Innovation and Leadership Team Lead | Strategically connecting Corporates and their Leaders with Startups I Connectd

Connectd works with individuals looking to build fractional careers through board advisor, non-executive director and fractional c-suite roles with startups.

Through the Connectd platform, we help both active and aspiring fractionals access networking and fractional opportunities, CPD-accredited training and mentoring.

If you’d like to explore opportunities, feel free to email me at: will.s@connectd.co

William Smith

James Dixon

Connectd

Head of People

Team Leadership Coach

Senior Performance Acquisition Manager

Performance Acquisition Manager

GBG Plc

New Business Development Manager, Loqate

Playrcart

Business Development Manager

GSMA

International Digital Sales Manager 

The Drum - Modern Marketing and Media

Senior Sales

Haymarket Media Group

Senior Sales Executive

Digital Account Manager

Digital Executive

Sales Executive

Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Ltd.

Sales Assistant

St Mary’s University, Twickenham

Studying the nutrient in foods and how the body uses them. Developing a knowledge of the structure, function and metabolic processes of the body and how nutrition supports its health. The important areas of IT and data handling skills related to this field.  Investigating the effects of diet on health and wellbeing and exploring the nutritional needs throughout the lifecycle, from pre-conception through to old age. 
Examples of modules studied include:
•	clinical nutrition
•	sports nutrition
•	sport in the media
 •	research project (below - 1st class)

Sports Science with Nutrition Student

Wickes

Wickes is part of the Travis Perkins Group and was recently voted Britain's favourite DIY Store, by leading market research company Verdict, for the third time in four years. During my time at Wickes I was responsible for:
Ensuring the store is ready for business each day.
Pro-actively approaching and assisting customers.  
Replenishing the store with stock to ensure maximum availability.
Adhering to company Health and Safety standards.
Ensuring compliance to procedures in all areas of responsibility. 
Applying merchandising and promotions to company standard.
Assisting in stock control checks.

At Connectd, we work with fractional executives looking to build careers through fractional c-suite, non-executive and board advisor roles with high-growth startups across the UK and US. 

Through the Connectd platform, we help current and aspiring fractional executives access opportunities, CPD-accredited training, mentoring, and exclusive community access within our growing community. Key focus areas include:

Facilitating pro bono placements with startups & scaleups
Learn the fundamental skills, behaviours and attitudes of a board advisor, fractional and NED roles across this 8-module programme
Work with expert mentors spanning over 60 sectors, matched to your skills
Upskill through webinars, roundtable discussions, and thought-leadership sessions

Interested? Send me a message to explore more about your eligibility for Connectd.

Connectd updates:

1. Professionals favoring fractional work surged by an impressive 181% 🤯 
   
2. Achieved 27th place in the prestigious Deloitte Technology Fast 50 for 2025

3. Successful launch events in Austin & Dallas 🇺🇸
   
4. Proud nominees in the Barclays Scale Up Company awards & collaborated on an event with NatWest 

5. Massive partnership with HubSpot, benefiting both customer bases

... all of that just last week!

Looking forward to what the remainder of 2025 has in store 🚀

Jim Dixon

Head of People | Performance Coach | Empowering organisations and talent to transition into and succeed in the future of fractional work

The future of work it isn't ahead of us anymore. It’s here.

At Connectd, we're watching a new world of work take shape, one where people embrace portfolio careers and startups scale smarter with fractional talent.

Our team just released a new whitepaper exploring what this shift really means.

If you’ve been curious about where work is heading (and how it’s already changing), it’s worth a read.

📘 A fractional future: The revolution reshaping modern careers 👉 

tps://https://lnkd.in/emQYmqq7

Wouldn't it be great to read stuff like this in the news...

Founder of 1% Better™ | Former accountant, future author | Follow me for the best self-development content on LinkedIn

5 ways to actually practice gratitude in your life:

1. Look for glimmers
Glimmers are the opposite of triggers. They're those tiny moments in your day that make you feel joy, peace, or gratitude. Once you train your brain to be on the lookout for them, they start appearing everywhere.

