08-07-2025
Sharp Instincts in the Age of AI
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AI is no longer the future. It's the baseline. But while tech entrepreneurs pivot, scale and scramble for relevance, James Caan CBE remains focused on something more enduring: judgement. "The edge that can't be replicated is judgement - specifically, commercial instinct based on lived experience," he says. "AI can process a million data points, but it still can't weigh reputational risk, read a room in a board pitch, or decide whether a client is bluffing in a negotiation." It's the kind of thing you expect from someone who's spent decades navigating the peaks and pratfalls of business - not from a spreadsheet, but from the seat at the table. And while generative AI and predictive intelligence dominate headlines, Caan is more interested in how technology rewires the foundations of business strategy - not just the surface.
AI isn't a tool. It's a test.
"The blind spot is failing to integrate AI at the strategic level, not just operationally," Caan, British entrepreneur and former investor on the BBC show Dragon's Den, warns. "Too many founders treat AI as a bolt-on - automating emails or improving customer service - instead of rethinking how AI could fundamentally reshape their business model." The shift is already happening. "If you're not embedding AI into your product development, commercial strategy, or market positioning, you're behind the curve." And the answer? Not just hiring a head of data science - but raising the bar on fluency at the top. "Build AI fluency in your leadership team. Not everyone needs to code, but everyone needs to understand where AI creates value. Create a roadmap for where automation or predictive intelligence can streamline costs or open new markets. Waiting for a 'perfect use case' is a delay you can't afford."
Conviction beats perfection
So what separates the entrepreneurs who adapt from those who lead? It's not charm. Or vision. Or even ingenuity, he argues. It's belief. "It's not charisma or creativity - it's strategic conviction," Caan says. "The ability to make bold decisions early, without waiting for perfect evidence." And in a world where certainty is a myth, those who hesitate fall behind.
"In 2025, with markets moving fast and signals constantly shifting, leaders who wait to be 100% sure are already too late." He cites Deloitte's Human Capital Trends: "Leaders who demonstrate high decisiveness outperform their peers in innovation-led growth by 34%. That's a meaningful margin - and it's not about being reckless, but about being resolute."
Still, no one does it alone
Caan isn't pretending vision alone builds companies. His obsession - one he returns to frequently - is team building. "Your business is like a ship embarking on a journey. Your team members are your crew. If they work well together, know their roles, and communicate effectively, they can navigate through rough seas and reach your destination." And the opposite? "If they're not aligned, the ship can easily veer off course or, worse, sink."
That means clarity from day one. "Ensuring everyone is pulling in the same direction is crucial. In a start-up, you need everyone aligned with the company's vision and goals. This alignment means that every decision, every action taken by the team, contributes to the larger objective." The best founders, he says, invest in people as much as products. "It's not just about finding people with the right skills – they need to fit in with your company's culture too. When everyone gets along and shares the same values, teamwork happens naturally."
And, crucially, they make growth part of the job. "Always encourage your team to keep learning and growing. This shows you care about their future and helps them improve their skills. When people feel valued and see that you're investing in them, they're more motivated and loyal."
Start-ups need capital – and courage
For all the talk of grit and instinct, Caan's focus returns to what many UK founders quietly admit: funding here is harder. And for scale-ups? Brutal. "If I could push one policy lever, it would be this: double down on early-stage capital incentives, especially through scale-ups," he says. "The UK has great seed-stage support, but we lose too many high-potential businesses between Series A and Series C."
It's a familiar point - but Caan wants sharper action: "We should look at enhancing the EIS cap from £1m to £3m per investor, extend reliefs to professional investors, and allow UK pension funds to direct a larger portion into early-stage innovation - similar to recent reforms in Australia and Canada." The stakes are high. "Start-ups are already contributing significantly: in 2025, UK start-ups are responsible for 17% of net new private-sector jobs, but many are constrained by capital drag. Smart policy now would compound long-term returns for the economy - not just founders."
Big ideas, small circles
He namechecks Revolut and BrewDog as examples of start-ups who understood that culture and autonomy weren't extras - they were engines. "Revolut placed a strong emphasis on building a team that was agile and innovative," he says. "They created cross-functional teams that could work independently on different projects, promoting a culture of autonomy and accountability."
Of BrewDog: "BrewDog's founders built a team that shared their passion for beer and innovation. They introduced the 'Equity for Punks' programme, which turned their customers and employees into shareholders, creating a deep sense of ownership and loyalty." Caan's recipe for success is disarmingly simple: hire for culture, invest in growth, make space for ideas - then get out of the way. "True innovators don't hedge every move. They make the call, commit resources, and create alignment. In uncertain times, the decisive get momentum — and momentum beats perfection every time."
For all the talk of AI and capital strategy, what Caan returns to - again and again - is something curiously human: clarity. In a world where everyone's shouting, it's hard to hear what matters - and clarity of thought, values, and action becomes not just useful, but rare. And rare things, in business as in life, hold value. AI will keep accelerating, changing how companies are built and scaled. But Caan sees it less as a silver bullet, more as a mirror. It reveals what's already strong and exposes what's weak. In companies where purpose is vague or leadership brittle, automation won't save them. In those with vision, cohesion and courage, it becomes a force multiplier.
Yet what lingers from a conversation with Caan isn't just strategy or systems. It's a kind of seasoned calm. He's not seduced by the flash of innovation for its own sake. He's seen too many cycles, watched too many "next big things" become footnotes. What lasts, in his world, is consistency: founders who know what they stand for, teams who trust each other, companies built with longevity in mind. That's why his call for a smarter funding policy isn't just about unlocking cash - it's about protecting momentum. The UK has no shortage of ideas or talent. What it sometimes lacks is the long-range thinking to let those ideas breathe. Scaling, after all, isn't just a phase - it's a leap. One that needs more than seed capital and slogans.
Still, for all his credentials, Caan is no nostalgic. He speaks the language of today's founders fluently: digital-native, growth-minded, globally alert. But his advice resists trend-chasing. Instead, it lands somewhere quieter - and arguably more radical. Build deliberately. Invest in people. Don't wait for the perfect moment. Use technology, yes - but don't forget why you're building in the first place.
Because in the end, Caan isn't betting on AI. He's betting on judgment - not the loudest voice in the room, but the steadiest. In an era defined by velocity, he offers something rarer: a framework for staying clear-headed when everyone else is pivoting. And maybe that's the new edge - not just knowing where the world is going, but having the nerve to build something solid while it's still moving.
