The Day I Drew the Line: A Realisation That Reframed Everything

For a while, I’ve been wrestling with something quietly - but persistently.

I’d look at my own work and think, “Am I scattered? Why can’t I focus? Am I doing too many things? Does any of this actually make sense to anyone else?”

I was coaching founders, building tools, shaping programmes, contributing to accelerator ecosystems. And I felt unsure how it all hung together. I worried what people thought, whether they saw confusion, distraction, or a lack of focus. But something shifted this week.

In a conversation that allowed space for honesty, I finally saw what was in front of me the whole time - literally for years: There is a thread and it’s been driving everything I do. I support early-stage founders and teams. Sometimes 1:1, sometimes through strategic input, sometimes by shaping the environments they operate in, sometimes a nudge, a call - creating tools, frameworks, networks.

But it’s always been about the same thing: Helping people move with clarity, confidence, and momentum. Especially when they’re in that foggy middle place. When they might be hurting inside and especially when something is about to give, but hasn’t quite shifted yet.

Even after all of these wild cynical years, the clarity of this moment surprised me. It didn’t arrive like a grand epiphany. It arrived through emotion and suddenly, I felt everything fall into place. And I knew I’d found my through-line. I’ve realised I was never actually “distracted.” I was paying attention to a deeper purpose and it was something that didn’t yet have a name. Isn’t that what we often do as founders and creators, go with our gut? We follow instinct before we have the language or right label.

And so with this realisation, I’ve decided to open up more space to support others going through exactly this phase. Right now, I have the capacity to support a small number of early-stage founders or teams who like me, are at a moment of uncertainty, transition, or decision. People who are carrying weight, seeking clarity, or feeling the strain of building something meaningful without enough of the right kind of support or self belief.

What’s making this moment even more hopeful for me is the broader shift I’m seeing in the ecosystem.

For years, founders have taken investment with the expectation of real support but then found themselves disappointed. At some point, almost 75% of founders have said they regretted taking a particular cheque because the access, advice or network they were promised never materialised.

But I’m seeing the signs of that change every day.

More investors and fund managers are moving beyond lip service. They’re talking, truly talking in a meaningful way about the role of founder support in the success of their portfolios. And more importantly, they’re building it into their offerings. Not just money, but care. Not just capital, but clarity.

And I’m here for it. Because when support is built into the system and not added as an afterthought, FOUNDERS WILL THRIVE! And when founders thrive, we all benefit from the better businesses they build.

So here’s my line in the sand: This is what I do. This is who I help. Top to bottom - left to right. And this is what I believe matters.

If you’re a founder in a moment of fog, pressure, or possibility and if you need to speak to someone who’s walked that road, and are just a little curious, I’d love to support you.

And if you’re an investor, accelerator, or ecosystem builder who wants your founders to go further with less friction, I’d love to help make that real.

Let’s move forward, with clarity.