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

For years... I thought starting small wasn’t even an option.

This year, I want to start small. You need to read this.

Everyone is so scared to start small and I was one of those people. I used to overthink about creating something big instead of worrying about starting small.

Turns out, starting small is how you build big.

It’s how you take the first step forward.
It’s how you stop overanalysing.
It’s how you actually start.

It almost feels wrong when you say it out loud.

But every successful founder and business you see today didn’t get where they are by massive moves. They got there by starting small and then scaling.

So if you’re starting a business, building a hobby, or whatever it may be… stop worrying about “scaling big” and focus on the small step that gets you going.

Growing @thistlescientific and sharing the lessons while I do

Building vs scaling a business. What's the difference?

A few years ago, I learned one of the most valuable lesson in business. I left school with qualifications that made it hard for me to get any sort of job.

Luckily, my family ran a business. I jumped in and started learning. And here’s what I learned: There’s a huge difference between building and scaling.

Building a business:

Proving the idea
Short-term survival
Doing everything yourself
Energy, speed & scrappiness

Scaling a business:

Letting go of control
Long-term decisions
Patience, systems & people
Making sure it works without you.
Alignment throughout the whole company.

Building feels exciting. Scaling feels uncomfortable. Both are essential. I didn’t realise how different they both were until I lived them.

But the one thing that never changes between both? 
The hard work that comes with it.

I just spent 2 hours yesterday in one of the best meetings of my life!!!

What about? How do we build further on our foundation?

Yesterday was a special day, do you know where you get the team together and you leave feeling excited for what's to come? That's what happened.

It's been a pretty wild couple of months for Thistle, but it always comes back to the same thing. How can we deepen the connection we can have with researchers?

The personal touch.
The real support they deserve.
The professionalism and trust they have in us.

This year, we’re looking at how we double down on that.

We’ve set some big objectives, and the whole team is ready for them. If yesterday was anything to go by, this next phase is going to be an exciting one.

We can't wait to share more on this very soon.

We’re excited to announce our new collaboration.

I'm genuinely proud of the impact we're creating in research at Thistle Scientific. It started with one clear objective to make research the best it can be, not only to impact our lives, but also to impact the lives of generations to come.

Last week was a big reminder of this as we announced our collaboration with arcorisbio AG, which will help accelerate the industrialisation and commercialisation of their breakthrough MUSE® platform.

A collaboration that will help keep the world safe.

One of the best mistakes I learned pretty quickly in business.

Thinking strategy comes first in business. But it doesn’t… 

Understanding who you’re building for is.

I’m nowhere near successful yet. But I’ve been lucky to spend time around people who definitely are. And one topic comes up over and over again: 

Strategy.

How did you come up with your strategy?
Why has your strategy been effective?
When do you adapt your strategy?

The answer usually sounds complicated.
But, it keeps coming back to one word: audience.

Before you can plan anything, you have to understand them. What do they care about? When do they need to hear from you? How do they feel when they see you show up?

This is where a lot of founders go wrong. No strategy is 100% correct. It’s custom‑made based on how well you understand the information your audience is giving you.

So copying what works in another company or industry rarely works. You’re playing a different game, with different people, at a different stage.

Strategy is an understanding game.

I used to panic hearing the word strategy in business.

It sounded complicated... but it wasn’t.

I would hear the word and be like that sounds proper technical. I'd just nod like I understood exactly what it meant, when I didn't but now I get it and it's simple.

It's just a plan.

What are the objectives?
What action will you take to hit them?
Which data tells you it's working or it isn't?

We love to make words sound more complicated than they are. 

It's easy to overcomplicate things when you hear all of the advice online but it's simpler than you think. If something isn't working don't wait, go and find the reason why.

Try something. Learn. Adapt. Evolve. Repeat.
Just enjoy the process of figuring out.

That's what business is!

When I was younger, I hesitated on the idea of working for my family business.

Today, I’m 3 years in, working alongside nearly 50 incredible people.

It’s crazy how life works. Some days you’re completely against something before you’ve even tried it…then you try it and realise it was exactly what you were meant to do.

I always had this doubt in the back of my head:
That I had to prove myself somewhere else first.

That’s why:

- I started posting on LinkedIn.
- I kept looking for “my own thing”.
- I started learning more about business.

Now it feels like all of that happened so I could come back better and help continue to grow a business I genuinely care about. But this growth has hardly been me. It’s been the team I get to work with every single day.

A few things this has taught me:

- Don’t write something off until you’ve actually tried it.
- You can prove yourself elsewhere, but always bring the knowledge back

So don't resist an opportunity just because it didn't fit your picture in that specific moment of your life. It might be worth taking a closer look.

Stop listening to too much advice.

