Hi, I’m James.
You’ve found my corner of the Internet.
Fàilte (welcome)
Encore
I’m the founder of and CEO of Encore, a marketplace for booking incredible live musicians, bands & DJs. We’ve helped over 50,000 customers book live music for the biggest days of their lives, and have helped our artists earn over £25 million.
Encore was acquired by Mixcloud in September 2024.
When I get a moment, I try to write about the lessons learned along the way.
Endurance Sport
I love exploring my limits, and have completed two Ironmans and a few marathons.
I’ve also done some stupid stuff, like cycling up the same short hill in London 55 times in a day. Click here if that’s your cup of tea.
Music
I’m a multi-instrumentalist and singer. I began writing my own music in my mid-20s, and I’m close to releasing my first EP of ambient piano music., Adrift.
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Running with Spirit
Of all the places I expected to find spiritual Insight, Parkrun was not one of them. I’m fascinated by the psychology and neurochemistry of endurance sport. There are unique mental states available to us that we can only experience when pushing our physical bodies to our limits – and occasionally, beyond them. Science offers us plenty…
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An unplanned break from Triathlon and an abandoned Ultra. What the hell happened?
I first got into triathlon in 2019. And when I say I “got into triathlon”, what I really mean is: I fell down a rabbit hole and became completely obsessed. In my first year, I completed my first Sprint, Olympic and Half Ironman races. I was hooked, and entered my first Ironman. This was postponed…
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My Focus Stack for 2023
Over the last ten years, I’ve experimented with a myriad of approaches to maximising my focus while working, writing, or creating music. My hunt for the best way to focus has been fuelled by a simple reason: being ‘in flow‘ is immensely satisfying. Flow is a state of mind that yields meaningful progress and breakthroughs,…
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Ironman Wales 2022: Full Debrief
How do you even begin to describe one of the most incredible days of your life? To understand why this race meant so much to me, we need to go back to 2018. I’m 24 years old, and I’m in Hyde Park. I’ve just finished a small 10k race in the snow, and I’m standing…
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6 Lessons Learned from Paris Marathon 2022
This weekend I ran Paris Marathon, my fifth attempt at the marathon distance (if you include the Ironman) and my third marathon race. Overall, it was awesome! Hearing thousands of people chanting “Allez, allez, allez!” made me feel like I was in the Tour de France, and parts of the course were stunning. I felt…
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53x climbs of Swains Lane (Fuji Ascent)
In May 2021, I decided to climb Swains Lane 53 times in order to complete the elevation of Fuji in a day. A lot of friends came out to support, with JH completing the entire challenge with me. It was honestly one of the most meditative, fulfilling days of my life. It’s hard to explain…
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Completing an Ironman – why bother?
Answering a question that I get asked a LOT. An Ironman involves: 🏊 Swimming 3.6km🚴 Cycling 180km🏃 Running 42km (a marathon) and takes anywhere from 8 hours (7h51 world record) to 17 hours (the cut-off time). But the race is only the tip of the iceberg. Friends and family will see race day and the…
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Protecting your Focus: My Top 5 Tactics
I recently came across a Tweet by a journalist asking for productivity hacks from entrepreneurs, which resonated with me. I wrote them a short list of tactics that have worked for me, which I’ll get to in a minute, but first — a quick diversion… I’ve always been interested in improving my own effectiveness and…
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Startups, Burnout, and Running
Almost exactly a year ago, I joined Entrepreneur First with three intentions: The last year has been exhilarating, euphoric, and anything but boring, and I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved with Encore so far. That said, startups are fairly fashionable and often glamourised these days, and something people can be reluctant to talk about is how quickly they…
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