Building The Brand with James Burtt

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Building The Brand is a Top 50 business podcast for people who don’t just want success stories - they want to understand how success is actually built. Hosted by James Burtt, each episode features in-depth conversations with entrepreneurs, founders, and creators behind standout brands. This isn’t surface-level storytelling. This is a tactical break down of real decisions, trade-offs and lessons behind standout brands Past guests include world-renowned business and entrepreneurial figures Gary Brecka, Grant Cardone, Joe Foster, Mark Victor Hansen and John Lee Dumas. Not how to. This is how you.

  1. 3d ago

    How To Go Viral, Turn Views Into Sales & Use AI with Joel Macadar (Full Social Media Strategy 2026 Breakdown)

    Can going viral actually grow your business… or are most brands chasing attention without knowing what to do with it? Joel Macadar is the founder of 8original, a multi-award-winning social media agency that has generated more than half a billion organic views in the last 12 months. In this episode of Building The Brand, Joel breaks down the social media strategy behind viral content, organic growth, TikTok marketing, Instagram content and turning online attention into real commercial results. Connect with Joel Macadar:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelmacadar/ Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here:https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter He explains why brands destroy potentially successful content by over-controlling the creative process, how the “road to beige” turns social-first ideas into forgettable adverts and why 8original operates a post-first, feedback-afterwards model designed around speed rather than endless approval processes. Joel also reveals why shares can be more valuable than likes or views, how his team connects TikTok virality with high-intent Google searches and why understanding the psychology behind a social media trend is far more powerful than simply copying whatever is currently going viral. Plus, the changing relationship between football, creators and traditional media - including Baller League, Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland and the rise of live, behind-the-scenes social content at major sporting events. KEY MOMENTS: 0:00 — Social media strategy in 2026: what brands are getting wrong 02:17 — How to turn viral social media attention into revenue 07:23 — The “road to beige” that destroys great social content 09:23 — Why 8original posts first and gets client feedback afterwards 12:25 — Why shares can matter more than likes and views 16:28 — How TikTok virality can drive high-intent Google searches 23:26 — How to spot social media trends before competitors 40:02 — From football agent to building a social media agency 46:15 — Why live sports content is changing football media 54:38 — Baller League, content distribution and the power of speed 1:03:54 — Cristiano Ronaldo vs Erling Haaland: personal brand strategy 1:13:43 — How AI will change social media marketing 1:19:22 — Using ChatGPT and Claude for content creation and marketing 1:23:43 — How Push Play uses AI to automate content repurposing 1:27:16 — Scaling a founder-led agency by learning to step back

    How To Go Viral, Turn Views Into Sales & Use AI with Joel Macadar (Full Social Media Strategy 2026 Breakdown)

  2. Aug 12

    Ideas Fest Fireside Special: The Businesses That Will Win And Lose In The AI Era PLUS How Founders Must Change To Scale Beyond £1 Million

