Rory McLaughlan

Shirt in a Box

Founder of Shirt in a Box, the world's leading Mystery Football Shirt Retailer. 

In the space of 18 months, we grew from a bedroom start up to a hyper growth business, with over 2.7 million recorded in revenue and 70,000 in sales.

Founder

Numbers Game

Director

Rory's Football Shirts

Originally selling vintage football jerseys on online marketplaces, including Depop & Ebay, grew into a brand with 10,000 followers and a succesful website.

What initially started as a hobby way back in March 2020 when the UK entered a lockdown, would turn into over 2000 sales.

Business Owner

Hello! I’m Rory, the founder of Shirt in a Box and I’m on a mission to disrupt the football industry.

After setting up my first business at 17, I developed a huge passion for entrepreneurship, especially around what I live and breathe… Football. 

Fast forward to now, I have over over 70,000 sales & counting through two businesses, a team of 10 and collaborations with some major partners across the football industry. 

Shirt in a Box offers football fans a unique experience like no other. Once purchased, they are sent a high quality mystery football shirt. This allows customers to get a new shirt they may not have been aware of and clubs get their kit in to the hands of a different audience - it’s a win win! 

Through running 2 businesses, I have built a large entrepreneurial skillset including social media advertising (both organic & paid), management, supply chain and logistical management.

In my down time I’m a Web 3.0 enthusiast, a crypto investor and I play football semi-professionally, winning multiple Irish cups at youth level.

Feel free to send me a dm to chat all things business and football!

Founder of Shirt in a Box, the worlds leading Mystery Football Shirt Retailer. 

In the space of 18 months, we grew from a bedroom start up to a hyper growth business, with over 2.7 million recorded in revenue and 70,000 in sales.

A HUGE moment for Shirt in a Box!

Thanks to Gary and the Stick to Football team for a mention on this week's episode!⚽️

We loved hearing Jill Scott was a fan of her Bari top from us - clearly great taste! As for Roy...let's just say his reaction was a little less enthusiastic (no surprise there😅).

Either way, we'll take it!

Disrupting the Sport Industry / Founder of Shirt in a Box

It was great to catch up with Gary Neville yesterday & show him the progress we’ve made since we last met. 

10 months ago he took an interest in what we were building at Shirt in a Box & decided to share it with the world on Stick to Football - that kindness has helped open our eyes to what’s possible, and propelled us to greater heights. 

Congratulations on yesterday Gary Neville - a great occasion & fitting ceremony. Thank you to Queen's University Belfast for helping to facilitate this opportunity. 

The journey is still only getting started.

LinkedIn, I need your help.

Our box manufacturer has just burned us. Original timeline: delivery before Black Friday. New timeline: after Christmas.

We need 30,000 boxes urgently:

📦 Diecut

📦 Printed one colour

📦 330mm x 247mm x 19mm

📦 12mm DS tape rip seal

I know this is ridiculously late notice. But Black Friday is our biggest moment of the year and we can't let our customers down.

If you know a factory with capacity or have any connections in packaging/manufacturing, please DM me or comment below.

Any shares massively appreciated. There's got to be someone out there who can help.

We've worked too hard on this Black Friday to let boxes be the thing that stops us.

I love working at the Christmas Market, even if it's only a few hours once a week.
 
Why? It gives you a great insight into your customer & product that you can't get online...
 
I found out we were too cheap at the Christmas market last year.
 
We were charging £40 for mystery boxes when they're £45 online. We changed to match online prices on day 2, and finished 25% up on the previous year.
 
The market gives you real feedback you'd never get sitting online.

We purposely go 'late' with our Black Friday deal. We launch tomorrow, the Wednesday of Black Friday week.
 
Increasingly, I see brands going early, usual with the idea that if you don't, your potential customer will have spent all their money by the time Black Friday rolls around.
 
However, to make it work you have to run about 4 different offers across the promotion. Each one progressively getting better, and as a result decreasing your margin.
 
In my opinion, it's a lot of effort, for similar returns (according to those who can see the data across multiple brands like Stuart Worgan) as one mega offer on Black Friday week.

I posted about our box supplier crisis last week. 30+ shares, flooded with DMs. Fred Lill came through. Boxes arriving just after Black Friday.

Grateful for everyone who helped. A reminder of the power of building in public.

