Building a nest
“I knew that together we could grow the business, transform the sector and create something even more special.”
Interview: Sue Wilcock | Martine Silkstone
Pictures: Warren Page
James Groves talks to Norfolk Director
When we meet James Groves for his interview, he has just got back from the Energy Live News Consultancy Awards in Manchester – the Oscars for the energy sector – where his company, Indigo Swan, won Energy Consultancy of the Year, SME for 2024.
It is the third time the Norwich-based powerhouse has won the accolade, but this one was extra special for James. It was his first win as an owner of the company.
Having been Managing Director since 2019, he led a management buyout (MBO) in December 2022, becoming the majority shareholder alongside three co-owners – Aimee Konieczny, Andy Kindleysides and Hayley Leech.
He says the prestigious award was welcome evidence that the four of them must be doing something right!
“When I went to collect it, I made a speech then came off stage an absolute mess,” he laughs. “You never really know if you’re doing a good job as a business owner, and here we were being recognised in our sector as the best of the best. It meant a lot.”
James joined Indigo Swan in 2010, shortly after the business was created by his cousin, Emily. Despite not having an energy background, he quickly learned to love the sector and its possibilities – helping people save money while changing the environment for the better.
Nearly 15 years later, with the MBO complete, he is just as excited to drive the next phase of the Indigo Swan journey, overseeing the company’s transition from ‘lifestyle business’ to ‘growth business’ – investing in its staff, tech, products and services with a focus on becoming a thriving, respected player in the national energy field.
“Moving forward, I believe Indigo Swan can really shine a light on what an energy consultancy should be,” James says proudly.
“We talk about the journey to net zero and explain how clients can reduce their energy usage – that is still not commonplace. We are transparent about costs, and in an unregulated sector that doesn’t always happen. More importantly, what sets us apart is our people and our service. You don’t win awards because you’ve got a good owner or director; you win awards because you’ve got a great team, and right now ours is the best it’s ever been. Together we can build something that will endure.”
So, why the name Indigo Swan?
“The colour indigo signifies trust. And swans are very graceful on the surface – that should be our customers – while paddling hard underneath, which should be us. They also mate for life and we’ve retained more than 90% of our business every year for 15 years.
“It’s basically the perfect name and I love being able to ‘throw the swans up’,” he grins. [A gesture demonstrated on the cover!]
Where it all began
James was born in Watford in July 1983 but having moved to Sheringham at the age of two, he still considers himself well and truly a Norfolk boy.
Growing up on the coast, he enjoyed a happy childhood with a younger brother and loving parents, both of whom worked as teachers (though his mum nearly became a nun and his dad a vicar, so things could have been very different).
While his parents worked, he would visit grandparents nearby, and as a child his nana had quite an impact on him.
“She was a very important person to me. We spent a lot of time at her house – every night after school then every Sunday for roast dinner,” he recalls. “She died when I was in my twenties and I just wish I could have had longer with her as an adult, to get to know her properly.”
It was at his nanna’s that his enduring passion for wrestling first developed. Watching the American WWE on his grandparents’ Sky TV, he enjoyed the “pomp and circumstance” and it spoke to his own love of drama and need to entertain.
Though he also became an Arsenal football fan at the age of seven, and enjoyed golf after school with his dad, it is wrestling that is clearly his first love. Becoming emotional, he describes it as a “true constant” in his life and something that supports his well-being. Football may provide a social link with close friends, but wrestling is his happy place.
“As an introverted extrovert, I need my quiet time and watching wrestling gives me that. Up and down, through everything that has happened over the years, it’s always been there, and I still love it to this day.”
James also enjoyed school life – apart from maths – and built lifetime friendships through playing sport. He also played the clarinet and saxophone in the school orchestra and ran the school’s mock election, calling on his natural confidence as a performer – something which also saw him take part in a variety of stage shows.
He had roles in the pantomime in Sheringham Little Theatre and in musicals on Cromer Pier, enjoying the audience interaction and singing on stage.
Indeed, his chosen career from a young age was a professional actor and he went on to study drama at university, though just one year of dance classes later, he decided the course was not for him and dropped out.
Acting dream over, it was time to go home and get a job.
Finding his way
Now unsure of his path, James worked at a local off-licence for a few months before deciding to move to Norwich with a friend. There, he got a job at JD Sports as Trainer Supervisor – the perfect role for someone who loves trainers and who, to this day, has to match them to his outfit.
Then, in 2004, he started work at Central Trust as a loan advisor and was quickly promoted to his first management role. He says the move changed his life; this is where he learned how to lead.
So, what makes a good leader?
“I think empathy, first and foremost,” says James. “Also, you have to be dynamic, strategically focused and very disciplined. You must appreciate other people’s strengths and be able to bring people together in times of adversity, but also celebrate people in times of success.”
While learning these lessons and growing in his career, his home-life was changing too and in 2006, James got married.
Aged 23 at the time, he says he was too young and the marriage lasted just three years before they went their separate ways. The split triggered a tough year during which he was smoking and eating too much, while at work the financial crash had led to a recession with many colleagues being made redundant. Though James survived the initial cull, he eventually took voluntary redundancy.
Now single and unemployed, he was “not in a good place”. Then, as the year drew to a close, a new opportunity presented itself.
A new energy
After a few conversations with his cousin, Emily, James decided to join her energy consultancy, Indigo Swan. Launched in January 2010, it was a new venture and not a sector he knew, but his talent for brokering would easily transfer and he could already see the potential.
He started in May that year, working mainly in sales but jumping into other areas when needed, excited to help make the business as successful as possible.
