What It Takes with Olly Fawcett

Olly Fawcett
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What does it take to build something? What does building something take from you? In this podcast, we speak with the founders and owners of some of the most incredible brands and businesses to find out the truth about what it takes to build a brand from the ground up, and as founders what going through that process teaches you. Olly Fawcett is the founder of 303, a creative performance marketing agency working with premium brands. Over the last 10 years, he has spent time inside some amazing brands as they have grown and now is sharing those insights through What It Takes.

  1. 1d ago

    How To Build A Business That Beats Giants Like Airbnb | Co-Founder of Kindred, Justine Palefsky

    Justine Palefsky co-founded Kindred by cold-emailing a spreadsheet full of her old colleagues' spare rooms. Four years later it's a $150M-backed home-swapping network with 400,000 members who've hosted each other for half a million nights, and she still checks herself in the mirror every morning and says: don't mess this up.Justine Palefsky is co-founder and CEO of Kindred, a members-only home-swapping community she launched in 2021 with co-founder Tasneem "Taz" Amina. Kindred has raised roughly $150 million in funding, including backing from Andreessen Horowitz, and has grown to around 400,000 members and 100 employees, with members hosting one another for over half a million nights. Justine grew up in San Francisco, raised by parents embedded in the city's counterculture scene, studied cognitive neuroscience at Brown, worked in management consulting at Bain & Company, then spent years at Opendoor and Homebound before founding Kindred out of her own frustration with the cost of living and traveling between the cities she loved.In this episode:- Why her parents' completely rule-free upbringing left her with a chip on her shoulder to prove she wasn't "too soft"- The chaos of her first day at Opendoor, including a same-day flight to Phoenix and a night on an air mattress with no Wi-Fi- Why Kindred deliberately built a model where members can't pay each other, and how that's different from Airbnb- The five days she and her co-founder spent alone in a cabin pressure-testing their partnership before starting the company- What building a $150M company has actually cost her, from missed birthdays to freezing embryosChapters0:00 "The Last Time I Made An Introduction Like This, It Became TikTok"4:39 Her Parents Only Rule: Talk To Us First7:02 The Chip On Her Shoulder About Being "Too Soft"7:45 Why She Chose The Hardest Degree She Could Find11:19 The City Literally Built On Burned Boats19:46 "Promise Me You'll Never Be A Corporate Dog"27:14 Flown To Phoenix On Day One, Sleeping On An Air Mattress54:59 Keeping Hope Alive When Everyone Says Your Idea Sucks57:31 The Spreadsheet That Sparked A $150M Idea1:01:39 Almost Everybody Told Her It Would Never Work1:03:39 Why Kindred Refuses To Let Members Pay Each Other1:07:50 Five Days In A Cabin To Test If They Could Be Co-Founders1:22:34 The Moment She Knew Kindred Had Gone Viral1:37:12 What Building A $150M Company Actually Cost HerFollow Justine:https://www.linkedin.com/in/justine-palefsky/Follow Olly: https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pchttps://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35Search terms: Justine Palefsky, Kindred, Kindred CEO, Kindred co-founder, Tasneem Amina, Taz Amina Kindred, home swapping app, home exchange network, Kindred vs Airbnb, Andreessen Horowitz Kindred, a16z portfolio company, Opendoor employee story, Homebound CEO Nikki, Bain and Company consultant, cognitive neuroscience Brown University, San Francisco startup founder, female founder travel tech, home swap community, building a startup with a co-founder, founder burnout story, What It Takes podcast Olly Fawcett

