A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME
I started Ronins in 2021 but before that, I built a digital agency, sold it to Interpublic Group in 2016 and then spent the next five years beating every target they gave us.
But I’ve been at this since I was 10, writing code on weekends, building games nobody asked for, eventually replacing typewriters with PCs in my first proper job. I didn’t choose technology, It chose me and I never really fought it.
These days I like to spend some of my time advising founders who’ve raised money and need someone in the room when the tech decisions get serious. The ones who come to me usually have the same problem: they know something’s wrong but they can’t pinpoint what.
In 2024 I co-founded AiME, an AI mental health platform its a totally different world to agency life, but the same principle: build something people actually need, not something that just looks good in a pitch deck.
My core beliefs
Behind every project is an individual or group of individuals who see this at their life’s work, their money. their future and their reputation. I’ve never forgotten that and I never will.
I don’t micromanage, some of the best work I’ve seen happens when you trust smart people to own the problem, Two of the people I hired earlier in my career are now shareholders and directors in their own right. That tells you more about how I work than you will find in any mission statement.
If something isn’t right I’ll say so before it gets expensive, I’d rather lose the work than waste your money. That’s not noble it’s just how you build relationships that last.
And if it’s complicated to use, it isn’t finished. I don’t care how clever the technology is underneath, If a real person has to think about using it then we haven’t done our job.
WHO ARE YOU WHEN YOUR NOT WORKING
The truth is, I love what I do, creating technical strategies isn’t a career choice so much as a compulsion, my friends will tell you the laptop is rarely out of reach.
When I do switch off, it’s usually over coffee. Single-origin beans crafted by someone who loves their trade as much as I do, on my Italian machine on the kitchen counter, that ritual as you will find me their every morning.
I’m also battling with the guitar and right now it’s mostly chords amongst plenty of missed notes, and patient neighbours. I see my progress is measured in small wins and not mesmerising solos.
At 21, I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue and It forced me to learn balance, how to manage energy while still fulfilling our clients dreams.
I don’t drink much, but I enjoy exploring decent non-alcoholic beers and wines.
SO WHAT AM I EXCITED ABOUT
What are your hopes for the future?
Right now I’m looking for the next venture to back, Not with capital, but with 25 years of building products and scaling businesses. AiME was the first, it won’t be the last.
I’m most interested in founders who’ve got a real problem to solve and need someone who’s been through the build before. Not an advisor on the sidelines but as a partner with skin in the game.
Building Ronins is just as important to me. I’m creating the kind of company I wish I’d worked for early on: high trust, high ownership, always learning. Ronins is not a side project , t’s a core part of who I am and what keep me at the cutting edge and makes me valuable.