It was just the fresh start he needed, and twelve short months after things had been so bleak, James had good friends around him (his best friend from Central Trust, Andy Kindleysides, also joined the company in December) and a job he loved.
Life was definitely looking up.
Meet cute
A couple of years and a move back to Sheringham later, James was out in Norwich with friends and as the evening drew to a close, they decided to pick up a kebab before heading home. It was a good decision.
As James reached the counter, he saw a woman standing to his right. He turned to her and said: “You’ve got a beautiful face.” We can all agree it was a great opening line and it started a conversation that involved an explanation of falafel, tales of recent travels and an exchange of numbers.
It was January 4, 2013 and James had just met his wife-to-be, Harriet.
The couple married at The Boathouse in Ormsby in 2016 and made their home in Horsford. Their son, Sebastian, was born in 2021, with a daughter, Callista, following two years later.
James says: “To have married Harriet and created this family unit is no doubt my greatest achievement. It’s also my biggest responsibility.
“I love being a business owner, but I still need to give the best version of myself to my family and sometimes I fail at that. ‘Dad guilt’ exists just like ‘mum guilt’, and whether we are playing with Lego or watching Disney films, I need to make sure I am ‘in the moment’ when home, while still making Indigo Swan a success.”
Challenges and growth
As the years went by, James moved from a sales role to head of various departments, and then became Commercial Director in 2018.
The company won its first national award in 2014 (and then every year that followed), establishing respect in the sector for offering the full package – from procurement to service to net zero – with a focus on complete transparency throughout.
“There’s a lack of trust around energy provision, with hidden or inflated fees commonplace,” James explains. “We want to do things differently. We choose to behave as if the sector is already regulated because one day it will be, and we won’t have to change anything we do.”
Of course, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing, and when Covid hit in 2020, there were many challenges to overcome. By this point, Emily had left the business and James was Managing Director so it was down to him to form a plan. Working with his fellow directors – now co-owners – they navigated the pandemic restrictions, working on the premise that people would still need power and many of their customers would be operating as vital businesses.
Laptops were bought for remote working and while some staff were put on furlough, James fought hard to keep the accounts and marketing staff on the payroll, arguing that they needed to keep control of finances and had to ensure people were still aware of Indigo Swan.
His plan worked and the company survived, continuing to thrive despite the ensuing energy crisis.
Knowledge shared
Having learned so much through the years, James wanted to share his experience and worked with Inspired Youth Projects for a year as a mentor. More recently, he became Chair of Co.Next at Norfolk Chambers of Commerce where they nurture young professionals in the county.
Finding a wider audience in 2019, he was also chosen to present a Ted Talk on how mistakes can help positively impact your company culture.
It was an exciting opportunity, but even with his performance experience, he did not find it easy.
“It was horrific,” he recalls with a grimace. “I went on stage and after two minutes completely forgot what I was saying! It did come back to me and ultimately it went well but I talk about it a lot because, ironically, my talk was about mistakes and here I was making the biggest mistake I’d probably ever made.”
There was also a foray into the executive coaching organisation, Vistage, before he left to join MyBigSky – created by his Vistage mentor Mark Fisher – which he eventually took over and ran until the middle of 2024.
“We call it LittleBigSky now,” he smiles. “The group members still talk and meet up occasionally, but for me it’s time to focus on my Swans.”
Taking over the nest
Having survived the challenges of Covid and found his feet as MD, James received investment overtures from venture capitalists and was offered senior roles by competitors. He was not tempted by either and had, in fact, long been considering a different route.
After discussing the possibility with his mentor – and asking Google how it was done! – he decided a management buyout would be the best option…but he couldn’t do it alone.
“I needed Andy, Hayley and Aimee to be part of it,” he explains. “I needed their individual skill sets – Hayley is better at finance, Andy is better at process, Aimee is better with the energy market, while I’m better at leadership and strategy.
“I knew that together we could grow the business, transform the sector and create something even more special.”
Once on board, they worked hard on a head of terms (the sale details) and financed it using existing shares and cash in the business, with extra funding coming from an invoice financing company. Now, James holds 70% and the other three have 30% between them.
Under their direction, Indigo Swan has transformed into a growth business; one that prides itself on putting its people first. Team members are referred to as Swans and Cygnets (trainees) and when hiring, the focus is on personability – building a team that is both knowledgeable and approachable – and creating a culture where they want to stay in the business.
Part of that is keeping employee engagement high, part of that is not shying away from difficult conversations. James is a fan of ‘Radical Candour’, a book by Kim Scott, which talks about building relationships and caring for people on a personal level, thereby creating a situation where you can challenge them directly when mistakes are made, but in a way that is less confrontational. Of course, if that fails the right processes have been put in place, but the aim is to avoid getting to that stage by really getting to know team members and their personalities.
“Indigo Swan is more than just a business to me, it is my family,” says James, “and I truly believe that the ‘Swans’ are unlike anyone else. In fact, we seem to confuse people just by being young and enthusiastic – but I like that. I don’t want people to know what the magic is.”
From left to right: Hayley Leech, Andy Kindleysides, James Groves and Aimee Konieczny.
So, what’s next?
“Next year I’m starting a Swan Superstar accreditation, where we coach the next level of talent within our team. Ultimately, we want to nurture a generation of Swans to eventually take over the business.
“I also want to write a book on leadership and will be starting a podcast in 2025.
“More personally, I’m looking forward to date nights with my wife and Family Fun Fridays, where me, Harriet, and the kids all do something together – whether that’s going to the park or building Lego.
“We all love Disney too. Disneyland is such a great model for customer service. It’s generational and aspirational, and if I can take a little bit of something from that, then I’ll be delighted.”
And why not? If you can dream it, you can do it, as Walt would say.
