Butterfly Effect

At Butterfly Effect, we’re building the world’s leading community-first creative agency - helping brands grow by becoming culture, not just advertising to it.

We partner with global companies to design and scale their Community Operating System: the framework that powers trust, influence, and sustainable growth. Anchored in Strategy, Execution, and Amplification, our model blends social, influence, content, and experiences into one ecosystem - turning audiences into communities and brands into cultural movements.

Our belief is simple: growth doesn’t come from trying to mean something to everyone. It comes from meaning everything to a small group of people and scaling from there.

This approach has been trusted by some of the world’s most ambitious brands, including Square, Formula E, Netflix, Bumble, The Cheesecake Factory, McDonald’s, WeTransfer, and Dutch Barn Vodka. Beyond campaigns, we build systems that deliver clarity, momentum, and measurable results.

At our core, we believe the future belongs to brands that build with people, not just market to them. Butterfly Effect exists to make that happen.

CEO & Co-founder

House of Samba

House of Samba is my creator platform - the space where I channel my voice, ideas, and experiences beyond Butterfly Effect to collaborate with global brands and audiences. It’s where I explore keynotes, fireside chats, partnerships, workshops, coaching, and mentorship, all built around one mission: helping people and brands unlock cultural relevance and real connection.

As a creator, I’ve partnered with some of the world’s most influential companies - including LinkedIn, Adobe, Apple, Typeform, Vimeo, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Gamma, Amazon, EY, and Hotmart - to co-create campaigns, content, and experiences that spark conversation, build trust, and inspire action.

Through keynotes and fireside chats, I share perspectives on culture, business, and community - creating spaces for honest dialogue and fresh ideas. These sessions are designed to cut through noise, challenge convention, and leave audiences with practical tools and cultural insights they can act on.

From mentoring emerging leaders to delivering global talks and workshops, House of Samba is about connection - bringing together creativity, business, and culture to create work that resonates on a human level.

Founder

Bottleneck Podcast

We believe progress in business, marketing, and culture is rarely limited by a lack of ambition, creativity, or effort. The real challenge comes from Bottlenecks - the unseen barriers and choke points that quietly stall momentum, waste resources, and ultimately sink even the smartest strategies.

That’s why we created Bottleneck, a Sassy+ original series we co-host with Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy. Together, we blend behavioural science, creativity, and real-world experience to challenge conventional thinking, uncover why strategies fail, and share practical solutions that help leaders, marketers, and culture-shapers break through.

Every two weeks, we sit down with influential voices from business, culture, behavioural science, and creativity to expose the hidden forces holding people back and explore how to turn them into opportunities for momentum and growth.

Podcast Host

Ioconic

Chief Community Officer

Gymshark

Global Head of Social Content

Head of Digital Community

Digital Community Manager

Social Media Manager

Social Media Executive

CAB Studios

Content Sniper - Social content specialist and strategist 
Insight Reporter - Presenting key research findings  back to clients and in-house stakeholders to ensure that we are constantly evolving our approach
Data Guardian - Monitoring performance date to ensure that we that client and in-house activity are on track to meet KPI's 
Lead Engineer - Locating potential clients and opportunities for the Agency to pursue

Marketing Executive, Driver #62

Account Executive, Driver #62

Cogent Elliott

Responsibilities include:

•	To support the Senior Account Manager in liaising with the various international markets on a      
          day-to-day basis, as required to implement the delivery of the websites.
•	To be able to work with the Land Rover content management system to upload and maintain 
          data content that is live on the websites.  
•	To be able to co-ordinate activities across a number of different agencies and ensure that 
          delivery deadlines are met. 
•	To know how to attain information about the brand and its consumer to help support the rest of 
          the team.
•	To understand the Advertising Code of Practice and to work closely with the various international 
          markets in order to better understand their specific local requirements
•	To understand the processes of marcomms production in all media, both 
          technically and in terms of cost and timing. 
•	To be able to anticipate and support the activities of the wider team in servicing the client, 
          developing creative work and implementing its production .

Marketing Service Executive - Land Rover GWS

ISA Security Services Ltd

I undertook a 12 month voluntary marketing  internship at ISA Security Services during my final year at university. It involved working with a team of talented university undergraduates to help further the company's growth by enhancing the quality and creativity of it's marketing campaigns. 

 Main responsibilities included: 

•	Project management 
•	Strategic support 
•	Designing and constructing company exhibition stands and displays for various tradeshows and events
•	Editorial design and proof reading 
•	Search engine optimisation 
•	Developing and maintaining the company’s online customer newsletter 
•	Modernising the content and layout of important corporate documentation
•	Creating and updating the company’s social network profiles 
•	Extensive marketing research 
•	Administrative support 
•	Customer Relationship Management

Marketing Co-ordinator (Intern)

Elfried Samba is the Co-Founder and CEO of Butterfly Effect - the agency brands call when they want to build real community and cultural relevance.

Before launching Butterfly Effect, Elfried was Global Head of Social Content at Gymshark, where he helped scale its fitness community from 1.5 million to over 20 million followers, playing a key role in the brand’s journey to a £1 billion valuation.

In its breakout year, Butterfly Effect partnered with Netflix, Bumble, McDonald’s, WeTransfer, Meta and Square - cementing its position as a leading force in community-first marketing.

Elfried’s personal LinkedIn presence has redefined what influence looks like in B2B. 
With 500M+ impressions, 9M+ engagements, and 360K+ followers, he now ranks as the second most engaged LinkedIn creator globally - proving that personal brand isn't just a nice-to-have, it's a growth engine.

Here’s the truth, there’s enough for everyone.


