Strategic Advisory & Operational Leadership for Founders
An experienced sounding board for SME business owners and charity leaders navigating complexity, optimising finance, and scaling operations.
Capabilities
Strategy
Helping you lift your head above the day-to-day. I work with you to plan your next move, remove founder bottlenecks, and align your team with your long-term goals.
Operations
Sorting out the messy middle of a growing business. I simplify your processes and clarify roles so the business can run smoothly without you needing to manage everything.
Finance
Getting a proper grip on your numbers. I help you protect your margins, make cash flow completely clear, and give you the data you need to make confident decisions.
Founder Support
A trusted, independent sounding board. Having built, scaled, and exited my own business, I know how lonely leadership can be. I provide practical support to help you carry the weight.
Problem Solving
Stepping in when things feel stuck or chaotic. If a project has gone off the rails or an issue is draining your time, I find the root cause and get things moving again.
The Founder’s Dilemma
As an organisation grows, the skills required to run it inevitably evolve. Many founders find themselves trapped in day-to-day execution rather than high-level strategy. They face tightening margins, decision fatigue, and an organisational structure that relies too heavily on a single person.
My role is to step in alongside you to restore perspective, inject financial discipline, and build robust operational systems that unlock the next phase of growth.
Targeted Interventions
A focused, short-term diagnostic review to identify immediate operational bottlenecks and map out a clear strategic roadmap.
You’ll leave with:
Clarity on what’s actually holding things back
Priority decisions defined
A written Reset Roadmap
Immediate next steps
Example Engagement Formats
Structured Realignment
A mid-term partnership typically spanning 90+ days, designed to overhaul financial visibility, improve margins, and restore operational momentum.
Over 3-6 months we will:
Redesign your strategic focus
Improve financial visibility and margin discipline
Explore tools, systems and AI to improve your work
Define a practical growth path
Ongoing Strategic Advisory
Long-term retainer support for established leaders navigating scaling transitions, improving corporate governance, or preparing the business for an eventual exit.
This includes:
Regular strategic and interim sessions
Quarterly planning days
Ongoing decision support
Leadership and structural evolution
Note: My support services are available to both for-profit and for-purpose organisations.
About Paul
I bring a unique blend of commercial acumen and calm crisis management to the table. Having successfully built, scaled, and exited a global SME backed by private equity, and having advised many others, I understand the immense pressure and structural challenges that founders face.
Alongside my advisory work, I’m a search and rescue volunteer with HM Coastguard. This has sharpened my ability to maintain clarity, make decisive judgements, and solve problems under pressure. I’m also the founder of Kudu, and co-founder at Impact Squared.
Why founders work with me
Because I understand:
The isolation of being the decision-maker
The tension between growth and risk
The difficulty of seeing your own blind spots
The pressure of keeping everything moving
This isn’t therapy or generic coaching. It’s structured thinking applied to your business, with someone who’s been there and done it.
Don’t just take my word for it…
Get in touch
I work with just 3 founders/for-purpose leaders at a time. If you would like to discuss a strategic challenge, operational bottleneck, or financial review, please get in touch to arrange an initial conversation.