James O'Halloran - certified b corp

About James

Hi, I’m James O’Halloran. I’m a coach, a dad, and someone who’s spent a good chunk of life exploring what my purpose is. I’ve built businesses, created funded startups, and worked across a lot of industries, in different corners of the world, and with all kinds of people. What ties it all together is a fascination with people and how we evolve.

A bit of background

One of the things people are surprised by is that I worked as a programmer in Silicon Valley when I was just 20. It was in 2000, at the height of the dot com bubble. I was earning a ridiculous amount, had a sports car to drive, and spent time eating free bagels or playing table football in the office. What an experience!

I’ve done a lot of different things since then. Started my own business building bespoke furniture for a living, started my own tech startup, managed projects, and retrained more than once. It hasn’t been a straight line, but it’s given me a pretty broad perspective.

Coaching came into my life quite organically. I was interviewing someone for a role at my startup, and by the end of the conversation I told him he wasn’t quite right and he asked if he could pay me to keep talking. I hadn’t trained formally at that point, but something clicked. I realised this was the kind of work I wanted to do. I’ve been coaching ever since.

These days, I work mostly with founders, creatives, and people making change happen. People who are looking for more purpose or clarity. People who want to feel more in tune with what they’re doing work-wise. I love it!

What matters to me?

I care about people living in a way that feels aligned with who they are. That could be through their relationships, how they show up day to day or -and my main focus- their work.

I also care about doing business ethically, which is why I went through the B Corp certification process. It’s been a lot of work, especially as a one-person business, but it felt important. It’s one thing to say you care about impact and sustainability. It’s another thing to actually benchmark your business and validate it.

In my work, I bring in a lot of what I’ve learned from studying psychology. I’m a geek when it comes to that stuff. I’m always devouring something about internal family systems, transactional analysis, culture, Gestalt, relationships, consent, attachment styles, performance, AI, startups, Agile that kind of thing. I love having a range of models I can draw from to help people understand themselves better.

I also work with teams, often using tools like LEGO Serious Play © and Gallup Strengths. It’s all about helping people collaborate effectively and feel more alive in their work.

Life outside of work

I’ve got two brilliant kids, Ash and Willow, and a lot of my life revolves around them. Becoming a parent made me really look at myself. I realised kids don’t do what you say, they copy what you do. So I decided to begin the inner work before Ash was born, including going on a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat. I’d already taught myself to meditate when I was 12, mostly because I needed to get to sleep earlier for pre-school swimming. Vipassana took things to another level. I still meditate now.

Outside of that, I’m usually out running trails (in barefoot sandals or shoes) or off on a cycling trip. I used to be a pretty full-on rock climber — climbed all over the world for about 25 years — and while I don’t do it as often now, I’ll probably come back to it once my daughter’s a bit older. Some of my closest friendships were formed through climbing.

As a family, we cycle a lot and do a cycle touring trip every year, camping along the way and carrying what we need. Getting the three of us into my tiny tent and figuring things out together as we go… it’s one of the highlights of my year.

Looking ahead; things I care about

There are a few things I’d love to explore more in the future. I’m really interested in co-housing — not communes, but intentional neighbourhoods where people of all ages live in a way that’s more supportive and connected. A lot of people are really lonely, and that’s something I’d love to help transform. Also, children need a village to raise them well…

I’m also passionate about education. I’d love to see a system where kids grow up with a much clearer sense of their strengths and who they are, instead of hitting their late teens not knowing what they want to do. There are simple ways to make this better, even from a young age, and I’d love to support that change.

One other project close to my heart is creating rites of passage for young people, something to mark that shift into adulthood in a meaningful way. It’s something I haven’t fully got off the ground yet, I care about it deeply. Partly because primary school wasn’t a great experience for me. I was bullied by both teachers and other kids, before I was diagnosed as dyslexic at eight. A lot of what I do now ties into helping people feel seen, understood, enabled, and empowered in a way I didn’t at that age.

A few things people often find interesting

I worked in Silicon Valley during the dot com bubble when I was 20
I had my own furniture business. I designed and made furniture for the Tower of London; The London Olympics and private collectors. And if you get an honorary degree or PhD at either City University London or London Business School you’ll receive this on stage at a kneeling stool I designed and made.
I retrained multiple times and have had a bunch of careers: Lifeguard; Cocktail Barman; Programmer; Business Analyst; Project Manager; Furniture Designer; Startup Founder; CTO; Head of People; Executive Coach.
I became a certified B Corp as a solo business
I’ve meditated since I was 12
I study Tantra
I’m dyslexic, which shaped my passion for education reform and built deep compassion.