2. Snap a joy photo
Take one picture per day of something that brought you joy. A cup of coffee, a funny street sign, the way the sunlight hits your desk. Not for social media—just for you.

3. Say it when you feel it
When someone does something you appreciate, actually tell them. Doesn't have to be profound. Just: "I'm glad you're in my life" or "Thanks for always making me laugh."

4. Practice future nostalgia
Throughout your day, pause and ask: "Will I miss this moment someday?" Your current morning routine, the commute you complain about, even your kid's phase of asking "why?" fifty times a day.

5. Add an upside to your complaints
If you catch yourself venting about something, tack on one small silver lining. "This weather is awful…but at least I get to wear my favorite jacket."

What is your favorite way to practice gratitude?
💾 SAVE this to refer back to.

Image credit: unknown

Great list here... forgot to start my day with number 1 so I'll finish it with my daily gratitude: 

Working with Spyros Balampekos FCCA, Claudia Stankler, Paola Matos Albers & Deel to supercharge our business this past few months.

30 short habits with a massive return on life:

What would you add to this list?

30 short habits with a massive return on life 

Throughout my time at Connectd, I keep hearing the same thing from founders:
Once they bring the right advisor on board, something shifts.

Sometimes the impact is obvious. Their pitch tightens up, the story finally lands and investor meetings feel completely different. Other times it is more subtle, but you can sense it. They show up with more clarity and direction, and investors pick up on that straight away.

If you’re getting ready for a round, we’re running a session on 26 November at 2PM GMT / 9AM EST about how advisors can help founders raise with more confidence.

 Save your spot → https://lnkd.in/eZh2fXU4

Global Board Member & Advisor, Speaker, Mentor & Consultant at O.H Degani Consultants - helping businesses create & implement profitable growth strategies, through leveraging innovative Digital & Customer Experience

Happy & proud to end my first year with Connectd on a high note, by becoming a Mentor in the Transition To Portfolio programme, which will allow me to help more great people with their journey moving from executive full-time roles to flexible portfolio work, as many are doing these days in growing numbers.

It's funny actually as more mentoring wasn't even one of the reasons I originally joined Connectd (it's what I've been doing the longest), and I love it (always looking to honestly share from my experience and help others), so very happy with the additional opportunity, and it was a nice reminder for me that good things happen when you're around good people, even when you don't expect them :)

Which brings me to looking back on why I joined Connectd and what I did during my first year to achieve that, which is something many people have been asking me about, so speaking of sharing, trying to reflect & summarise below (and show in the photos):

- I wanted to take the next step in my journey, which meant more paid Board Advisor and Board Member / Non-Executive Director (NED) roles, and my approach to this strategic investment has been to go "all in" in order to maximise the value I get out of it, in a holistic way.

- Did the online training properly & quickly and got my Board Advisor certificate 

- Got my mentor, which wasn't easy for me as I'm not used to being the mentee, but I knew I needed it to challenge myself and indeed he did exactly that! 

- Attended every event I could, online and in person in London, which got me to meet founders, other advisors and the Connectd team (lead by the impressive & ambitious Roei Samuel, always supportive & full of energy!), and also listen to people with far more experience who openly shared their stories, advice & tips

- Got my placement as a Board Advisor at Lydia, which has been a great match for me (done fully by the Connectd team!) as I really enjoy working with their founder Nok Orrason, a special person

- Spending time on a weekly basis finding the most relevant opportunities on the platform, reaching out and having good conversations with the founders

- Reached out to the very supporting team with every question (and I had a few!), especially to George Kimpton-Moss who got me on board, and the super-responsive Jon Teale!

- Interviewed to share my story which was featured on the website

- Leveraged all the above on LinkedIn (updating my profile, liking, commenting, posting, connecting, messaging)

As a result, I am happy to be on track to achieve my strategic goals, with some paid & blended Board Advisor roles agreed and some in progress, on the Connectd platform and outside it, and not least important (maybe more), better knowledge & understanding of this tricky space, clarity of my own way, and stronger confidence.

