O2E Brands

Vice President, Coaching

Vice President, Operations

Director, Operations

Fresh Painting

Founder / CEO (Acquired)

LoyaltyOne

B2B sales, generating recurring and incremental revenue programs for clients.

Business Development Manager

Aimia Inc

B2B sales, selling loyalty programs that generated recurring and incremental revenue for new and existing clients.

Client & Partner Development Manager

B2B sales and client account management, selling loyalty solutions that generated recurring and incremental revenue.

Account Manager

Bridgeable

B2B sales, selling innovation consulting solutions to clients throughout North America.

Senior Associate / Business Development Manager

The Home Depot

Store Leadership Manager

College Pro

Franchise Owner

Vice President, O2E Coaching Program // MBA // Certified Business Coach (CPCC, ACC)

As a results-driven executive leader, I specialize in scaling businesses, aligning cross-functional teams, and driving sustainable revenue growth. With over a decade of experience spanning operations, sales, coaching, and enablement, I have consistently delivered measurable outcomes by integrating strategic vision with actionable execution.

At O2E Brands, I transformed operations as VP of Operations, scaling WOW 1 DAY PAINTING by optimizing processes, building high-performing teams, and implementing strategies that boosted customer acquisition. Later, as VP of Coaching, I designed programs that empowered leaders to achieve high-performing results through improved sales alignment and leadership development.

I bring an MBA, certifications in executive coaching, and advanced training in Artificial Intelligence Strategy from MIT Sloan to every project, ensuring a forward-thinking, data-driven approach. Passionate about empowering teams and transforming organizations, I am committed to delivering strategic enablement that drives growth and lasting success.

Let’s connect to discuss how I can help elevate your business to the next level.

James Graham

Founder helping you elevate your career. Follow for insights on business & career growth. CEO of Runway.

My mission is to help millions of students launch meaningful careers - and to fix early-career hiring for good.

For the last 3 years, I’ve worked directly inside this space. I ran a recruiting business that placed over 500 students into internships and full-time roles, partnered with 200+ employers, hosted career fairs, and spoke with every stakeholder in the system: students, hiring managers, recruiters, and universities.

One thing became clear:
Students aren’t struggling to find jobs - they’re struggling to understand what jobs they’re a fit for and how to compete.

That’s why I founded Runway, the AI career coach that helps students:

- Find the right internships and jobs faster
- Understand exactly how to improve their resumes
- Prepare for interviews with personalized strategies
- Identify skill gaps and strengths for every opportunity

We’ve grown to 15,000+ users and a 40,000+ subscriber community in just a few months.

I’m also one of the fastest-growing career creators on social media, with 320k+ followers across LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok - where I share actionable career advice for students and young professionals trying to break into the workforce.

If you're a student looking to grow, a university looking to innovate, or an employer hiring early-career talent - let’s connect.

Runway: www.joinrunway.io
Email: ford@joinrunway.io
YouTube: https://tapthe.link/7laQlkWJ8I
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fordcoleman_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fordcoleman_
Twitter: https://x.com/fordcoleman_

For speaking engagements or sponsorship deals please email fordcoleman04@gmail.com!

Ford Coleman

Being reachable all the time is a liability.

Not because people don’t matter.
But because clarity requires distance.

When you’re always plugged in:
- You respond instead of reflect
- You optimize for urgency, not importance
- You let other people’s priorities shape your thinking

Some of my best decisions didn’t come from conversations.
They came from disconnection.

Long walks.
No notifications.
No opinions.

If everything feels noisy lately, don’t add more input.
Remove it.

That’s where direction comes from.

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Founder & CEO of Runway. I help thousands of students land internships faster. Follow for business & career growth insights.

Starting over isn’t failure. 
It’s the beginning of a better story. 
Here’s why:

You invested years in this path. You built skills. Made connections. Put in the work.

And now you’re thinking about walking away from all of it to start something new.

That feels terrifying. Like throwing everything away. Like admitting you were wrong.

But what if starting over is the smartest decision you could make?

7 reasons starting over might be exactly what you need:

1️⃣ You’re not losing your experience, you’re redirecting it
↳ The skills you built don’t disappear when you change paths. They transfer in ways you can’t see yet.

2️⃣ Staying in the wrong story is more expensive than starting a new one
↳ Every year you spend doing work that doesn’t fit is a year you could have spent building something that does.

3️⃣ Your new story starts with everything you learned from the old one
↳ You’re not starting from zero. You’re starting from experience.

4️⃣ The best careers rarely follow a straight line
↳ Most successful people changed direction multiple times before they found their fit.

5️⃣ What got you here won’t get you there
↳ Sometimes the only way forward is to choose a completely different direction.

6️⃣ You already know what doesn’t work
↳ That knowledge is worth more than you think. Now you can avoid those paths entirely.

7️⃣ Regret from not trying beats regret from trying every time
↳ You’ll never wonder “what if” because you’ll actually know.

Starting over doesn’t erase your story. It adds a chapter where you chose yourself over comfort.

Don’t be afraid to rewrite your career. You might like your new story better.

Have you ever started over? What happened?

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When people feel valued, they give more. 
When they feel invisible, they give the minimum.

7 ways to show appreciation that actually matters:

1️⃣ Recognize wins publicly, not just in private 
↳ A quick shoutout in a team meeting carries more weight than you think.

2️⃣ Give credit where it's actually due 
↳ Don't take credit for your team's work. Attach their names to the results they drove.

3️⃣ Say thank you for the small things, not just the big projects 
↳ Appreciation for daily effort builds loyalty faster than occasional praise for major wins.

4️⃣ Ask for their input and actually use it 
↳ Nothing says "you matter" like implementing someone's idea and acknowledging it came from them.

