Peer Effect

Most founders misunderstand what coaching is for. And it costs them. In this Post Bag episode, James Johnson and Freddie Birley unpack what coaching actually does - and why the best founders use it differently. This isn’t about frameworks.  It’s about decision-making, pressure, and telling the truth when it matters. Listen to the end if you’ve ever asked:  “Is coaching actually worth it?” More fro...

At some point, every founder becomes the bottleneck. In this episode of Peer Effect, James Johnson speaks with Max Teichert, founder of Track Titan , about the transition from doing everything yourself to building systems that scale. Max shares his journey from sim racing to launching Track Titan and explains how founders can stay close to product while avoiding burnout and decision overload. This...

"How do I not become an asshole?" Emma sent this to James Johnson and Freddie Birley for Peer Effect Post Bag. The fact she's asking is already a good sign. What you'll hear: Why self-reflection matters but isn't enough. Freddie breaks down the three groups you need around you. Your team is one. But they have limits most founders don't acknowledge. The power dynamic n...

Founders talk about values all the time. But do they actually drive growth? In this episode of Peer Effect, James Johnson speaks with Allison Kopf , CEO of TRACT , about how to turn company values into real operating principles that improve hiring, retention and performance. Allison shares practical frameworks for building mission-driven teams, running values workshops, hiring for cultural alignme...

"My best performing team member is also my worst behaved. What should I do?" Jack sent this to James Johnson and Freddie Birley for Peer Effect Post Bag. The answer is clear: one is worse than the other. What you'll hear: Why under-behaving vs underperforming are fundamentally different problems. James explains which one is more detrimental to your business and why most founders get...

Clementine Schouteden built a multimillion-pound e-commerce business selling premium products for Guinea pigs. Not small pets. Not rodents. Just Guinea pigs. As founder and CEO of Kavee (bootstrapped across UK, Europe, and US), Clementine spent 10 years being asked "why not expand?" Her answer changed how to think about focus. What you'll hear: Why 100% relevance to a small communit...

"What do I do if I feel like my co-founder is micromanaging me?" Anna sent this to James Johnson and Freddie Birley for Peer Effect Post Bag. The first question they ask: are they actually micromanaging you, or do you just feel that way? The distinction matters. Because micromanagement is usually a symptom, not the problem. What you'll hear: The co-founder assumption that's oft...

Fabien Koutchekian built his first company with two co-founders. They were completely misaligned. After one year, Fabien left. The company failed. As Co-Founder and CEO of Genomines (plant-based metal extraction, £45M Series A, 30 people across France and South Africa), Fabien's second attempt went very differently. Here's what he learned about choosing and working with co-founders. What...

"How to allow for team member personal challenges as a founder?" Katy sent this to James Johnson and Freddie Birley for the Peer Effect Post Bag. James's immediate response: "I always struggle with this." This question has no easy answer because personal challenges could mean anything: mental health, divorce, bereavement, or family crises. Here's what James and Freddi...

Neil Tanna 's early fundraising mistake: he could articulate the hero perfectly. But he couldn't explain the villain. As founder of Howbout (6 million users, backed by VCs and the Sidemen with 300 million followers), Neil learned the hard way that the hero makes no sense without the villain. Investors don't care if you can describe your solution. They need to understand the problem...

"What do I do if I feel like I can't trust my co-founder?" Dan sent this to the Peer Effect Post Bag. And if you're asking this question, James Johnson and Freddie Birley know it's probably not the first time you've had that thought. This is Season 6 of Post Bag. James and Freddie are founder coaches who've worked through dozens of co-founder conflicts. Here&apos...

Dr. Christian Schmierer has 80 people. In two years, he'll have 150-200. As CEO and Co-Founder of HyImpulse (building rockets with paraffin fuel, €74M+ raised, successful launch May 2024), Christian knows the challenge isn't just hiring 120 people. It's avoiding silos, slow processes, and bloat. The decisions he makes now will define what the company looks like at 200-400 people. Wh...

