Callum Laing

I take companies public and run a $100m MAS regulated fund. 
I am a partner at the Unity Group, the founder of Global Investment Leaders Directive (GILD) for capital raisers.  And I run the Veblen Director Programme, for first time board members.  
Author of 'Boardroom Blueprint - Boost your career with a board seat in 60 days'
My exclusive network of UHNW individuals meet every quarter for lunch at the 'Captable' Singapore (coming to Dubai soon) 

Founder & former CEO / Chair of MBH Corporation PLC, an agglomeration of small, profitable companies from around the world.  Grew it to $180m in revenue.
Advisor to multiple public and private boards.  

Involved in more than 100 M&A transactions and $500m in shareholder value creation.

Best selling author of 3 other business books, I've published over 2500 interviews with Entrepreneurs and Investors around the world. EnterpriseZone.cc
Host of the daily 'CallumConnects' micro-podcast (top 5% worldwide, top 25 for entrepreneurs, 500+ episodes).

Previously served as Singapore High Commissioner to the World Business Angel Investment Forum, an Ambassador to DealGateway.com and on the Board of Advisors to Kinguin, a $100m turnover eGaming business.

The Agglomeration model helps small businesses to scale using publicly listed holding companies.

If you're interested in taking your business, investments or career to the next level, press the blue Follow button above.  

Author of: 
"Progressive Partnerships - The Future of Business" 
"Entrepreneurial Investing - Connecting sophisticated capital to talented small business"
"Boardroom Blueprint - Boost your career with a board seat in 60 days"
Co-author of:
"Agglomerate - Idea to IPO in 12 months"

Member

The Veblen Director Program is designed to get you that elusive first PLC Director position and to provide you with an enviable global network of other Directors that you can call on at will for the rest of your career.

The wealthiest people I know ask one question first: "How can I help you?"

Through CapTable, I organize events for ultra high net worth individuals. And here's what I've noticed every single time.

The more successful someone is, the faster they flip the conversation to contribution. They're not there to pitch. They're not there to take. They're genuinely curious about how they can add value.

Compare that to most networking events where people are climbing the ladder. 
It's all about what you can do for them. Their needs. Their problems. Their next opportunity.

Now, it's easy to look at this backwards and think: "Well, of course successful people help others. They've got time and resources to spare."

That's missing the point entirely.

They didn't become successful and then start helping people. They became successful because they've always focused on creating value for others.

It's not charity. It's strategy.

When you understand someone's real needs, you can see where value lies. Maybe you can't deliver it directly, but someone in your network can. That connection becomes valuable to both sides.

The people coming up are asking: "What can you do for me?"
The people who made it ask: "What can I do for you?"

Guess which approach builds stronger relationships?

Can you tell the difference when you meet someone for the first time?

I am Non-exec Chair of MBH Corporation PLC, an agglomeration of small, profitable companies from around the world.

Best selling author of 3 business books, I've published over 2000 interviews with Entrepreneurs and Investors around the world. EnterpriseZone.cc
Host of the daily 'CallumConnects' micro-podcast.

Previously I have served as Singapore High Commissioner to the World Business Angel Investment Forum, an Ambassador to DealGateway.com and on the Board of Advisors to Kinguin, a $100m turnover eGaming business.
I am the founder of Veblen Directors Program, helping women and minorities to get their first Board seats.

At MBH we help take public established, profitable businesses ($1m EBITDA and above) in a range of industries around the world.

If you're interested in taking your business or your investments to the next level, press the blue Connect/Follow button above.  (no startups or early stage so please don't ask)


Author of: 
"Progressive Partnerships - The Future of Business" 
"Entrepreneurial Investing - Connecting sophisticated capital to talented small business"
Co-author of:
"Agglomerate - Idea to IPO in 12 months"

Successful Investor / Entrepreneur and M&A practitioner. I also help ambitious people to raise money, get board seats and take companies public.

Want To Get A Board Seat In Under 60 Days?