5️⃣ Invest in their growth 
↳ Appreciation isn't just words. It's giving them opportunities to develop skills and advance.

6️⃣ Respect their time and boundaries 
↳ Saying you value someone while texting them at 10 PM sends the opposite message.

7️⃣ Pay them what they're worth 
↳ Appreciation without fair compensation is just empty words.

A person who feels appreciated will always do more than is expected. 
A person who feels invisible will do exactly what's required and nothing more.

Which type of team are you building?

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Yesterday's rejection doesn't define today's potential. 
Here's how to reset:

Missed the deadline. 
Bombed the interview. 
Got passed over for the promotion. 
Made a mistake that cost the team.

And now you're replaying it over and over, letting yesterday's failure steal today's focus.

Stop. Today is a clean slate.

7 ways to move forward instead of staying stuck:

1️⃣ Acknowledge what happened without dwelling on it 
↳ Process the failure, extract the lesson, then let it go.

2️⃣ Take one action today that moves you forward 
↳ Send one application. Make one connection. Learn one new skill. Forward momentum beats perfect planning.

3️⃣ Treat today like the fresh start it actually is 
↳ You're not the person who failed yesterday. You're the person who learned and is trying again today.

4️⃣ Focus on what you can control right now 
↳ You can't change what already happened. You can change what you do in the next hour.

5️⃣ Stop punishing yourself with replays 
↳ Every minute spent reliving yesterday's mistake is a minute you're not building today's progress.

6️⃣ Set a new expectation for today 
↳ Don't carry yesterday's defeat into today's opportunities. Show up like you're capable of winning.

7️⃣ Give yourself permission to be better than your worst moment 
↳ One bad interview doesn't make you a bad candidate. One failed project doesn't make you incompetent.

Every day is a chance to begin again.
Stop letting yesterday's failures dictate today's expectations. 

The job search that feels impossible today could turn around tomorrow. The skill you're struggling with now could click next week.

Progress isn't linear. 
Some days you move forward. 
Some days you reset. 

Both are necessary.

Which of these do you need to hear most right now?

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Nobody cares about your ideas. 
They care about your results. 
Here’s why:

You’ve been talking about starting that project for three months. You’ve told everyone about the career change you’re planning. You’ve shared your goals with anyone who’ll listen.

And nothing has changed.

Here’s the truth: ideas are worthless until you execute them. The market doesn’t reward intentions. It rewards outcomes.

7 reasons to stop talking and start building:

1️⃣ Ideas don’t prove capability, execution does
↳ Anyone can think of something good. Not everyone can actually make it happen.

2️⃣ Talking drains the energy you need to build
↳ Every conversation about what you’re going to do uses motivation you could spend actually doing it.

3️⃣ People remember results, not plans
↳ No one hires you because you had a great idea. They hire you because you built something that worked.

4️⃣ Feedback on real work beats validation on concepts
↳ Building something teaches you what actually matters. Talking about it keeps you in theory.

5️⃣ Execution reveals problems planning never shows
↳ You don’t know what you don’t know until you actually try to build it.

6️⃣ Finished projects open doors that ideas never will
↳ A portfolio piece gets you interviews. An idea you never built gets you nothing.

7️⃣ The gap between talkers and doers is where opportunity lives
↳ While everyone else is still discussing it, you’ve already shipped it.

Stop telling people your big ideas. Build them and tell us what happened.

Employers don’t want to hear about your potential. They want to see proof that you can deliver.

❌ So stop planning. 
❌ Stop discussing. 
❌ Stop preparing.

✅ Start building. 
✅ Start shipping. 
✅ Start showing results.

What’s one thing you’ve been talking about that you need to just build?

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You’re viewing your struggles as setbacks. 
They’re actually preparation.

Here’s how to shift your perspective:

Most people treat career challenges like obstacles in the way of success.

❌ Getting rejected and thinking you’re not good enough
❌ Facing difficulty and assuming you’re on the wrong path
❌ Experiencing setbacks and viewing them as failures
❌ Going through hard times and questioning if it’s worth it

But what if everything you’re going through right now is preparing you for exactly what you asked for?

Here’s what’s actually happening:

✅ Rejection teaches you resilience you’ll need when you get the bigger opportunity
✅ Difficulty builds skills that wouldn’t develop in an easy role
✅ Setbacks force you to refine your approach until it actually works
✅ Hard times prove you can handle what’s coming next

The rejections. The late nights. The moments of doubt. The times you wanted to quit but didn’t.
None of it is wasted. It’s all preparation.

What if you stopped resisting the process and started trusting it?

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Here are 10 brutal career truths most people
only learn after years of frustration 👇

1/ Your degree doesn’t guarantee success
Skills and results matter more than the school name.

2/ Loyalty isn’t always rewarded
The biggest raises often come from switching roles.

3/ You are your own best advocate
If you don’t speak up, no one else will.

4/ Comfort zones kill growth
Playing it safe rarely leads to big opportunities.

5/ Networking is non-negotiable
Most jobs come from people, not applications.

6/ Technical skills expire
What’s valuable today can be outdated tomorrow.

7/ Work-life balance needs boundaries
Companies take as much as you give.

8/ Politics matter (like it or not) 
How decisions are made affects your career.

9/ Feedback you need won’t be given
You have to actively ask for it.

10/ Your market value constantly changes
Pay should reflect today’s skills, not yesterday’s role.

The sooner you accept these, the faster your career starts working for you.

Which one hit the hardest? ⬇️ 

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still looking for an internship for this summer? we have 300+ new *paid* internships for you being sent out each week. Comment your (. edu) email below if interested in the list!

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The Battle

James Graham

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Engagements

Likes

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