Lessons From the Wild.

What I have learnt in business over time

When I first started, the goal was simple: survival.

I had no idea how long television popularity might last. None of us ever do. So I treated it like a short weather window in the mountains. You move while it is open. You keep the pace high while you can. You work hard and you say yes, because tomorrow it might all close again.

That mindset shaped my early business life.

Take the opportunity.

Learn fast.

Make mistakes early.

Keep moving.

Over time, that thinking changed completely.

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The early years: momentum over mastery

At the beginning, business was reactive. I jumped on almost every opportunity.

Television came first. Brand work followed. I did a lot. I learned a lot. Some decisions were right. Some were rushed. But speed was the point. Momentum mattered more than optimisation.

At that stage, the goal was not ownership. It was exposure, experience, and earning power. Build trust. Build resilience. Keep going.

Looking back, I do not regret that phase. It taught me how pressure really works. It showed me how incentives shape behaviour. And it revealed just how fragile attention can be.

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A turning point: control and alignment

Stopping shows I did not own, then creating and eventually selling my own production company, changed everything.

It gave me security.

It gave me leverage.

Most importantly, it gave me time to slow down.

For the first time, I could ask myself what I actually wanted long term, not just financially, but creatively and personally.

In the early days of TV, I was not the one making the decisions. I was not the one capturing the upside when things went well. But I was the one carrying the responsibility. I was the one living with the consequences if things went wrong.

Structuring the sale as a phased buyout changed my incentives completely. The better the shows did, the better I did. I stopped feeling like a hired gun.

That alignment shaped how I now approach every business decision.

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From licence fees to shared responsibility

For many years outside of TV, the model was simple.

A brand wanted credibility.

I lent my name.

They paid a licence fee.

It worked. It was clean. And it was limited.

Over time, I began to see the flaw. If I truly believed in a product, if it genuinely helped people, why would I stay on the surface of it?

Today, I prefer co ownership.

Shared risk.

Shared responsibility.

Shared upside.

That shift is why I am deeply involved with businesses like Water2 and Organised.

These are not endorsements.

They are long term commitments.

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What the wild teaches you about business

The wild strips things back fast.

Business does the same, just more slowly.

Some lessons never change.

Preparation matters, but rigidity breaks.

The environment always wins. Ignore context and you lose.

Complexity is weight. Carry less and move faster.

Trust is everything. You cannot fake it under pressure.

Ego is dangerous. In the wild it kills you quickly. In business, it kills you quietly.

These lessons hold whether you are on a mountainside or in a boardroom.

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How my thinking has evolved

In my twenties, I was desperately trying to get anything off the ground.

In my thirties, I chased momentum.

In my forties, I chased growth.

Now, I chase alignment.

I care far more about who I build with than how fast we grow. I care whether the mission is real. Whether the product genuinely improves lives. Whether the business can stand without constant noise and attention.

I am less interested in being everywhere.

More interested in being useful.

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The strategy today

My approach now is deliberately slower and deeper.

Fewer ventures.

Higher conviction.

Long term ownership.

Hands on involvement where it matters.

Businesses built on purpose, not hype.

If something does not hold up under pressure, over time, and without constant fuel, I am not interested.

In the wild, shortcuts rarely end well.

It is the same in life.

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A final thought

Success is not about comfort.

It is about competence.

The goal is not to avoid hardship.

It is to become strong enough to meet it.

And most of all, never give up.

That lesson has stayed with me from the beginning.