What if you could validate your startup idea before wasting months (or years) building the wrong thing?

Aaron Solomon, founder of Ambl, shares the real story behind building a startup from the ground up - including failure, lost savings, and the hard lessons that led to raising £4.3M and scaling internationally.

In this episode:
• How to test a business idea in the real world
• Why most founders overbuild (and how to avoid it)
• The power of customer conversations
• Turning a “feature” into a scalable product
• Expanding into new markets like Dubai

A must-listen for founders, operators, and anyone building something from scratch.

More from James:

Connect with James on LinkedIn or at peer-effect.com

Comparison is one of the fastest ways to lose momentum as a founder.

In this Post Bag episode, we unpack why it happens, why it’s misleading, and how to stay focused on your own path.

From the “swimming” analogy to the reality behind LinkedIn success, this is a practical conversation on cutting through noise and building with clarity.

More from James:

Connect with James on LinkedIn or at peer-effect.com

Jenna Ackerley, founder of Events Under Canvas, built a business delivering 400 weddings a year - without cutting corners.

In this episode, she breaks down how integrity and authenticity shaped her decisions, from early growth to navigating COVID, and eventually stepping back from the day-to-day.

We cover:

• Building trust as a growth engine
• Making harder (but better) decisions
• Founder identity beyond the business
• Why doing the “right thing” actually compounds

A grounded conversation on building something that works, on paper and in real life.

More from James:

Connect with James on LinkedIn or at peer-effect.com