In today's workshop I'm bringing together 5 great people who joined Veblen Director Programme and used it to achieve incredible outcomes.

As you will see, it doesn't matter what your background is, or what you think is holding you back, if you understand the process and surround yourself with the right people you can seriously 'level up' your career by serving on the boards of other companies.

The audience on todays workshop are going to be sharing their key takeaways in the comments, so if you would like to get some free insights, just say hi in the comments so you get the notifications!  Then scroll through and connect with those sharing the most interesting comments.

And make sure you follow Veblen Director Programme so you don't miss future events.

You should also follow our fantastic guest speakers Nicki Allitt, Ashley Bird, Shelley-Ann Pieterse, James Rose & Ralph White

My best productivity hack came from something I used to dread: long-haul flights.

Running a global business means you’re always “on.” There’s always a message, a meeting, or a family obligation pulling at your attention. Real downtime is rare.

Years ago I realised the one environment I couldn’t escape was business travel. And while I never enjoyed long-haul flights, I discovered they gave me something I couldn’t get anywhere else: uninterrupted deep work.

No WhatsApp messages. No email notifications. No Zoom calls. No clients, staff, or family competing for my attention. Just me, my laptop, and hours of clear space, with someone occasionally bringing food and coffee.

It turned into the perfect environment for writing my books and getting my best work done.

I admit this hack isn’t practical for most people. But it worked for me.
What’s the best hack you’ve found for doing deep work?

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Send a connection request if you would like to get access to a bunch of free resources!

Most businesses are still hiring like it's 1995. I do it differently.

After nearly 20 years and hundreds of freelancer hires, I've completely abandoned traditional recruitment. 

Every single person on my team started as a freelancer. Here's the system that has worked incredibly successfully for me, hopefully it can work for you too:

The Attraction Phase:  
Don't post "$10/hour for admin work." Post "Virtual Assistant role - $10,000" i.e. the amount you would pay them if they work for you for a year.  And even if it is your least favourite job, take the time to make it sound interesting.  Will you give them training?  Will there be other opportunities if they are good?

They have choices, you need to sell the opportunity, not just try and buy time.

The Filter:
(Be Ruthless) Your role here isn't to give someone their first break. Look for:
$10,000+ already earned on platform
90%+ ratings or 4-5 stars
Clear effort in their application

Skip the lengthy interviews. Pick 3-5 candidates and give each a paid trial task ($50 is fine). Different tasks, similar complexity. You're testing responsiveness, communication, and results.

Try and guess who will deliver the best work.  In 20 years, I’ve never guessed right.

The Reality Check:
The best proposal rarely delivers the best work. For example, many many people (outside of sales and marketing!) often undersell themselves but over-deliver on results. Stay open-minded.

The Smart Scaling: 
Found 2-3 good people? Hire them all on short contracts. Some will fit your culture, others won't. That's fine - end contracts that don't work, expand roles for those that do.

I've had $10/hour VAs grow into company directors because I could see their actual performance, not just their CV.

Why this beats traditional hiring:
Past performance doesn't predict future fit with your team
Personal circumstances change
Company culture fit is impossible to assess in interviews
Short-term contracts let you scale up or down without drama
The labour market is shifting toward freelancing whether you adapt or not. Smart businesses are already there.
What's worked (or failed) in your freelancer hiring experience?


Send a connection request if you would like to get access to a bunch of free resources!

Stop Chasing. Start Growing.

I used to look at successful people 30 years older than me and think: "How do I get into their circle?"

Wrong question.

Many of those relationships I envied weren't built at networking events or LinkedIn DMs. They were forged years ago - through shared risks, late-night strategy sessions, and watching each other's backs when nobody else cared.

So I flipped the strategy. Instead of just chasing established power, I started investing in ambitious peers who were hungry but hadn't arrived yet.

Ten years later, many of those "nobodies" are now the "somebodies".

The insight: networks compound like investments. The earlier you get in, the bigger the returns.

