Sean Kelly

Founder & Investor. Building companies at the intersection of health, media & founder performance.

Hey there, I’m Sean. I play at the intersection of investing, media and human performance.

I’m a three-time INC 500 founder & entrepreneur with businesses in eCommerce, SaaS, media and B2B services that have collectively generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

Right now, I serve as a General Partner at The Family Fund and am the CEO of Significant Publications, a B2B digital media holding company.

I'm particularly passionate about our brand FounderIV in support of today's founder-athletes. We help today's top entrepreneurs achieve breakout performance in their personal and professional lives.

I co-founded and led multiple other companies, including SnackNation, a health-centric foodservice and brand discovery platform that served 20,000 businesses across the US. 

Under my leadership, SnackNation was honored as one of the country’s Best Workplaces by Inc. Magazine, recognized for Top Company Culture by Entrepreneur Magazine, and certified as a Great Workplace by Great Place to Work®.

Forbes listed me as one of the top 30 leaders under 30 and one of America’s most promising CEOs under 35. Comparably also ranked me among the country’s top 50 small-to-medium sized business CEOs multiple years in a row. 

Outside of the business world, I’m a two-time national medalist in freestyle snowboarding, hold an advisory role at the growth capital firm, Meaningful Partners, have a degree in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University and am an avid sports fan of all Michigan sports teams (especially the Wolverines).

I currently live in Venice, CA with my wife and college sweetheart, Shannon, and our goldendoodle, Jameson.

Chairman

One of the oldest laws in markets that everyone forgets:

More capital → more competition → higher entry prices → lower returns.

Abundant capital is great for momentum, but it rarely produces the best long-term outcomes.

The most durable venture returns tend to come from non-obvious places—where fewer checks are being written, expectations are lower, and pricing resets ahead of fundamentals.

You can make money following the herd...

But differentiated returns usually accrue to investors willing to underwrite conviction when capital is scarce.

That’s why we at The Family Fund & Founder Community are bullish on Consumer NOW.

Not despite the pullback in capital—but because of it.

Josh Wand Christine Wang Colleen Kang

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

Billion Dollar Exits is the first programme designed to help you sell your company for the highest possible price.

You'll be joining a network of founders who've sold over $3.6 billion worth of businesses between them, all of whom are invested in helping you do the same. We work together to figure out what's holding back your growth and then actually fix it.

This could mean building a leadership team, making your sales engine more predictable, or getting your pricing where it should be.

And when you're ready to go to market, we introduce you directly to buyers and help you get the deal done.

Message me to join the waiting list.

Timothy Armoo

When you have a goal say it LOUD!

What’s Stopping You has become an Instant #1 Sunday Times Bestseller!! Thank you…

This one is for us. For everyone on the journey to becoming the best version of themselves and building the life they actually want.

On our live event, I was loud about my ambition for this book to hit the charts. Truthfully I was nervous. 

My team and I had never done it before, and in front of thousands of people there was a real chance it could flop.

But you guys took it to the next level. 

You shared it in group chats, bought copies for church groups, went into your local bookshops and demanded they order it in.

I know it sounds cliché but this is a win for us.

I've been genuinely moved by the stories and breakthroughs people are having reading the book. And by making this book a bestseller we are 10x’ing those stories.

My hope for What's Stopping You is that you read it and by the end think "if this guy can do it, why can't I?"

And my hope is that someone out there sees this number one bestseller achievement and says if a guy who grew up in the ends with a ton of self doubt, fear of failure and spicy brain can do it… then what's stopping you?

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Business Builder | Global Speaker | Number 1 Sunday Times Bestseller

I cried on stage in front of thousands of people...

Last week I hosted a 4-hour live event to launch my book "What's Stopping You."

I set the crazy goal of making the book a Sunday Times Bestseller by the end of the live.

Towards the end of the 4 hour event, my team surprised me and informed me we had blown past that goal!

They gave me a beautiful plaque...and I started crying.

But I didn't cry because of the achievement. Being a bestseller is cool etc but tbh that's not what it's about.

I truly believe in the impact that this book will have on a generation of people.

I think about that kid living in the council estate block who so desperately wanted to make it. That was me. That was a lot of us.

