This photo is of me and my extended family, taken around the time of "COVID Christmas" 2020 AKA one of the weirdest years on the planet, ever, and all bar Megan & James (my eldest daughter and her partner sat at the back) all of our kids still lived with us so as you can imagine "working from home" took on a whole new meaning in 2020/21!
According to Myers Briggs I'm an ENFJ-A AKA An Assertive Protagonist*
*...meaning I feel called to serve a greater purpose in life. I'm thoughtful, kind and idealistic, forever striving to have a positive impact on other people and the world around me. I rarely shy away from an opportunity to do the right thing, even when doing so is far from easy. I'm a hard working, family man with 5 1/2 kids (and no that's not a typo) just doing what I do because I love IT! The Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator is a self-report inventory designed to identify a person's personality type, strengths, and preferences. The questionnaire was developed by Isabel Myers and her mother Katherine Briggs based on their work with Carl Jung's theory of personality types. Today, the MBTI inventory is one of the most widely used psychological instruments in the world.
Hi, I’m Neil.
I’m just an ordinary guy who believes that anything is possible and that anyone can do anything, just not everything. No matter how hard we work, there will always be something left on the to-do list when we eventually leave this world behind. Until then, I work SMART, and remind myself that by focusing on service, as opposed to selling, I'm able to effortlessly attract abundance into all areas of my life. By cultivating gratitude, focusing on possibilities, and sharing generously I sleep well at night. Every day, I align my thoughts and actions with prosperity, joy, and meaningful connections, creating a life filled with wealth, love, and opportunities that reflect my highest potential.
The Early Years
I left school at the tender age of 16, studied technical art and design at college, and followed the family path into the print trade. My father and grandfather both worked in print, but the digital age was dawning and print was already fading fast so after three years as an apprentice, I moved on. I ventured into retail and joined Next Plc just as it exploded onto the high street becoming on of the youngest store managers at the time (just 19). It was fun, it was educational, but it wasn't enough.
The Leap into Technology
By 1992, I'd switched industries again—this time to telecoms, joining Alcatel Lucent (now part of Nokia) and over the next seven years, worked my way from a field Sales Consultant to Head of Sales (UK-SME), leading a team of 50+ people with a £20 million sales target. I was fortunate enough to receive some world-class sales training and quickly became a top achiever (1994–1996), winning UK Salesman of the Year in 1997. In 1998, I joined Alcatel’s Global Club Elite after closing £1m of new business in a month., which at the time was pretty impressive even if I say so myself! Life was good.
Walking Away from Security
By 1999, I had a young family, a six-figure salary, a small mortgage, and a comfortable corporate lifestyle. But something inside me knew that something was telling me to do more. A colleague once told me, “You’ll never make any real money working for someone else.” and at the time, I believed him. That one line was enough to tip me over the edge so I walked away from the “security” of my corporate career and started my first business.
Futurcom – My First Business
Founded with £50k of my own money I launched Futurcom and set about becoming a trusted ICT solutions provider, specialising in mid-market ICT solutions. Within a few years, I scaled revenues from zero to £1.4 million before successfully exiting the business through a trade sale. So far, so good. But the truth: I was young, ambitious, and clueless about investment strategies, wealth preservation or scaling beyond my lane. What I did know was that every business needed to communicate, and this was the dot-com boom so I figured now was a good time to think bigger.
The PwC Pitch
In 2002, PwC invited me to pitch my second venture, FOCAS (Free Online Communications Advisory Service), to a group of investors. I nervously asked for £250,000 thinking that was about right, after all the business was only 6 months old. Their response? “Neil, you should have asked for £5–10 million, had you have done we’d have signed the cheque on the spot.” Mind. Blown. I left with a 500-page book on Intellectual Property and a head full of questions, mostly: What the f*ck had just happened?
The Dot-Com Boom
The dot-com boom of the late 1990s was fuelled by rapid growth in internet adoption, speculative investment, and the belief that online businesses could scale endlessly. Billions were poured into startups with little more than an idea and a ".com" name, driving valuations to unprecedented heights. But by 2000–2002, reality set in as many companies had no sustainable business model or profits, capital dried up, stock markets crashed, and thousands of internet startups went under. While the bust wiped out enormous wealth, it also laid the foundation for today’s tech giants, proving the internet was here to stay, just not at the pace or scale the hype had promised. Like many, I struggled to process it. I thought I knew it all but of course I didn’t. Soon after came the dot-com crash and suddenly, just like that, I had to face the reality of starting over.
Fast Forward to Today
It’s now 2025, and a lot has happened in between—businesses built, lessons learned, failures survived, and wins earned. But there’s one moment that stands above the rest. When I stood in front of my piers, one of whom asked me “What is it that you really want?” I couldn't answer. That question has echoed through the last 20 years of my life, reshaping the way I think, live, and work. It’s guided me through setbacks and successes alike. And for that, I’m grateful. Having enjoyed (financial) success at quite an early age I later went on to lose pretty much everything I'd ever worked for, including my marriage, my home, my businesses, all my assets and most of my friends.
what doesn't kill you makes you stronger
I stopped working for money a long time ago and instead work more for satisfaction. After some serious realignment of my life goals and priorities I'm pleased to say that I am now very well balanced, happier, healthier and wealthier than I've ever been in my entire life. Nowadays I'm simply too blessed to be stressed, and I so don't worry about anything, ever. It's not been an easy ride for me but no-one ever said it would be, and honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. I'm here now, I love what I do and I have a great work-life-balance.
That's me, what about you?