Entrepreneur and Right at Home UK founder Ken Deary shares five business lessons from his career across franchising, healthcare and private investment. Speaking at a Connection Capital fireside chat, he explores operational excellence, choosing the right people, managing risk, adapting to change and planning for long-term growth and succession.
Thursday 5 November saw us welcome clients to our London office for the latest instalment in our fireside chat series, with Ken Deary, entrepreneur, investor and founder of Right at Home UK, in conversation with Connection Capital's Luke Rooke.
From a successful career at Royal Insurance to becoming an award-winning McDonald's franchisee, Ken has spent more than three decades building, growing and investing in businesses. In 2010, he launched Right at Home UK, which has since grown into one of the country's largest home care franchise networks, with 91 offices and annual network turnover exceeding £100 million.
Drawing on his experiences across franchising, healthcare, property and private investment, Ken shared candid reflections on the challenges of entrepreneurship, the importance of operational discipline and the lessons learnt from navigating difficult economic conditions.
Here are five takeaways from the session.
1. Entrepreneurship requires more than an appetite for risk
For Ken, the ambition to run his own business was shaped long before he became an entrepreneur.
Growing up in Liverpool and Southport, he saw first-hand the rewards and challenges of running a small business through his father's work in the building trade. Those early experiences helped instil an entrepreneurial mindset, alongside a determination to build a secure and successful future.
That ambition stayed with him throughout a successful corporate career at Royal Insurance. Despite regular promotions and opportunities to work internationally, Ken remained drawn to the idea of building something of his own.
His eventual move into franchising was not the result of a groundbreaking business idea, but a willingness to recognise an opportunity and commit to it. After discovering McDonald's was expanding its franchise network in northern England, he underwent months of interviews followed by nine months of unpaid training before taking over his first restaurant in Southport in 1994.
The experience illustrated that entrepreneurial success is rarely about taking risks for their own sake. It requires determination, preparation and a willingness to accept responsibility when the security of employment is no longer there.
2. Operational excellence is the foundation of sustainable growth
Ken credits much of his subsequent business success to the lessons he learnt at McDonald's, particularly its uncompromising approach to standards, systems and financial management.
The company's rigorous operational processes extended to everything from cleanliness and customer service to detailed financial reporting. Franchisees could benchmark their performance against other restaurants, identifying differences in staffing costs, margins and other key measures.
Those disciplines became central to Ken's approach when he subsequently established Right at Home UK.
Although the home care sector is very different from fast food, Ken argued that the fundamentals of running a successful business remain remarkably consistent. Clear processes, strong financial oversight and an insistence on quality allow organisations to grow without losing control of the customer experience.
At Right at Home, that focus is reflected in the network's quality ratings. Ken highlighted that approximately 35% of its offices have achieved an overall 'Outstanding' rating from the Care Quality Commission, compared with a sector average of around 3%.
For Ken, maintaining standards is not simply an operational consideration. It is a responsibility that starts with leadership and must be embedded throughout the organisation.
3. The right people matter more than the money they bring
One of Ken's strongest convictions is that the success of a franchise business depends on the quality of the individuals operating within it.
When establishing Right at Home UK, he made a conscious decision to prioritise franchisees who shared his commitment to delivering high-quality care, rather than simply accepting applicants with the financial resources to invest.
He recalled turning away prospective franchisees offering substantial capital because they lacked the hands-on commitment needed to operate a successful local business.
Today, Right at Home's recruitment process involves extensive background checks, interviews, conversations with existing franchisees and a final assessment. Ken remains personally involved in evaluating candidates, believing that understanding someone's character and motivations is just as important as reviewing their professional credentials.
That approach has broader implications beyond franchising. Whether appointing management teams, choosing business partners or assessing investment opportunities, the quality and alignment of the people involved can be as important as the underlying business model.
As Ken explained, selecting the wrong individuals can undermine an organisation's culture, reputation and ability to maintain standards as it grows.
4. Building a resilient business means preparing for the unexpected
Despite his successes, Ken was candid about the periods when circumstances beyond his control placed his businesses under considerable pressure.
From the disruption caused by the BSE crisis during his time at McDonald's to the challenges of navigating the 2008 financial crisis, his career has involved its share of difficult market conditions and unexpected setbacks.
These experiences shaped his approach to managing risk, reinforcing the importance of sound financial management, robust business structures and diversification.
Ken also highlighted the attractions of the franchise model, particularly the recurring revenue generated through fees linked to franchisees' turnover. At Right at Home, this has helped create a relatively predictable income stream across a geographically diversified network.
Having established a successful core business, Ken is now exploring opportunities to invest in other sectors, reducing his exposure to any one industry.
His broader message was that resilience should be built into a business before it is tested, rather than treated as a response to a crisis.
5. Long-term success requires knowing when to evolve
Ken's decision to leave McDonald's was not driven by a lack of commercial success. Having built a portfolio of four restaurants, he increasingly felt constrained by the franchise's rigid operating model and limits on expansion.
He also wanted to build a business whose purpose resonated more closely with his own values.
That ambition ultimately led him into home care, where he saw an opportunity to combine his experience of franchising with a service that could make a tangible difference to people's lives.
Right at Home UK has since grown into a nationwide network, but Ken remains focused on what comes next. With an established management team in place, he is increasingly turning his attention towards diversification, investment and succession planning.
He also discussed the role of his family's investment activities in putting capital generated by the core business to work elsewhere, including through private market investments, while considering how to position the business for the next generation.
For Ken, building a successful business has never meant simply reaching a particular size or financial milestone. It is about recognising when a model has reached its limits, having the confidence to pursue new opportunities and putting the right structures in place for the future.
The broader lesson is that entrepreneurial success is not a destination. Sustaining it requires the same ambition, adaptability and discipline that helped build the business in the first place.