    Can AI make founders more efficient without making business less human? Recorded around a real fireside, this special episode of Building The Brand brings together Ideas Fest founders Frankie James and Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE with $100M exited founder Andrew Hulbert for an honest conversation about entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, business growth and founder loneliness in 2026. Connect with Ideas Fest: https://ideasfest.uk/ Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter With customers spending more carefully, operating costs remaining high and AI changing how companies work, Frankie, Dyan, Andrew and James discuss why building a successful business has become more challenging - but also why the right founders now have access to more powerful tools than ever before. They chat about why most businesses are barely scratching the surface of AI, how founders can use automation to remove repetitive administration and why simply using ChatGPT to create social media content is unlikely to provide a lasting competitive advantage. Plus Andrew shares the practical lessons behind building his business from a bedroom start-up into a business generating more than £50 million in annual revenue. KEY MOMENTS: 0:00 — Welcome to Founders By The Fireside 01:29 — The state of UK entrepreneurship in 2026 01:52 — How the cost-of-living crisis is affecting business 03:52 — Using AI to automate business administration 05:46 — Why most businesses are barely using AI properly 06:11 — The businesses that will win in the AI era 07:04 — The danger of building a business entirely on AI 08:27 — Why AI is increasing demand for human connection 10:04 — Why community-led business events are growing 11:34 — Founder loneliness and the reality of entrepreneurship 13:24 — Using networking events to build a personal brand 16:40 — Growing Ideas Fest from 1,200 attendees 20:39 — How the first Ideas Fest was launched 22:13 — Why cancelling can sometimes be the right business decision 24:56 — Why sustainable business scaling takes experience 26:47 — The hidden costs of running a major business event 31:07 — How entrepreneur awards can build credibility 32:13 — Why founders need to escape their industry bubble 33:18 — The power of networking across different industries 35:53 — Why SMEs are critical to the UK economy 38:38 — How to scale a business from £1m to £10m 40:06 — Finding the founder skill you should go all in on 40:54 — When founders need to start hiring and delegating 41:16 — How £1m investment helped Pareto scale beyond £20m 41:42 — Delegating without losing company culture 43:54 — Using AI for finance, customer service and operations 44:38 — What 25 years of fast-growth business data reveals 45:20 — The three foundations of sustainable business growth 45:53 — Why hiring and developing great people comes first 46:08 — Managing cash and finance during business growth 46:25 — Why customer retention beats customer acquisition 48:11 — Growing your business alongside fast-growth customers 48:48 — Working with ASOS, Deliveroo and Paddy Power Betfair 52:16 — Why entrepreneurs should attend Ideas Fest 53:30 — How founder communities combat business loneliness 57:11 — Why accessibility makes Ideas Fest different 59:48 — Why great businesses often start by solving your own problem

    Ideas Fest Fireside Special: The Businesses That Will Win And Lose In The AI Era PLUS How Founders Must Change To Scale Beyond £1 Million

  3. Aug 5

    Can A Girl Dad Build The Biggest Brand In Women’s Football? Footballher Founder Connor Stanbridge On TikTok & Going All In

    Can a frustrated dad with no fashion experience build one of the biggest brands in women’s football? Connor Stanbridge is the founder of Footballher, a women’s football clothing and sportswear brand created specifically for women and girls. Connect with Footballher https://footballher.co.uk/ Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter The idea began during the Women’s Euro 2022, when Connor tried to buy football clothing for his young daughter and discovered that most major retailers offered little beyond boys’ kits or poorly fitting unisex products. After finding that thousands of other parents and players had experienced the same problem, he left his existing business and committed to building the solution. Using TikTok to document the journey, Connor built a community before footballher had produced a single product, gathered direct feedback from women and girls outside football stadiums and grew an email waiting list of 15,000 people before launch. In this episode, Connor explains how to validate an idea without a marketing budget, turn social media followers into customers, build products through community feedback, find manufacturers, manage stock and compete against global sportswear brands by creating a brand people genuinely want to belong to. KEY MOMENTS: 0:00 — Can a girl dad build the biggest brand in women’s football? 01:04 — The Oxford Street shopping trip that inspired footballher 03:22 — Turning a frustrating customer experience into a business idea 05:13 — Discovering the lack of clothing designed for women footballers 07:30 — Why naivety can be a founder’s greatest advantage 08:11 — Building an audience before creating the product 08:49 — Using TikTok when you have no marketing budget 10:38 — Why footballher became a community-led brand 11:11 — Crowdsourcing product ideas outside football stadiums 13:18 — Creating the footballher Black Card 14:28 — The moment strangers recognised Connor before the brand launched 16:11 — Listening to customers without designing by committee 18:28 — Turning social media followers into an email waiting list 19:19 — Getting locked out of TikTok one week before launch 20:48 — How long it really takes to develop a clothing product 22:34 — Why Connor refused to use print-on-demand clothing 23:55 — The first footballher sale and learning through small product drops 25:02 — Hiring an experienced sportswear designer 26:53 — Contacting up to 200 factories and manufacturers 29:26 — Why followers do not automatically become customers 30:33 — The lesson that changed footballher’s product strategy 31:21 — Why selling out can create serious business problems 32:11 — Competing with Nike, Adidas and global sportswear brands 34:12 — Building community as a competitive advantage 35:04 — Bringing more than 100 women and girls together at footballher’s first event 37:02 — Moving from founder-led storytelling to a professional brand 39:48 — The opportunity to create football kits for professional clubs 41:19 — Using TikTok, Instagram and Meta retargeting together 42:52 — Scaling the business without breaking its foundations 45:45 — Why girls need to see women playing football 48:09 — Connor’s three-to-five-year vision for footballher

