My business life - bitesize

I was NOT a gifted or focused individual as a school leaver, and it took some time to find my motivation, passion and purpose. Shout out to my first employer for trying...........you deserved so much better. It did though teach me so much about work and life to set me on my way.

Via a conscious choice I went into technical sales and then into management (via management academy selection and training) with a high growth family-owned business that went from ￡35m to ￡115m in around 8years to become the largest independent. I wish I had pushed myself to do it earlier as I loved leading a new small business and the challenge it brought (kudos to all the small business owners out there as it is THE hardest thing to do). Building teams, leading, managing the P&L etc while still being a doer is a baptism of fire that tests even the greatest minds. Rather than take a progressive role when offered, I wanted a new challenge and spent some time on an SAP rollout which was a huge people and business process challenge that proved unsuccessful (in my opinion). It was so vastly different from my previous experience (more shades of grey, more restrictions) and really hurt not to come out on top.

I wanted to create and build in a new venture and joined a tech company that wanted to enter the lighting market with LED products. They were armed with only a logo and the appetite to create a new business and wanted someone to action it. I did just that and used my experience in lighting, work and life to build out a business, products and a roadmap into a business generating many millions each year with a fine reputation. We introduced several world firsts, and the team were (big thanks to them all) an extension of what I wanted our business to be. If you are any kind of leader the team is a mirror of what you demand (good or bad) and I really believe this.

The business (and holding group) was being prepared for a sale and after over 7 years of giving to my team I was being instructed to take from them by the shareholders. Various benefits were being removed and it was not something I was prepared to administer and after being told it was non negotiable I tendered my immediate resignation and left. My shares were taken back (in a very dubious fashion) and sadly I was unable to complete that journey. I felt like it was my baby and I had nurtured it through birth, school, college and on to university and a sale for me would have been like it leaving home (the journey complete). ?

After a little time out I tried a B2C business with my partner and learned that relationships and business do not mix (well you have to learn by your own mistakes sometimes). The challenge of B2C rather than B2B was really stimulating for my personal business growth. Again though the feeling of not actually succeeding was like a knife cut to someone who measures themselves continually.

Just before the pandemic I joined an Agri Tech start up that had recently taken a ￡7.5m series A fund (at a ￡23m pre revenue valuation) and was again immersed in the B2B market with the (gleeful) challenge of how to go to market, to whom and in what way. I LOVED IT despite Covid19 hitting within a week of starting. The business was well funded and focused with a wealth of different key people, experiences and an agile culture. During CV-19 when others were battening down the hatches and going into self preservation mode we just kept pushing and growing relentlessly. You have to have fire, passion and resilience to keep pushing to reach market stage in the face of such adversity. Hardware and software products need finetuned, marketing and go to market plans needed creation and of course the needle needs to be pushed daily. It was a little bit of me and a great learning curve as we undertook market size evaluations with a seasoned mentor, we created pitch decks, we worked with leading consultants on GTM and I did around 100 hours of prospect interviews. It was a fabulous experience for anyone loves business and as expected there were plenty of bumps in the road but we entered Series B funding (which proved successful a few months later at a whopping ￡150m valuation!). The team had closed a few initial deals and were really close to further larger deals but there was something that happened that did not sit well with me and I decided it best to move on. I had a great experience and the business went on to make bookings that exceeded ￡70m and counting so kudos to them.

I was immediately asked to and joined a small lighting power and control business owned by an old work colleague who knew what I could bring to the business and gave me a free hand to take a deep dive into the business and make policy and strategy changes. We built a formal product roadmap, elevation strategy, GTM plan and more while also working on revenue and positioning. We took a deep dive into the operations, purchasing and financing of the business to ensure success. I am a strategic thinker but I am also a doer in the sense of the word. I created, pitched, grew and built purpose within the team and as we entered 2022 the rocket ship really took off. We broke (destroyed) sales records month on month and worked diligently on the next generation of products, the bigger picture etc. Every metric we had created (it is important to measure more than just the numbers), we beat. We improved spirit, we made winning a daily process and the minimum requirement. We supported each other while making demands of each other to be better, faster, more capable. The team were awesome and in a different universe I would love to stay on and follow the journey but to really ring my bell the business needed a larger appetite for the growth curve and more adequate and further funding (this is purely my opinion).

So now I look for the next challenge and I am so excited. Post pandemic there are still plenty of challenges but with it will come many opportunities. I learn as I go and most of all I go to work (in whatever shape that might take) with passion and purpose. Through contacts I am working with start-ups and SME businesses to help them grow and develop by using my hard earned skills and passion and purpose but who knows, a start-up that really floats my boat might get my undivided attention in the future. ?

Thanks

James ?????