Scot Chisholm & Co. 

Every week I tackle management, operations & startup topics that are helping 100,000+ people become better leaders.

Scot’s Newsletter

Highland

Highland is a “school” & community for founders. If you're a founder/CEO, we should talk!

Founder & Chief Professor

Tall Timbers Holding Co.

A family office and holding company with wholly owned businesses, private investments, and property holdings.

Managing Director & Founder

GoFundMe

After the merger of Classy and GoFundMe, I’ve taken on a strategic advisory role to the CEO & executive team, mainly focused on longer-range product strategy and M&A

Strategic Advisor, GoFundMe & Classy

Classy

Founder & Strategic Advisor (Acq. by GoFundMe, 2022)

Founder & Chairman

Classy is a SaaS giving platform that powers the fundraising of over 10,000 nonprofit organizations. Classy is a certified B-Corp, has a team of 300+ people and has raised over $5 billion for social good since 2011.

CEO & Founder

In Classy’s earliest days, we hosted large scale fundraising events with the goal of connecting millennials with local nonprofits in the San Diego area.

CEO & Founder (pre tech company)

Haskill Creek

Haskill Creek is a new type of self-care store. Imagine a healthier & more holistic version of a Walgreens or CVS. Family owned business.

Co-Founder

ALBION SC

Albion Soccer Club is one of the top youth soccer franchises in the United States with over 10,000 players and hundreds of teams across the country.

Co-Owner

Save Farmland

Save Farmland is a nonprofit organization with a mission to protect and promote small farms in Flathead Valley, Montana, and beyond.

Abundant Montana

Board Member

AERO Montana

Abundant Montana (a program of Aero), makes it easy for anyone to find and choose local food in Montana.

Advisory Board

CEO, Highland & Haskill Creek • Founder of Classy (acq. by GoFundMe) • Founder of nonprofit, Save Farmland

Multi-time founder but operator at heart. 

Industrial engineer and lean six sigma nerd by training. 

Now I write about management, operations & startup topics that are helping 200,000+ people become better leaders.

scotchisholm.com/newsletter


MY BACKGROUND ————— 

🚀 Founder of Classy, a SaaS platform for 10k+ nonprofits raising billions per year. 

🎗️Acquired by GoFundMe in ‘22 to create the largest giving platform in the world. Together we’ve raised over $30 billion for individual & nonprofit causes. 

🏔️ Founder of Highland, a private community & leadership “school” for high-potential founders. 

🏡 Co-founder of Haskill Creek, a much healthier version of a Walgreens or CVS. 

🧑🏼‍🌾 Founder of Save Farmland, a nonprofit protecting local farmland. 

⚽️ Co-owner of Albion Soccer Club, top youth soccer club in country

❤️ Board experience: Nature Conservancy, Abundant Montana, Team Rubicon, Street Soccer USA, Montana Pediatric Cancer Foundation 


👇 WAYS TO CONNECT —————

→ Podcast / speaking oppty? email: partner@scotchisholm.com

→ Join my free newsletter: https://scotchisholm.com/newsletter-linkedin-profile

→ Check out my private community for founders: www.joinhighland.com

Scot Chisholm

Sh*tty managers ruin lives. 
Great managers change them. 

I’ve managed hundreds of people over the last 20 years. 

One of my biggest takeaways is the massive difference between an average manager and a truly great one. 

But, here’s the truth:

No one starts out as a great manager (literally no one). 

And, becoming a great manager can be learned by anyone. 

Just focus on these 12 habits:

1/ Provide business context
2/ Set high standards
3/ Take full ownership
4/ Focus (then focus again)
5/ Create operating cohesion 
6/ Lead with data
7/ But be decisive 
8/ Let your team make decisions
9/ Don’t give sh*tty feedback
10/ Take feedback like an adult
11/ Listen more than you talk
12/ Always be learning

The gap in quality managers is large, but the right behaviors are simple. 

Focus on these 12 habits daily and you’ll be ahead of 99%. 

What habits resonated most?
Let me know in the comments 👇

⁂

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Operator & Investor • Founder of Classy (acq. by GoFundMe) • Building Highland, Just, Haskill Creek

12 insanely simple habits to become a high performing mana

Leadership is misunderstood.

Building Classy taught me that the best leaders aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest titles, or the ones who can charm a room.

Some of the best leaders in our 300+ person company were individual contributors at the very bottom of the org chart. Young managers. First-time team leads.

Over the years I started noticing what made these unlikely leaders so effective. They had traits that, quite honestly, my executives lacked at times. Including me.

