About Us

Thinking about scaling up? We know change can be scary but it doesn't have to be. UsefulWorks helps businesses grow smoothly using our real-world experience to anticipate and mitigate the inevitable growing pains.

Our Story

We started UsefulWorks because we've been where you are.

As entrepreneurs and business leaders, we've lived through the excitement ‐ and terror ‐ of rapid growth. We've watched established systems buckle under pressure, scrambled to fix problems we should have anticipated, and had those late-night conversations about whether we were truly ready for the next level. We've felt the panic when customer service couldn't handle the influx, wrestled with cash flow when growth demanded investment before revenue caught up, and worried about maintaining our culture while scaling fast.

Here's what we learned: those growing pains don't have to disrupt your momentum. Most businesses tackle growth challenges reactively, but we discovered that anticipating and preparing for these inevitable hurdles makes all the difference. That's why we created UsefulWorks: to help other businesses grow with confidence instead of anxiety, using the hard-won experience we gained from navigating our own scaling journeys.

We're not consultants with textbook theories; we're partners who've been in your shoes and want to help you walk the path more smoothly.

Meet the Founder

Hi, I'm Jim, the Founder of UsefulWorks 👋

I'm a start-up veteran and no-nonsense enterprise builder. Over the years, I've been a neuroscientist, a management consultant, a gardener, a Chief of Staff, and a tech entrepreneur. I have more than 15 years experience planning, building, and managing key operations ‐ small and big ‐ from the inception of a business, through growth challenges, to success and to global scale.

I've been employee #6 at a VC-backed start-up that grew to 160+ people across 23 countries with over $10m in annual revenue. I've served as Chief of Staff and VP Operations working directly with CEOs and leadership teams, led M&A deals worth millions, supported funding rounds raising over $65m, implemented systems for global payroll and negotiated complex contracts.

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate.

Each experience has taught me something valuable about what works, what doesn't, and how to prepare for (and deal with!) the unexpected. And also that the original Bladerunner movie is an excellent film.

I cut my business teeth as an Associate with McKinsey. Despite learning a ton, I turned my back on the world of Big Consultancy to focus on practical solutions: identifying what people actually want and delivering useful solutions that work.

I founded UsefulWorks to share my real‐world, hard‐won experience building resilient operational backbones that allow companies to scale fast without breaking.

I've learned that behind every operational challenge is a team of real people trying to build something meaningful ‐ and that's who UsefulWorks is here to support.