I Help Event Entrepreneurs Acquire The Skills They Need To Shape, Manage And Grow Their Businesses, Significantly Increasing Their Value Without Adding To Stress Levels

Is your Event business struggling to reach the next level?

Are you facing issues that are stopping you from growing?

Are you finding it difficult to diagnose where the biggest problems are and how to solve them?

When I set my own event business up, I hoped to make enough money to support myself.  Five years later when we were approached to merge our company into bigger one, we discovered that we had spent 5 years creating no value in our business at all.

❌ We had never set a goal and vision, and had never made a plan

❌ We had no culture and had too many people doing the wrong jobs

❌ We were “making do” with sub-standard offices and equipment

❌ We had no marketing strategy and had no clue how to promote ourselves or to who

❌ We never thought of reaching out and investing in help and advice

So many Event Businesses have started this way.  No goal, no plan, no vision for what they want to achieve and after a few years of growth through repeat business and referrals they start to stall, but they have no idea why or how to solve the problem.

Over the last 7 years Kershaw Partners have worked with dozens of Event Businesses, diagnosing where the barriers to growth are, removing them and helping them to build more successful, more profitable and ultimately, if they are looking for an exit strategy, more valuable Event Businesses.

We start this process with a 2 Day Diagnostic Business Review.  We help you to take a step back from your business for a couple of days and draw a line in the sand. 

The 2 Day Review will:

✔ Help you to clarify your vision, ambition and objectives for the business and plan for them

✔ Make sure that you have the right people on the journey with you and that you are set up to achieve your objectives

✔ Enable your team to do the best job possible by having the best “tools” to work with

✔ Help you define a marketing strategy to find, retain and maximise the value from your customers

✔ Show you what structures you need to put in place so that the business can Run on Rails and not be so dependent on you

✔ Show you how to create value in the business so if you want to there is an option to exit your business.

This is what our clients say:

“I have spent a lot of money on consultants in the last two years, and other than the money I have spent with Kershaw Partners, the rest of it was a waste" (James Middlehurst, Kalm Kitchen) 

"We have used consultants in the past, but none who have walked the walk and are so grounded." (Ben Leslie, Yahire)

To find out more book a call at https://go.oncehub.com/IntroductoryCallwithDavid

David Watt

ADHD nearly held him back until he realised it could be his advantage.
 

On a recent episode of the Events Matters podcast, I sat down with Jason Brown, Founder & CEO of Technical Solutions Audio Visual Limited, to talk about his unconventional journey into the events industry.
 
From the military to freelancing to leading a growing business, Jason shared what it really takes to move from hands-on operator to CEO, and why a client-first mindset has always mattered more than profit.
 
We talked openly about ADHD and dyslexia, building strong team culture, navigating generational differences in the workplace, and the realities of scaling a business while being a dad. Jason also shared how AI and project management tools have helped level up organisation, communication, and efficiency across the business.
 
An honest conversation about leadership, culture, and doing business differently.
 
👉 If you haven’t already, go back and listen to this episode. There are real takeaways for founders at every stage.

https://lnkd.in/eir2sEEN

Partner | Event Business Marketing and Growth Specialist

Cindy Eisenhuth's story is one of the most incredible I've heard.
 

As a young woman, Cindy emigrated from Australia to the UK, ready to pursue a career in hospitality. Arriving in London at the height of a culinary boom, she quickly found herself working in the city's most renowned venues.
 
In one of the most famously unforgiving and male-dominated sectors, she found her calling.
 
Working alongside celebrity chefs. Serving Princess Diana. The highs were high, but the pressure was always on.
 
Inspired by her "old-school hospitality" roots, Cindy went on to create Catering, Logistics & Events Ltd (CLE) - a global events company delivering extraordinary hospitality experiences across the world.
 
The exceptional attention to detail, unshakeable resilience and solid work ethic that saw her succeed in London's kitchens has powered 20+ years of event delivery at the highest level. She is a true industry stalwart.
 
What always strikes me about Cindy is her passion. She speaks with such enthusiasm about her work, the industry, and her desire to pass her knowledge on to the next generation. To this day, she still mucks in at events alongside her team - a firm believer in leading from experience, not theory.
 
I have been inspired by Cindy's story for a long time and it is such a privilege to have her on this week's episode of Event Matters. We discuss her story, her learnings from over three decades in the industry, and her plans for the future. You don't want to miss this one.
 
🔗 https://lnkd.in/e6jbzchd

I trained as a chef before I ever ran events.

 
 
In 1994, I left my job to train as a chef. Food was, and still is, a genuine passion of mine. I worked in professional kitchens for several years and loved the intensity.
 