Over time I boiled them down to 10 core traits that our best leaders always exhibited. It’s no surprise they rose fast within the company. Many are still there today, 15 years later.  

The very best leaders: 

• Clarify - Never assume everyone understands
• Believe - Push forward when everyone doubts
• Adapt - Evolve rapidly without ego
• Anticipate - Solve problems before they explode
• Persist - Get kicked in the teeth, get up anyway
• Empower - Create leaders, not followers
• Own - Own failures without excuses
• Hold the line - When quality dips and others compromise
• Always Learn - Learn and grow faster than the company
• Lead by Example - Live values when no one's watching

Most leaders start off strong in a few, but not all of these traits. You must intentionally develop them over time. It's a lifelong thing. 

But many executives forget this. Maybe they were great once. But they start slipping. They stop learning. They get cocky. I've seen this too many times. 

I don't care where you’re at in your career. Keep these traits in mind. And never stop developing them. 

⁂

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Top 10 traits of the very best leaders:

Every high performance culture starts with this… 

I recently asked a founder about his culture. And he started talking about free lunches and other perks. 

This is not culture. 

He was a coaching client of mine, so I nicely explained… 

Here's what real culture looks like: 
→ A shared purpose. Everyone understands and resonates with the 'Why'.

→ Excitement about the future. The vision is clear to all and it creates an almost kid-like excitement about the future.

→ Strong empathy and trust. Great orgs know if you neglect empathy, trust evaporates.

→ The correct level of accountability. People know you're building a championship team.

→ Mutual respect and encouragement. High performers have admiration for each other.

→ Hunger to learn and improve. Without being asked. That's the diet of champions.

→ Aligned financial incentives. Compensation that's aligned to the organization's top goals.

→ Career mobility. Lots of opportunity, with clear expectations around advancement.

→ Work-life balance. Clear boundaries that are enforced across the org.

→ Pride in the work. Numbers one through nine create an amazing sense of pride. You'll find yourself bragging about work to complete strangers.


When you get the culture right, people are excited to show up, employees self-manage, and retention is extremely high. 

And great business results naturally follow.

 ⁂

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10 signs of great culture.

Most people waste their leadership meetings. 

Do this instead: 

When I was building Classy I got this meeting wrong for years. We’d talk about everything BUT the important stuff. Too much time wasted on low-level “issues”. Too many tangents and distractions. Everyone left feeling:

• Confused
• Misaligned 
• Unaccountable

I talked to advisors and scoured the internet for help. But it took loads of trial and error to land on a meeting structure that actually worked. We stuck with it for nearly ten years. 

One of the major improvements was focus. Teams spend months setting goals only to let them collect dust. Your leadership meeting should be your #1 checkpoint for progress. 

Once we got “tight at the top” as a leadership team, everything started to change. More results, less talk. It became the tip of the spear of our entire operating rhythm.

To this day, I call it your most important meeting. If I only had one, it’d be the leadership meeting. 

The entire leadership team meeting structure is in the carousel. Copy it for your own company and let me know what you think. 

⁂

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How to nail your  leadership meeting every time:

This is the part of leadership no one prepares you for…

Going from IC to manager is hard.

But becoming a manager of managers is brutal. 

You’re no longer managing the work… you’re managing the people who manage the work.

Vanilla management advice no longer works. Instead, focus on these 7 things:

→ Provide clarity and context. If they don’t have context, they can’t give context. And their teams will be flying blind. Make sure your managers always know: Why are we here? Where are we going? How are we doing? Your job is to arm them with the information they need to lead.

→ Work through, not around. When someone skips your manager and comes to you with a problem, resist the urge to solve it on the spot. This robs your manager of the chance to learn and improve themselves. Listen. Ask questions. Then loop your manager in to address it. Build leverage through them, not around them.

→ Set a team rhythm. Establish a recurring cadence with your managers. Weekly or bi-weekly team meetings work best. Create a high-performance environment that focuses on progress against goals. But feels safe for the managers to help each other, unblock projects and always stay aligned.

→ Create additional checkpoints. Checkpoints ensure your managers stay on top of things. Your early warning system. 1x1s for coaching and calibration. Quarterly reviews for deep dives. Occasional skip-levels to stay connected. But don’t overdo your 1 on 1s. Great managers shouldn’t need tons of special attention.

→ Don’t do their job for them. When your manager is struggling, it’s tempting to pick up their slack. Don’t. They need to own the outcome fully. You can coach them, help connect the dots, resource things. But don’t do the work for them. They’ll never develop into a strong manager this way.