That person who looks online and feels inadequate because they feel like 
they're falling behind. That was me. That was a lot of us.

That aspiring entrepreneur who so desperately wants to retire their parents and is constantly battling with negative self talk. That was me. That was a lot of us.

I wrote this book so that person will have the map to finally get unstuck and FINALLY DO THE THING!

And the fact that thousands of people came together to help do that is magical.

In business, you tend to measure success by the money.

You can see by the tears it meant more than that.

It's about impact.

The impact this book can have on millions of people.

So thank you.

Thank you to the thousands who turned up for the live event.
Thank you to those who bought at least 1 book.
Thank you to those who bought 100s of books.

Thank you to everyone who helped this book reach more people.

If you resonate with the mission, I'd love if you could buy the book from Waterstones. 

Thanks for all the support.

-Timo

Get my Sunday Times BestSeller book “What’s Stopping You” on Amazon.

My book is OFFICIALLY IN BOOKSTORES!!

For the first time in 2 years…. It’s no longer just a draft on my laptop. No longer just a document in the Slack channel so my team could read it and give feedback.

But it can now actually be bought by someone….

Someone who can WIN in 2026 because of it!!

The past two years were full of rewrites, deleted chapters, and long stretches of working in silence.

Days where the words felt right, and others where I questioned whether I was the right person to be writing them at all.

So standing there today felt surreal.

I’m deeply grateful for this journey, and for the people who supported it before there was anything tangible to point to.

The encouragement at the right time, the honest feedback, the belief, especially when my own wavered.

This book exists for the people who start with nothing, to help them believe in themselves, and see what’s possible and follow the same cheatcodes that changed my life.

What this moment represents to me isn’t just a launch. It’s a reminder that showing up consistently, even in uncertainty, eventually turns into something real.

And we’re only getting started.

Once we officially hit the Sunday Times Bestseller list, the book will be available in many more stores across the UK, reaching people I’ll never meet, in moments I’ll never see, but moments that still matter.

If you’re near a bookshop, go and find it. Thank you for all the support you have given me.

I’m so grateful 🧡

Get my Sunday Times Bestseller book “What’s Stopping You” on Amazon.

The next generation of entrepreneurship is built in chicken shops!

Yesterday I went back to visit my council estate and of course it wouldn’t be right if I completed the trip without stopping by The King Rooster 😅

But as I approached the till I heard a young voice call out my name… so I turned around to find 3 youngsters staring at me from City of London Academy - my old secondary school!

They had learned about me from Black History Month and were locked and loaded with countless questions about entrepreneurship.

And I had to laugh out loud as when I was their age, swinging by King Rooster after school, you had a 9/10 chance of witnessing a fight and a 0/10 chance of kids asking how to start a business 😂

Made my day seeing just how far things have changed and that these kids are full with aspiration to unlock the life that they want. Something the news does not show nearly enough of!

Was also a pleasure to hand over a signed copy of my book and buy them all their after school 6 wings and chips. 

I’m sure in 10 years these young entrepreneurs to be will be paying it forward to the next generation of South London 💪🏾

Make it a habit to give people their flowers!

I never told my Mum I was writing a book. I wanted to see her surprised face when I handed it to her for the first time.

So last week I took her for dinner and gently slid my book over with a signed note on the inside.

She didn't say much but the look on her face said everything 😅

I wanted her to know that it was her sacrifices that made me the man I am today and that I am forever grateful for everything she has done for me.

When I was a kid living with my grandma in West Africa, my mum used to go to Heathrow Airport and find literally ANYONE flying to Ghana.

She’d give them some cash and a plastic bag of books.

“Please. Just give these to my son.”

She couldn't be there to help me with my homework, but she always made sure I kept reading.

And even being halfway across the world, she didn’t let that stop her 😂

Every mum makes these invisible sacrifices.

And every achievement you’ve made can be traced back to your mum, your dad, or a guardian.

They set you up to get there!!!

So call your mum. Thank her. Tell her you love her.

I find out this weekend where I will place on the Sunday Times Bestseller chart, but wherever I end up ranking I owe her a massive thank you for all she has done to get me here 🧡

Your business is not your baby!

When building Fanbytes I never lost sight of the planned destination: to have a successful business exit by the time I was 30 years old. 