That experience gave me three lessons that have stayed with me ever since.
 
Pressure.
When service starts, it starts. There is no easing into it. You either deliver, or you don’t. Learning to stay calm when everything around you speeds up is a skill that transfers into every part of business.
 
Preparation.
A kitchen runs on what happens before the doors open. If the prep is wrong, the service fails. The same is true in events. What people see on the day is only possible because of what happened quietly in the background.
 
People.
No chef succeeds alone. A kitchen only works when everyone understands their role and trusts each other. Talent matters. Teamwork matters more.
 
I realised quite quickly that I was not destined to be a chef. I was a very good cook, but to operate at the very highest level requires both artistry and discipline. That was a difficult thing to accept at the time.
 
But those years shaped how I lead.
 
Whether it was building an agency, navigating economic shocks, or delivering major international programmes, it always came back to the same three things.
 
Pressure. Preparation. People.
 
Different environment. Same fundamentals.
 
What early experience still shapes how you run your business today?

Expertise is important. But visibility matters too.
 

You can be brilliant at what you do, but if you’re not showing it anywhere, people won’t fully understand the value you bring. This is why we're constantly encouraging our clients to build their portfolio of social proof.
 
This isn’t about shouting the loudest, it’s about giving people confidence through:
→ Client testimonials
→ Case studies
→ Sharing your thinking online
→ Or finding platforms where you can properly explain your approach
 
People want to understand how you think, not just what you sell.
 
That’s one of the reasons I started the Events Matters podcast.
 
Long-form conversations give founders the space to talk properly about their journey, their challenges and what they’ve learned.
 
It provides real depth, not just soundbites.
 
We’re currently accepting guest applications for upcoming episodes. If you're a founder in the events industry who would like to share your story, drop me a message.
 
And if you've not listened yet, we've got 14 episodes in our catalogue to keep you busy! 

Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eDUZUjD8
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/eDSuSeg5

If you’re still undecided about next week’s Sales Masterclass, that hesitation is exactly why it’s relevant.
 

And with only a few places remaining, it’s probably time to make the call!
 
In many event businesses, sales isn’t obviously broken, which is precisely why they’re often left untouched.
 
But beneath the surface, qualification becomes habitual rather than intentional.
Value is assumed rather than clearly articulated.
 
Commercial confidence varies depending on who’s leading the conversation.
 
Nothing dramatic. Just small inefficiencies that compound over time.
 
Next week’s session is designed to bring clarity and structure back to that side of the business, practical thinking, grounded experience, and a more deliberate framework for winning and growing the right work.
 
If it’s been on your mind, I wouldn’t leave it much longer.
 
📅 23rd February
🔗 https://lnkd.in/eznhkfCB

As soon as I heard about Karnival, I knew I had to get Jason Mulhall on the Event Matters podcast...

 
Jason's story is one which I believe will ring true for many entrepreneurs. He started in law, moved to banking and business consultancy, before finding his passion in food and events. He now runs Karnival, a business which brings the best of street food to settings across London - offices, parties, sporting events, street markets and more.
 
It was an unconventional route. But in hindsight, it makes perfect sense.
 
In this episode, Jason shares how his time as a business consultant equipped him with the tools needed to start and run a successful business. In particular, the essential skills of attention to detail, storytelling and persuasion which still underpin his work today.
 
He has some great advice for any young people teetering on the edge of taking a risk with entrepreneurship. I would highly recommend this episode to anyone grappling with that decision!
 
Having briefly pursued a career in the food industry myself (a post for another day perhaps...), Jason's perspective on the power of food, its role in reviving corporate culture, and his passion for the people at the heart of the industry really hit home for me.
 
I have been truly excited to share this episode. I hope it will resonate with you as much as it did with me.
 
Listen now - https://lnkd.in/e298WGtq

I've seen two major shocks hit the events industry: the 2008-2009 financial crisis and COVID-19.

 
The 2008 financial crisis had a deeper and longer impact than many people realise. In a few years, I watched projects go from thriving to operating in a bleak economic reality, with turnover falling sharply. The effects of that period are still being felt today.
 
COVID was different. Sudden, brutal, and disruptive. Furlough helped in the short term, but it didn’t remove the underlying fragility. What it did show, though, was resilience. When restrictions lifted, events came back quickly because people value face-to-face connections.
 
In real terms, it doesn’t feel like much has improved since 2007–2008. Real wealth and real confidence remain under pressure, and that context matters when making business decisions.
 
How are you adapting your business to today’s economic reality?

