Jim Barnish is a strategic change leader with over 15 years of leadership experience in global and integrated operations, M&A, and strategic go-to-market planning. Over the course of his career, Jim has successfully worked with companies undergoing roll-up mergers and acquisitions, accelerated business development, process improvement, change management, and operational transformation initiatives – guiding organizations in the effort to reinvent themselves and spur growth.
As General Partner and Founder at Morgan Hill Partners, his responsibilities include:
Productization of the Path to Value playbook, client delivery, operations, and partnerships from StartUp to ScaleUp, talent recruitment, and development, as well as business development through digital marketing and sales optimization.
The World of Technology
“I started working in strategy [acquisitions] and operational roles at an early age and continued down that path throughout college. After college, I worked as an operational district manager before making my way into the coalescing world of technology and consulting at Tribridge. This is where I really hit my stride. Starting out in a strategy role in the Human Capital Management division evaluating acquisitions and improving business processes, my role soon evolved into a corporate role, working for the CFO to create new solutions, evaluate new workloads, and drive additional strategic initiatives.
Working in a high-growth technology environment at Tribridge, I became obsessed with leveraging innovation and technology to improve strategy and business processes. When the opportunity to build and run the investment strategy at Florida Funders was offered to me, I was excited to dive in because this was my chance to create scalable processes and find innovative technology companies to invest in.
Speaking with hundreds of early-stage companies at Florida Funders, I began to see the challenges that run rampant in that ecosystem. This led me into my next two endeavors: StartUp Solutions and Morgan Hill Partners. StartUp Solutions was my independent consulting company that was centered around helping tech startups put the right strategy and processes in place to raise capital.
The Learning Journey
Morgan Hill Partners (MHP) is the evolution of my effort with StartUp Solutions, teaming up with two other serial entrepreneurs. The vision of MHP is utilizing a proven “playbook” and executive talent to help startups predictably build, innovate, and accelerate growth. We started MHP in early 2018 and have already assembled an experienced team of executives combined with some of the top young consultative talent throughout the country.
To sum it all up, success to me has been the “learning journey” to get to where a person wants to be in their life. My learning journey is above, but the biggest takeaway is the success of being comfortable and excited across every aspect of life.
My Mantra
“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential, these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence” – Confucius “Trust the process” – A phrase that has become popular in sports, but is applicable to any organization. Building out and truly living by an organizational process is key to success. If you don’t have a roadmap (playbook) for your company in place, how can you expect your people to follow it?
“Be your own client” – Morgan Hill was built from the perspective of a startup. As the company evolved, the vision we were working towards remained the same: “As an early-stage company, what would the ideal partner look like?” Morgan Hill’s key differentiators (from other consultancies) are our Path to Value playbook, pricing model (cash, deferred cash, and equity) and fractional executive expertise, which were all formed on the basis of that question.
“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” – This quote is integral to any person trying to build a business. Surrounding one’s self with a brilliant team will yield exponential results. Self-awareness and knowing your gaps allow you to hire and partner with the right people to drive success at anything you do.
Why we chose St. Petersburg Florida
St. Pete has been a great place to build out a business. The local startup ecosystem has allowed Morgan Hill to align ourselves with mutually beneficial partnerships, driving a lot of value for all parties. Referrals to exciting, tech/ tech-enabled startups have resulted in a system that propels growth for both the Tampa/St. Pete ecosystem as well as Morgan Hill Partners.
