Me, circa 2010

In 2010, I started hating my own business.

I walked away — and it led to a discovery that shaped my entire worldview.

Me, today, doing the advisory work I love best

Today, using that perspective, I help founders avoid the same pitfalls I faced — and build businesses they love.

Here’s the full story

At 25 years old, I was headed right back to my childhood bedroom.

I’d sold every worldly possession, moved back in with Mum and Dad, and co-founded a technology business from my old bedroom.

Through a mixture of good timing, a solid offer, and a sprinkling of talent, our little company grew into multiple 7 figures, became a leader in its field, and was privileged to have household names as clients.

So what, right?

You find this kind of story all over the Internet.

But here’s the part you won’t: I walked away after 7 years, taking far less than it was worth, because I felt I no longer belonged in my own business.

I didn’t like who it had become.

And I had no way of changing it.

My co-founder & I were 50/50.

He’d started to see behaviours and decisions in me he didn’t like, and vice-versa. Neither of us were wrong; we were just different. New hires began siding with him — or me.

We were adding clients. We were adding employees. We were making money.

Financially, we were successful.

But philosophically, we were broken.

I spent the next 4 years lost.

I became an odd-job consultant. I said yes to anyone who wanted to hire me.

But I was fortunate to work with a lot of clients. And as a result, I started to notice a pattern.

Many were failing to reach their true potential.

Not because of what they sold, but because they lacked clarity on who their company was — what it stood for, why it mattered, why it began, and who belonged there.

This led them to:

→ take anyone willing to pay as a client
→ tell their story in an undifferentiated way
→ chase the money rather than the vision
→ hire people who fractured their culture

They were eroding the DNA of their business.

I’d experienced a similar thing myself.

Whilst my business was clear on what it sold, my co-founder and I had never defined who our company was – specifically, the behaviours we’d align to.

I started to realise: no matter the industry, 90% of what a company does is the same as everybody else. Airlines get people from A to B; accountants balance books; hotels offer a bed for the night.

But the remaining 10% is entirely unique — and entirely unstealable.

I codified this 10% and called it the CORE Difference

When a company’s CORE is explicit and strong, it becomes its biggest competitive advantage.

There isn’t another organisation in existence which has the unique combination of these attributes. It’s the ultimate differentiator and foundation for growth.

But when it’s implicit and weak, things can become unstable, and growth can stall.

I became obsessed with helping companies find themselves.

This insight led me to create my next venture: Beliyf, an organisational identity and design practice.

Beliyf helps growth-stage ventures answer their most existential question: who are we, beyond what we offer?

In addition to Beliyf, I continue to advise a small number of founders on an immersive 1:1 basis.

I’m also regularly invited to speak and write on how a company can preserve its DNA as it scales.

More about Beliyf

My Maxims

  • The greatest gift you can give your business is clarity.

  • Your company is your most important product.

  • Your culture is shaped by the worst behaviour you tolerate.

  • Management is a career change, not a promotion.

  • People only care about your story in the context of theirs.

  • Appealing to everyone appeals to no one.

  • Someone can copy what you do. But they’ll never steal who you are.

90%

of what you do is the same as everybody else.

10%

is uniquely yours and is entirely unstealable.

If this resonates with you, I invite you to join me on this journey.

I feel seen, Mark. Can we talk?