Niall Cleaver

Documenting the journey of crafting a timeless coffee cup brand | CEO & Founder of Cupsly

My story isn’t about a polished entrepreneur. My journey hasn’t been traditional. I left school without an English qualification, uncertain of what the future held. 

That failure shaped me, it forced me to think differently, fall into business, and ultimately embrace creativity, resilience, and the belief that change is possible, even when doubted. Fast forward to today, I’m growing and scaling businesses while sharing the real lessons that come from it.

Founder

Are you struggling to grow an engaging community for your business or personal brand.

Stop right there, I think I have you covered ⬇️

This is me (Niall), I'm a 22-year-old who is fascinated by growing communities in the online space. Actual communities that have meaning and purpose. 

The services we provide at Social Library 

➡️ Personal Branding (LinkedIn)

➡️ Guidance & support consulting


Drop me a message to discuss your social media strategy, review how well your current socials/posts are doing, and research how we can build your community and gain you more followers and leads.

or you can email us @

hello@sociallibrary.co.uk

Execution will humble you in more ways than advice ever could.

And this, by far, has been my best realisation.

It's actually scary how much advice is in the world we live in. And normally, it's not the correct advice. The truth is, advice that will improve your business is hard to come by because everyone is sharing an opinion online.  

But there's one thing that beats any advice:

Saying you'll do something and actually doing it.

In my teens, I told myseIf was going to go all in on business, and that meant learning many things I once never knew. How? Real experience.

Less talking, more doing.

I didn't have a background in marketing, I learned.
I didn't have a background in brand, I learned.
I didn't have a background in R&D, I learned.

And here's what I found out...

When you start facing real situations, real problems, and real outcomes, you quickly see who’s telling the truth and who isn’t.

You learn who to trust.

Advice has its place. But execution is what changes things.

Growing @thistlescientific and sharing the lessons while I do

I’ve just landed back from a week in the mountains.

And it reminded me how easy it is to forget what really matters.

I know I talk a lot about business because it's something I'm passionate about, but let's be real, it will never be as important as family. 

Scaling a business takes a lot out of you, early mornings, late nights, and missing certain celebrations. It's honestly brutal sometimes. 

Because it never stops!!!

You always have something that needs implementing, changing or improving, but what I've realised is that time away with your family allows you the space to think, enjoy and realign. Never take this for granted.

Honestly, had the best couple of days... now super exctied to get back and execute on the plan we've set out over the past couple of months.

We did it!!! Thistle is rebrand ready...

Over the past few months, we've completed a full rebrand at Thistle Scientific, one that has pushed, tested, and shaped the new direction we're heading in. These will be the months I'll remember forever, but...

I want to talk about what goes into a rebrand:

The late nights thinking decisions through.
The transition phase throughout the organisation.
The alignment through the internal team and external partners.

They all hit you! But in a good way.

Because eventually, you see all the pieces of the puzzle coming together, and you appreciate all the details and hard work that went into every part of it.

But this whole process got me thinking about one thing, "change", and how so many of us are nervous about it. This is a good feeling to have. 

It means you're pushing yourself.

Take it all in!!!

The most important skill of an entrepreneur is to do the basics first.

I used to fight this idea because it sounded too simple.

Sticking to a routine 
Doing the things you promised.
Being open-minded to the problems. 
Interacting directly with your customers.
Executing the plan you set out with your team.

It really is simple!!! 

At the start of this year, I told some of my closest friends what I was going to do. Less talking and more just focusing on what creates the moment. 

And I can already feel it. It hasn’t been anything out of this world, it's just been staying focused on what matters most in the buisness. And normally, these are the tasks you repeat.

You've got to understand that most people will dislike doing the basics over and over again, becasue it can become boring and not fun. But these are the tasks that create the difference that changes your life and business. 

It may be boring, but it works.

3 years ago, navigating a merger, improving systems, and building a stronger foundation.

Since then, Thistle Scientific has grown year on year, hired across multiple countries, and deliberately focused on scale. Why?

Equipping scientists around the world requires collaboration, obsession, and teamwork. It’s understanding what will help each researcher improve the work they’re doing.

But there’s an even bigger reason…

Scaling allows us to support even more researchers, and the better support they get, the more impact their work can have on the rest of the population.

Any researchers here... would love to chat with you.

One of the best decisions I've made as a 25-year-old growing a biotech business was to... spend time with people who have already done it.

