My friend James just launched BRiMM.
More on BRiMM in the coming days …
I tried to hire James in 2009, but he had other plans.
Vision and Creation from Nothing
Like Pusha T’s “grandmama could see it,” James had a vision for Adaptive Lab before it existed. He saw the need for a new kind of digital innovation agency (in 2009) - one that could outmaneuver legacy consultancies.
James didn’t build Adaptive Lab to be flashy; he built it to be effective. Adaptive Lab’s value was in its results, not its hype.
The pitch to clients was about rapid prototyping and tangible results - before design thinking became a meme. This is what set James apart and ultimately led him to create an agency that was 150 employees deep & pulling $20M a year in turnover.
James had to create processes, culture, and operational discipline from scratch. He had no inherited playbook, just like Pusha T’s “bust a brick if you let me.” He turned raw talent into high-performing teams.
Not only did James sell his consultancy to IDEAN - a Finnish company - he then went on to lead even larger teams at Capgemini, ultimately absorbing and managing Frog Design’s European practice.
James’ “so be it, so be it” attitude;
became a repeatable playbook: he identified blockers, injected Adaptive Lab’s culture, and transformed existing assets into innovation engines.
he leanin' on Celine 'cause he ain't steppin' in Giuseppe
Whether “busting a brick” like King Push (read: cutting a kilo of coke) or turning a legacy design team into a nimble innovation unit like James, the magic is in the remix / not the raw material.
“When I was born, grandmama could see it / I be Bentley driven and very strategic”
— Pusha T, “So Be It”
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