And after we sold the company, I was often asked, "Did you think this would happen?" - but my response was always the same: "It’s exactly as I designed it."

That's what I want to normalise! Not getting too romantic about your business. Not calling it your "baby." 

As the entire point of building is to one day sell!

Take Kleo, an AI tool that builds your entire content strategy, by my great friend Lara Acosta...

On DAY ONE the entire Kleo team were aligned that they're building this business in order to one day exit. 

That meant that from the very start, the business couldn’t be too dependent on the founder, as it had to be scaled in a sustainable way so that in the future someone would want to buy it.

And the best part is when you build to sell the entire business is forced to be more efficient with stronger fundamentals. 

Kleo is strong proof of that, hitting 120k mrr in just 3 days!!

And that's why I always say your business is not your baby. Because (hopefully) you don't have any plans to sell your baby 😂

If you want to check out Kleo you can do so here: https://kleo.so/

We are the stories we tell ourselves!!

Growing up I lived across the road from the King Rooster Chicken Shop on Old Kent Road - the poorest place on the Monopoly Board.

My council block had no lift so we had to climb the stairs to get to the top floor, which was a bit of a drag. 

At times it felt dangerous, being a young Black boy coming home from school in winter, when it was dark outside and the stairwell was gloomy, and there were often undesirable characters hanging round the estate. Anything could have happened. 

But in retrospect, I’m pleased I was forced to climb those stairs!

As I hurried up that stairwell, trying to avoid trouble, scared and a little bit disappointed by my environment, I repeated a mantra in my head with each step. I don’t belong here. I’m meant for more. I don’t belong here. I’m meant for more...

It became, I think, a mild form of OCD. I couldn’t climb that staircase without repeating the mantra. And the more I repeated it, the more I altered my internal story. By repeatedly stating my mantra, I grew to believe it. The more I believed it, the more I lived it.

And then this led me down a path of building my business and the life I always dreamed of.

And so... I'M BACK!

Starting yesterday and running until Monday, I’m giving away free chicken and chips, plus a free copy of my book, from 3–6pm at King Rooster on Old Kent Road.

It's amazing to see how equally excited the kids are to learn about entrepreneurship as they are for free chicken 😂

I never had someone like me growing up telling me it's possible to create your own story. So I'm making sure I can do that for this next generation! 

The future looks bright 👍🏿

Want to grow your LinkedIn like Lara Acosta?

These are 6 lessons I learnt from her. 👇

Three years ago, Lara was unemployed.
Today, she’s LinkedIn’s #1 female creator with 300,000 followers.

So if you care about building your own personal brand…

Listen to these 6 lessons:

1. 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗖𝗩 

Share your ideas, lessons, and opinions every day so your profile becomes a life portfolio of how you think rather than a static list of roles.

2. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 

Decide who you help and what you help them achieve. Mention this as many times as possible until people repeat it back to you

3. 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 

Commit to a schedule you can keep and treat it as a non-negotiable. Then that the compounding effects builds familiarity, trust, and demand over time.

4. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 

Share stories, frameworks, and mistakes with a clear takeaway from the reader, so every post helps them feel more confident, more informed, or more capable in their own work.

5. 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗠𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗮𝗯 

Use replies, questions, and private messages to understand the problems your audience actually faces. Then turn those patterns into new posts, offers, and products.

6. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 

Decide exactly what you want people to do once they trust you, and build a straightforward journey from post → profile → offer so you can monetise attention.

If you’re serious about building a personal brand in 2026, Lara will be speaking at my live book launch.

She’ll break down how she stopped guessing what to post, and how she built a high-demand personal brand on LinkedIn.

If you want to learn directly from her, this is your chance.

Come hang out:
https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

Join The UK’s Biggest Live Event On January 10th In My Featured Section ⬇️

The last month has been insane!!

Thank you to everyone who has supported the launch of my new book What's Stopping You? 

And for making me cry on stage 😅

We are only just getting started 🙌

I just walked into Waterstones and saw my book on the shelf 🤯

And then because I couldn't resist, I picked it up, took it to the till, and bought it😂🤣

Which you can judge if you like, but the child like curiosity in me wanted to experience it the same way everyone else will!

