Peer Effect

Your company is at the pivotal moment where you can either choose to stay small — or take risk and grow. But, because of your co-founder's bad experiences, you get stuck in the decision process. This is the moment that we come to with Jane.  Instead of relying on conversation alone. She took action, and experimented with contractors to prove that they could do it. At the same time, they had j...

Today, I'm gonna talk about the most difficult conversation you can have, which is when you're letting someone go.  On last week's episode, I spoke with Jeff J. Walker who, as a corporate employee had put up with quite a lot from the upper management at his company.  One day, they surprised him with an exit conversation disguised as a a performance review conversation, leaving Jeff...

Jeff had the dream job. But he needed to leave — ASAP.  And in this week’s podcast, he shares 4 significant moments over an excruciatingly difficult time that forced him to make a decision to leave his job, leave the country and set up his own business.  Now with a new company with over 40 employees, Jeff encounters situations where he could hold back and make a decision later. But, the stakes are...

Today, I'm going to be talking about a situation that strikes fear into the heart of every business owner. This is one of the biggest and most dreaded what ifs, the stuff of nightmares, guaranteed to have you breaking out in a cold sweat. What if you lose your main customer?  More from James: Connect with James on LinkedIn  or at peer-effect.com 

What is your initial reaction when you lose your biggest client, which accounts for 90% of your income? For James, it was anger.  The uncertainty of it all — mixed with feelings of embarrassment and despair — left him unable to take action. But the longer he left it, the more he realised that only he would be the one to save the situation.  In this episode of the podcast, James reflects on the int...

Founders are faced with critical decisions on an almost daily basis, but perhaps the most critical of all is choosing a co-founder to accompany you on your journey. If you end up the wrong co-pilot in the cockpit, you'll have trouble gaining altitude or worse still, you may never get your business off the ground. On the flip side, having the right co-founder opens the door to a myriad of busi...

What do you do when you can no longer ignore the signs? Sean had been in partnership for over 2 years. Both of his co-founders were close friends, but one of them wasn’t a good fit.  The truth was, he never had been. He was scared of the impact of making a rash gut decision. But the reality was, things had gotten way worse by leaving them as they were.  Sean is aware of his tendency to see the goo...

Running a business isn't easy at the best of times. When you're running a business and fundraising, the threat of burnout is all too real and ever present.  Today, I'm talking about this exact issue, burnout, and how to avoid it while managing the formidable challenge that is fundraising for your business. More from James: Connect with James on LinkedIn  or at peer-effect.com 

When you’ve faced near burnout several times, what do you consider going too far?  Alex was basically doing 3 full-time jobs at the same time. One of them was being the only person to manage a rolling fundraising strategy.  And it wasn’t until he woke up one morning unable to move, that he realised he was dealing with burnout.  In our conversation, Alex reflects on this time with honesty. He discu...

On last week's episode, Tara, the founder of BuyMeOnce, shared her own experience with the sunk cost trap. Today, we're gonna drill down into what it is, why we fall into it and how to avoid it when you've already plowed time, money, effort, blood, sweat, and tears into a business project that just isn't working. More from James: Connect with James on LinkedIn  or at peer-effec...

Joining me in the coaching time machine this week is a founder whose story many of you will relate to. Tara Button’s company Buy Me Once had outgrown v1 of her site as well as the platform she originally launched on. It’s a problem first time founders hope to have. Tara knew she had to rebuild and relaunch in order to scale. But this is not a conversation about mistakes she made along the way. Bec...

Today I'm joined by Jack Dyrhauge who is the Founder of Neuropool. He is an ADHD, Autistic entrepreneur on a mission the change employment odds for Neurodiverse job seekers We speak about would you do what you do for free and how there can still be personal consequences even if you love it. Plus some great tips on how to improve the neurodiversity of your business Key Takeaways To survive and...

Today I'm joined by Lizet Zayas who is the Founder of Successfully. She is currently helping people truly define what success means to them and sharing inspirational stories via a new book; “Stories of passion from around the world” We speak about finding your authentic self and the influence of those around you Key Takeaways We can be forced into changes by collapse or choice to make changes...

