today, The Grafter has worked with over 50 founders across healthcare, consultancy, SaaS, and beyond, helping them avoid the same mistakes, prepare earlier, and build businesses that give them real choices.

Because founders shouldn’t have to figure this stuff out alone.