I’m James. I’m the Founder of Figby.

You need to know I have scars before you trust me with your time, so here is the (mostly) unfiltered version.

Currently, I’m an MD. I’ve spent the last few years helping build a company into a well-run machine that now operates largely without its founders and me. Doing this was a tough task, we had to figure out new operations, empower the team to take things on, all while driving up margins.

I kept seeing other business owners hit the exact same wall: they had a messy, brilliant vision. The issue was that they were taking frantic action in lots of directions, never really sticking with anything long enough to see if it would help them elevate to the next stage. They were losing all their time, their team weren’t pulling through consistently, and they felt isolated at the top. Why was this happening? Because they didn’t have time to intentionally work on the business they were too busy dealing with the urgent every day.

So we flipped the script. We assembled our leadership team for a series of strategy retreats. We painted, we created Lego, we used more post-it notes than I though possible, hundreds of flipchart pads later we had it. We had a a clear creative strategy and an energised team ready for big action.

It turns out while I made a good MD I was a great teacher and could help bring out the best in people. Probably because before I went into business, I spent a decade as a Senior Leader in schools, teaching Economics. I loved helping people grow, but I struggled with the artificial hoops and endless corporate paperwork. Once I had my children, I knew I wanted something different.

Before starting to teach, I actually started my own businesses. Two were pretty good, but one was a financial disaster that taught me exactly what not to do.

Before all that? The story gets a bit random. I researched dolphins in Africa, worked as a scuba diver in Croatia, and survived a deeply embarrassing stint as a DJ in Spain.

But today, my North Star is simple: Be a great Dad to my two kids (and the dog), and help good founders build strategies they are excited by.