Today I'm joined by Sarah Mason who is the Chief People Office of Foxton’s and my personal go to on anything HR. She is an expert in both HR and psychology and led some rapid scaling journeys. We speak about what HR really is and how founders can best use it to help them scale their businesses Key Takeaways HR is simply how do you get the right workforce for your company objectives The shift...

Today I'm joined by Stephen Hunt who is the founder of Hunt Hospitality and was the NSW Business Leader of the Year 2021. He started in 2008 and has grown from one pub to 6 brands and 250 employees. His new book “Find Build Sell” will be out in March. We speak about always putting yourself in the right room and listening for the one nugget Key Takeaways Find the right people who can help you...

Today I'm joined by Manny Cohen who is the founder of Armadillo Group which might be the next British unicorn in RegTech! They’ve been in the RegTech100 in 2021 and 2022 and are entirely self-funded over their 25 years so far. We speak about believing in yourself and having a life out of work Key Takeaways Once you’ve made a decision, emotionally commit to it Pivoting can mean (deliberately)...

Today I'm joined by Pablo A. Ruz Salmones who is the founder of X Eleva Group in Mexico which combines business consulting and tech development. They’ve grown internationally, won lots of awards and are entirely self-funded We speak about being true to yourself and building something people will fall in love with Key Learnings: Patience is a necessary virtue for an entrepreneur. Build what yo...

Today I'm joined by Kenneth Kutyn who is the co-founder of Deckbuildr.io which gives you a customised pitch deck in 30 seconds. He was previously part of the founding team of Rightly on their £100m journey. We speak about how to always tackle the biggest problem first and get your first real customers Key Learnings: Get your first customer to test on as soon as possible. Internal discussions...

Today I'm joined by Gillian Harrison, who is the CEO of Whitefox Technologies. They are a multi-award winning business who focus on reducing energy and water waste in industrial processes while increasing productivity. We speak about how to understand your target market and what is the problem you're trying to address. Plus a bit around how to achieve net-zero! Key Learnings: You'll...

Today I'm joined by Steve Coulson , who co-founded Kitt which enables tenants to get a bespoke managed office in any building anywhere. They are growing fast and one to watch! We speak about what the journey is really like as an entrepreneur and the importance of support at work and at home. Key Learnings: The evolution of the workplace away from cubicles, via astroturf and free beer, into tr...

Today I'm joined by Logan Naidu , who founded Kernel Global which is one of the FT1000 fastest growing businesses in Europe. They're almost at the £100m. We speak about what culture really is and how to practically deliver an environment of kindness and excellence. Key Learnings: Kindness can be symbiotic with excellence, not at the expense of Importance of removing bad actors, even if t...

Today I'm joined by Simon Barbato , who founded Mr B & Friends a leading brand agency who's created awesome brands for companies on the £100m journey. We speak about what is a brand and how to use it to achieve your business vision. Key Learnings: Accelerate your growth by being a brand leader in your category Can you distil your brand into one organising thought? The 4 stages of bra...

Today I'm joined by Nektarios Liolios , who not only founded Startup Bootcamp Fintech but now runs The Future Farm which is a community focused on healthy entrepreneurship We speak about some of the pressures and misconceptions around entrepreneurship and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people Key Learnings: Becoming an entrepreneur doesn't mean changing who you are...

Today I'm joined by Michael Mellinghoff , the Managing Director of TechFluence UK. He also launched the FinTech Germany award in 2016. Michael has helped hundreds of FinTech startups to scale and fundraise. We speak about the power of focusing and how best to make those hard decisions on what ideas and opinions to pursue and what to ignore Key Learnings: If you believe you've found your...

Today I'm joined by Shelby Austin , the CEO of Arteria AI, a business spun out of Deloitte in 2020 simplifying contract lifecycle management which recently raised $11 million in series A funding. Shelby has also been recognised in the top 25 women leaders in tech services and consulting. We speak about how to be customer obsessed while still making your own people spectacularly happy Key Lear...