    Can A Girl Dad Build The Biggest Brand In Women’s Football? Footballher Founder Connor Stanbridge On TikTok & Going All In

  4. Jul 29

    Diary Of A CEO Trailer Editor Anthony Smith: 450+ Trailers, 1.5B Views & Why Going Viral Is A Trap

    Can one self-taught editor change how an entire industry promotes its content? Anthony Smith is the former Diary Of A CEO trailer editor who helped transform podcast promotion from simple social media clips into cinematic, emotionally charged miniature movies. Watch more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@buildingthebrandofficial Want more from Building The Brand - connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter After struggling to break into the film and television industry without money, contacts or formal training, Ant started his own production company and taught himself to edit because he could not afford to employ an editor. That decision eventually led him to work on major campaigns involving Bond, Star Wars, Disney and Marvel before joining The Diary Of A CEO when the team consisted of fewer than ten people. Over the next four and a half years, Ant created or oversaw more than 450 podcast trailers, helping turn Steven Bartlett’s podcast into one of the world’s biggest media brands. His documentary-inspired storytelling, cinematic sound design and emotionally driven editing style helped redefine how podcasts, creators and brands promote long-form content. You will hear: ▪️Working on campaigns involving Bond, Star Wars, Disney and Marvel ▪️Joining Diary Of A CEO when the team had fewer than ten people ▪️Why Steven Bartlett told Ant not to study other podcasts ▪️Turning podcast trailers into cinematic miniature documentaries ▪️The storytelling principles behind more than 450 trailers ▪️How music, sound design and editing can provoke emotion ▪️Why Diary Of A CEO’s trailers helped define the brand ▪️Why copying the Diary Of A CEO style will not work for every business ▪️The 15-point mindset checklist used to train trailer editors ▪️Why brands must create content from first principles ▪️The difference between building a brand and chasing attention ▪️Why going viral can become an addictive and destructive cycle ▪️How vanity metrics cause brands to abandon their identity ▪️Why a million views may produce no customers or meaningful community ▪️How AI and human creativity can work together 0:00 — Has Ant Smith changed the podcasting industry? 4:00 — Growing up believing success happened to other people 8:17 — Working on Bond, Star Wars, Disney and Marvel campaigns 13:10 — Pressure, burnout and becoming addicted to difficult work 17:50 — Joining Diary Of A CEO for an “easier” creative role 19:49 — How cinematic trailers transformed the podcast 21:15 — Turning a podcast into a global media show 23:31 — Ant’s first day with Jonny Wilkinson and Wretch 32 30:01 — Why Steven Bartlett told him not to watch other podcasts 32:10 — Creating the first Diary Of A CEO trailer 34:05 — The first and final trailers that bookended Ant’s journey 37:28 — Creating and overseeing more than 450 trailers 38:25 — An estimated 1.5 billion episode views and what comes next 40:24 — Why copying successful content causes industries to stagnate 47:18 — How trailers helped define the Diary Of A CEO brand 48:50 — Why brand building should be treated as an art form 55:22 — Creating different identities for new podcast brands 59:59 — The 15-point mindset checklist behind effective trailers 1:01:32 — What brands get wrong about short-form content 1:03:27 — Why going viral can become a destructive addiction 1:05:28 — The dopamine crash that follows viral success 1:09:45 — Leaving the world’s biggest podcast 48 hours earlier 1:10:23 — Why success left Ant feeling empty and worthless 1:12:49 — The friendships behind Diary Of A CEO’s growth 1:15:10 — Leaving a powerful brand and questioning your own value 1:16:54 — What comes after Diary Of A CEO? 1:17:40 — Stepping into the unknown without another job 1:18:14 — Building a better relationship between AI and creativity 1:20:29 — Challenging the belief that employment equals safety 1:22:07 — Reflecting on a career that changed podcast promotion

