Operator · Builder
I build the operating systems that companies run on, and back the ones I believe in.
Founder of Code Group. I install operating layers underneath founder-led businesses doing £1m to £10m, where the founder is still too central to decisions, delivery, and rhythm. I also own a small portfolio built on the same system.
The Method
One system. Five moving parts.
- i.Direction
- What the business is trying to achieve this quarter. One page. Everyone reads it.
- ii.Cadence
- The weekly rhythm that keeps decisions, delivery, and accountability moving.
- iii.Ownership
- Who owns what, by when, and how progress is reviewed. Every promise has a name.
- iv.Systems
- The lightweight tools that hold the business together. No new SaaS, no rip-and-replace.
- v.Reporting
- The visibility founders need without chasing people for it.
Evidence
90 days
From founder-dependent to a weekly operating cadence the team runs without me in the room.
£1m to £10m
The revenue band I work in. Businesses that have outgrown informal management.
Four a quarter
The small number of founder-led businesses I take on directly each quarter.
Building
Code Group is the holding structure for the companies I operate and own. One operator, one system underneath each bet.
The operating-layer practice. I install direction, cadence, ownership, systems, and reporting inside founder-led businesses, then hand back a company that runs without the founder in the room.
PlatformSignalThe operating platform underneath the practice. Built with Laith Wallace: task ownership, dates, and one team dashboard.
A private, invitation-only community, co-founded with Dr Dani James. Hospitality, dining, and curated experiences.
Catalogue valuation and artist advisory, with Laith Wallace and Keith Kirk.
ProductFlow ConvertsThe build agency. Conversion and lead systems for founder-led teams.
Holdings: including Thorpe Real Estate, and earlier-stage bets not yet public.
Board & advisory: board member at Sumaya Group, a UK investment and development group across real estate, restoration, and hospitality. Sumaya Group →
All ventures sit inside Code Group Ltd, the holding entity. Company number 12909059.
The Notebook
The founder is not the operating layer
Most founders at one to ten million pounds revenue are not the bottleneck. The absence of a system is.
The Founder Operating Notebook. Practical field notes for founders who have outgrown informal management. Every two or three weeks: operating cadence, accountability, founder bottlenecks, and the hidden layer between strategy and execution.
Theses
An operating layer is structure, rhythm, accountability, installed once and kept forever. People come and go. The layer stays.
Most £1m to £10m businesses don’t have an operations problem. They have an accountability problem dressed up as one. New software doesn’t fix that. Cadence does.
The work isn’t another tool. It’s making the tools you already pay for actually run the company. New software rarely fixes a rhythm problem.
The founder is not the operating layer. The job of the work is to make the business run well without you in the room.
Work with me
I take on a small number of founder-led businesses each quarter. The work begins with a short operating review: where decisions sit, how accountability runs, what’s holding the business together, and where you’re still carrying too much of it yourself.
The work requires proximity, judgement, and implementation.