→ Create P2P accountability. Peer-to-peer accountability is stronger than top-down. Great managers don’t want to let their peers down. Review each other’s goals. Share progress openly. Set standards together. Your team helps you keep the bar up for everyone.

→ Avoid over trusting. It’s tempting to say: “They’re experienced, they’ll figure it out.” This is blind faith. When a manager is sending off smoke signals through any of the prior steps. Missing goal after goal. Showing up weak at checkpoints. With no correction on the horizon. It’s time to take action. Don’t trust forever. The buck still stops with you.

⁂ 

Putting it all together... 

How to manage managers: 

• Provide context
• Work through manager
• Set team rhythm
• Create checkpoints 
• Don't' do their job
• Create p2p accountability 
• Avoid over-trusting

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How to manage managers (even as a newbie)

Most people think goals fail because the team screwed up. 

They’re wrong. 

99% of goals fail because of poor leadership.

It doesn’t matter what framework you use…

→ OKRs
→ Rocks
→ SMART

If you’re sloppy with your approach, the company won’t hit its goals. 

That’s on you. 

I learned this the hard way, running a company with hundreds of people. 

Now I see it working with nearly 100 CEOs across all industries. 

Here are 7 non-negotiable rules that will make your goal-setting 10x better…

(regardless of your framework) 

⁂

Rule 1 –  
Focus (then focus again):

• Maximum three goals, period
• Goals aren't task lists
• Everything priority = nothing priority

Rule 2 – 
Always be measurable: 

• Three metrics maximum per goal
• Measure outcomes, not tasks
• "$1M ARR" beats "update deck"

Rule 3 – 
Challenging but realistic: 

• Impossible goals kill momentum
• Stretch without delusion
• No sandbagging, mutual accountability

Rule 4 – 
Never forget the ‘why’: 

• No context leaves team guessing
• Each goal deserves a 'why'
• 1-3 sentence rationale

Rule 5 – 
Track consistently:

• Break annual into monthly
• Weekly red/yellow/green updates
• Never leave dashboards stale

Rule 6 – 
Create accountability:

• Use leadership meeting
• Address every yellow or red
• 20% status, 80% solving

Rule 7 – 
Align incentives:

• Pay goals to comp
• Ignore the OKR purists
• Bonus plan is perfect for this

Does this resonate? 
What rules would you add?
Let me know in the comments 👇

 ⁂

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How to actually achieve your company goals in 2026

If there's one thing you do on Linkedin today... 

I'd be forever grateful if you'd consider applying, or sharing this role with someone you really respect. 

Christopher Himes & I started dreaming up this company about a year ago.  Now the dream has turned to reality. 

With a fresh round, a tiny team of insane talent, and a massive opportunity in front of us... 

We. are. ready. to. go!

Who wants to join us? 

p.s. We're not listing this company as "stealth" because that's dumb. But you'll learn way more about the market, opportunity and product when you apply. Trust me its badass. 

🔥

I Build Companies That Sell For Millions And Teach Founders How to Do the Same

Pre-order my new book in my featured section. ⬇️

1994:  Born in London and sent to live in Ghana.
Age 11: Came back to South London living on a 4th floor council estate.
Age 14: Started tutoring biz. Made £500 (woop).
Age 17: Started EntrepreneurXpress (sold for £110,000 wooop).
Age 21: Started Fanbytes with my friends in uni.
Age 21 - 27: A blur. Grew the team to 80 people, raised $2m in funding. Won clients like Deliveroo, Samsung and the UK Government.
Age 27: Sold the company to independent agency Brainlabs in a multi 8 figure deal (wooooop).
Age 29: Brokered two more business exits.
Age 30:  Building more sellable companies with great founders.

_

Two years ago, I started writing the book I wish I had when I was 18. 

Growing up I had big dream but also bigger doubts.

→ I didn’t know how to start. I didn’t know who to call,
→ I didn’t know if I was even capable.

That’s why I wrote 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠𝘰𝘶?.

Eleven chapters, each one a cheat code. Things like

→ How to build a network from nothing.
→ How to stop living by other people’s scorecards.
→ How to take action before you feel ready.

These are the same cheat codes that took me from being an anxious, self doubting, self hating kid in South London… 

...to building and selling a company for tens of millions, and now running a portfolio that does £47 million a year.

I wrote this book for one reason: to help you get out of your own way.

What’s Stopping You is available to pre-order now. And I’d be grateful if you did.

Everything I wish I knew when I started.

Pre-order the book in the featured section. ⬇️

Timothy Armoo

Most people think they missed their shot.

