James Layfield is an entrepreneur and investor creating positive change through innovation in sectors ranging from property to financial technology.
Most recently, James co-founded Clearfind, an easy-to-use, unbiased artificial intelligence platform that is changing the way companies manage and optimize software with data.
More details about Clearfind and James’ experience as an entrepreneur can be found below:
What’s the story behind Clearfind?
My business partner, Jocelyn, and I had both worked with very large financial institutions helping them source new technology. It was a nightmare, nobody knows what software they have, and even less know what the software they have is really capable of. Think about it, how many of the features of the software you use every day do you really know. Just the features you use most often. So it stands to reason that when you start to buy software for any business you end up with many, many overlapping capabilities. Literally lots of underused products and lots of wasted money. I hate waste especially wasted money, so we thought how can we fix this issue?
No human can understand the complexity of any business’s software ecosystem, it’s literally impossible. We then had the breakthrough, what if we used AI and a proprietary data set to do it? Well, that’s exactly what Clearfind uses… a proprietary dataset of software functionality and the ability to provide companies with the insights they need to make key software decisions. Customers use Clearfind to optimize and consolidate their software ecosystems. It works like magic, it can save you 20 to 30 percent on your annual software budget and at the same time give you more control and power in your business.
What was the most difficult part of your experience in the early beginnings?
Working out how to get the feature data, literally, nobody has this information. We are the first in the world to do this. So we had to create a method to gather, organize, and then use this unique and powerful set of feature information.
What are you most proud of regarding your business?
The day that our system could identify that a customer didn’t need new software, they already had the capabilities they wanted from an existing piece of software. The best part was Clearfind was able to tell them this even when the vendor themselves didn’t know it could do it. “Clearfind just works, their data enables me to make better, smarter decisions. It genuinely knows a software’s features better than any human could, in fact, better than the vendors does” is what the client said. I actually cried on the call, it was a bit embarrassing, but I was overcome. We’d done it!
What is your vision for the future of Clearfind?
We want to simplify the business of making critical decisions on software. We want to stop the insane waste of money, time, and people’s lives in the ineffective pursuit of managing this insanely complex ecosystem.
What’s your advice for the businesses that are trying to adapt to this economic climate?
You have savings in your business, savings that will not reduce your performance but will most likely increase your productivity. They are in your software ecosystem and you just need to know where to look. Guess what…. We are uniquely placed to help.
What books do you have on your nightstand?
I read a lot, so it changes but most recently… The Midnight Library its a great book about the choices we make.
James is currently an ambassador for CognitionX the AI event, London and Partners, and the ScaleUp Institute. He serves as the New York Tech Ambassador for the Mayor of London. He is a General Partner in a fintech investment fund Treasury and has angel investments across a host of technology ventures.
James has founded and led multiple successful companies including Rise, the world’s largest fintech innovation platform, with Barclays; Never Ever Limited, an innovation catalyst and consulting agency; and Central Working, the first-ever coworking business in the UK.