"Fundraising is distracting and draining. How do I cope?" Dave sent this to the Peer Effect Post Bag. And James and Freddie's answer challenges the question itself. If fundraising is your responsibility as a founder, calling it a "distraction" reveals the problem. That framing guarantees you'll feel distracted during it, which means you won't perform as well as y...

At a VC, deals are literally the business. But Rachel Townend 's philosophy? People first, always. As Chief of Staff and General Partner at Illuminate Financial - employee #1, 12 years, fourth fund, Rachel's watched what happens when founders get this right versus wrong. Her take: Without the right people in the right seats, you can't do deals. It's a multiplier effect. Good pe...

Most VCs work non-stop and still feel like they're failing. They do 2x the deals of their peers. They're at every event. And they still feel like they're not doing enough. What James Johnson and Freddie Birley reveal in this episode is what VCs won't say publicly: the loneliness, the ambiguity, the constant feeling of underperforming despite objectively crushing it. What drives...

You spent a year building a feature. Someone just replicated it in a day using AI. This isn't hypothetical. Roei Samuel is watching it happen in real-time. As founder of Connected - a marketplace helping 5,700 fractionals work with scale-ups - he's spinning up products daily that took his team a year to build in 2020. His conclusion? Unless you're building quantum computing or genui...

"What do I do if my investors tell me to fire a bunch of my team?" Alex sent this question to the Peer Effect Post Bag. And the answer from James Johnson and Freddie Birley cuts deeper than "evaluate your team." This is Season 6, Episode 1 of Post Bag—where founders, CEOs, and leaders submit their hardest questions and get straight answers from two coaches who've worked wi...

You've got £250K in the bank. You're profitable. Everything looks fine. Then your VAT bill hits and you're scrambling. Or a major client payment is 60 days late and suddenly you can't make payroll. Marc Obrart has seen this exact scenario play out dozens of times. As co-founder of Fin House, he provides finance teams and CFOs to 50+ scale-ups. And the pattern he sees most often...

PR feels like an unquantifiable luxury when you're trying to hit profitability. But Harrison Duhr has helped hundreds of startups use media to drive actual business outcomes - fundraising, hiring top talent, and landing ideal customers. As Head of North American Brand at London and Partners, Harrison's secured coverage in CNBC, Bloomberg, Fortune, and TechCrunch for startups scaling betw...

After 9 conversations with entrepreneurs and business leaders, three patterns emerged about scaling successfully. In this Season 5 recap, I share the key lessons from conversations with founders like Mark Shepherd (Gathr), George Sullivan (Sole Supplier), and Gaurav Bhattacharya (Jeeva AI), plus insights from Darcy Martin (Outward VC) and Steve Duncan (C Studios). The 3 patterns: Pattern 1: Vulner...

LinkedIn feels noisier than ever. AI posts, surface-level expertise, endless scroll. So is it still worth your time as a founder? James Johnson and Freddie Birley tackle the question: should you still be posting on LinkedIn in 2025, or is there a better way to build your personal brand? The honest answer: It depends on what you're trying to achieve. Are you building for speaking opportunities...

Your VCs have hidden value beyond capital. Most founders never ask for it. D'Arcy Martin has been Head of Platform at Outward VC for six years. She's watched hundreds of funding rounds close. And there's one pattern she sees: founders who treat VCs like a bank account versus founders who extract every ounce of value. The difference? They ask. In today's episode, I'm joined...

"You're in it together, then you're on a pedestal, then you're a statue." In this Post Bag episode, James and Freddie Birley tackle one of the most honest questions we've received: Why does success often feel more isolating than the early startup days? From sitting in rubbish pubs with your first team believing in the vision, to suddenly being on a pedestal where ever...

Your business is running you. Not the other way around. Steve Duncan spent 20 years in the same company but built three different businesses. His secret? He stopped playing defense and started playing offense. Here's what that actually means: You're either dictating what happens in your business, or you're reacting to everything thrown at you. One feels like control. The other feels...

"How do you separate your identity from the company's success or failure?" That's Alex's question – and it's one every founder grapples with, especially in those vulnerable early stages. Welcome to the Peer Effect Post Bag, where James Johnson and Freddie Birley tackle your toughest founder questions. This week, we explore the dangerous trap of calling your business &...