The smart ones made their own.

Let’s be really clear about something.

You’re not unmotivated.
You’re just waiting to feel ready.

Truth is: You’re stuck because you’re still waiting for the green light.

There’s a moment where FINALLY you say, “I’m done waiting.”

And nothing else matters.
Nothing is going to hold you back.

Here’s the real cheat code:
The biggest unfair advantage is your ability to take action.

Start broke.
Start unsure.
Start scared.

But start.

Start today.


♻️ This hit? Repost to help another entrepreneur
🔔 Follow me Timothy Armoo if you’re the person who starts anyway

Join My Book Launch For FREE On January 10th In My Featured Section ⬇️

If you want to make money, go niche.

Earlier this week I went to a Teachable creator event, and what I saw was wild.

It reminded me just how much power there is in niches.

A few examples:

1. A guy had built a dog-training community so specific that his content was tailored to individual dog breeds. The more specific the breed, the higher the conversions. A whole operation built on hyper-niche dog behaviour.

2. A woman teaching Excel had quietly amassed 30,000 students on Teachable alone!!

3. A ton of language communities with people building MASSIVE communities around helping people learn languages.

Where there is passion, there is community.
Where there is community, there is a business.

I’ve believed for a long time that this is the future of marketing.

Seeing it up close made me even more certain.

Smart move by Teachable to lean into what I think is the next era of online business.


P.S. If you're building something in a niche community/interest, I'd love to chat.

#TeachablePartner

Pre-Order My New Book “What’s Stopping You?” In My Featured Section ⬇️

This is what they don’t teach you in school.

(11 lessons about building, scaling, and exiting businesses)

I asked 11 of my millionaire friends for their best advice to make more money.

This is what they said 👇



P.S. I’ve got something incredible for you…

On January 10th, myself, Lara Acosta, Chris Donnelly, Daniel Priestley, Simon Squibb, Tim Campbell, Kit Chilvers, and more are hosting the UK’s BIGGEST live event for my book 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂?

→ Win £10,000 in funding
→ Learn from 7 world-class speakers
→ Any question you have (with VIP)
→ Get a TON of pre-order bonuses

Get your free ticket: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

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Trish Adudu - bbc | LinkedIn

I Asked 11 Millionaires For Their Best Advice

Africa has the highest rate of entrepreneurship in the world.

1-in-3 people is either starting or running a business.

But a lot of business also fail, because most are doing it without a map. There’s limited infrastructure, no playbook, and a lack of mentorship.

That’s why I’m deeply honoured to speak at TEDx in Kampala in 2 weeks.

Not because of the stage.
But because of what the stage stands for - helping people who have started despite everything.

I grew up in Ghana. My neighbour sold secondhand jeans from her front room. My uncle ran a small restaurant by the side of the road.

Everyone was figuring it out in real time.

Since I came back to London when I was 10, I built and exited a company in an 8-figure deal. I hired 100+ people. I made every mistake in the book.

This talk is my way of giving back.

To show what's possible.

And to show that nothing is truly stopping you.


P.S. Have you ever been to Uganda? Send me your recommendations!

This brand reached $1.4B valuation by just selling water.

In beer cans with skulls.

(save this post for later)

Liquid Death didn’t ride trends.

It hijacked them.

→ Skull cans
→ Metal riffs
→ The tagline “Murder Your Thirst”

They didn’t win because of ads or influencers. It won because it rewired how people see the category.

It’s viral branding that meets anti-corporate energy.

Most founders would’ve killed the idea before launch.

Wrong packaging.
Wrong tone.
Wrong price.

And yet…

That’s what makes this one worth studying. Not copying (it hit completely flat in the UK), but definitely worth studying.

This 4-step playbook turns your weird into your secret weapon... 👇


♻️ Repost to help another entrepreneur
🔔 Follow Timothy Armoo for frameworks to make more money

This $1.4 Billion Company Just Sells Water

Waiting for validation is the most expensive mistake you'll make.

I learned this the hard way.

When I started FanBytes at 21, practically everyone around me doubted me.

"Influencer marketing? That's not a real business."
"You're too young to run a company."
"This won't scale past uni."

My own relatives told me to get a proper job. Clients we wanted to sign wouldn't return my emails. Prospects laughed us out of meetings.

Basically we were just three kids from uni trying to convince Nike to trust us…

And I just kept waiting for someone credible to say we were onto something.

That validation never came, so we just kept building.

6 years later - we sold for 8-figures.