Thank you to everyone who has supported this journey. This moment really meant everything to me.

Today is the last chance to buy the book AND have it count towards it becoming a bestseller in opening week! 

If you haven't got your copy yet, it's sold out on Amazon but you can buy yours here: https://lnkd.in/eNDuV8KQ

What's Stopping You?

I gave away £10,000 of my own money to people starting their business at my live book launch.

Because starting is hard.

And I hope this gives momentum to people who’ve already taken the hardest step of all: starting.

Congratulations to the winners 👑

Anthonette Ochieze Adanyin, building a hiring platform that replaces interviews with paid work trials.
Zara Benjamin-Laing, creating a sparkling drinks brand using African superfoods.
Stephen Adeoye, building a talent attraction agency focused on long-term fit.
Callum Matthews, building a grassroots football data platform

One winner used his winnings to buy 100 copies of the book to give away to schools, prisons, or even chicken shops.

(come back next week for a full explanation on the chicken shops 😂)

But the truth is - you don’t need my money to make 2026 your year. You need belief, direction, and the willingness to start where you are.

You’re in change of your destiny!!

If you want to support the mission of helping more unprivileged kids turn ambition into reality, the book is available to pre-order now: https://lnkd.in/egFX6Fp3

Sometimes it's a great idea to skip school!

At 17 I skipped school to interview Richard Branson.

I saw there was this massive conference happening with all the biggest names in business - Richard Branson, Alan Sugar, James Caan etc.

The only problem was I had zero money and zero business being there.

But what I did have is one principle that I still live by today:

"You can get anything you want, if you help other people get what they want."

So I sent a cold email to the organiser.

I told him: “You don’t know me, but I really want a press pass to be able to interview Richard Branson. And in return, I will come down a couple days early before the conference and lay out all the chairs for the entire event.”

He replied in about 20 minutes and said: "This is the most ridiculous email I've ever got... but sure... let's do it."

The next day I skipped school and I was laying out the chairs like the happiest man alive!

And 48 hours later, I was standing there with my tiny microphone squeezed in between the BBC and Forbes, asking Richard Branson rookie questions while the big guys looked on confused 😂

But the important thing is, I got the interview! And in there is a cheatcode: 'Inexperience Is a Superpower'.

I was so naive about how ridiculous the suggestion was, it was the reason it actually worked.

And now 15 years after laying out those chairs, Virgin StartUp have invited me back to Virgin HQ! Not to set up the room this time, but to speak 🤣

I’ll be sharing the lessons from my journey and giving away 100 copies of my new book, "What's Stopping You."

Come through. Will I see you there?

P.s. It's 27th January, you can grab a ticket here: https://lnkd.in/e8qhxKKk

Want to grow a business AND live your dream life like Daniel Priestley?

Before he was 30, Dan built and sold 3 companies to 8-figures.
Today he helps 1000s of entrepreneurs scale their business.

These are 6 lessons I learnt from him. 👇

1. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘁

Map your ideal week on a calendar, decide what revenue and model would support that week. Say no to anything that doesn’t get you closer.

2. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲

Choose one problem and one audience to be known for and then publish simple content every week that deepens your authority on that narrow topic.

3. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗱

Turn what you do repeatedly into a named method, checklist or playbook. Then, aim to add at least one new asset each quarter that could still produce value if you disappeared for a month.

4. 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱, 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀

Create more demand than supply by stopping “always open” selling for your main offer and selling in only launch windows. Make sure you announce limited spots, open for a short period, then close and fully focus on delivery.

5. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹, 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲

Build a small, high quality remote team and default to services that can be sold and delivered digitally.

6. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗱

Aim for a model where a small number of ideal clients cover your lifestyle, and everything else is optional upside.

Very few people understand business the way Dan does. So I asked Dan to join me live to teach you all his business secrets. 

You don’t want to miss this!

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

Pre-order my book on Amazon 📙

Want to learn how to build a business with $0 like Simon Squibb?

At 15, he was homeless.... But by 40, he built 19+ companies and sold one to PwC. He never had to work again!

He's now on a mission to help 10 million people start businesses and change their lives.

