"I didn't appreciate how long it would take to be authorised," he says. "There was a couple of things that the bank didn't send quickly enough and that delayed authorisation. I was expected to be authorised in September of 2015, it was December.
"I didn't appreciate the time it took to actually put a case together [for the network's compliance]. It took time and I didn't appreciate the time."
A lifestyle business
These days he runs a lifestyle business, refuses to work after his kid gets home from school or on weekends.
His previous experience of overworking, which had led to a divorce and a sizeable amount of maintenance payments, taught him to look after the things that matter most, he says.
And that includes a personalised client service. From the outset, he says, "I knew what I wanted to do, I wanted to walk into a business, I wanted to rip out the jargon from a client end perspective. I don't want anything getting in the way of me having a conversation with a business owner."
What irks him is "this over-reliance on technology, that it can do everything".
He believes tech can "kill the beautiful thing known as soft sales skills".
He adds: "At the moment AI can't generate empathy, it can't generate feeling. It can't put a gentle touch on someone's shoulder. It just can't do the things that we as human beings [can], that makes us unique.
"I believe our role is more about how do I show [clients], guiding them through Covid, and guiding them through the financial crisis, guiding them through Ukraine, Russia, guiding them through Middle East, guiding them through the political landscape that will undoubtedly change over the coming few months and what that means and what that does to markets.
"That's where we are and what we do. We constantly touch in with our clients, making them aware that the plans we set up for that plan at whatever point in the future haven't changed. And whilst there will be ups and downs etc, that's what we do."
carmen.reichman@ft.com