After the same, those exact same people who didn’t believe in us told everyone they “always knew” we’d make it. Relatives brag about my exit at family dinners. People in the industry suddenly wanted coffee meetings.

It’s wild how success rewrites everyone's memory.

But waiting for their approval would've killed us.

The gap between doubt and belief isn't time.
It's evidence.

Build the evidence.

And one day they'll pretend they believed in you the whole time.

You won't care. You'll be too busy building the next thing they don't understand yet.



📌 Want to unlock your dream life?

I went from growing up in a council estate to building a company and exiting for 8-figures.

On January 10th, myself, Lara Acosta, Chris Donnelly, Daniel Priestley, and more are hosting the UK’s BIGGEST live event for my book What’s Stopping You?

Get your free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

Join My Book Launch On January 10th In My Featured Section ⬇️

I spoke to 700 graduates about how to build your dream career.

I came from a council estate and exited my company for 8-figures, so they wanted me to share my story.

I know that not everyone wants to build and sell a company, but there’s a playbook to building your dream career.

And no one teaches it.

Here was the playbook I shared:

1. 𝗜𝗻𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 = 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀.
Simple rule. You get out what you put in. Your results are a direct reflection of your effort. End of story.

2. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 > 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆.
Going hard for a week then quitting is pointless. The game is won by showing up every single day, especially when it’s boring. Discipline beats motivation, always.

3. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽.
Stop overthinking. That 'perfect' moment you're waiting for doesn't exist. Send the email. Ask the dumb question. Make the mistake. Speed of execution beats perfection 10/10 times.

4. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿.
Your 'lack of experience' is your biggest advantage. You have no old rules to unlearn and you understand the world as it is now. That's a perspective older generations pay millions for. Use it.

5. 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽.
You are your own CEO.

- Your skills are the product. Invest in R&D.
- Your personal brand is marketing. Build it.
- Your career path is your strategy. Don't be afraid to pivot.

Which one resonated with you most?


Shoutout to the team at Lloyds Bank for the invite.

To the grads: the game is just getting started. Go win.

The riskiest chance you'll ever take?

The one you don't take.

Everyone obsesses over why they can’t do something:

→ "What if I fail?"
→ "What if I lose money?"
→ "What if people judge me?"

But nobody talks about the cost of doing nothing.

Every time you choose safety over possibility, you're voting for a smaller version of yourself.

You're not just avoiding risk. You're also becoming someone who avoids risk…

These are the real questions you need to ask:

→ What if it works and I never tried?
→ What if I'm ready right now?
→ What if regret costs more than failure ever could?

Your future self isn't waiting for you to be ready.

They're waiting for you to be brave.

You thought that dreaming small was keeping you safe. But let me tell you this, it’s the most expensive choice you’ll ever make.

So you only have 2 options:

Take the risk now.
Or pay the price of regret.



📌 Want to unlock your dream life?

I went from growing up in a council estate to building a company and exiting for 8-figures.

On January 10th, myself, Lara Acosta, Chris Donnelly, Daniel Priestley, and more are hosting the UK’s BIGGEST live event for my book 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂?

Get your free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

The best business advice I can give you before 2025 ends:

(Watch this if you want to win in 2026)

Do the boring stuff insanely well.

I sold my last company for tens of millions of dollars, but not because we were the best.

When we were selling Fanbytes, 3 companies put in bids. They asked, “Are you the best influencer marketing company in history?”

And I said, ‘Not really.’

Sometimes we were good.
Sometimes we weren’t.

But we were consistent. For 6 years, we just showed up and grew steadily year after year.

While others were raising multiple millions in investment, we were focused on momentum, doing the work, getting clients results, over and over again.

And that’s what most people miss.

Success isn’t about heroics.

It’s about consistency.

It’s doing the boring things for an extended period so insanely well and in more volume than any sane person would find reasonable.


P.S. Are you willing to do boring work if it means winning?


🔔 Follow Timothy Armoo to become 1% to build, scale and exit your business.
♻️ REPOST to help another entrepreneur win

Stop reading random business books.

These 5 will give you an unfair advantage.

You don’t actually have a reading problem (even though you have 100s of books on your shelf that you haven’t read yet), you have an implementation problem.

It doesn’t matter how much you read, it matters how much you implement.

This is a list of the best books I’ve ever read.

In my experience, there are two types of entrepreneurs:

1. The ones who read everything, and stay stuck.
2. The ones who go deep on a few books, and build real companies.

The first group gets smarter.
The second group gets rich.

Be the second.

Your next breakthrough probably isn’t a new book. It’s doing the thing you already highlighted and forgot.

