SCD Advisory acted as sell-side adviser to Hypothesis on their sale to McKinsey & Company

Rapidly growing client demand for support building digital products and experiences was a key driver for pursuing inorganic growth on top of McKinsey Digital Australia’s organic growth in Build.

When identifying potential teams to bring in, cultural fit was a critical factor. Rhonda Sweet, head of professional development for Build by McKinsey in Australia, is helping to bring the teams together. “The Hypothesis team have a very similar client-centric impact and relationship-driven approach to client development and service,” Rhonda says. “It’s thrilling to welcome new talent and add fresh perspectives to fuel creativity, learning, and innovation. We feel empowered to have both companies join us, deepening our culture and community.”

Hypothesis has an excellent track record of delivering digital impact in some of Australia’s most influential organizations. McKinsey Digital and Hypothesis share a focus on digital product development, design, agile transformation, and distinctive talent, and they have a shared vision of defining a new era of transformation that is enabled by technology and sustained through capabilities.

Grant Hartland, who co-founded Hypothesis with Sean Heydenrych, explains the Hypothesis ethos. “We solve problems by understanding the entire system and then execute in a way that creates momentum and delivers real business outcomes,” he says. “We want to make sure our clients succeed.”

Venturetec brings a solid track record of serving a number of organizations in Australia and Asia on new business building and innovation strategy. “We help our clients incubate ventures and products and develop the mindsets and capabilities for innovation,” saysTrey Zagante, managing partner.

“As our clients reimagine their business models to achieve new growth, the addition of Hypothesis and Venturetec, with their proven methodologies and strong client-first culture will strengthen our ability to be true end-to-end impact partners,” says David Pountney, the McKinsey partner leading the integration.

“Today marks an exciting chapter in the continued evolution of Build by McKinsey. The addition of Hypothesis and Venturetec will accelerate our Build by McKinsey growth in Asia Pacific and help us continue to create amazing experiences with our clients,” adds Vinayak HV, McKinsey Senior Partner for Build in Asia.

Pierre Briand, the Managing Partner of SCD Advisory:

We are proud to have advised the founders of Hypothesis throughout their growth and exit journey. Their intense focus on high quality execution and their client-centricity is admirable and reflected in their strong business performance, which ultimately resulted in an efficient and rewarding sale process – finding a home within the world’s premier management consulting firm. SCD Advisory wishes them success in their new venture within McKinsey Digital!

At SCD Advisory, we offer a range of services from deal preparation to transaction execution. Contact us at info@scdadvisory.com to find out more.