James is the founder and CEO of Hamilton Bradshaw, based in Mayfair, London. The company was founded in 2004 and specialises in buyouts, venture capital, turnarounds, and real estate investment in the UK.
James knew from a young age that he wanted to run his own business. His father was probably his biggest influence, owning a successful leather goods manufacturing business which he hoped James would one day take over. James decided not to pursue a career in the family business and instead followed his own path to become an entrepreneur. At sixteen he left school with no qualifications. Despite this, in the mid 1980′s, he began a successful career in recruitment. Just a few years later James founded Alexander Mann, a UK recruitment business which he successfully grew to £130m turnover with 30 offices worldwide. During the same period, he was keen to explore the international market and launched Humana International, a franchising model, establishing 147 offices in 30 countries. He subsequently sold both businesses in 1999.
In 2007, James was invited to join the panel of the highly popular BBC TV show Dragons’ Den. During his time on the show, he invested in a diverse range of businesses and as a result increased his profile in the media. James has always believed that the UK is an excellent platform for British entrepreneurs, and that advances in technology provide them with many more opportunities than when he started out. He is hugely passionate about the SME sector and understands the challenges they face at each stage of their lifecycle.
In 2011, James was asked by LinkedIn to blog and become part of a team of only 150 people globally to be a LinkedIn Influencer. Within the space of 18 months, James’ LinkedIn blog received more than 6 million combined views with his business tips and career advice well received by entrepreneurs around the globe. In 2014, James surpassed 1 million followers and is now the 7th most followed person on LinkedIn in the world.