And if you do need a new book to read…

These are my recommendations 👇


—

And if something’s still stopping you…

I’ve got a recommendation for you.

I launched my book What’s Stopping You? a month ago.

This isn't about book sales. It's about reaching every person who needs permission to dream bigger.

If you’ve ever got value from my content, I’d love to deliver even more value at the live book launch. I’m hosting the UK’s BIGGEST live event together with Lara Acosta, Daniel Priestley, Chris Donnelly, Tim Campbell, Simon Squibb, and Kit Chilvers.

You can

→ Win £10,000 in funding
→ Learn from 7 world-class speakers
→ Any question you have (with VIP)
→ Get a TON of pre-order bonuses

Get your free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

If You Liked These Books, You'l Love These

You don't rise to your goals.

You fall to your environment.

I grew up on Old Kent Road council estate in South London, where most kids had their ambition beaten out of them before they turned 15.

Then I got a bursary to Christ's Hospital School.

Walking onto those grounds for the first time was wild.

Rugby fields bigger than my entire council estate.
Buildings older than my whole neighbourhood.
Kids casually chatting about ski trips.

I remember standing there, and I thought “There's absolutely no way I can be in this place and stay the same person I was yesterday.”

And that was exactly why I chose it.

Not for the education.

But because I needed to completely change my environment if I wanted a different life.

When you're suddenly surrounded by kids whose parents work in boardrooms instead of building sites, your brain starts working differently.
It changes EVERYTHING…

People always ask me how I went from council estate to selling my company for 8-figures.

It wasn't about working harder.
I just refused to stay in the environment that was keeping me small.

Most people try to build something massive while staying exactly where they are, surrounded by the same people who think their dreams are unrealistic.

That's like trying to get fit while living in McDonald's.

If you actually want different results, you need to physically put yourself in different surroundings.

Your environment is either lifting you up or weighing you down.

There's no middle ground.



📌 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲?

I went from growing up in a council estate, and built a company that sold for 8-figures.

On January 10th, myself, 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗔𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮, 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗯𝗯, 𝗞𝗶𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀, and 𝗧𝗶𝗺 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹 are hosting the UK's BIGGEST live event for my book What's Stopping You?

Get your free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

This Place Changed My Life...

POV: Your mic cuts out mid-TED Talk in Uganda.

800 people staring at you.

Last week, I was giving this talk about overcoming obstacles (ironic, right?) when the audio just dies. Tech team's scrambling around, giving me the "5 minutes to fix" signal.

Now I've got a choice.

I can either stand there awkwardly while everyone checks their phones, or turn this into a chance to re-energise the room.

"Alright, we've got 5 minutes. Everyone up!"

Next thing, the whole room's on their feet. I love doing this. I love getting everyone to shout and jump.

I also spotted a woman in the back who wanted to pitch her business idea.

By the time my mic comes back, nobody even cares about the technical stuff anymore. We're all just buzzing from what just happened.

Perfect delivery isn't the point of speaking. 

It's about reading the room and working with what you've got.

So, next time something goes wrong, do this:

1️⃣ When something breaks, don't wait for someone else to fix it.

You're responsible for your own life and your own success. Take relentless action to get the best outcome possible.

2️⃣ Don't be afraid to give others the spotlight.

People remember how you made them FEEL. Make them feel like the smartest people in the room.

3️⃣ Your response to failure defines the outcome

In every failure, you have the choice: panic, or pivot. 


The moment when things go wrong can be a massive opportunity to get an even better outcome.


P.S. When was the last time you turned a disaster into a win?



📌 Speaking of turning obstacles into opportunities...

My book What's Stopping You? launches in only 8 weeks.

On January 10th, I'm hosting the UK's BIGGEST live event with 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗔𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮, 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗯𝗯, 𝗗𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗧𝗶𝗺 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹, and 𝗞𝗶𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀.

→ Win £10,000 in funding 
→ Learn from 7 world-class speakers 
→ Get answers to YOUR specific challenges

Join the book launch for FREE here: https://lnkd.in/eTGPuv_f

(limited seats available)

10 visuals that will transform your perspective:

(#6 could change everything for you.)

I wish I knew these lessons 15 years ago.