Building digital legacies for Founders & CEOs | Founder of CURAT-D

I’m Aurelien, and I help b2b founders turn their personal brands into a revenue-generating machine.

My journey started 7 years ago when, at 15, I launched my first company, STRADA PARIS. I had no experience, but I had a vision. 

Fast forward a few years—while I was still a student in Boston—I made my very first LinkedIn post, and everything changed.

What started as a leap of faith turned into a business that helps founders build their personal brands, drive growth, and generate serious revenue.

In 2022, CURAT—D was born. 

Since then, we’ve partnered with 7-figure founders, signed high-profile clients (including one of Hollywood’s biggest names), and helped our clients close a $4M deal—all by using LinkedIn organic content.

Our mission is simple:

Help founders build brands that stand out and bring results.

At CURAT—D, we take a hands-on approach. We help you:

- Craft your unique story
- Grow your audience
- Build your authority
- Attract high-ticket clients

The best part?

It’s all done through organic LinkedIn strategies—no ads, no gimmicks, just real value.

We capture your authentic voice through simple processes like:

- Content calls
- Voice memos
- Raw thoughts you share, turned into content that drives engagement and results.

Our goal?

To take your brand to the next level and 10x your growth.

Outside of work, I’m always looking for my next challenge. I’ve traveled the world, spoken at events like The Metaverse Summit in Silicon Valley I watch every single Formula One Grandprix, and am always pushing myself to grow.

But my true passion is seeing my clients succeed. 

I’m here to help you turn your LinkedIn profile into more than just a social media account—it can be the key to unlocking your next big opportunity.

Curious to learn how?

Send me a message, and let’s talk about how we can elevate your brand.

Let’s make big things happen together.

Aurelien Scagnolari

This is the most emotional session I've ever filmed.

Meet Chloe Fabiani, the founder, trying to save 5 million animals from euthanasia.

She built Paaw, a pet adoption platform working with 3,000+ shelters across the US and Europe. Her mission deserves to be heard - but like most founders, visibility isn't her strength.

So she trusted us with it.

We asked for one hour of her time in a studio in SF, right next to her office.

But before she walked in, we did our homework:

→ Sent an onboarding questionnaire tailored to her audience and goals
→ Audited her entire online presence
→ Analyzed what people in her industry were doing

Everything related to her online presence was dissected by my team and I.

Then she walked in and gave us 60 minutes.

In that one hour, we captured everything she needs on her personal channels for the next 3 months.

That's 48 Assets.

For founders like Chloe, time is the constraint. But their stories - the real ones must be told.

This is why we built 48 Assets.

Founder at CURAT—D & 48 Assets | Distribution is personal now + insights on turning founders into their company’s most valuable distribution channel.

I just signed an exclusive studio partnership in New York City, and this one is a big deal for us.

New York is the main hub for 48 Assets. Most of the founders and CEOs we work with are based there.

So finding the right studio was probably the most important operational decision I've made for the business this year.

Ask a CEO to share something they've never said publicly, every detail of the environment matters.

That's what I found at Theorist. The space, the lighting, the way their team operates. It's built for the guest experience.

When a founder feels good on camera, they actually will deliver their best selves.

So we made it official. Theorist is now our exclusive studio partner in NYC. Every founder session we run in the city goes through them.

For us it means our clients get a consistent, premium experience every single time. For them it means a growing roster of high-caliber founders coming through their doors as we scale.

Shoutout to Asher Brooks and the entire team at Theorist Studios for building a studio that actually puts the talent first. This is just the start.

If you're a founder in New York and you've been thinking about building your personal brand, let's talk.

I slept in the cockpit of an A380 for four hours when I was a kid. There were no seats left on the plane, so my dad put me on the jump seat for a 14-hour flight to Tokyo. That's the kind of childhood I had.

My dad was a pilot. Since a very young age I was privileged to travel the world. Tahiti three times by seven. Every continent by 14. Peru, Tokyo, South Korea and so on. But more than the travel, what shaped me was what happened when my parents were gone.

When your parents leave for the other side of the world for a few days and you don't have a nanny, you figure things out fast. I had a little sister to take care of. What we were eating, bedtime, how much TV, what activities we were doing. I was a kid raising a kid. And that built something in me that no school ever could. My family was loving and trusting, but they also gave me the space to fail and make stupid mistakes. That combination of freedom and responsibility is everything.

The thing that stuck with me most was what my dad would tell me when he came home. I'd always ask him what happened on his flights because I was obsessed with planes and flying. And 98% of the time the answer was the same. Nothing happened. His crew did everything in their power to make it smooth. Pre-departure, takeoff, 10 hours at cruise, landing. Different airports, different countries, but always the same job done right.