There are ways to engineer access to those with established networks, but it’s even more powerful to build a network of your peers and grow up together.

Look around your peer group today. 
Who's showing up consistently? Who's solving real problems? Who has that restless energy that says they won't stay where they are?  

Start placing bets, not all will pay off, but this is an investment you won’t regret! (and will probably be more fun along the way!)


For a bunch of free resources, send me a connection request.

When a deal looks terrible, maybe you’re looking at it from the wrong angle.
I once looked at buying a $1bn fund where the manager was earning $30m a year.

For holding money in a bank.

My first reaction? This guy's a genius salesman or these families are getting fleeced.

Turns out I was asking the wrong question entirely.

The question wasn't "What's he doing with their money?"

The real question was "What problem is he actually solving?"

Those 10 families, $100m each, didn't want alpha. They wanted certainty. 

They'd explicitly told him: make money if you can, but never lose money.

He'd started with a strategy getting 8-9% safely. When that stopped looking safe, he moved it to a bank getting 4-5%. Families got 1-2% after his fees.
And they were happy.

Because he solved the actual problem. Peace of mind on $1bn has a price tag. Apparently it's $30m a year.

Here's what I learnt: When something looks like a terrible deal from the outside, you're probably measuring the wrong thing.

You're valuing what you would want. Not what they actually need.

Most of us are so busy judging other people's choices through our own lens that we miss what's actually being bought and sold.

The families weren't buying returns. They were buying sleep.

What looks overpriced to you might be solving a problem you don't have.
(And yes, I know in real terms they were losing money to inflation, but it wasn’t critical to them with this particular cash allocation).


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Send me a connection request if you would like to know about the regular events I hold for UHNW individuals or would like other free assets.

Perfect leaders are forgettable. Authentic leaders are unforgettable.

I’ve interviewed over 2,500 Leaders over the past 15 years on EnterpriseZone, in this series I’ll share some of my learnings.

"I am brilliant and imperfect."

Trina Kennedy RSW, BAHSA's belief transformed her entire approach to leadership. Instead of chasing perfectionism as a measure of worth, she stepped into authentic self-expression.

"This shift liberated me to take risks, share my story authentically, and focus on the impact of my work rather than chasing unattainable standards."

The pattern shows up across every successful leader I've interviewed:

Moyo O.: "I've witnessed the power of vision and alignment... These moments reminded me that belief, clarity, and preparation can open doors beyond your wildest imagination."

Dr Darren Chua openly discusses his stroke: "My own struggles have shaped my passion for guiding others toward better health and performance."

Barbara Hales, M.D. admits her early mistake: "For years, I believed that doing good work would naturally lead to recognition, referrals, and opportunities. But I had an 'if I build it, they will come' mentality."

This connects perfectly to building genuine Authority in the CARES framework for getting ahead:
Connections
Authority
Reach
Equity
Service

 - people don't follow perfect leaders, they follow leaders who've overcome challenges they recognise.

Your vulnerabilities aren't weaknesses to hide. They're connection points that make your expertise credible.

What struggle have you overcome that could help others facing the same challenge?

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Send a connection request if you would like to get access to a bunch of free resources!

Most partnerships fail because people design them to need the other person to succeed.

Yesterday I spoke with a business owner who'd built something fantastic over 14 years. When she got to the part about her journey from A to B, she laughed: "And you can imagine, it's been very smooth."

Every partnership she'd tried had gone sideways. Cost her money. Let her down. Now she needed big partnerships to scale, but she was gun-shy.

Here's what I told her: the number one reason partnerships fail is misaligned expectations.
We assume the other person is as enthusiastic as we are. Sometimes they start that way. But stuff happens. Priorities change. They get distracted.

If you expect them to deliver what you're hoping for, you'll be disappointed more often than not.
But all partnerships can be structured so you win even if they underdeliver.

Leverage the announcement. Leverage the signing. Leverage the credibility of shaking hands with them. Design it so that partnership works for you whether they show up or not.

