Interwoven | Episode 2: From Corporate Life to Founder: Sarah McKee-Harris on Building Kingswood Group

Before founding Kingswood Group, Sarah McKee-Harris spent years in HR recruitment, moving between small businesses and global firms in London and beyond. For all her success, a pivotal tension lingered: balancing professional ambition with the desire for more presence in her young son’s life. “My primary focus and reason for going alone was to… spend more time with my family,” she reflects, though she’s quick to admit that entrepreneurial life has proved anything but leisurely.

Her journey into entrepreneurship did not begin with elaborate planning or certainty. Instead, she started small, alone at home, focused on her core expertise. Only as the business gained momentum did new ideas and needs emerge. Realising local businesses needed ongoing HR support, not just recruitment, Sarah McKee-Harris expanded, hiring her first staff and developing consultancy services. Each growth spurt brought new risks: spinning multiple plates, worrying about cash flow, and learning to manage people for the first time. She credits her family’s accounting background, a willingness to ask for help, and an openness to learning as keys to navigating uncertainty.

Building Kingswood Group changed how Sarah McKee-Harris sees herself and what matters in business. She describes the unexpected rewards, and challenges, of leading a team, and the importance of aligning decisions to values, even when that means walking away from big clients. For listeners, her story offers a realistic window into entrepreneurial reinvention: a blend of ambition and adaptability, small experiments and difficult choices, humility and courage. Success isn’t about having all the answers at the start, it’s the product of reflection, support, and choosing to act even with imperfect information.