James Longley

'Inspiring and courageous. A gripping tale of how hitting rock bottom can be the ultimate blessing in disguise' Tim Samuels
After a heavy night's drinking in 2002, James Longley – an RAF aircraftsman from the East Midlands – got into an altercation with a taxi driver which turned nasty. He ended up in prison, beginning his eight-month sentence at HMP Leicester in a cockroach-ridden cell locked up with a fellow prisoner who screamed out of the window and drew pictures of people having sex with the devil.
James felt like he had wrecked his own life. In fact, the experience would be the making of him. Upon his release from the open prison to which he was later moved, determined to make a fresh start, he borrowed some money to set up a small business. A chance meeting then led to a new venture, pioneering the practice of switching energy suppliers to get cheaper bills. Within ten years he employed seventy people and in 2018 he sold the business for £15 million.
James has now embarked on a mission to help prisoners past and present learn entrepreneurship skills and break the cycle of reoffending. Telling his own story is part of that quest, showing by example that if you hit rock bottom, you can still achieve success – and pay it forward.

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