Not people who're trying to sell you something.
Not people who shut down your ideas every five minutes.

But the people who have lived and breathed the problems you are facing.

The real operators. And what I've noticed is that they don't try to sell you online they are heavily focused on real outcomes. They have this credibility where they've been there and done it. You can just feel it!!!

So, if you're going to surround yourself with successful people:

Do your due diligence
Ask the important questions
Don't waste your time and especially theirs.

That's where real change is created.

Evean, now I've got so much to learn and it's so important to remember that the moment you think you've understood it all will be the moment you stop making progress.

We had a chance to showcase our new design in Thailand.

I pulled it... You only get one first impression.

We had an opportunity to move fast on some new design work. It would've lined up perfectly for our ASIA distributor meeting in Thailand next month, so I pushed for it. 

I thought it would be:

Great to share the new innovation.
Great to share the new Thistle identity.
Great to share our new direction with them.

But I was chasing speed over execution.

The lesson wasn't "slow down". I still believe in moving fast.
The lesson was "speed" without clarity is just expensive.

Coming straight out of a rebrand, it’s easy to chase momentum. But when you do that, you can lose the bigger picture and that costs you.

Growth never happens when you move without clarity. You only get one chance at a first impression, so we are making sure ours is worth it.

"TEST THE LIMIT"  that's what our rebrand was built on.

When we started to plan our rebrand, we didn't view ourselves as successful. We saw ourselves as a challenger brand. A brand that wanted to do things differently from others in our industry.

This was our starting point.

From the first conversations I had with our team, they were all open-minded to it and wanted to be aligned on the bigger picture, but there was something I noticed more special. 

They all wanted to be a part of it.  Contributing, debating, and just being fully curious. Through my years of learning business, I've noticed that one of the best traits in any business is the team being curious. They like to get stuck in. And here's what I've seen:

They adapt quickly to problems and solutions.
They build better products and services.
They spot opportunities others ignore.
They make better decisions.

Being curious is lethal (in a good way)

There's something special about being around an open-minded team. A team that wants to play an even bigger part in this journey. It's pretty cool.

Very proud to announce the next chapter of Thistle Scientific.

Thistle has expanded a lot over the years as a team, company and scientific partner.

Today, we’re updating our entire visual system to convey a clearer, bolder expression of who we are and the purpose we stand behind. Now the time feels right to step into our next chapter and announce the rebrand of Thistle Scientific.

One that will demonstrate the connection and deeper understanding we have for researchers and global organisations who are changing the world for good.  

Just like research, brands must evolve too. We must listen, adapt and strengthen. That's what we're here to do. Committed to the direction we're heading, and that's to equip scientists to be relentless in changing the world for good. 

One hypothesis at a time. 

Welcome to Thistle 2.0

Because science is never done. So, neither are we.

There’s nothing worse than not selling enough tickets or having empty tables and hotel rooms… 
These are just 3 things many of my clients faced before working with me: 

🎟️ Struggling to sell tickets for their events or festivals

🫣 Getting lost in a competitive market

⏰ Lacking the time or resources for effective marketing

📣 Uncertainty about how to attract the right audience

📸 Difficulty capturing high-quality content that drives bookings

That’s where This Is Apollo steps in. We’re a design and marketing agency dedicated to helping festivals, events, and hospitality brands boost ticket sales, increase footfall, and drive bookings through:

⭐️ Targeting the right audience to maximise  ticket sales with tailored marketing strategies

⚡️Crafting a unique brand identity that makes you stand out in a crowded market

🪩 Saving you time by managing your marketing with proven, results-driven tactics

🚀 Skyrocketing bookings by speaking directly to your audience through smart marketing and design

📹 Planning and capturing engaging, social-first content that highlights your brand’s best offerings

Some of our client success stories include:
→ Over 250,000 attendees at events in Manchester in 1 weekend
→ £3M in ticket revenue generated for clients since 2022
→ Supporting more than 500K tickets sold since 2022

If you’re ready to stop blending in and start standing out — while selling out your events—let’s talk. 

Drop me a message or reach me at chloe@thisisapollo.co.uk.

Chloe Waterhouse

We’re only 5 days into March and I have 3 sitemaps that are due to be complete this month for festivals. 

Events in 2026 are not playing 👀 

I’ve said it for the past 3 years.
Sitemaps shouldn’t be an after thought. 

They’re no longer ‘just to show people how to get around’.
They should be an essential part of your marketing strategy.

