Helping Founders Become Thought Leaders | Founder of Cue Studios

You’re already sitting on a goldmine (your personal brand). Let’s unlock it.

I never set out to "build a personal brand." I just started sharing what I knew.

And then, something unexpected happened. Opportunities started coming my way. Clients. Speaking invites. Partnerships.

That was my first “aha” moment. This isn’t just posting online. It’s a growth engine.

Most founders ignore their personal brand. Here’s why that’s a mistake.

Right now, you’re running a business. You’re solving problems. You’re having conversations every day that could be turned into valuable content.

But instead:

• You don’t know what to talk about
• You’re not sure how you want to come across
• You’re not leveraging your experience to attract the right people

What if I told you you don’t have to do anything extra?

Your daily insights are already content. You just need the right strategy to get it in front of the right people.

This is where I come in.

I help founders turn their expertise into authority without wasting time or chasing vanity metrics.

What I do:

• Define your personal brand. Who you are, what you stand for, and how you should show up online
• Create the right content for the right audience so you attract clients, investors, or opportunities
• Develop a system so your brand runs without taking over your life

And here’s what happens when we get it right:

• Speaking engagements on top-tier stages
• Inbound leads and investment opportunities
• Industry recognition that makes you the go-to name in your field
• A network of high-value relationships that drive your business forward

I’ve helped tech founders, Web3 builders, and executives grow their influence and I can help you do the same.

So, what’s your next move?

You can keep letting others control the narrative about who you are.

Or you can start shaping it yourself and attract the kind of opportunities that change everything.

DM me or book a call. Let’s make your brand work for you.

Byron Grealy

I hit 10k followers.

Eight days later than planned.

I know it’s just a number.
I also know people with 2k followers who make more money than people with 100k.

So no, it’s not an objective measure of success.

But to me, it means something else.

It means I’m slowly building a network of smart, capable people who are at least mildly interested in what I put out.
It means conversations, pushback, support, and the odd disagreement that forces me to think properly.

Putting your thoughts out there does two things:

• It broadens the surface area for opportunity.
• It keeps you honest by pressure testing your ideas in public.

2025 brought a lot of change for me.
I expect 2026 to do the same.

Thanks to everyone who’s been following, engaging, agreeing, disagreeing, and sticking around.

On to the next milestone.

I spent a lot of my early career second-guessing my decisions.

Waiting for certainty would have kept me stuck.

I finished university without a clear plan and took a role at a startup as the only employee. 
I learned a lot, then realised it was heading in a direction I didn’t agree with, so I moved on.

Still no plan. 

At that point, the only thing I was sure about was that I wanted to live and work abroad. 

With a fairly weak passport, that narrowed my options, so I worked backwards.
Teaching English opened the door, I applied to anywhere that would take me, and I ended up in Hong Kong.

From there, a pattern formed. 

Periods of comfort followed by the urge to stretch myself, step into discomfort, and grow. 
Each move added something, even when it didn’t feel that way at the time.

I met my wife there, and she’s pushed me at every stage since. 
When I felt drawn towards something new, I committed properly. 
Not everything lasted, but I always stayed long enough to learn before deciding what was next.

Looking back, that approach mattered more than having a perfect plan.

Most people early in their careers wait for certainty. 
They research, compare themselves to others, and look for reassurance that rarely arrives.

I was the same.

Some research helps. 
Too much of it keeps you stuck.

Clarity comes from movement, taking action. 
Experience compounds when you make the call, learn quickly, and adjust.

You don’t need all the answers upfront. 
You need action, and then you need to keep the momentum.

What's the "riskiest" career decision that you've made?

Ever notice how some things feel effortless...

While others feel like you’re constantly pushing uphill?

You can have the same ambition, the same goals, and still get completely different results depending on where you place yourself.

When progress feels hard, most people assume they are the problem and try to force change through effort alone. 

In my experience, that’s not the only solution.

What makes progress feel easier isn’t just willpower. 
It’s being pulled in the right direction.

And that's because of proximity.

If you surround yourself with people who train daily, compete, and care about performance, certain behaviours stop feeling optional. 
Skipping a workout feels strange. 
Training twice a day feels normal. 
You’re not pushing yourself, you’re matching the standard around you.

Earning works the same way.

In some countries (like where I'm from), earning $5k a month puts you well ahead of the average person. 
Life feels comfortable and stable. 

But place yourself in a room where people earn $200k a month, and your perspective completely changes. 
Your ceiling breaks, and your thinking changes without conscious effort.

Nothing about you changed. 
Your environment did.

This is why pushing can work long-term, but changing your surroundings works faster.

It’s also why I moved to Dubai. 
It completely shifted how I think about business and what I believe is possible.

If you want growth to feel less forced, don’t push harder. 
Put yourself somewhere that pulls you forward.

It doesn't have to be moving country, but it does mean actively finding your tribe. 

What change in proximity had the biggest impact on you?

Founders are starting to realise that the only real moat left is you.

It's about how people connect with you before they ever touch your product.
With your personality and how you think.

And the only way to build that connection at scale is content.

The mistake most founders make is thinking content means starting from scratch every time.
A new post. A new idea. Expending lots of energy for each platform.

That’s why it feels exhausting.
And why so many founders give up.

In reality, you only need one source of truth.
One piece of content where you do the heavy lifting once.