Too many people to thank here so please see the comments!

Looking forward to my second year, where the focus will be on paid Board Member / NED roles - bring it on :)

How to do a hard reset on your life before 2026:

How to do a hard reset on your life before 2026

What are you doing about collecting mentors in your career? I view them as absolutely essential to growth, especially the ones who are skilled at asking the right questions of you & not just teaching via their own experience. 

I've been really lucky to have several key figures that have helped to guide and shape my journey. I've even become a mentor myself in recent years, which is an unbelievably fulfilling way to invest time. 

The trick is to figure out who's got what you need for whatever the next stage of growth is, not an easy task and can require some luck and persistence.

Connectd helps take the guesswork out of the process for many with mentor matching. Our community does much more than this with thousands aligned on growth mindset. 

Challenge to anyone reading this, put yourself out there today for either side. You won't regret it!

What if the career “safety net” was the thing holding you back?

Volker Ballueder, one of our mentors, learned this after years in corporate and a few redundancies that forced him to rethink what “security” actually meant.

What started as a small fractional role turned into something better, more freedom, stability and the confidence that comes from multiple income streams.

More people are making that same shift, and startups are driving the demand faster than ever.

Swipe through to see how he did it 👇

Finding freedom in building a fractional career

Well calculated, planned & executed risk is still better than no risk at all. Personally I'd always start with coaching, gain clarity on your plan then go for it without hesitation. 

As we near the end of the year lots will be thinking about what next? I suggest the very next thing is read the post from Tim below, and ask yourself why you're doing any of it? Some will carry on, others need to make a drastic change.

Aussie writer with 1B+ content views in 10 years | I teach people to use writing online to create career opportunities | Let's connect: tim@timdenning.com

The safe career path is the riskiest decision you'll ever make.

Playing it safe guarantees you'll die with regrets.

━━━━━

Met a 58-year-old accountant last week. Same desk for 22 years.

Never asked for a promotion. Never changed companies. Never tried anything new.

"I played it safe," he said. "Now I'm too old to take risks."

He's not old. He's institutionalized.

━━━━━

The myth of the safe path:

Stable job = Security
Same company = Loyalty pays off
Avoid risks = Avoid failure

Reality check:

That stable job? Gone in the next layoff.
That loyal service? Means nothing when profits drop.
That risk avoidance? You already failed by never trying.

━━━━━

Know what's actually risky?

Being 50 with one skill that's becoming obsolete.
Having a resume that shows zero growth in a decade.
Realizing you spent 20 years building someone else's dream.

The biggest risk isn't taking chances. It's taking none.

━━━━━

Two people from my network:

Sasha: Stayed at IBM for 15 years. "Safe" job. Laid off at 45. Can't find work because her skills are dated.

Mark: Changed jobs 5 times in 10 years. Started two failed businesses. Now runs a $5M company because he learned from every risk.

One played it safe. One's set for life.

━━━━━

Every risk-taker I know started terrified:

The lawyer who became a baker. Scared for 6 months. Now owns 4 locations.
The director who quit to freelance. Ate ramen for a year. Makes triple now.
The analyst who started a podcast. Everyone laughed. 100K downloads monthly.

Fear is the entry fee. Pay it or stay stuck.

━━━━━

The compound effect of playing it safe:

Year 1: Comfortable
Year 5: Bored
Year 10: Trapped
Year 15: Desperate
Year 20: Dead inside

Each year you don't risk, the cage gets smaller. Until you can't even see the bars anymore.

━━━━━

Take the f*cking risk.

Apply for the role you're not qualified for.
Start the business while you have a job.
Move to the city that scares you.
Launch the project everyone says won't work.

Worst case? You fail and learn.
Best case? You build the life you actually want.
Likely case? You surprise yourself.

━━━━━

Your deathbed won't care about your stable career.

It'll care about the chances you didn't take.

What risk have you been avoiding? 👇
♻️ Repost if playing it safe is playing to lose

If you want to level up your career faster, then join my unconventional Substack newsletter with 163K others: https://lnkd.in/gMkRFmj9

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