These are 6 lessons I learnt from Simon 👇

𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻

Clarify the life you want, turn it into a single clear dream, and let every business decision move you toward it.

𝟮. 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿

Decide that starting from zero forces you to be creative and focused on real problems, so begin with skills, time, energy, and a clear offer instead of funding.

𝟯. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆

Make asking a daily habit by telling people what you are building, what you need and who you want to meet, because asking in public opens more doors.

𝟰. 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱

Find people or companies with space, stock, audiences or tools and do win win deals where they bring assets and you bring execution and customers.

𝟱. 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰

Test your idea in very small ways like offering free trials, opening a waitinglist, and only scale what actually gets you sales.

𝟲. 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂

Consistently share everything you know, because being known as someone who helps first builds trust, goodwill and will always bring you back more opportunities for your own dream.


Simon is the expert on how to start a business with no money! That's why I invited him to join my book launch on January 10th to teach his exact playbook.

Come hang out:
https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

JSESSIONID

li_at

linkedin.com/in/gail-rebuck-84a45a74?originalSubdomain=uk

UK entrepreneurs are underrated!

I spoke to a room full of founders at Virgin StartUp about building a business in 2026. 

Here are the five most important things I told them 👇🏿

1 - No skill is more important than wave picking

At Fanbytes, we didn’t succeed because we outworked everyone. We succeeded because we picked the right wave in influencer marketing and then stayed in the game long enough to ride it.

Entrepreneurs should spend more time thinking about what wave to ride rather than obsessing over productivity hacks. You can work incredibly hard on the wrong thing and end up nowhere. Pick the right wave and then stay competent and consistent.

2 - Detach from your business

Your business is a result of the skills you have, not a reflection of who you are. You’re the orchestrator moving pieces around. 

If something goes wrong, it doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It means you tried something and now you adjust. That separation is what lets you make clear headed decisions rather than emotional ones!

3 - Your first business probably won’t be the one

Early stage founders get worked up about their first company being a hundred million pound success. Statistically, that’s unlikely. 

Think about business like learning to ride a bike. The first time you get on, you’re not expecting to become a Tour de France cyclist.

Your first business is the same. You’re iterating, making mistakes, figuring out what kind of entrepreneur you are. The skills from business one compound into business two and three. Lower your expectations and give yourself some grace.

4 - When you think you’ve already niched, niche again

I use a framework called niche niching. Think of your niche, go deeper, then go deeper again. Only at three layers down do you settle.

For example, if you're starting a supplements brand don’t target everyone:

First niche: women 28 to 35. 
Second: women 28 to 35 who work out. 
Third: women 28 to 35 who do Pilates in London. 

Now you know exactly where to find them and what language to use!

5 - Every opportunity is in someone else’s pocket

The deal you want, the partnership you’re chasing, the customer you need - it's ALL controlled by other people! 

Your job is to build relationships and get in front of the right people with the right message at the right time.

P.s. I always love supporting the next generation of hungry founders (cheers Virgin)! Despite what you hear in the news, it's clear to me that Gen Z are making some serious waves 🌊

Did I miss anything on my list?👇🏿

Never talk yourself down!

As a Black entrepreneur, I’m constantly presented with the received wisdom that entrepreneurship is an order of magnitude harder for Black people than it is for others. 

The statistics, I’m told, reflect this difficulty, because only a tiny percentage of Black entrepreneurs receive funding. 

I’m afraid I don’t have much time for this perspective. 

Now and then, this has landed me in trouble. I’ve been accused of denouncing my Blackness, whatever that means 🙄

But I stick by my opinion.

If I go into the game thinking - "Ah man, it’s so hard to be a Black entreprener" - I’m automatically going to expect it to be very hard to raise money. 

If I tell myself that an investor won’t invest in me because I’m Black, and I believe the story I tell myself that I’m already on the back foot, then guess what: I probably won’t be able to raise that money.

If I expect something to be hard, I’ll treat it as hard. If I allow myself to succumb to a narrative of overwhelming difficulty, I make it harder to win, not easier.

So here’s an alternative perspective: being a Black entrepreneur is a massive competitive advantage. 

I truly believe this. Being in a minority, I stand out. 

There are loads of organisations that provide grants and support programmes for Black entrepreneurs, which means I have access to a set of resources that many other people don’t. 