  2. Sep 23

    CLIP: One Google Ranking Saved My ENTIRE Business | George Sullivan

    Watch full episode here: https://youtu.be/yuPWhdEfCfkGeorge Sullivan was written off as a kid, kicked out of a school his parents nearly broke themselves paying for, undiagnosed ADHD, and eight jobs in three years before he ever built anything real.13 years later, he's the founder of The Sole Supplier, Europe's leading sneaker and streetwear platform, reaching 4.5M+ people a month and driving over £350M in revenue for brands like Nike, adidas and UNIQLO.In this episode of What It Takes, George opens up about the chaos of undiagnosed ADHD, the moment self-reflection changed everything, nearly walking away from the business with £3k left in the bank, the brutal 2022-2023 crash that forced him to make people redundant, getting medicated at 35, and what it's actually taking to lead a 34-person team without losing himself in the process.This is a raw, honest conversation about building a business while fighting your own mind and what it takes to keep going when it would be easier to stop.Follow George:https://www.instagram.com/georgesullivantss/?hl=en-gbThe Sole Supplier: thesolesupplier.co.ukFollow Olly: https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pchttps://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35

  3. Sep 22

    Turning A Hobby Into A £350M Brand | George Sullivan, The Sole Supplier

    George Sullivan was written off as a kid, kicked out of a school his parents nearly broke themselves paying for, undiagnosed ADHD, and eight jobs in three years before he ever built anything real.13 years later, he's the founder of The Sole Supplier, Europe's leading sneaker and streetwear platform, reaching 4.5M+ people a month and driving over £350M in revenue for brands like Nike, adidas and UNIQLO.In this episode of What It Takes, George opens up about the chaos of undiagnosed ADHD, the moment self-reflection changed everything, nearly walking away from the business with £3k left in the bank, the brutal 2022-2023 crash that forced him to make people redundant, getting medicated at 35, and what it's actually taking to lead a 34-person team without losing himself in the process.This is a raw, honest conversation about building a business while fighting your own mind and what it takes to keep going when it would be easier to stop.Chaters0:00 13 Years of The Sole Supplier2:03 Childhood, Sacrifice & Getting Kicked Out of School3:55 Undiagnosed ADHD: Impulsivity, Weed & Self-Reflection11:58 Becoming a Dad: "How Hard Can a Baby Be?"15:12 Getting Medicated at 35 & the UK's Drink Culture22:28 Bad First Jobs, Real Mentors & the Truth About Gen Z31:04 Founder Profits, Redundancies & Why Duvet Days Exist37:39 Sneakers, Failed Startups & How The Sole Supplier Began47:06 Nearly Quitting & the £2K Google Ranking Moment54:01 The 2022 Crash, Redundancies & Rebuilding Trust1:09:14 Leadership Lessons, Letting Go & What It Actually TakesFollow George:https://www.instagram.com/georgesullivantss/?hl=en-gbThe Sole Supplier: thesolesupplier.co.ukFollow Olly: https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pchttps://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35

  4. Sep 16

    CLIP: The Worst Gig of My Career with Eshaan Akbar

    Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1dDekfoibMFrom Bollywood dance choreographer… to HSBC speechwriter… to one of the sharpest comics in the UK.Eshaan Akbar breaks down what stand-up actually teaches you: reading rooms, earning trust, surviving bad gigs, and why “bombing” is often an audience warm-up problem (his words… 😅).If you’ve ever felt like you’re starting late, pivoting careers, or trying to build confidence in rooms that weren’t made for you, this one lands.Follow Eshaan: https://www.instagram.com/eshaanakbar/Follow Olly: https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pchttps://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35

  5. Sep 9

    CLIP: They Flooded My Entire Restaurant, Took Me 8 Months to Rebuild! Jun Tanaka

    Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdQgcTOyK3I Jun Tanaka got kicked out of college at 19. The letter that told him so is where his career in food started. From there, Le Gavroche, Chez Nico, Marco Pierre White's three-star kitchen, and eventually his own restaurant, The Ninth, where he won a Michelin star he never set out to chase. He opens up about the two hardest years of his life, a 3am call about a fire at his restaurant, and a stage 3 cancer diagnosis in the middle of running it. Whilst holding the same mindset got him through all of it… Focus on today, not the thing you can't control. Follow Jun: https://www.instagram.com/chefjuntanaka/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/theninthlondon/?hl=en Follow Olly: https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/ https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc https://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/ Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35