Other stuff I discussed in EP14 of Building the Box…

Christmas market opened with our best weekend ever.

Visited our first claw machine in Sheffield at Yardball (class venue - street football mini golf). 200 plays in week one.

Flew to Manchester to meet suppliers. The progress from one in-person meeting beats six months of emails.

Testing Australia/New Zealand markets. Early signs promising.

Black Friday strategy: Everyone goes early with 10 offers. We go late with 1 killer bundle. Similar results from what I’ve seen, less complexity.

Full episode now on

YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ed7iRrGC

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e-Z5uNQE

Interested in how Shirt in a Box gets a shoutout on one of the UK’s biggest football podcasts?

In Episode 16, I break down how we featured on Stick to Football, chat about the whirlwind of Black Friday sales, and share why taking new staff out for lunch is our secret to building trust (and having a laugh).
 
Whether you’re a football fan, a startup enthusiast, or just love a good underdog story, this one’s for you.
 
Watch & listen now:
▶️ YouTube: https://lnkd.in/eRimwNMF
🎧 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eFK5FVxT

Open video: EP16: How we got on Stick to Football, New Staff & Black Friday Madness on youtu.be

EP16: How we got on Stick to Football, New Staff & Black Friday Madness

The Despatch Company

About The Despatch Company

The Despatch Company is a dynamic collective of forward-thinking brands designed to support, scale, and empower modern businesses through innovative logistics, tech, and community solutions. With a sharp focus on excellence and sustainability, we operate across three key subsidiaries, Helm, Voila, and Nuero, each addressing a unique segment of the evolving commerce landscape.

Helm is our operations and fulfillment powerhouse, delivering agile, reliable warehousing and dispatch solutions tailored to D2C and B2B brands.

Voila is our curated logistics concierge, offering same-day and next-day delivery with a premium experience, designed for brands that put customer delight first.

Nuero is our intelligence and insights engine, leveraging data and tech to optimize performance, identify growth opportunities, and drive smarter decision-making across the supply chain.

My Role: Head of Partnerships and Events

As Head of Partnerships and Events, I’m responsible for building and nurturing strategic relationships that drive growth, visibility, and impact across all three brands. I lead our efforts to create meaningful collaborations with like-minded businesses, platforms, and communities, while curating and executing events that position The Despatch Company and its subsidiaries as thought leaders and innovators in the logistics and e-commerce space. My work bridges strategy and storytelling, ensuring every partnership and event delivers value, relevance, and long-term momentum.

Head of Partnerships & Events

Digital Clubhouse

I’m the Co-Founder and Co-Host, of Digital Clubhouse, a new event series based in Leeds but firmly built for the digital community. 

The premise is simply, to fill a luxury cinema, inside a luxury co-working space, with agencies, tech partners, brands, retailers and businesses. 

Our intentions are to have events that are high in content, top tier in attendees and class in ambience. 

Mission; to bring something to the North that everyone in the South would be even proud of 💪🏻

Co-Founder & Co-Host

The Digital Facilitators

The Digital Facilitators was created because finding the right agency takes too much time. Most agencies are not proficient in all the areas you need to succeed. 

With over 50 elements to the marketing landscape, it takes too long to find the right people, at the right price to do the job well.

Alan and the team are here to make your life easier, by offering a free consultation to understand your needs and place you in front of the right agency, every time.

With zero cost to you and the benefit of saving internal resources, the team, will find the agency for you and make sure they are the perfect fit for your digital journey.

All sectors, budgets, and timelines are welcome to a free consultation.

I have also consulted for tech firms such as Revend and The Next Level, helping them both break into the UK and European markets, via partnerships and lead generation tactics.

Janitor (Cleaning Up The Mess)

Mancave MKT PLC

Welcome to ManCaveMktplc – the ultimate one-stop destination for everything your ManCave (or She Shed) needs. From kitted-out gaming dens to backyard bars, we’re building the biggest and best community for personal spaces across the UK.

With a growing audience of over 650,000 enthusiasts, we’re not just a marketplace — we’re a movement. Our mission is simple: save you time by curating the coolest, most unique gear all in one place. Whether it’s furniture, tech, lighting, bar gear, or collectibles, if it belongs in a ManCave, it’ll be here.

We’re actively looking for:

Suppliers who want to get in front of a passionate, ready-to-buy audience.