That could be:

• A podcast episode
• A YouTube video
• A long-form article

You’ve already done the work, so letting it live once and disappear makes no sense.

That single piece can become multiple:

• LinkedIn posts
• X posts
• Shorts, Instagram or TikTok videos
• A blog
• A newsletter

Same idea. Different formats.

There are plenty of ways to break it down, but the principle is simple.
When you have a system, the effort is front-loaded.
The thinking happens once, and everything else gets easier.

Do the heavy lifting once.
And use it to connect with people at scale.

Perception isn’t about tricking people into thinking you’re someone you’re not.

It’s about becoming the person you say you are.

I see a lot of people doing content like it’s a chore. 
Doing the bare minimum with their posts.
Leaving low-effort AI comments.

Yes, you’re “showing up”, but the signal you’re sending isn’t competence or credibility.

It’s laziness.

And that’s a problem, because the whole point of building a personal brand is to create better opportunities, not repel them.

Perception doesn’t change because you say the right things.
It changes when your behaviour does.

When you actually take the time.
When the effort is obvious.
When you give a shit.

You don’t fake your way into a better reputation.
You earn it by becoming the person you want to be seen as.

Most founders say they don’t post because they don’t have time.

The real cost is not time.
It’s not starting.

Here’s what waiting actually does:

1. You postpone connection.
People don't connect with finished brands as much as they connect with people figuring things out.

2. You hide the part that builds trust.
The building is the proof. People don't expect polished outcomes anymore. 
The process is what earns belief.

3. You let others define the space.
While you wait to be “ready,” someone else becomes the familiar voice in your market.

4. You misunderstand what a brand really is.
A brand is not visuals or messaging. It's repeated exposure to how you think.

5. You delay your only real moat.
Products are now easy to copy with AI and markets shift. 
But your point of view compounds.

Building a business is never perfect.
Everyone already knows that.

The sooner you start posting, the sooner people can grow with you.

What are you waiting for?

Most of the lessons that actually shape you can’t be taught.

They have to be lived.

Chris Williamson wrote an essay on unteachable lessons, and it’s the reason I’m writing this.

It made me reflect on how my relationship with advice has changed over time.
Both receiving it and giving it.

When you’re late teens or early 20s, you think you know everything.
Advice gets brushed off because you assume you’re different.
Your situation is always the exception.
So you learn the hard way anyway.

I was exactly like that.

I got plenty of good advice and ignored most of it.
Then years later, I learned the same lessons through experience and realised they were right all along.

That’s changed how I give advice now.

When I speak to people in that age bracket, I don’t expect them to listen just because I’ve been there.
It's obvious now that unteachable lessons don’t land through words.
They have to land through action, failure, and consequence.

So instead of trying to convince them, I’m experimenting with a different approach:

• Call out inaction
• Push them to take the first step
• If they're ready, hold them accountable
• Let them learn by doing
• Encourage faster failure
• Shorten the feedback loop

The goal isn’t to be right.
It’s to help them reach the lesson sooner.

Learning by doing and failing has become a core part of my life.
I just wish I embraced it earlier.

I’ll drop Chris’s essay in the comments.

Hong Kong Beer Co

Senior Brewer

carbon brews

Oversee all packaging operations on CFT Canning line and Leibinger Bottling line. Assist with cellar work, lab work and all brewing operations. Responsible for safely and efficiently packaging numerous international and local brands. Carbon Brews is a 35HL Brewery based in Hong Kong.

Packaging Supervisor

MOONZEN BREWERY

Involved in all processes of production at Moonzen Brewery, a 12hectolitre four vessel brewery which focuses on producing creative beers styles with an East meets West approach to brewing. Responsibilities include being involved in the entire brewing process:
• Monitor brewhouse and perform cellaring (CIP, Transfers, Hop Rocket, Monitor Fermentations and CO2)
• Assist the brew staff and sales team wherever needed
• Perform bottling and kegging operations
• Recipe development
• Take guests on brewery tours

Saggy Stone Brewing Co.

-Brewer and Production Manager at a Saggy Stone Brewing Company. 
-Brewhouse staff performing all tasks and duties related to the 2-vessel 12hl brewhouse operations (Brewing, Maturation, Lagering, Carbonation, Packaging, CIP, SIP, etc.).
-Represent the brewery at events 

Saggy Stone is an expanding brewery based inn Robertson, Western Cape, South Africa. Saggy Stone hosts an annual music festival which supports and promotes well known local artists as well as up and coming bands.

Head Brewer

Rhodes University

Environmental Representative for Jan Smuts Residence, Rhodes University. Jan Smuts Residence had approximately 140 students living there, my responsibilities included: 
-Researched ways to ensure that students would recycle.
-Raised current environmental issues.
-Promoted environment related events.
-Assisted with the efficient running of the residence.

House Comittee 

Lifesaving South Africa

Qualified Lifeguard at Llandudno beach, Cape Town from 2011-2012
Competed at South African Champs in Amanzimtoti, Durban in 2012.
Competed at Western Province Champs in Mossel Bay, Western Cape in 2012.

Lifeguard

Experienced brewer with a demonstrated history of working in breweries of all sizes for over 5 years. A Bachelor of Science Degree from Rhodes University in South Africa, specializing in Environmental Sciences. Master Brewer Program graduate from the Siebel Institute of Technology / World Brewing Academy. 

Qualified RYA and SAS Day Skipper.
TEFL (160hr) 

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Byron Grealy

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