Founders and business owners
You built something, and now AI, growth or fatigue is changing what your role should be. We work out where your judgement matters most, and what to hand over.
"What am I actually for in this business now?"
Business and personal coach
What's worth keeping when everything is changing?
Leading a business through AI, rethinking a career in midlife, or choosing a first direction after school: the real question is what matters to you now. I help founders, business owners and people in transition answer it with clarity rather than anxiety.
Who I work with
People at a turning point, in business and in life
Most people come to me when the ground has shifted under them. The work is different for each of them, but the question underneath is the same.
Leaders adopting AI
You're deciding what to automate while your team quietly wonders about their jobs. We work on leading that change with honesty and a steady hand.
"How do I bring my people with me?"
Midlife and beyond
The career that defined you has run its course, or no longer fits. We sort what you want to keep from what you're ready to leave behind.
"What do I want the next twenty years to be about?"
Starting out
You're leaving school or university into a working world that's changing fast. We find a first direction built on what you care about, not only what's safe.
"How do I choose when nobody knows what's coming?"
Approach
Steady judgement in a changing world
I've spent thirty years in technology, most recently helping businesses adopt AI. The hardest part is rarely the technology. It's what change does to people's sense of their own value. That's the part I help with.
Separate what you control
Markets, technology and other people's choices sit outside your control. Your values, your attention and your response don't. We start by drawing that line clearly.
Keep what's worth keeping
Change strips away tasks, titles and routines. Some of that is a relief. Some of it carried meaning. We work out which is which before you decide what comes next.
Questions before advice
You know your life better than I do. My job is to ask the questions that help you see it clearly, and to be straight with you when something doesn't add up.
You can't control what AI does next. You can control what you value, and where you apply your judgement.
The idea at the centre of my work, borrowed from the Stoics
How it starts
A conversation first, then we decide together
A free conversation
Thirty minutes to talk about where you are and what's changing. No pitch, and no obligation.
Agree the focus
If it's a fit, we name the question we're working on and what a good outcome looks like.
Regular sessions
We meet online or in person on the Sunshine Coast, at a rhythm that suits you.
Review and adjust
We check progress honestly along the way, and stop when you have what you came for.
About
Hi, I'm Paul
I've spent my career at the edge of technology change. I've been a CIO, CTO, COO and CEO, across four startups and two listed companies. I've led technology rollouts in 24 countries, run a corporate R&D lab, and today I advise businesses on adopting AI well.
Along the way I launched Founder Institute in Cape Town and mentored early-stage founders. What stayed with me wasn't the technology. It was watching capable people lose their footing when their role changed, and seeing how much clearer things became once someone asked them the right questions.
These days I live in Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast. I surf whenever the swell allows, and I lean on Stoic philosophy as a daily practice. Both have taught me the same thing: you can't choose the conditions, only how you meet them.
30 yearsin technology and business leadership
C-suiteas CIO, CTO, COO and CEO
4 + 2four startups and two listed companies
24countries of technology rollouts
Questions
Common questions
Do I need to be a founder or business owner?
No. Much of this work is personal: career changes, midlife decisions, choosing a direction after school. If you're at a turning point and want to think it through properly, we should talk.
Is coaching the same as therapy?
No. Coaching looks forward: clarifying what matters and deciding what to do about it. If something comes up that needs a psychologist or counsellor, I'll say so and help you find the right person.
Do we meet online or in person?
Either. I work with people anywhere over video, and in person on the Sunshine Coast. A walk along the beach works too.
What does it cost?
Packages are flexible, from a single focused session to ongoing coaching over several months, and priced to suit what you need. The first conversation is always free, and we'll talk about options then.
Let's start with a conversation
Pick a time for a free thirty-minute call. We'll meet on Google Meet, and there's no pitch and no obligation. If you'd rather start with a short note about where you are and what's changing, email me instead.