TikTok Shop Live presenters with their own ManCave or She Shed to showcase products in action.

And this is just the beginning. We’ve got some exciting community groups launching soon, including one dedicated to raising money for men’s mental health and prostate cancer support.

This isn’t just a store,  it’s a movement.
Let’s build something legendary together.

Alan Pilkington, Co-Founder
ManCaveMktplc

Co-Founder

Bobble Digital LTD

Business Development Director with the aim to continue to grow Bobble Digital's client base 

Award Winning Digital Marketing Agency Bobble Digital. I support business growth online, whether your B2B or B2C we work with International, National and Local Businesses to help them reach their desired audiences to drive more sales and revenue. We have an agile approach using our own methodology which gets proven results.

The core services that we offer are Marketing Strategy, PPC (Pay-Per-Click), SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), Paid Social (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok etc), Video Advertising, Display Marketing and Analytics. 

Want to know how to maximise your online presence, then reach out to myself and team for a Free Digital Marketing Strategy. www.bobbledigital.com

Business Development Director 

Bidnamic

Bidnamic is a marketing technology platform that helps retailers unlock the full potential of Google Shopping.
 
Our platform helps retailers to outrank competitors, increasing revenue and market share – in short, it gives you an “unfair advantage” on Google Shopping. 
 
BidNamic achieves this by applying machine learning to profile every single product SKU in your catalogue, predicting its optimal bid value algorithmically. Real-time performance analysis and high-frequency bid management increase the efficiency of your ad spend, decrease costs per acquired customer, and enables the full revenue potential of every product. 

While scaling our own eCommerce store we encountered the same problems faced by all retailers of over or underbidding on Google Shopping at the individual product level, thus BidNamic was born. 

We are now working with a selected group of established leading retailers for which we are already delivering 60%+ increases in revenue and are backed and supported by notable Investors; including board advisors to Net-A-Porter, Co-Founder of Booking.com - thought leaders at Google, IBM and founders of many of today‘s fastest growing companies.

Senior Business Development Manager

Google

● I have been working for Google/Capita for over 6.5 years now as an Agency Account Manager
for the South African, Australia and UK markets.
● I deal with a portfolio of 60+ digital advertising agencies and their clients. My role is to help
them on-board new acquisitions and sustain those accounts.
● I teach, train and educate the agencies on how to pitch all of Google’s PPC products, such as
Google Search, GDN, YouTube, Mobile, GSP ads (g-mail), Google Shopping and re-
marketing products.
● I previously set up a beta test to help them pitch to groups of potential clients rather than an
individual basis so we can have a higher sign up ratio. (This is used throughout the
department) As well as delivering co-pitches to high potential acquisitions.
● Over the last few years I have not only been the top performer in my team but also one of the
top performers in my unit as a whole.
● In the last year I have shared my pitching techniques to over 25 % of my colleagues which
have yielded great results for the business.
● In 2016 I finally hit a personal goal to bring in $1M+ in new revenue.
● I am also fully Google Certified.

Business Development Manager

Regtransfers

● I went on to make the company over £250,000+ in my only year of working there.
● My job entailed inbound and outbound sales calls to generate revenue.
● Conducting negotiations between buyers and sellers
● I was targeted to make the company a minimum of £22,250 in a five week period.
● My best performance was in December 2010 when I made the company just under £42,000.

Sales Negotiator

CEO & Founder | Business Development Director | Consultant | Partnerships Manager | ex Google

With over 15 years of experience in the digital market, I have launched The Digital Facilitators, a company that connects businesses with the best digital agencies for their goals and budgets. I leverage my extensive network and expertise in digital marketing to offer a free consultation and a tailored solution for each client, saving them time and resources.

Previously, I was a Business Development Director at Bobble Digital, an award-winning digital marketing agency that provides services in marketing strategy, PPC, SEO, paid social, video advertising, display marketing, and analytics. I supported business growth online for B2B and B2C clients across various sectors and regions, using an agile approach and a proven methodology. I also have a background in fintech, e-commerce, and Google Shopping, having worked with some of the fastest-growing and largest brands in the industry. I am passionate about helping businesses succeed online and achieve their desired outcomes.