Then there was the 2%. The days where he had to make decisions at 600 miles an hour where every minute is crucial. You lose an engine at 33,000 feet. What do you do? Where do you land? Depending on the country you're above you might not be able to. You have a passenger who needs medical attention. Do you divert and cost the airline tens of thousands of dollars? Or keep going and risk that person's life? Every decision has a consequence.

He would walk me through his decision-making process. How to stay lucid. How to act normal when the adrenaline is screaming. And the lesson he drilled into me more than anything: once you've made the decision, don't look back at it. Look back when everything is over. It might not have been the best decision. But it was your decision, based on everything you knew in that moment. Don't regret it.

I think about that constantly as a founder. The speed is different but the principle is identical. You're making calls every day with incomplete information and real consequences. And the worst thing you can do is freeze or second-guess yourself mid-flight.

Growing up as that kid taught me culture, freedom, and responsibility. But mostly it taught me that the best decision-makers are the ones who commit and move forward.

I never became a pilot. But I run my business the same way my dad flew his planes. Stay calm. Make the call. Don't look back until you've landed.

At 12, he was milking cows. In his 30s, he scaled companies to exits worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Here's how we helped Stu go from invisible online to one of the most credible voices in audience-first media:

When Stu and I started working together, his story immediately stood out.

He landed an interview with Jim Cramer that became his break into media.

From there:

→ TheStreet: Research Associate to VP of Operations & Product Development

→ Business Insider: VP of Audience Development, $400M+ exit

→ WWE: VP of Product Monetization

→ EVP Growth to COO then CBO at Barstool Sports

At Barstool, he helped to scale audiences from 50M to 250M+ and revenue from $25M to $250M. They exited to Penn Interactive for a final valuation of $660M.

One of the best operators (and minds) in media, and nobody knew his story.

When we connected, he was CEO of 10PM Curfew, reaching nearly every woman in America between the ages of 18-45 on a monthly basis across 60+ channels. He needed to attract premium partnerships and build awareness & consideration for the 10PM Curfew brand.

As I listened to his stories, it became clear: Stu is an "Operator First" leader. He sees opportunities others miss by looking past surface judgments and doing unglamorous work.

While others chase vanity metrics, Stu builds for audience-first durability.

We applied our 4-pillar extraction framework:

(1) Origin Stories

The farm discipline. Raising deer for tuition. The Cramer interview. Taking the Barstool bet.

(2) Operator Insights

Tactical lessons from scaling billion-dollar audiences. Like when Barstool generated $40M for small businesses during COV*D.

(3) Contrarian POV

Non-linear paths. Opportunities disguised as risks. Cultural reads over credentials.

(4) Proof points

Multiple exits, $1B+ combined. 10X revenue growth at Barstool. MASSIVE reach today.

The results:

→ Acquisition conversations from prospective buyers who found him on LinkedIn

→ Signed partnership deals directly from his content

→ Individual posts hitting 250K+ impressions and 500+ engagements

→ Positioned as a leading voice in audience-first media

Stu who went from milking cows at 2:15 am to scaling companies that exit for hundreds of millions.

Now the world gets to hear his story.

This is what we do at CURAT—D & 48 Assets. We find founders & CEOs (or they find us) with stories that deserve to be heard and get them out into the world.

The world's most capable people shouldn't stay invisible.

One of my client's best-performing posts got 324 likes and zero dollars. His worst-performing post got 37 likes and closed a $65k deal.

Most founders post about launches & announcements, hoping they'll blow up.

If every post is a product update you're training your audience to scroll past you. 

So here are the four types that actually drive pipeline, not just impressions.

(1) POV. Your contrarian takes. Beliefs that come from lived experience, not from reading the same article everyone else read. A real point of view filters. It attracts the right people and repels the wrong ones. I believe any business that takes personal branding seriously can make it their number one growth channel. Above paid ads. Above cold outbound. Above everything. A lot of people disagree. Good. That disagreement is what makes it a point of view and not a platitude.

(2) Origin. Your story. The one thing that cannot be replicated. Your tech can be copied. Your pricing can be undercut. But nobody else grew up the way you did, failed the way you did, had the specific combination of experiences that led you to build this company. Origin content requires vulnerability. Going back to moments that weren't glamorous. But when it's specific, detailed, and honest it creates a connection no amount of product marketing can match.

(3) Vision. Where you see things heading that nobody's talking about yet. What shifts are you noticing that the market hasn't priced in? When a CEO talks about the future of their industry, people listen differently. It's not commentary, it's a signal. And a vision post from six months ago that turned out to be right? That compounds into credibility no product announcement could ever build.