→ They capture attention. 
→ They generate ticket sales & revenue. 
→ They break the scroll cycle for customers.

For 2026 i’ve already locked in:

1 x HUGE sitemap for a festival client based in the Scotland.
1 x Stadium Takeover map in the South
3 x Additional maps for a touring festival in the North West

I’ve designed maps for clients including: 
Forbidden Forest
Hide & Seek Festival
Land Beyond
Higher Love Festival (Malta) 
Higher Love (Leeds)
Motion Bristol
City Sound Project
Garage Nation 
Love To Be Festival
Street Eat & Beats
Dream Valley
+ many more. 

They know what power they have.
↳ You should find out for yourself. 

If you’re looking to increase ticket sales with a custom sitemap, drop me a message.

Next availability to begin: WC/ 30th March 2026

Chloe Waterhouse 

❋ Design, content & marketing for hospitality, leisure & events | Helping experiences stand out & sell out 🪩 | Director @ This Is Apollo

In 2022 I made a commitment to myself…


To work with brands that were cool. 

I’m talking festivals with huge headliners. 
Brands with global reach. 
Events with 10K+ capacity.

And 4 years in I can safely say I’ve done all 3.

But this year I want to up the ante.

🌍 I want to work with on a global scale with, hospitality, travel, events and festival brands - but also businesses that class themsleves as an ‘experience’.

I want to create the same impact I have for my clients in the past 4 years but for new brands or existing brands which need a new pair of eyes. 

From artwork direction for 3-day festivals to marketing for European events, I’ve got experience working with in-house teams across the design & marketing board. 

→ Sitemaps
→ Event artwork
→ Social media
→ Email marketing 
→ Web & landing page design
→ Content creation & photography

If you want to work with someone who lives and breathes this world, let’s talk.

I use to work with a hotel whose branding was inconsistent. 


The result? 
❌ Low engagement on socials
❌ Lack of bookings due to ‘quality’ of content.
❌ Quiet periods when it should be busy

Now if you’re thinking ‘but our brand looks good’ and you’re just talking about your logo…

You need to look at the bigger picture: 

🔎 How are you speaking to your audience?

→ Captions on social posts
→ Language in emails
→ Tone of voice on website
→ Voices and text on videos

🔎 Do your visuals communicate quality?
 
→ Does your video show off your venue in the best light? 
→ Do your photos look like they were taken on a Nintendo DS? 
→ Are your graphics looking like they were made on PowerPoint or looking like they’re ripped from clip art? 🫠 

🔎 Is your website easy to navigate?

→ Or is it like trying to dig for gold when trying to find the menu for the restaurant or difference in price for your rooms?

Your branding goes further than a pretty logo. 
It’s about your values, your authenticity and care of customer experience.

Chloe Waterhouse ⚡️

❋ Strategy-first design & marketing for hospitality, leisure & events | Helping experiences stand out & sell out 🪩 | Director @ This Is Apollo

You can’t market a weekday lunch spot the same way you market a high-end restaurant 👀 

One sells convenience.
The other sells experience.

One needs repeat custom.
The other needs anticipation.

The brands that win understand:

→ Why people are coming
→ Who they’re coming with
→ What they want to feel

Context changes everything.

I think I’m grieving my 20s a little and I'm only 25.

Don't worry, it's not in a dramatic way.  

Just in the quiet awareness that they’re not what I once imagined.

I thought this part of my life might look like:
✈️ living abroad in Bali or Aus
🌍 saying yes to everything  
🚀 doing bold, spontaneous things  

Instead, it’s looked more like:
📈 slowly building a business  
💻 long workdays  
🧠 constant responsibility (adult stuff like dog care and mortgages)  
🤍 thinking about future stability

Don’t get me wrong, I have my fair share of trips and excursions.

But somewhere in that mix sits a persistent feeling:

“I’m running out of time”

I should be experiencing more.  
I should be making more memories.  
I should have had more freedom.  
I should have made more progress.  

Even when there genuinely isn’t space for more.

Because the truth is - when you’re building something and building a life at the same time, there’s always a trade-off.

If I work hard now → what am I missing?  
If I slow down → what am I risking?  
If I choose stability → what adventures disappear?  

That quiet “what if?” can sit over everything.

I’m starting to realise this isn’t failure or wasted youth.  
It’s just the reality of choosing and caring deeply about multiple things at once.