In certain environments, minorities are easily underestimated, which makes it easier to outperform expectations.

You may not be a Black entrepreneur, but you may believe that there are hurdles unique to your situation or demographic that negatively affect your chances of success. 

And they will, if you let them. 

If, however, you are able to reset your assumptions, you make it vastly easier to win. 

Our expectations matter. It's not too late to change yours 💪🏿

BBC Radio London interviewed me this week about my book 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠𝘰𝘶?

I wrote the book for my younger self.

The 13-year-old version of me that grew up on Old Kent Road, super close to Peckham.… 

If you’re not familiar with South London, it’s the kind of place you really don’t want to end up at night. 

I remember one day I went to school and a friend of mine was absent. "Haven’t you heard?" one of my schoolmates said. "He was in McDonald’s and someone stabbed him." When he came back he had an ugly scar all the way up his right side from the encounter. 

He was lucky to be alive...

This was the environment in which I found myself.

That's the path I started to walk...

Around me, no one around me was focused on business.

No exits.
No revenue targets.
No landing pages or marketing campaigns.

For most people around me, dreaming was genuinely impossible. 

Everyone was just focused on getting through the week.

It wasn’t wrong.

It just wasn’t the future I saw for myself.

Then the most lifeshattering moment of my life came…. I found my dad in his room right after he had his heart attack. He wasn’t breathing anymore.

After that, I SWORE to myself that I would make it. Make it BIGGGG.

So when I was 16, I started going to this fancy 5-star hotel in central London, Claridge’s, just to sit around people who had more money than I could even imagine.

I needed a new story to tell myself. Bigger. Better.

Maybe, just maybe, I could belong here too….

You don’t control where you are born.

But you are responsible for where you finish.

And if you want help shortening that gap…..

I wrote down the lessons and shortcuts I wish I had back then in my first book, What’s Stopping You?

We’re launching it in less than 48 hours at the UK’s biggest live event.
£10,000 in funding.

And me, breaking down the exact thinking shifts that got me out.

Come hang out:
https://lnkd.in/eAdyFm2p

Order my book “What’s Stopping You?” on Waterstones 📙

Don’t waste another year of your life.

Here’s the secret hack to achieve everything you want.

In my book What’s Stopping You? there are 11 cheatcodes to unlock your dream life.

But there’s actually a 12th cheatcode I revealed live to thousands of people that’s going to help you make progress ten times faster.

This is it 👇



P.S. Pre-order the book to help us spread this message to as many people as possible: https://lnkd.in/eNDuV8KQ

Cheatcode #12

Seeing messages like this is what it’s all about.

Last Saturday, I did a 4 hour live event to promote my book 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂?

Since then we’ve got 100s of messages from people similar to these.

It’s so easy to get lost in the “money comparison” game. And trust me, I love the game as much as anyone else.

But I believe that deep down, we’re all chasing the feeling of impact.

The feeling of doing something that actually helps to change lives.

When we announced the live event, I had a lot of questions from people asking why.

Why spend tens of thousands on an event. The stage. The lighting. The promotion. Why spend the effort and time bringing people like Simon Squibb, Daniel Priestley, Tim Campbell, Lara Acosta and Chris Donnelly together to help people get unstuck and make 2026 their year.

Because we could have just posted on social about a book coming out and that’d have been fine.

But that won’t have reached the single mother with 3 kids who wants to inspire her boys and make them aim bigger.

That won’t have reached the kid who watches my content, starts a business and retires his mum.

That won’t have reached the girl who is looking for confirmation that she’s on the right path after quitting her £72k a year job to pursue her coaching career.

These are all people who have messaged me in the last few days talking about how inspired they were after Whats Stopping You Live and how excited they are for getting our book.

But also a reminder that in the craziness and messiness of the world, impact drives everything. Thank you to the thousands of people who have preordered the book and helped this book get to bestseller.

You are driving more impact than you know.

If you’d like to support the cause, you can pre-order from Amazon.... our aim is to undeniably make this book a #1 bestseller. Currently fighting with Mel Robbins for the spot. Let’s go!

Pre-order here: https://lnkd.in/eNDuV8KQ

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The Battle

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