These visuals are from my new book What’s Stopping You?. Pre-order your copy to unlock the life you want: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

1. Small daily wins lead to big wins
↳ It’s not always the big leaps that change things
↳ The little daily wins stack up faster than you think

2. Do it scared
↳ You won’t always feel ready, and that’s fine
↳ Courage just doing it anyway without knowing whether it’ll work out

Original ideas are often the children of existing ideas
↳ Most great ideas are borrowed, then tweaked
↳ Take what’s out there, make it yours

Create your own luck
↳ Things start happening when you put yourself out there
↳ Luck’s just what shows up when you keep showing up

Take advice only from people living the life you want
↳ People love to give opinions, but most don’t walk the walk
↳ Only listen if they’ve built something you’d actually want

Split tasks in smaller pieces
↳ Big goals feel heavy when you try to do them all at once
↳ Break your big tasks into tiny steps, then just do the next bit

Be a person of value
↳ Doors open quicker for people who show up with something useful
↳ Help first, ask later. It pays off

It’s not that deep
↳ Most things aren’t worth the overthinking
↳ Take a breath, zoom out, and crack on

Keep making progress
↳ You don’t need to sprint, you just need to keep moving
↳ A little progress beats standing still every time

Make asymmetric bets
↳ Some things don’t cost much but could change EVERYTHING
↳ Place more of those bets. You only need one to land.

I'd love to know in the comments:

Which visual stuck out most to you?



P.S. These lessons are all from my book 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂?

This book has all the lessons I learnt in my journey growing up in a council estate to building a company and exiting for 8-figures.

On January 10th, myself, Lara Acosta, Chris Donnelly, Daniel Priestley, and more are hosting the UK’s BIGGEST live event for my book What’s Stopping You?

Get your free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

10 Visuals That Will Change Your Life

Hot take: Not everyone should have a personal brand.

(read this to get promoted in 2026)

You don’t need a large following, but you do need to be known for SOMETHING.

Here’s the truth: having 10k followers won't get you promoted, but being the AI expert at your company will.

What so many people get wrong is this…

Personal brand isn't posting on LinkedIn.
It's being the person people call when shit breaks.

Pick one gap at your company and learn it for 30 days until you own it completely.

No followers needed.
No content calendar.
Just competence.

And competence gets you opportunities.

While everyone's building their "brand," someone just learned how to train an AI and got promoted.

Be that person.



📌 It took me 10 years to figure out how to get unstuck.

I went from growing up in a council estate to building a company and exiting for 8-figures.
Now my book What's Stopping You? launches in only 8 weeks.

On January 10th, I'm hosting the UK's BIGGEST live event with 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗔𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮, 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗯𝗯, 𝗗𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗧𝗶𝗺 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹, and 𝗞𝗶𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀.

If you like my content, you’ll love this.

We’ll help you overcome the challenges in front of you to unlock the life you’ve always dreamt of.

If you upgrade to VIP…
- You can ask the speaker questions
- You get a chance to win £10,000!

Get your ticket here: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

If you want to make 6-figures in 2026 from your website…

Read this.

Last month, I sat with a SaaS founder who was pulling his hair out. 10,000 monthly visitors, 3 closed deals.

From the same traffic, his competitor got 120 deals.

How?

They knew exactly who was on their website.

This used to be insanely hard to pull off, but can now be done by anyone with this simple software: Apollo Inbound.

You get traffic, but you know you can convert more if only you knew the exact person that was visiting your website.

That’s what Apollo Inbound fixes.

→ Identify key decision makers who are visiting your website
→ Scores each visitor and sends them to the right rep
→ Lets qualified buyers book meetings instantly
→ Automated the follow-up

Want to be the first in your industry to try it?

Try it here: https://lnkd.in/e8tq5tZN


#ad

How I Would Make £10K From Website Traffic

I built an 8-figure business.

But before that, I was told 13 times to give up.

This was an email I got in the 1st year of building Fanbytes. He was the 4th person to reject me, and the first person to tell me to give up.

At that point, I had two choices:

1. Walk away.
2. Or double down.

I bet on us.

Six years later, we’d built a team of 80, and generated tens of millions in revenue.

And that “small lifestyle business” grew beyond anything they predicted. 

Now - I exited that same company for multiple 8-figures, I'm an investor, and I wrote a book with all the cheatcodes I wish I knew when I was young.

If that investor had backed us, he would’ve made 54x his money.

But here’s the truth:
Rejection only sticks if you let it.

This is the cheatcode how to turn a “no” into an advantage:

1. Don’t take it personally.
Rejection is information. Use it.

2. Don’t argue.
Prove it. Quiet wins speak louder.

3. Don’t wait for validation.
Back yourself. Make it impossible to miss.

If you’re getting told no right now… keep moving.

Being underestimated is a GIFT.

Go out and use it.

