David Horne media
About David Horne
Business Growth Strategist | M&A Expert | Author
David B Horne has spent nearly four decades helping ambitious founders build businesses that don't just grow, they multiply. A Chartered Accountant by background, David has raised more than £120 million in growth capital and completed 33 mergers, acquisitions and exits. He has helped companies scale from startup to market leader through strategic funding, acquisitions, and disciplined financial leadership. Today, as founder of ADD THEN MULTIPLY, he works with entrepreneurs turning over £2–20 million who want to accelerate growth, increase business value, and build companies that can ultimately thrive without them.
Throughout his career, David has served as CFO for listed companies, high-growth businesses, and entrepreneurial ventures, including Daniel Priestley's companies, giving him a front-row seat to what separates businesses that plateau from those that scale exponentially. His proven FACE methodology: Fund, Acquire, Consolidate, Exit shows founders how to move beyond the limits of organic growth and create transformational business value through strategic acquisitions and robust financial foundations.
David is also a passionate advocate for female founders. After being asked a simple question following a speaking engagement: why so little investment reaches women-led businesses, he began researching the issue and uncovered the systemic funding gap that continues to exist across venture capital. That journey led him to become an outspoken ally for women in business, challenging investment bias while helping female entrepreneurs navigate fundraising with greater confidence. His work has influenced investors as well as founders, with venture capital partners describing his insights as both eye-opening and transformative.
A sought-after keynote speaker and podcast guest, David's TEDx talk “The Fight for Fairer Funding” has been viewed more than 3 million times, and he is the author of two books on business growth and entrepreneurship: Add then Multiply and Funded Female Founders. Whether discussing scaling strategies, acquisitions, leadership transitions, fundraising, or the realities of building lasting businesses, David combines boardroom experience with practical, actionable insights that founders can immediately apply.
As he transitions from CEO to Chairman of the company he founded, David is equally passionate about helping entrepreneurs build businesses that create both wealth and freedom, because the greatest measure of success isn't building a business that depends on you, but one that continues to grow long after you've stepped away.
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Female Founders and Venture Capital: the data behind the funding gap and what changes it
Despite producing exceptional businesses, female founders continue to receive a disproportionately small share of venture capital investment worldwide. David explores the published data that first…
Finance as a Growth Function: building financial foundations that support hiring, investment and M&A
Many founders see finance as something that reports what happened last month, when in reality it should be shaping every major growth decision. As businesses scale, weak financial foundations quietly…
POPULARGrowth by Acquisition: scaling from 1 million to 28 million pounds through funding and integration
Most entrepreneurs are told that sustainable growth comes from selling more, hiring more people, and waiting patiently for results. But for founders who want to build significant enterprise value…
Removing the Founder Bottleneck: systems and leadership that let a business run without you
Many entrepreneurs unknowingly become the biggest bottleneck in the businesses they've worked so hard to build. David shares why, after decades of scaling companies, raising capital, and leading…
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