If you’re also in your 20s, feeling like you’re simultaneously too serious, feel like you’re ‘missing out’ or ‘running out of time’, you’re not alone. 

I want to hear other founder’s expefiences in their 20s - 30s, if you don’t fancy sharing publicly, I’d love a chat via DM!

‘We’ve always done that’ will slowly kill your business.

Sorry to be morbid this morning, but it’s time to wake up and face reality. 

I’ve seen many businesses (quite local to me) close recently. 
And I know it’s not solely because they don’t have a marketing strategy.

👉🏽 Business rates are through the roof.
👉🏽 Costs for goods have rocketed.
👉🏽 Insurance has risen.

But relying on your business success by hoping someone books a table or walks in because their friends told them ‘they have good food’ is NOT a marketing strategy.

→ People hate the idea of missing out.
→ People envy those who have done something they haven’t. 
→ People want new experiences, but don’t want to risk loosing money or time if it isn’t up to scratch. 

Hospitality, events, festivals and experiences need to craft the perfect story which shows potential customers that their experience is unmissable, value for money...

And something to brag about visiting.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a local cafe, or if you’re an exclusive ski resort with the best slopes - the same principle applies.

Over the past 4 years, I’ve seen hospitality brands and experiences blend into the background.

Their competition ‘has stolen’ their customers.
They don’t know what went wrong. 

Let me tell you this… 

That’s not a marketing problem.
It’s a positioning problem.

No clear position = unclear message.
Unclear message = confused audience. 

And if it’s not for someone, it’s for no one. 

If your experience feels “hard to sell”,or “like it’s for everyone” it’s usually because:

👉 Your brand looks like everyone else
👉 Your messaging is too generic
👉 You’re focusing on features, not experiences
👉 You’re relying on discounts to drive bookings

In experience-led industries, perception = demand.
The venues that stay fully booked and experiences that sell out? 

❌ They don’t compete on price.
✅ They compete on identity.

A strong brand:
→ Increases perceived value
→ Attracts better partnerships
→ Makes marketing easier
→ Drives repeat bookings

Branding isn’t decoration.
And it’s not ‘just a logo’.

It’s a strategy.

I say this all the time, content shouldn’t just be ‘taken’ to tick a box. It should have a real purpose, drive emotion and impact your brand 👇

Last week I was back capturing content for Super Duper Family Festival - a free city-centre family festival that takes over February half term in Manchester.

This was year two of the event.
And I was invited back! 

(I guess it’s a sign the content I take does a good job 😉) 

I was tasked to create:

→Early-week wrapup to drive attendance for the week
→Vox-pop interviews with happy parents
→A BTS video of the Blue Peter TV set
→And of course, a full festival recap

🎥 Across two days of shooting I captured:

→ CBeebies Bedtime Stories at Manchester Central 
→ A silent disco, roller disco + workshops  at Aviva Studios
→ Behind-the-scenes access at Blue Peter’s TV set  
→ All 8 activity zones across the city 

If you think that’s a lot, it was.
In fact it was 20KM worth of walking around town! 

But one of my favourite moments?  

Meeting Hacker the Dog - a slightly surreal, full-circle moment, after growing up watching CBBC 📺

The thing that stood out most wasn’t the scale of the activites that were on, it was the togetherness of the city.

✨ Families dancing at Cbbebies Bedtime Stories
✨ Kids proudly showing creations (wooden spoons people) 
✨ Parents talking about having a free, joyful day in the city

That’s the message I wanted to get accross. 
And that’s exactly what each piece did. 

Four content pieces designed to do different jobs:
→  awareness
→  momentum
→  proof
→  excitement for next time.

Plus a bank of content to use to promote future events! (67.8GB of footage to be exact)

I just want to say a huge thanks and give a big credit to the CityCo & Manchester City Centre BID (Accommodation BID delivery partner) team and the wider crew for bringing it all together and putting on an amazing free event for families. 

It’s certainly something I wish was around when I was little! 

——

If you’re producing events, festivals or family experiences and want content that captures both scale and feeling - that’s exactly the work I do.

PS. If you fancy a nosey at the video, you can take a look here: https://lnkd.in/eCr4PBDH

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500K likes. 100K+ views on repeat. 
20K+ new followers in two years.

All for one event brand based in London. 

One of my clients hit a huge milestone recently - half a million likes on TikTok 🎯

I’ve worked with this brand for just over two years, supporting them across:

• TikTok strategy
• social graphics
• video & lo-fi content
• graphic design
• and ongoing optimisation

In that time, we grew the account by 20,000 followers and consistently pushed content into the 50k+ view range. 

