Where I Came From, and Where I’m Going

In my last business, I led with an intense ambition to succeed. We set bold targets, expanded globally, and achieved milestones that proved what was possible. The culture was buzzing, the energy was high, and we built something I remain deeply proud of. That ambition mattered — and it still matters to me today.

But I was too much in everything. Too controlling, too driving. I believed that if I stayed across every decision, pushed every detail, and carried the weight myself, it would guarantee success. And for a long time, it worked. We grew fast and delivered results.

Yet over time, I began to see the limits. People didn’t always feel they had the space to truly thrive, because I wasn’t giving it to them. Some chose to step away. Innovation tilted towards the short term, while I found myself totally overloaded. And perhaps most importantly, by holding on so tightly, I may have stopped the business from becoming even bigger and better than it did. I will never know.

Looking back, the ambition was right. The results were real. But I came to see what I had missed: culture really does eat strategy for breakfast, and no amount of individual effort — mine or anyone else’s — can compete with the force of a team that’s trusted and empowered to carry the mission forward. As a leader and CEO, it’s easy in the early days to grip tightly in the name of speed and control. But without cultivating empowerment and a creative, thriving culture, nothing can truly grow.

Scaling a business isn’t like driving a car harder and faster. It’s more like sailing a boat. The leader’s role isn’t to grip the wheel at every moment, but to set the sails, catch the wind, and let the crew move together. That’s where real momentum comes from.

What I Realised

When I finally stepped away, it stopped me in my tracks. So much of my identity had been bound into being the chief executive — into the role, the responsibility, the success. Leaving meant facing the fact that I didn’t know who I was without it.

In that space I began searching for meaning beyond the role. I realised how much I had equated achievement with identity, how much of my worth I had bound up in results. And I began to ask questions I hadn’t given myself time for before: What does leadership mean if it isn’t just about driving growth? What does work mean if it isn’t the whole of life?

That search took me deeper — into philosophy, into psychology, into conversations that later became The Whole Leader Podcast. I began cultivating not just how to lead differently, but why. A mission-driven company was the natural next step. I wanted to build something that mattered in the world, but also to role model what better leadership could look like: humanistic, sustainable, empowering. And I wanted to enjoy life beyond work, to stop deferring everything meaningful to some imagined future.

This was the realisation that took root: the company had been successful, but perhaps I had limited what it might have become. More importantly, I had limited myself — by holding on too tightly, by equating identity with control, by not creating the conditions for people and culture to thrive.

The Company I’m Building

That’s why Powerverse matters to me. It isn’t just a commercial opportunity; it’s a systems opportunity. Energy is the foundation on which modern life runs. Making it smarter, cleaner, and better for humans to use — and enabling society to build on it — is category-changing work.

This is not just about selling software or devices. It’s about changing the way households and societies consume, live, and decarbonise. It’s about creating systemic shifts that unlock value far beyond any single product. That’s why I’ve chosen it: because it fits the mission, the meaning, and the kind of systems thinking I believe leadership should embrace.

And just as importantly, the way we build Powerverse matters. Success isn’t measured only in revenue or growth. It’s also measured in the strength of our culture, in whether people feel free to create, in whether we are enabling systemic change for the better. If those things are alive, momentum builds. If they’re missing, no amount of control will make up the difference.

I want this to be a business that scales because the wind is with us — because the mission matters, because people believe in what we’re doing, and because the culture gives them the space to do their best work.

Why It Matters

Over time, and especially in stepping away, these lessons became clear. I know what it looks like to build a successful company while holding on too tightly. It works — for a while. But eventually, it limits what the business can become, overloads the leader, and denies people the space to thrive.

This time, I’m committed to building a company that lasts — and to doing it differently. Ambition is still at the heart of it. But it’s ambition carried by momentum, not force. By empowerment and creativity, not control. By trust, not exhaustion. By meaning, not just numbers.

Scaling a company should be like sailing a boat, not driving a car. The sails need to be set, the wind needs to be caught, and the whole crew needs to move together. That’s the kind of leadership I want to practice, the kind of company I want to build, and the kind of systemic change I believe is worth working for.