Mark's Journal

Most people think growth comes from saying yes to more.  More meetings. More partnerships. More ideas. More “quick coffees” that somehow last 90 minutes.  And let’s be honest. A quick coffee values your time at about £5. And that’s even if you don’t pay.  When clarity is missing, everything looks like an opportunity.  When strategy is fuzzy, every idea feels urgent.  When conviction is weak, saying no feels rude.

Whether you realise it or not, your life is being designed every day.  Not by grand gestures or dramatic turning points. But quietly and consistently, by the people you allow closest to you.  They are the invisible architects of your thinking, standards, ambition and ultimately your outcomes. 

There is a hard truth that very few people are willing to sit with long enough to change.  If you are not actively building towards your own vision, you are almost certainly working to advance someone else’s.  That does not make you weak. It makes you normal.  For decades, the system has been designed to reward compliance, not conscious design. Security is prioritised over sovereignty. Busy is mistaken for productive. And borrowed ambition quietly replaces personal p

We live in a world that is constantly pulling at us.  Notifications... Opinions... Algorithms... Everyone wants you to buy their merch, follow their framework or adopt their version of success. Very few want you to pause and ask a far more dangerous question:  What do I actually want?  Journalling is not about productivity hacks or pretty notebooks. It is about presence and being alone with yourself long enough to hear your own thoughts again.  

I have always admired Patek Philippe for reasons that go far beyond watches.   Their original line captured something timeless: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” More recently, as part of their Generations campaign, they refined the message even further:   “Begin your own tradition.”   That line stays with me.   Because real wealth has never been about ownership.

Most founders focus on the pitch. It’s a tough truth, but one worth confronting early: most raises don’t fail due to a weak idea; they fail because the business behind it simply isn’t investor-ready.     At Sustainomics Capital, we see it every day. Founders with grit, energy and vision. But also...with structural blind spots that cause experienced investors to quietly pass without explanation.   

Vision Without Transmission Is a Broken Engine Entrepreneurs obsess over clarity of vision. They refine strategy decks, future maps and five-year targets. Yet, the greatest strategic error is carrying that vision alone.    A founder’s clarity is meaningless if it never leaves their mind.  Your accountant, solicitor and advisers cannot optimise what they cannot see. Vision becomes operational only when it becomes shared.

Why ancient philosophy remains one of the greatest assets for modern professionals seeking investment Every founder eventually discovers a difficult truth about raising capital. The financial model matters. The market matters. The product matters. Yet the internal state of the leader determines whether the deal ever concludes.

THE BIG RESET RULE: MINDSET FOR WEALTH MASTERY Give Yourself Space to See the Bigger Picture Once paused, the mindset resets. This means zooming out to see how today’s crisis fits into a much larger timeline. When you face pressure or crisis, your brain immediately shifts into survival mode, but this shift is a double-edged sword.Whether you are just starting your journey or managing a vast portfolio, cultivating this disciplined mindset is the secret behind lasting wealth an

Every so often, you discover something that makes you stop and ask: Why didn’t anyone tell me this before? For me, that realisation came after 25 years in the financial system — and not one adviser ever mentioned a SSAS pension. Not one. But this isn’t about pensions. It’s about power. It made me realise how often we outsource control — of our money, our time, our decisions — to people or systems that were never designed to create our freedom.

There is no shortage of voices dissecting what is wrong with the UK economy — policy, tax, regulation, sentiment. But for those who spend time on the ground with real businesses, the story looks very different. Across the country, founders are still innovating, scaling, and creating value. They are building export-ready brands, pioneering energy technology, reshaping property, and leading digital transformation.

Energy Startups: The UK’s Quiet Global Advantage and the Investors Powering a Better Future

From Network to Net Worth: How to Build Relationships with People Who Can Fund Your Future. You don’t raise capital from a pitch deck.You raise it from relationships. And those relationships don’t start in a spreadsheet, they start in conversations that matter. Whether you’re looking to raise capital or deploy it, one truth remains:Your network is your single greatest investment asset.

When it comes to raising capital, not every venture neatly fits into the risk and return profile of traditional finance. Many projects, especially those with strong social, environmental or community outcomes, struggle to attract purely commercial investment. That is where concessionary finance comes in.

There’s a quiet exodus happening and it’s one that should have alarm bells ringing in Whitehall. In the last year alone, thousands of UK company directors have packed their bags and taken their business leadership abroad. Many aren’t just moving their families, they’re moving their capital, their spending power, and, crucially, their investment activity. Why? Read more to find out

We’ve all heard the sayings: “Patience is a virtue” and “Life’s not a sprint.” But what if we dared to think bigger—much bigger? Not just in metaphor, but in action, vision, and lived reality? Because the truth is this: your most meaningful goals—those dreams that stir your soul—will never be found on the path of convenience. They live at the edges of your limits. And getting there? It’s not just a marathon. It’s an Ultra Marathon.

New Partnership: Sustainomics Capital Retained by UK Renewable Energy Provider