Dr. Ian Bailey: You Control Your Destiny – Startup Myth Busted

When Ian and co-founders founded Telicent at the start of lockdown, they were aware of a few well tropes about entrepreneurship including: you need investment; you can’t make money from open source; you’re in control of your destiny.

Ian shares his experiences trying, and failing, to raise venture funding, before building Telicent. 

He’s come to realise you can build profitable and sustainable open source businesses without raising external funding but the biggest lie about entrepreneurship is you control your own destiny.

He shares how his thinking evolved as the business grew, and shrunk, and grew again. One lesson for Ian is, ‘never give up’, but he also discusses the most liberating moment for him as an entrepreneur was when he came to realise the company was not his baby.

Dr. Ian Bailey

Founder co-CEO & CTO, Telicent

Ian is a renowned data architecture authority and has led several international technical standards including IES. Over his career, he has consulted in the National Security and Defence sector as well as international organisations NASA JPL and NATO. He has a Phd in Data Mapping.

Ian lives in south London and is happiest when he is mending a car or building a guitar.

More from Ian.

Online workshops

New to AI in your business?

AI in Your Business: Where to Start

Set up your AI company OS. Two sessions, cohort of 12.

“I’ve been talking to it loads about positioning, sales framing, North Star metrics. I came up with a succinct statement that I really like.”

Marv Rance, InTouch

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Already set up your OS?

Building Your AI Company
Operating System

Not sure what to do next. Four weeks, cohort of 12, with Tim Barker and Mark Littlewood.

“I think about the business differently than I used to. I would never have come to that conclusion without this process.”

Stephen, cohort participant

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Conference

In-person BoS Conference 2026

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📅 Date TBA 📍 In-person

Two days with software founders and leaders who have actually built profitable businesses. No panels, no keynotes designed to impress. Talks that earned their place because the idea was worth the room’s time.

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