Alan Pilkington 🍀

Christmas has come early 💪☘️

I’ve secured a fantastic new role starting next month, where all will be revealed 

This one will be a power play 🥰

Have a fantastic day everyone 

#partnerships #ecommece #newjob

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What a way to end the year 

Last week, we had the final Digital Clubhouse of 2025 

Then night before We Take Flight - Shopify Agency had the pre party, which was excellent 

So let’s recap the year; 

- 9 episodes  
- 93% ticket sales 
- 32 incredible speakers 
- £2,000 for Chasing the Stigma and                        Prostate Cancer UK raised 
- 2,594 hit drinks consumed 
- £900 amazon voucher giveaway 
- Food donated to the homeless 
- Some of the best raw content filmed 

The list goes on, but what started as a dream in my head 18 months ago, to a UK wide talked about event, I can’t believe it 🥰

None of this would have been possible on my own, so I’m delighted I roped in 🦁Tony Conte and Mat O'Connor to be my co-hosts 

It’s no mean feat doing what we have this year and we will be back for 2026, we with some new twists on what we deliver 

So as we say goodbye to 2025, 2026 is now up and running for sponsors and speakers, BUT you need to join the list quick as it’s already a page long 💪☘️

Thanks again to all of our sponsors, Athos Commerce, TheNextLevel, Producthero, SHOPLINE, Bobble Digital LTD, Sett Mortgages, ThePlaceToBe, Ecommpay, Diginius, Corefinity and the team Salesfire 

You all rule, enjoy BFCM this week 

#events #partnerships #thenorth #digitalmarketing #speakingslots

15 years since my mentor and father moved up in the world, literally ⛅️ 👼 

If you want to know why I’m hard working and give all to give my family a future, it’s because it’s what my dad did for 6 of us, kids 💪🥰☘️

This man was up at 5-6am his whole life just so we could have a good life, and he managed to build his empire off £50 🤯

So if you want to see what a hard working man, just look at Alan, no not me, my dad was also called Alan and I’m proud to bare his full name 

I can’t wait to get going in my new role and work hard for my new company, I can barely contain myself to share who it is next Friday the 5th of December 

Which so happens to be my dads birthday, really weird coincidence ❤️

I hope this resonates with others out there

Have a great day 💪☘️

#mentor #workhard #livelifetothefull

What a stunner 

This is me in 2008 - 2009 during a massive recession, long hair, no fashion sense, overweight, smoker and boozer, oh and 💯 single 🤣

I was not appealing to anyone

Then something big happened, in 2009, a week before I was moving back to Ireland 🇮🇪 👀

I met someone, I got a job, I moved out of a house share, got a hair cut, lost weight, became more focussed on life 

Then digital marketing found me and I’ve never left, I felt this was a place to be happy, to help companies grow, to have purpose again 

At the moment the industry has its issues and that’s why over the last 6 weeks of interviews and opportunities I was careful and when I wanted to end up next 

Not drinking over the last 47 days has massively helped have a clear head to what’s important to me and that is still helping brands and retailers grow 

My new job will be agency partnerships manager, which is perfect for me, where, I’ll tell you all soon 

But for now, focus is on planning for Digital Clubhouse for 2026, where sponsors and speakers options are open 💪☘️

Loving life and loving this community 🥰

#mindset #events #partnerships #ecommerce #digitalmarketing

We did it… 

At the start of the year we promise to put on a; 

- Great event series ✅
- Deliver great content ✅
- Sell out most of the days ✅
- Raise £2,000 for charity by donating all ticket sales to Chasing the Stigma and Prostate Cancer UK ✅✅✅

We have firm plans for next year, and we are going aim for £4,000 for the charities, as a minimum, so possibly more 

This is where we need you, yes you, the brands, retailers and sponsors that made this year possible 💪☘️🥰

Get in Touch if yoy are keen to speak and support

Full disclosure, not one brand got paid in the process, and that was them helping us raise this money

So a huge thank you to you all, Elissa Corrigan, Russell Bisset, Lucie Macleod, Scott Browne, Mitchell Tamcken and Janis Thomas just to name a few 

We have 16 slots, 8 for challenger brands and 8 for growth brands or retailers 

Let’s gooooooooo 💪💪💪

#events #partnerships #thenorth

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Alan Pilkington 🍀

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The Battle

Rory McLaughlan

Alan Pilkington 🍀

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