Dumb founders chase the peak.
Smart ones sell the momentum.
(This is exactly how we sold Fanbytes)

Trying to sell at the very peak is actually the worst strategy. You’re getting tired, growth is plateauing, and your story that could sell the business slowly gets weaker.

Dumb founders = sell at the peak
Smart founders = sell around 70%

Here’s why you should sell around 70%:

→ Revenue is climbing
→ The team is motivated
→ The buyer sees potential

Because when you exit, you’re not selling a business that’s done.

You’re selling the opportunity for someone else to take what you’ve built and grow it even bigger.

They’re asking:

“Is this business still growing?”
“Can we plug this into our own business to make scale it faster?”
“Will this make us more money in less time than building it ourselves?”

If the answer to these 3 questions is yes…

You’re so likely to get a deal.

Would you ever sell your business?


P.S. At DealFlowAgent, we help business owners find the right buyer for their business. If you’re looking to sell in the next 6-24 months, DM me “EXIT” for more info.

Founders - Don't Make This Mistake

These businesses will never trend on Twitter.

But they make more than 99% of start-ups.

Everyone's chasing the next AI startup while plumbers are quietly banking £2M a year.
These businesses are insane, and often overlooked.

The pattern is obvious:

- Local service roll-ups
- Boring B2B software
- Unsexy recurring revenue
- Infrastructure nobody thinks about

Steal these business ideas before everyone else catches on. 👇


P.S. If you have a business and you’re thinking of selling in the next 6-24 months, I’ve got something for you. At DealFlowAgent, we help you strategise the path to your exit to get you the best price possible. Send me a message if you want to know more.

These 7 Boring Businesses Make Stupid Money

As 2025 comes to a close, it’s easy to look at the goals you didn’t hit.

And you feel stuck…

But most progress doesn’t look like giant leaps, it looks like small wins stacked over time.

One corner at a time.
One brick at a time.

Momentum, not magic.

If the task still feels too big, start smaller.
The important thing is that you start.

This is your reminder: Small moves count, they compound.

And they’re how everything big gets built.

What’s one small thing you did this year that made a big difference?


P.S. This is an illustration from my book What’s Stopping You? It contains the 11 cheatcodes to unlock the life you want.

If you like this illustration, I’m 100% sure you’ll love the book. We’re hosting a live event on January 10th - get your free ticket (and a ton of pre-order bonuses!) here: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

I read 149 business books.

Most were a waste of time.

These 9 are worth it.

Join my live book launch: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

Most business books are just 300 pages saying what could've been a blog post. Or worse, they're all theory with zero practical application.

These 9 actually solve real problems:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗼 𝗕𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱 - Kishimi & Koga
Stop needing everyone's approval. This genuinely rewired how I see myself and others. If you're serious about peace of mind, start here.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂? - Timothy Armoo
All the shortcuts to unlock the life you want. I wrote this after selling my company for 8-figures. Every lesson from zero to exit, no fluff.

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 - John Warrilow
Build a business that runs without you. Standardise everything, reduce your involvement, create something actually sellable. Not sexy, but essential.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 80/20 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 - Richard Koch 
Find the 20% that drives 80% of your results. Shows you exactly where to focus so you work less and achieve more. 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 - Morgan Housel 
Not just about getting rich, but staying rich - both in mindset and money. Makes you rethink every financial decision you've ever made.

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 - Daniel Priestley 
Create genuine demand. This is the formula: Right audience → strong message → warm-up → timed launch → scarcity → great delivery. 

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 - Matt Abrahams 
Handle high-pressure conversations without freezing. Embrace spontaneity, structure your thinking, actually speak better when it matters.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 - Simon Squibb 
Get crystal clear on what you actually want andS the excuses holding you back. Gives you the push and steps to finally start moving.

𝗛𝗬𝗣𝗡𝗢-𝗧𝗜$𝗜𝗡𝗚 - Mark Young 
Be more persuasive with a few subtle tweaks without being pushy. Improve your sales through psychology, not pressure.

Each book solves one specific problem.

No theory. 
Just tools.

That's the difference between the 9 and the other 140.

P.S. Which problem are you trying to solve right now?



📌 My book What's Stopping You? launches January 10th.

Join me, Lara Acosta, Chris Donnelly, Daniel Priestley, Simon Squibb, Tim Campbell, and Kit Chilvers at the UK's BIGGEST live event.

→ Win £10,000 in funding with VIP
→ Learn from 7 world-class speakers 
→ Get answers to YOUR specific challenges

Get your ticket and pre-order the book: https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p


Design inspiration by Matt Gray.

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The Battle

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