I was always a great student. But when I graduated from Oxford and stepped into the corporate world, I instantly felt like a fish out of water.
During my first weekend as a junior lawyer, I sat at a corporate retreat and realized something chilling: everyone else in this room is built for this work, and I’m not. Two years later, when my contract wasn't renewed, I wasn't surprised. I pivoted to management consulting, hoping a new industry would fix the feeling. It didn't. Four years in, I was fired again.
That was terrifying. After a life of academic success, I felt like a complete failure at "adulting." At Oxford, the path was clear: you became a lawyer, doctor, banker, or consultant. If I couldn’t succeed at those, what was left for me?
Dark Days and a Second Chance
I was fortunate enough to move back home with my parents, but the months following my second firing were dark. Turning 30 while underemployed felt humiliating. I avoided meeting up with friends because I couldn't stand the thought of being the object of their pity.
Because I was scraping by, I was late to the game in buying a smartphone. But when I finally got one, it felt like a light switch flipped. I saw immediately how mobile tech was going to transform the world.
Desperate for a path forward, I forced myself out of my comfort zone. I started attending tech events, swallowing my shame, and asking strangers for coffee chats. That persistence paid off. I broke into the startup world, eventually becoming the CEO of JustPark, a parking app in London. Later, in 2017, I founded Beam, an AI platform designed to empower social service workers. Today, Beam has roughly 200 employees worldwide and operates across five countries.
Embracing the Rebel Within
I won't sugarcoat it: being fired was upsetting and deeply uncomfortable. But looking back, it was the ultimate catalyst for my career. If you ask me who helped me most in life, I’ll name the bosses who fired me from jobs I was terrible at.
Years of struggle taught me two vital lessons:
Resilience is everything: In a startup, you fail constantly. People who have known only smooth success often struggle in that environment.
Self-awareness matters: I wasn't bad at being an adult; I was just wired completely wrong for a traditional corporate institution.
I’ve always had a bit of a rebellious streak, which makes entrepreneurship a far better fit. But I'm not chasing the typical Silicon Valley dream—billionaires aren't my role models. My family taught me that true success comes from helping others. My great-grandfather was a businessman who helped resettle Jewish refugees in London before World War II. He was a social entrepreneur long before the term existed, and I’m proud to follow in his footsteps.
Getting fired broke my old expectations—and gave me the freedom to build a career that actually mattered to me.