How did you get involved with Stiltz?
I’ve been in the mobility sector for most of my working life. I was part of a management buyout of Minivator, a stairlift company and became the CEO there. The business grew from a $6 million turnover to $60 million, and 
we sold it on. I spent some time investing in other companies, but then Lachlan Faulkner and his then-partner were introduced to me. They had recently co-founded Stiltz, he is now Chief Commercial Officer, and his business partner is no longer involved, and wanted me to come in as Chairman. Stiltz Homelifts looked like an excellent proposition and I could see that, unlike stairlifts, they wouldn’t just appeal to people with mobility problems. They’d be an attractive and practical addition to any home. I was delighted to get involved.
At that point, Stiltz was only selling one or two lifts a month. I focused on developing growth-focused marketing and sales strategies and teams. I’ve also concentrated on making sure we are always as innovative as possible, staying ahead of the competition curve at all times. Cutting-edge technology and intuitive designs have always been key, and this has helped increase the company’s turnover from $500,000 to $100 million.
I love the homelift industry because we positively impact people’s lives. Some customers purchase our homelifts because they bring new character and elegance to their homes, and that’s wonderful. For others, however, it’s a more fundamental need. They’re able to go upstairs for the first time in years.
What’s a working day like for you?
My days vary a lot. I could be travelling, perhaps to visit our US operation in Pennsylvania or to talk to a customer about how they find the lift and the service we provide.
Wednesday is usually the “big meeting” day. We cover everything from sales targets to growth requirements and lead-generation strategy. But I have lots of meetings and briefing sessions on other days, too, perhaps with R&D or marketing teams. I also like to have lots of informal discussions with staff about their work as I walk around the office. I share what I learn with my senior leadership team, and we make swift decisions to keep the business moving forward at a good pace.
What tactics do you use to motivate your staff?
We’re on a journey together and try to look after each other. We keep meetings pretty relaxed – like we’re having a chat. It’s important not to take yourself too seriously, or you end up in a crumpled heap on the floor. I’ve worked with some of the staff at different businesses, and we’ve known each other for 20 or more years. But new team members slot right into the company culture, too.
We have a Wellbeing Committee, which our Group People Director oversees. These can include SEEM, which is our Employee Engagement Forum, where employee representatives give feedback to managers on a range of issues, or the Let’s Talk incentive, which encourages colleagues to take time out for each other and sit down for a heart-to-heart. We’re introducing a Volunteering Day where our people can get involved in causes close to their hearts, and teams are encouraged to participate in events such as Movember, Mental Health Week and Time to Talk Day.
How do you deal with stress?
I love my work, so I am happy doing what I do here. But I do play golf occasionally or go for a ride on my mountain bike. My wife has horses, so I help her feed them or go for a walk with the dogs. My real passion, though, is flying helicopters.
For me, feeling content is about not doing the same tasks all the time. I’m lucky enough to have a job that allows me to do many different things, whether talking to people, say, or getting involved in technological decisions. I could have retired by now, but I’m still here.
How do you define success as a business person?
A lot of it revolves around knowing customers are satisfied. We undertake ‘Happy Calls’ when we call people to ask them if we did a good job. Our Net Promoter Score is 75 which is exceptionally good. At the time of writing, our Trustpilot score is 4.5 stars; I want to get that to 5!
To help our people keep customers front of mind, we have developed a ‘typical customer’ couple called Colin and Linda. We constantly ask, “How have we made Colin’s life easier? How have we helped Linda?” They have their own email address from which we send out customer success stories and shoutouts, and there is a large graphic of them in our canteen, so the ‘customer first’ values are really embedded in our culture.
Making money is important, too, though. It’s a good way of keeping score. Are we driving profitability? Are we driving sales growth? Have we got a business that is becoming increasingly valuable over time? Doing the maths on EBITDA multiples and that sort of thing is just exciting. It gets me thinking constantly, “How can we do better next year?”
Have you ever felt unsure about a decision you’ve made?
People often talk about imposter syndrome, but I was lucky to be gifted with a lot of inner confidence from an early age, and it’s grown as I’ve gained more experience. I don’t tend to worry about things a great deal, and I think that’s good. I have no regrets. You make a decision; you can’t go back and change it. You just try to deal with the situation and take responsibility for your actions. That makes you feel in control rather than blaming someone else, which is great for your mental health.
How do you plan on growing the business?
There’s a fantastic opportunity to increase the size of our US business. It’s twice as big as the UK operation right now, which is great, but the American population is five times the size, so there’s lots of unrealised potential.
We’re introducing smart functions to our Stiltz Homelifts so they can tell us remotely when they need repair or maintenance. Stiltz will be 15 years old in September 2025, but competitors are only just starting to come into the homelift sector. We will use our innovation to keep ahead of them and lead the market. We are aiming for a $160 million turnover by 2030.
Mike Lord is Chairman and CEO of Stiltz, the UK’s leading homelift provider. The company manufactures, supplies, and installs a range of models in different sizes and for different needs. For more information, visit www.stiltz.co.uk/home-lifts/
