Could your next business idea be hiding in a problem you deal with every day?
An awkward process. Information you can never find. Something everyone in your industry accepts as “just how things work”.
For someone thinking about starting a business, those frustrations could be a starting point. But how do you recognise an opportunity worth pursuing, persuade people to pay for your solution and get started before you have everything figured out? With AI opening up new possibilities, what could those opportunities look like in 2026?
Our guest, Jacques Goudchaux, Chief Strategy Officer at Signal Ocean, has spent more than three decades doing exactly that.
While working as a shipbroker, Jacques saw a problem: people making major commercial decisions were relying on scattered information and printed references that quickly went out of date. He believed a more complete, accessible picture of the market was something customers would pay for.
His chairman was sceptical, but agreed to back the idea.
With the support of BRS, Jacques launched ALPHALINER in 2000, starting with spreadsheets, simple web pages and a conviction that other people shared his frustration. There was no elaborate business plan or dedicated sales team. He found early customers while still doing his day job, demonstrating the product during his existing broking trips.
As the business developed, he increased the subscription price several times over. Customers kept subscribing.
What could the equivalent opportunity look like in 2026? For Jacques, it began with spreadsheets and simple web pages. Today, could AI offer a new starting point for solving the problems people in your industry still put up with? We’ll explore where similar opportunities might exist now, why knowing your market matters and how to distinguish a useful business idea from excitement about the technology.
Jacques later became CEO of AXSMarine, growing the business internationally before it joined forces with Signal Ocean in 2026. His story brings some refreshingly direct views on what it takes to build a business, how much you can realistically plan and when you need to get on with making things happen.
What will we explore?
Join host David Loughlan and Jacques as we discuss:
- Finding an idea worth pursuing: How can your everyday experience help you spot a problem that others have learnt to live with?
- Starting before everything is perfect: What do you need in place to begin, and what can you work out along the way?
- Winning your first customers: How do you turn a useful idea into something people will actually pay for?
- Having the confidence to charge more: How do you recognise the value of your product and know when your pricing needs to change?
- Backing yourself while staying open to being wrong: How do you balance conviction with listening, learning and changing direction?
- Spotting opportunities in the age of AI: Where could AI help you solve an overlooked industry problem, and how do you judge whether there’s a business behind the idea?
Expect an honest conversation grounded in real decisions, early doubts and lessons you can apply to building a business today.
Whether you have an idea scribbled in a notebook, a side project you’re wondering how to grow or a business already under way, you’ll find plenty to think about and discuss with people asking similar questions.
There will be time to ask questions, exchange ideas and meet other founders and founders-to-be. If you’re coming on your own or still figuring out where to start, you’re very welcome.
No shipping knowledge required. Bring your curiosity and that idea you keep coming back to.
Free to attend. Spaces are limited.
Thank you to our founding partner Signal for making this event happen.
You can also listen to these sessions on the Founders500 Podcast:
Supported by