  6. Sep 7

    Kicked Out Of College, Michelin Restaurant Fire, Stage 3 Cancer | The Life of Jun Tanaka

    Jun Tanaka got kicked out of college at 19. The letter that told him so is where his career in food started. From there, Le Gavroche, Chez Nico, Marco Pierre White's three-star kitchen, and eventually his own restaurant, The Ninth, where he won a Michelin star he never set out to chase. He opens up about the two hardest years of his life, a 3am call about a fire at his restaurant, and a stage 3 cancer diagnosis in the middle of running it. Whilst holding the same mindset got him through all of it… Focus on today, not the thing you can't control. Chapters 00:00 Welcome, Jun Tanaka 
 01:37 Childhood: New York, Tokyo, and moving to London at 7 
 05:03 Kicked out of college 
 08:56 First day at Le Gavroche 
 13:13 Life inside a 1990s three-Michelin-star kitchen 
 21:45 The hardest kitchen he worked in 
 31:13 Joining Marco Pierre White 
 43:38 The Square, The Pearl, and starting a food truck 
 1:03:04 Opening The Ninth and winning a Michelin star 
 1:17:26 The fire at The Ninth 
 1:31:48 Diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer 
 1:41:21 Life’s lessons and what's next Follow Jun: https://www.instagram.com/chefjuntanaka/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/theninthlondon/?hl=en Follow Olly: https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/ https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc https://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/ Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35

  7. Sep 2

    CLIP: The Fashion Designer Who Built a Clothing Brand That Makes No Clothes!

    Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/gT9a7rc3TCIStuart Trevor is the founder of AllSaints and one of the most influential figures in British fashion. In this episode of What It Takes with Olly Fawcett, Stuart shares the extraordinary story behind building AllSaints into a global fashion brand, his early career designing for Reiss, and why he walked away from the company at its peak.From growing up on a council estate in Dundee to dressing some of the biggest rock bands in the world, Stuart reveals the creative mindset that drove his success and how ADHD, risk-taking and instinct helped shape his career.We also explore the realities of the fashion industry, the rise of fast fashion, and why Stuart is now building a new sustainable brand that produces no new clothes, using only upcycled garments.This is a fascinating conversation about creativity, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and what it really takes to build a global brand.Follow Stuart:https://www.instagram.com/stuart_trevor/Follow Olly: https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pchttps://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35

  8. Aug 19

    CLIP: He Made DOAC's Trailers, Here's What He Learned About Going Viral

    Watch full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdWVHaSQStE The man who made millions of people click play on The Diary of a CEO just walked away from the job! In this episode, Anthony Smith, the show's Director of Trailers for four and a half years, reveals the death threat, the burnout, and the real reason he quit one of the most influential roles in podcasting. Anthony Smith spent four and a half years as Director of Trailers for The Diary of a CEO, the podcast hosted by Steven Bartlett that reaches over 10 million viewers a month. Before DOAC, Anthony worked as a video editor at a London agency producing social content for Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and James Bond, and started his own production company straight out of university, working with clients including Asda and the NHS. His trailer style, built through years of trial, error, and at points real burnout, became one of the most recognisable parts of the DOAC brand. In mid-2026, after roughly 450 trailers, Anthony left the company to start a new chapter. Follow Anthony: https://www.instagram.com/anthonyr.smith/?hl=en Follow Olly:  https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/ https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc https://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/ Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35

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What does it take to build something? What does building something take from you? In this podcast, we speak with the founders and owners of some of the most incredible brands and businesses to find out the truth about what it takes to build a brand from the ground up, and as founders what going through that process teaches you. Olly Fawcett is the founder of 303, a creative performance marketing agency working with premium brands. Over the last 10 years, he has spent time inside some amazing brands as they have grown and now is sharing those insights through What It Takes.

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