James possesses a wealth of experience across diverse industries. With a 30-year tenure in finance and capital markets, he has consistently led change initiatives, adopted new business models to match the customers’ needs and devised pioneering solutions to prevailing challenges. Since 2011, he has been actively investing in and nurturing businesses in Essex. He focuses on The Weave, a pioneering startup fostering an ecosystem business model to bolster the entrepreneurial community and arrest founder burnout. As a catalyst for innovation, James was instrumental in developing and delivering the iTeams challenge events for the University of Essex and has delivered and participated in multiple hackathons and sprints. He is an entrepreneur in residence, where he mentors students and facilitates workshops whilst supporting the startup team. Trained in utilising the Business Model Canvas, he holds an MSc in Systems Thinking with a specialisation in systemic innovation.