Read that again... throughout my journey, I've fallen for many distractions. Stuff that didn't feel right personally, and so many of us are going through this.

There's advice here, there and everywhere.

And it's very hard to know which is the right or wrong advice, and you know what you'll never really know. The only way to find out is to...

Listen to your gut and try.

In a world full of advice after advice, trust yourself first. 
There's no right or wrong way to do anything.

If it works, it works!

P.S. Have a little day in the life vid

Founder at Rocket: Get B2B clients on autopilot

Hey there 👋

Are you looking to build a quality (and sustainable) B2B sales pipeline?

While building a personal brand that clearly positions as the go-to solution to your client's problem.

At Rocket - We mainly help CEOs and Founders achieve predictable growth, build authority, and close more deals. At a very affordable pricing structure.

Modern sales is becoming increasingly complicated.

Traditional outreach methods are less effective, meaning the need for targeted, relationship-driven selling on platforms like LinkedIn is greater than ever.

Our core belief driving our mission is that authentic, relationship-driven selling is the most effective way to build trust, stay top of mind, and drive sustainable business growth.

HOW WE WORK?

We offer 2 LinkedIn services.

1️⃣ LinkedIn Personal Branding

This is a 4-month contract, but the first month is FREE.

Then it's £500 a month, until you cancel.

→ Positions you as the solution to your client's problem by creating a clear and consistent brand narrative
→ We manage your campaign using Notion. This gives you transparency to how we work, as well as the opportunity to collaborate on the content we produce for you

The content strategy is broken down into 3 sections:

✅ Inspiring: Clarifying the problem that you solve
✅ Educating: Helpful content that educates people on your solution
✅ Entertaining: Authentic storytelling

(Typically the stronger your brand, the easier it will be to get meetings with better leads, and convert clients at the meetings)

2️⃣ Pipeline Management

The first month is FREE.

MONTH 1: BUILD

→ Strategic positioning consultation
→ Core messaging consultation
→ Targeting + Formatting lead list
→ LinkedIn profile optimisation
→ Calendar support

MONTH 2: WARM-UP

→ Strategically begin connecting and messaging your ICPs

MONTH 3-7: GROW

→ Managing your replies
→ Nurturing and Follow ups
→ Coaching you on how to present effectively at the meeting

✅ With personal brand:

£150 a month.

❌ Without personal brand:

£300 a month.

Taz Burwaiss

Most B2B brands claim they believe in storytelling.

Very few are willing to commit to what that actually requires.

Most startup brands don't lack a compelling story or valuable insights.

The real challenge is discipline.

→ They change messaging before the market even understands it
→ They rotate narratives before trust has time to form
→ They confuse internal fatigue with external saturation

Here's the uncomfortable truth:

If your team is tired of your story, your audience is probably just starting to notice it.

✅ What real brand storytelling requires:

→ Saying the same thing over and over again, even when you're probably bored with it yourself
→ Holding your position while the market chases the next shiny idea
→ Trusting repetition over constant reinvention

Most brands don't fail because they pick the wrong story.

They fail because they abandon it too early.

Consistency feels slow.

Repetition feels uncreative.

Discipline feels restrictive.

And yet, it's the only thing that builds trust and memorability over time.

The brands we remember didn't win by surprising us every quarter.

They won by teaching us who they were, patiently and relentlessly.

Same belief. Same point of view. Different moments.

That's not playing it safe.

That's playing the long game.

↓

P.S. Boost your B2B sales with Rocket: An affordable LinkedIn social selling partner. We’ll position you as the go-to solution through consistent content, while strategically connecting with your ICPs. Want to know more? Let’s chat.

Taz Burwaiss 🚀

Helping you get more attention, trust, & sales.

Your brand story shouldn’t just be sunshine and rainbows. 

You need negatives to accentuate the positives. 

It's your authenticity that allows others to relate to you.

And helps you form more meaningful bonds.

When you share your imperfections, you become more approachable and human.

People see that you're not perfect, and that gives them the psychological safety to open up.

They’ll feel less intimidated and more willing to connect.

Your weaknesses don't detract from your value.

They add to your character depth.

The most inspirational leaders aren't flawless superheroes, but real people who have overcome adversity.

So don't be afraid to let your guard down and allow others to truly know you.

It's your willingness to be vulnerable that will ultimately allow you to forge stronger and more meaningful relationships.

Agree?

Q. Is there a brand you admire specifically because of its authentic messaging? Let me know in the comments.

taplio

The Battle

Niall Cleaver

Taz Burwaiss

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreNiall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreTaz Burwaiss's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Niall Cleaver

Taz Burwaiss

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

Performance ScoreTaz Burwaiss's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreNiall Cleaver's LinkedIn Performance