(4) Proof. Case studies, client wins, specific results. This is the one you can't post solo. If all you share is proof you become the guy at the party who only talks about himself. But balanced with the other three, proof becomes the closer. A proof post might get 30 likes. Low engagement by vanity metrics. But it books calls. 30 people see it, 3 reach out, 1 closes. That post just generated real revenue. I'll take that over 500 likes and zero pipeline every time.

Your POV will make you respected. Your Origin will make you trustworthy. Your Vision will get attention. Your Proof will make you money. Stack all four, and you have a real content engine.

One of my clients closed a $4M deal from a LinkedIn post. The story behind had been sitting in him for 15 years. He just didn't know it.

I've spent 2.5 years extracting stories from 40+ founders and CEOs. And every single time the same thing happens. These founders can pitch you their company at dinner and you're hooked. Magnetic in person. But ask them about a failure that rewired their brain or a moment that changed their trajectory and they freeze. Not because the stories aren't there. But because no one has ever asked them the right way.

I think about my own story. My dad used to travel to the US for work and every time he came back he'd say "that place is full of opportunities, full of ambitious people." At 14 I convinced my parents to let me spend a year in Denver, Colorado. That year changed everything. I discovered entrepreneurship, started devouring books and content about building something from nothing. Came back to France a different person. But for the longest time that wasn't a "story" to me. It was just something that happened. It took other people pointing it out for me to realize it was my origin story.

Most founders have a version of that. A moment that redirected everything. And they're sitting on it without knowing. Because when you're sending emails at 2 AM and waking up stressed about what happened overnight with US clients while you were asleep in Europe, the last thing on your mind is "what's my best story?" Your job is to keep the machine running.

And that's exactly why the world's most capable founders stay invisible. Their best stories stay trapped in their heads while generic content speaks on their behalf. Less qualified voices dominate. And that's not just a content problem. That's a trust problem. Stakeholders, investors, customers never actually know who they're trusting.

The best content creators online all share one trait. They've done the storytelling work. They've sat with their experiences and turned their failures into narratives and their weird childhood moments into connection points. Content becomes effortless for them because they can pull from a library of lived experience at any moment. Most founders haven't done that work. Not because they can't. Because they're busy building.

The work is simple. Sit across from a founder, go deep, push back, and say "wait, go back, tell me more about that." When it's done right they walk away saying "I didn't even know that story was in me."

Someone Googled you before your last meeting. Your LinkedIn loaded first. They made a decision about you in seconds. You have no idea what it told them.

Most founders have no idea what their LinkedIn is saying about them right now. They haven't looked at it through the eyes of someone who doesn't know them. They see it as a profile. Everyone else sees it as a first impression.

Think about it from every angle. You're an investor with 30 companies on your desk this month. You check the founder's LinkedIn. Is there a point of view? Evidence of thought leadership? People engaging with their ideas? Or is it a profile photo from 2019, a headline that says "CEO at [Company Name]," and the last post was eight months ago congratulating someone on a work anniversary? That tells you this founder doesn't take visibility seriously. And if they don't take their own visibility seriously, what does that say about how they'll position the company?

Same with hires. The best talent researches the founder before they apply. They're not just evaluating the role. They're evaluating you. Does this person think deeply about their industry? Do they have a vision worth joining? In a competitive market your personal brand is either a recruiting advantage or a recruiting liability.

Same with buyers. Most B2B purchases involve trust that goes beyond the product. The buyer isn't just buying your software. They're buying you. And before that conversation starts they've already formed an opinion based on what they've seen online.

I think about someone like Greg Eisenberg. He shares incredible thinking around AI and startups consistently. If tomorrow he sells a service I'm looking for, I'm going to him first. Not because he's cheapest. Not because he's technically the most qualified on paper. Because I trust the guy. I've been following his thinking. I know how he sees the world. And that familiarity is the most powerful thing in business.

That's the whole game. Sales is trust. The product matters. The price matters. But none of it matters if the trust isn't there first. And trust isn't built in a sales call. It's built over time through showing up and sharing your thinking before you ever ask for anything in return.

The founders who treat their LinkedIn as a living representation of how they think have an unfair advantage no amount of ad spend can replicate. And the founders who don't? They're losing deals every day. Not because competitors are better. Because competitors showed up. Were visible. Were known. Were trusted.

Your LinkedIn profile communicates whether you're someone worth trusting. You're either building that on purpose or losing it by default.

Happy to judge your profile if want, put it below ;)

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The Battle

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