I’ve been building businesses on the web since 1997—long enough that the early days now feel like a different era.
That year, I founded Marcat in Glasgow, Scotland. Over the following five years, the agency grew rapidly, achieving three consecutive entries in the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 Technology Companies and earning me a runner-up position in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in 2001. Marcat went through several evolutions over the years and ultimately closed in 2010, but it laid the foundations for everything that followed.
As an offshoot of Marcat, I also launched On The Spot Internet, a specialist domain name and hosting business. More than 20 years later, it is still operating successfully, now run by my brother Stefan, and continues to serve many of its original customers—something I remain quietly proud of.
In 2003, after stepping away from Marcat, I founded Clearfuse, initially focused on bespoke web applications and online business solutions. This later evolved into iBooking.com, with a sharper focus on online ticketing, booking systems, and web-based software for the hospitality sector—well before SaaS became mainstream.
Around the same time, curiosity led me into the emerging paid-search and affiliate marketing landscape. What began as an experiment with Google’s newly launched AdSense product quickly became a full-time pursuit. I created Affiliata.com as a vehicle to own and operate a portfolio of affiliate projects and joint ventures, later rebranded as Clickspace. Within 18 months, the business generated more than $1.5 million in revenue, reaching peak monthly earnings of over $120,000.
In 2008, Clickspace merged with Dubai-based Forsight to form DistinctMEDIA, prompting my relocation to Dubai and a new phase focused on operating at global scale. In 2010, DistinctMEDIA became part of the Clicksco Group, which grew to more than 200 employees worldwide. The group later evolved into Quixco, which was subsequently acquired by a major advertising agency.
Alongside these ventures, I co-founded ResDiary, an online restaurant booking and customer management platform that grew to serve thousands of venues globally before being sold in an all-cash transaction in 2020.
Today, my professional focus spans investing, product development, and hands-on creation. I’m actively involved as an investor across the cryptocurrency, technology, and AI sectors, while continuing to hold interests in businesses I founded or co-founded. I also maintain a long-standing interest in premium domain names.
In 2025, I launched Centric Homes, a Dubai-based design and renovation company created initially to take direct control of the design, quality, and execution of renovation projects within our own residential portfolio. The business grew out of practical experience as a long-term property owner and a desire to apply a structured, systems-led approach to a process that is often fragmented. Centric Homes now operates as both an internal platform and a standalone business focused on high-quality residential renovations across multiple markets.
Most recently, I’ve come full circle back to the craft that started everything: planning, designing, building, and marketing websites. I’m currently building Visit.Network, a platform designed to monetise a large portfolio of premium travel domains through modern SEO, affiliate marketing, and AI-driven content systems. Discovering the latest generation of AI-assisted coding tools has reignited my enthusiasm for software development, allowing me to once again work directly across strategy, design, development, and growth.
After nearly three decades on the web, the tools have changed dramatically—but the core challenge remains the same: building useful products, finding audiences, and turning ideas into sustainable businesses.