(One post hitting 297K and another at 187K)

No viral gimmicks. 
Just a strategy that works.

So what actually drove the growth?

👇🏽 The best-performing TikTok carousel formats:

1️⃣ “What are you doing on [date]?”
Simple curiosity. Clear intent. 
Strong swipe-through rates.

2️⃣ Location-led first slides
Putting where the event is on slide one instantly qualifies the audience.

3️⃣ Two-line text. That’s it.
Clean, lo-fi, easy to consume. 
Designed for thumb-stopping, not overthinking.

The biggest takeaway?
Consistency + clarity beats overproduced content every time.

If you’re a hospitality, events or experience brand that wants real results - not vanity content - and you’re serious about growing on TikTok…

📩 Drop me a DM and let’s work together.

I spent £600 skiing for 4 days in Olso 2 weeks ago.
But their marketing almost made me think 'shall I go elsewhere'.

I'm a TikTok booker 💻 
What I mean by this is:

→ I research on TikTok
→ I plan my itinerary from UGC videos
→ I take reccommendations from users
→ I want to know the vibe before I spend £

And the resort I went to? 
❌ Didn't show the people that visit
❌ Didn't explain how to book 
❌ Didn't share the overall 'vibe'

So this is what I would do if I was to manage their marketing. 


⛷️ Phase 1 - Capture the experience properly.

→ On-mountain photography
(real guests, real weather, real atmosphere)

 → Short-form video: chairlift views, après scenes, morning corduroy

 → Micro-creators who actually ski, 
      not just pose in ski gear

Because ski trips are emotional purchases. 
People buy the feeling & belonging.


⛷️ Phase 2 - Blend organic with paid.

→ Run awareness ads before peak booking season

 → Retarget people who engaged with winter content (Manychat is a good one for this!)

 → Build anticipation, not just discounts (and make it clear how much things cost, how you can pay and set expectations)



⛷️ Phase 3 - Gather guest data

I wasn't asked ANYWHERE for my email in Olso. 

This is SO important for returning customers growth!

→ Collect emails at booking and on-site

 → Segment: families, season pass holders, weekenders, locals etc.

 → Send content that matches why they come (powder alerts vs group holidays vs family events)



⛷️  Phase 4 - Create moments worth sharing.

→ Themed après nights

 → Cool tricks on the snow parks

 → Events / photos that make guests post without being asked

 → Meme & Trending style content that people crave to make / share

Stuck for content ideas that build engagement, boost link clicks and show your overall vibe? 

📌 Download my free 70+ hooks social media guide: https://lnkd.in/e_QYdBbU

Back in September I captured a LOT of social-first live clips for a festival.

Those clips are now being rolled out across socials to build momentum for their 2026 event.

The results?

198K organic views across 7 Instagram posts.

And the interesting part?

All 7 clips had the same principles:
⚡ high-energy  
💥 SFX moments going off  
🔥 drove a sense of FOMO  
✍️ captions layered on top of the footage  
🙌 crowd shots that show scale + emotion  

Because the best event content doesn’t just show what happened.

It makes people wish they were there.

If you’re planning event coverage - or working with a videographer/content creator for your next festival, conference or live show - pre-planning these moments makes all the difference:

🎆 know exactly when SFX moments happen (pyro, confetti, cannons)  
🎵 get set times + identify the tracks that will land biggest  
🎥 position shooters both at stage AND in the crowd/pit  

The most shareable moments at live events aren’t always predictable. But the big moments often are. 

You just have to plan to catch them.

(ps. yes a kinder bueno is a festival essential for a briefing meeting 👀)

⚰️ Going on sale right away can often be a death sentence.

Look at the major players.

They announce with a teaser.
→ Driving sign ups for a ‘first glimpse’.

Sometimes festivals and events drop a lineup and STILL don’t go on sale.

Why? 

Because who’s more eager to go head to head for tickets than a database of eager, ready-to-go punters fighting for ‘limited early bird’ tickets? 

Don’t focus on the sale right away.
🎯 Focus on building hype + demand.


Because ‘early birds sold out in 24h’ sounds a lot better and more fearful than ‘tickets on sale now’.

taplio

The Battle

Niall Cleaver

Chloe Waterhouse

Followers

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The Battle

Niall Cleaver

Chloe Waterhouse

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Niall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance

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