SimPLIFY, then add
L I G H T N E S S
Build light / Scale fast
WHY LIGHTNESS?
When AI can make anything, what’s the one thing a business should make?How can startups and brands find and scale their unfair competitive advantage?Lightness is our brand first approach for making things simpler and fasterSimplify, then add lightnessBecause most businesses need less structure and fewer silosMost brands need simpler ideas and more authentic storiesAnd lighter teams adapt and grow fasterLightness. Let less do more.
ABOUT US
James Chadwick (jechadwick.com) is a tech investor, author, and startup builder. He co-founded and scaled Pencil - used by 35,000 teams and one of OpenAI’s first Gen AI SaaS partners - and helped grow Otter.ai to $100M ARR. Before that, he led international marketing and revenue teams at Facebook/Meta for 7 years, ran GroupM in Singapore, and listed Asiacontent.com on Nasdaq.
Colin Kennedy is a creative leader that began his career as a magazine editor back when that was the best job in the world. After building movie bible Empire into a global, multi-platform brand, he helped launch dozens of digital content brands. More recently he spent 7 years as a Chief Creative Officer and CEO at BBDO, building award-winning content and creative systems for brands like Ferrari and Google.
We met playing village football when we were 10.
Now we get to play on the same team again.Say hello atlightnessconsulting @ gmail.com
“James helped Otter as an advisor and consultant in the early days of our development. His thinking and programs around brand-first growth helped us scale up to 10 million users and also raise funding, and we still tap into his expertise whenever we need fresh thinking and deep expertise.”Sam Liang, Co-Founder and CEO, Otter.ai
“Colin is truly one of the most brilliant people I have encountered in my business career. A creative by profession, Colin is bursting with ideas ranging from sweeping new concepts to fine, nuanced touches. He has a magnificent intellect, an ability to learn across a broad range of disciplines and a remarkably acute, strategic mind. Really, truly one of a kind…”Dhiraj Mukherjee, co-founder Shazam, tech investor
“James helped us pivot and scale Pencil from being a mainly Asian, brand-focused technology, to a truly global, performance-first system. From day one he rolled up his sleeves and relentlessly built a growth machine that acquired hundreds of DTC and ecommerce customers and partners, and generated headlines in all the right Tier 1 publications. When James sets his mind to making something happen, it happens, and it’s also a lot of fun to work with him!”Will Hanschell, Co-Founder & CEO, Pencil (trypencil.com)
“Colin is a rare breed of ‘creative technologist’ who bridges the world of creativity and commerce. He is a great thinker on the future social and consumer aspects of new technologies. A true talent with the drive to shape markets versus being driven by them.”Dharmash Mistry, VC and NED, The FA and BBC
“James has become a valuable board advisor and specialist growth consultant as we've ramped Zumo users 25% MoM on average. He blends a lifetime of experience with a sharp take on the very latest trends around web3, NFTs and crypto wallets. I trust his judgment and he’s always there when I need him.”Nick Jones, Founder & CEO, Zumo.money
“Colin has a brain unlike anyone I have ever met. He is super intelligent, a fast problem solver, and has blended his creative and commercial knowledge with ease to make him a brilliant content leader. An utter genius that would benefit any company.”Sophie Robinson, Global Chief Commercial Officer, ILoveIt.com
“James was an early investor and advisor to me as a founder in the early days of FlavorCloud, as we built the company from zero to one. His guidance and connections have helped us keep scaling revenue 3X annually and acquire over 700 customers, and we’re just getting started. James is always there for us - a true partner.”Rathna Sharad, Founder & CEO FlavorCloud (Inc 5000 company)
Simplify, then add lightness
Colin Chapman