This makes partnerships simple. You always win, never lose.

And sometimes, just occasionally, you get a partnership that delivers even more than you expected. That's just a bonus.

Most people design partnerships hoping the other person will make them successful. Smart operators design partnerships where success doesn't depend on hope.

What's the worst partnership experience that taught you the most?

The best leaders don't just manage time. They engineer energy.

I’ve interviewed over 2,500 Leaders over the past 15 years on EnterpriseZone.

"I long ago learned that having leisure activities that are challenging are just as important to me as having difficult business challenges."

Allen Pierce plays guitar, uses a Peloton, and reads detective novels. Not because he has extra time, but because he's learned that peak performance requires peak recovery.

The pattern shows up everywhere:

Darren Chua: "I unwind by listening to music, connecting with people through networking, and staying active through para sports."

Trina Kennedy: "Engaging in physical fitness is a big part of how I recharge, whether it's through challenging workouts at Orange Theory Fitness, hiking in the Canadian Rockies, or playing pickleball."

Rynette Joyce Tan: "Exercise! A sweaty gym session or a few quiet laps in the pool do wonders... Movement clears my mind and helps me show up better for both work and family."

This isn't about work-life balance - it's about sustainable competitive advantage. The leaders who compound success over decades have learned to treat their energy as their most valuable asset.

Tariq Syed combines "squash, hit the gym, and stay hands-on with emerging technologies - it helps me clear my head while staying sharp."

Your body is your business infrastructure. How are you maintaining it?

Most people network backwards. They wait until they're desperate.

You know that moment when you suddenly need a hiring manager, an investor, or a board connection? And you start scrambling through LinkedIn trying to build relationships from scratch?

That's networking from a position of need. And it rarely works.

Relationships built from desperation feel transactional. 

People can sense when you're only there for what they can give you.

You already know you should start building your network before you need it.  But how?

Right now you might need a hiring manager. In five years, you'll need board chairs and investors. The connections you make today shouldn’t be for today's problems.

Most of us aren't natural networkers. We'd rather get stuff done than make small talk. But if you want to get ahead, you need to get strategic about this.

The online world makes it easier than ever to build relationships. But it also makes it easier to get distracted by quick wins instead of playing the long game.

Here's the question I ask all my clients: In five years, who do you want in your network? 

What value do you need to build today so they actually want to know you?

Start there. Build that value. The relationships will follow.

What's the one relationship you wish you'd started building five years ago?

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If you would like to learn how you can build a profitable network in 7 weeks send me a connection request with ‘Get Launched’

You know that moment when you hit retirement and think "finally, freedom" ... only to realise you're not done yet?

That's exactly where Leon Rubinstein found himself.

After decades scaling high-tech startups across borders and managing a corporate VC fund for Xerox Europe, he had the experience. He had the expertise. But retirement? That felt like sitting on the sidelines.

Then he discovered something most executives miss: board work isn't consulting with a different title.

Here's what Leon learned (and what most first-time directors get wrong):
The "Nose In, Fingers Out" principle You're not there to do the work. You're there to help CEOs see what they can't see from the trenches. Strategic altitude beats operational involvement every time.

You don't need all the answers. Your job? Ask better questions. Point to blind spots. Then leverage your network to bring in the real experts. Value comes from connections, not just knowledge.

Industry expertise is overrated When Leon was offered a board seat in an industry he knew nothing about, he asked "why would you want me?" The response? "Why not." Fresh perspective often beats insider thinking.

Knowledge without action is just theory. You can read every book on board governance (including my Boardroom Blueprint!). But real progress happens through community. The accountability. The introductions. The spark that comes from meeting people across continents and industries who push you forward.

Leon's now building his board portfolio in Portugal, using everything he learned about intentional networking to open new doors.

Your experience has value beyond your last job title. The question is whether you'll deploy it.

What's stopping you from pursuing board opportunities? Is it clarity on the role, access to the right networks, or something else entirely?

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