Consultancy looks like entrepreneurship but is actually the opposite. Entrepreneurship is risky, uncomfortable and uncertain, but consultancy feels safe, stable and predictable.

I have a friend named Liam Mckill who perfectly illustrates this. Liam was once a founder; he nearly raised funding but stress pushed him out before he got there. Now he helps others build MVPs as a consultant. He is brilliant, yet every time we speak I silently wish he'd try founding again. Why does he not? Because consultancy feels safer. It seems lower risk. While Liam gains short‑term comfort, the ecosystem loses another potentially great startup.

Another friend, Richard Kelly, built a website for me. We started working together on a promising idea to automate how music producers upload content to YouTube and other platforms. Both of us knew the problem intimately from our days as producers. Yet Richard ultimately chose freelancing over pursuing the startup idea further. He didn’t choose consulting out of conviction; he chose it because freelancing made immediate sense financially. Immediate sense rarely equals long‑term value.

Consultants often believe they are mitigating risk, but they are misunderstanding it. The real risk is not startup failure, it is missing out entirely on the kind of learning that only comes from truly building something new. If Liam or Richard fail, they will gain experiences and connections infinitely more valuable than predictable hourly fees. Consultancy masks this. It dulls ambition quietly and effectively without triggering any internal alarms.

In Silicon Valley talented people do not settle for consulting, they create startups. It is built into the culture. There, failing is a badge of honor. In the UK smart people often hide behind consulting, afraid of looking foolish and worried about risk. Ironically, the biggest risk is not failing fast; it is never even trying.

Consultancy in short is fake entrepreneurship. It looks like building something, but nothing substantial is created. Time passes, invoices are paid, yet little changes.

If the UK ecosystem wants to match Silicon Valley, we have to encourage consultants to take bigger leaps. The smartest consultants I meet should be founders. The ecosystem needs more bravery and fewer hourly fees.

Consultants, ask yourselves honestly: Are you truly happy building other people’s ideas forever? Or is it time to silence the cautious voice and finally build something worth risking failure for?

Thanks to Liam Mckill, Richard Kelly and Haroon Akram for reading drafts of this essay.