William Curle’s life has been anything but conventional. From growing up in a small Scottish village and working in his family’s engineering business, to inventing patented oil and gas technologies, losing it all, and rebuilding again. His story is a powerful example of what’s possible when you combine grit, faith, and relentless determination.

In this episode of Success or Excuses, James Fleming sits down with William to uncover the moments that defined his journey. From watching his family business collapse under debt, to licensing a multi-million-pound invention to Halliburton just months later, William’s story is packed with the kind of real-world lessons you won’t find in any business book.

But this isn’t just a story about engineering, patents, or profit. It’s about purpose. When life got dark, William found his light, through his Christian faith, his family, and his unwavering belief in doing the right thing. Whether it was building clean energy tech in Scotland or supporting children in Sierra Leone, his journey proves that you don’t need to choose between business success and personal integrity. You can have both.

This episode is an emotional, honest, and deeply human conversation about invention, belief, failure, and starting again. If you’ve ever wondered what keeps someone going when the odds are stacked against them, this is it.

Key moments include: ✔️ Leaving school at 15 to work in his dad’s workshop ✔️ Losing the family business and what that taught him about resilience ✔️ Selling his first invention to Halliburton and the deal that changed everything ✔️ How dyslexia became a superpower, not a setback ✔️ The moment he fully committed to his Christian faith ✔️ Taking clean tech from Scotland to Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Ukraine ✔️ What business and belief have in common and why he refuses to give up Subscribe to Success or Excuses for more unfiltered conversations about what it really takes to keep going, long after others have quit.

Follow James Fleming: LinkedIn → James Fleming Instagram → @successorexcusespodcast YouTube → @SuccessorExcusesPodcast Website → The Power Within Training Follow William Curle:

Email → william.curle@wmcdevelopments.co.uk LinkedIn → William Curle Company → https://wmcdevelopments.co.uk/

Timestamps: [00:00] Welcome and intro, the James Dyson of Harthill? [02:00] Leaving school at 15 and entering the family business [04:00] Dyslexia as a superpower, and how it shaped his career [08:00] Selling the first invention to Halliburton [12:00] Facing the collapse of his family business [15:30] Finding faith and fully committing to it [19:00] Using his faith as an anchor during COVID and crisis [23:00] The oil and gas crash, lost deals, and deep debt [26:00] Designing for clean energy and starting again [30:00] A LinkedIn post that led to a major deal in Oklahoma [35:00] Launching OR Energy and building waste-to-energy units [38:00] Reconnecting with a Scottish-founded church in Sierra Leone [42:00] Helping rebuild a legacy mission with 5,000 schoolchildren [46:00] William’s visits to Africa and the shocking landfill conditions [49:00] Impact investing, plastics pollution, and what’s next for OR Energy [51:00] William’s top 3 pieces of advice, including never giving up