Someone else’s moment isn’t your loss - it’s proof that it’s possible.


When you operate from abundance, you stop moving with tension. You move with trust.
You stop counting what others have and start building what’s yours.


Clapping for someone else doesn’t dim your light. It sharpens your focus. It reminds you that your time is coming and when it does, you’ll want people who clap without hesitation.


Most people rush to compete. The rare ones? They observe, they applaud, they prepare.


Because abundance isn’t about having more - it’s about needing less.


And when you truly believe that, every win yours or someone else’s feels like progress.


Your time will come.

Elfried Samba

CEO & Co-founder @ Butterfly Effect | Ex-Gymshark Head of Social (Global)

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Skill opens doors.


Character keeps them open.
 
The game isn’t about talent anymore - it’s about energy. 

People remember how you made them feel in the room, not what you said on the call.


Being the person everyone wants to work with isn’t reputation - it’s leverage.  
It’s trust turned into currency.


In a noisy world, kindness and consistency are your loudest brand.

A good boss changes how you see yourself.


They don’t just manage your work - they expand your belief system.


They teach you how to think clearly, how to stay calm when the room gets loud, how to move with precision when everything’s on fire.


They protect your potential before you even see it.


That’s why a bad job with a good boss isn’t really a bad job.


It’s a foundation. A proving ground. A place that shapes your standards for the rest of your career.


And the opposite is also true - a “good” job with a bad boss will quietly drain the life out of you.


No title, salary, or benefit can fix the feeling of being unseen, unheard, or undervalued.


The older you get, the more you realise - it’s never just about the work.


It’s about who you’re becoming while doing it.

The world keeps receipts.


Not the kind you can track - the kind that live in energy.


Every time you do good, especially when nobody’s watching, you’re making a quiet deposit into your future.


Life pays those debts back in ways you can’t predict - peace, timing, people, miracles.


You don’t do good for return.


You do it because it’s who you are when no one’s grading you.


The return just finds its way back anyway.


💡Rachel Mitchell

The Problem Isn’t Talent. It’s Leadership.
  The world isn’t short on talent. It’s short on leaders who actually know what they’re doing.  
The current state of leadership is pathetic. Everyone wants credit. No one wants responsibility. 

People chase outputs, not ownership.   They want the glory of the finish line without the grind of the race. Sounds a lot like dating and politics isn’t any better.


I used to think being a leader meant being the one in control.

 The decision-maker. The final say.   The person everyone looked at when things got hard.


That’s ego. Not leadership.
Real leadership is when things run without you.   When your team doesn’t need your approval to move.

 When the machine works because you built the people, not just the process.
That’s the job.   To make yourself replaceable. Not irrelevant - replicable.
Most leaders can’t handle that.   Their identity depends on being needed. So they choke their teams to feel important.
The truth?   If everything stops when you leave the room, you’re not a leader - you’re a bottleneck.


The goal isn’t control. It’s continuation.   Your legacy isn’t what you build. It’s who can build after you’re gone.


(FYI: Still kills me having to use a Manchester United example)


Credit: Yousif Hussain

Becoming is ugly work.
 
You’ll outgrow people, habits, versions of yourself that once felt like home.  
It’s not patience with the process that’s hard - it’s patience with yourself while you unlearn the patterns that kept you small.


Give yourself permission to be a beginner again.


Every chapter of greatness starts with awkward steps.
 
Be patient - you’re becoming someone your past self prayed for.


Credit: Jonny Tooze

Your company culture isn’t what you write.
It’s what people whisper.


Culture is invisible until it hurts.
It’s the feeling before Monday. The tone in a meeting.


The safety to disagree without consequence.


You can’t decorate dysfunction with values on a wall.


You have to embody them when no one’s watching.


Ask yourself:
Do your people rest easy or dread the week?
Do they show up with trust or tension?


Because your culture isn’t your brand book -
it’s the collective nervous system of your team.


And no matter how beautiful the logo looks,
if your people are anxious on Sunday night,
the culture’s broken.


Credit: Dora Vanourek

Remember the person who took a chance on you when you had nothing to offer. 
The one who saw potential when all you had were ideas.  The one who opened a door when everyone else walked past.  The one who said “let’s try” when even you weren’t sure you were ready. 
Those moments shape everything.  Not because of what they gave you - but because they reminded you what belief feels like.

Never forget that feeling. Carry it with you.  And when your time comes, be that person for someone else.
 

Credit: Dr. Brigette Hyacinth

I used to think the goal was to be the smartest person in the room.


To prove I belonged there.


But over time, I learned - nobody remembers how sharp you were; they remember how you made THINGS feel.


I’ve been the person who made things harder without realizing it.


Pushing too much. Overcomplicating.
It came from care - but it cost trust.


Now, I try to be the person who brings ease.
Not by doing less, but by carrying more calm.
By making things lighter, not louder.


Because the truth is - people don’t follow the most talented person.


They follow the one who makes the journey feel possible.


Credit: Eric Partaker

The longer you lead, the more you realize - it’s not about you anymore.


It’s not about how much you produce, how many ideas you have, or how sharp your execution is.


It’s about the people you raise.


True leadership is about creating an environment where others grow into their potential - where your presence builds confidence, and your absence doesn’t create chaos.


Because leadership isn’t control. It’s trust.
It’s knowing when to step in and when to step back.


It’s helping people believe they can, then proving them right.


If everything depends on you, you’ve built a bottleneck.
If your team can thrive without you, you’ve built a legacy.


Great leaders don’t create followers.
They create more leaders.


That’s the goal. That’s the game.


Credit: Justin Wright

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