    Diary Of A CEO Trailer Editor Anthony Smith: 450+ Trailers, 1.5B Views & Why Going Viral Is A Trap

  5. Jul 22

    Danny Gray: From Scaling Steven Bartlett’s Diary Of A CEO To Partnering With Beta Squads’s Sharky Launching LVLS In 750 Retail Stores From Day One

    Can losing your father, losing the business you built in his honour and taking a job you never expected become the foundation for your biggest opportunity? Danny Gray is an entrepreneur, commercial strategist, former Commercial Partnerships Director within Steven Bartlett’s business ecosystem and co-founder of LVLS, a wellness brand launched into 750 Boots stores from day one.  After losing his father to Parkinson’s disease, Danny became driven to build businesses that improve people’s health, going on to launch an award-winning functional nutrition restaurant before joining Steven Bartlett’s early team, helping build the commercial engine around The Diary Of A CEO.  Through his Venture Capital fund building, he has now co-created Hide, stocked in 1,000 Tesco stores, and launched LVLS alongside Beta Squad’s Sharky, brokering a deal to get the product into 750 Boots stores from day one.  In this episode, Danny explains how Levels secured major retail distribution before launch, reduced its funding requirements through smart payment terms, built authentic creator partnerships and set out to make wellness more fun and accessible for everyday people.  Watch more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@buildingthebrandofficial  Join the Building The Brand newsletter: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter Key Moments:  0:00 — Losing His Dad Two Weeks After Launch 1:21 — Danny Gray: Entrepreneur and Levels Co-Founder 2:14 — How Money, Shame and Family Created His Drive 6:53 — His Father’s Battle With Parkinson’s Disease 10:58 — Opening a Restaurant Before Losing His Father 15:05 — Creating a Functional Medicine Restaurant 18:54 — Building One of London’s Breakout Restaurants 20:09 — Manifestation as Tactical Business Planning 23:38 — The Final Phone Call From His Father 27:00 — Sleeping in the Restaurant to Pay Staff 30:09 — Why Founders Cannot Outwork Grief 34:41 — Scaling Into Google, Chelsea FC and Retail 39:22 — Pivoting From Restaurants to Healthy Ready Meals 42:45 — Joining Steven Bartlett With Three Bullet Points 45:39 — Commercialising The Diary Of A CEO 48:40 — Leaving Steven Bartlett to Become a Founder 51:33 — Why Taking a Job Is Not a Step Backwards 55:58 — Launching Hide Into 1,000 Tesco Stores 57:46 — Athlete Equity Deals and Business Ownership 1:01:01 — Identifying the Mainstream Wellness Opportunity 1:03:46 — Launching Levels Into 750 Boots Stores 1:05:34 — Retail First vs Direct-to-Consumer Strategy 1:07:24 — How to Structure a Mutually Valuable Deal 1:09:40 — Partnering With Sharky From Beta Squad 1:11:33 — Why Creator Equity Beats Celebrity Endorsements 1:18:32 — Why the Wellness Industry Is Too Serious 1:21:25 — Building a Wellness Brand for Everyday People 1:23:18 — Entering the Crowded Electrolyte Market 1:28:20 — Building a Business to Make His Son Proud 1:31:15 — Funding a 750-Store Retail Launch 1:32:19 — Negotiating Payment Terms to Protect Cash Flow 1:34:16 — Taking Risks and Building Without Regret

    Danny Gray: From Scaling Steven Bartlett’s Diary Of A CEO To Partnering With Beta Squads’s Sharky Launching LVLS In 750 Retail Stores From Day One

  6. Jul 15

    Bedroom Startup To $100M Exit In Under 10 Years… But What Is The Cost Of Success?

    Can a working-class entrepreneur build a £50 million revenue business from his spare bedroom, sell it for $100 million and still hold on to the things that matter most? Andrew Hulbert is the founder of Pareto Facilities Management, the bootstrapped business he grew from a laptop in his bedroom to £50 million in annual turnover, 550 employees and a $100 million business exit. Watch more episodes:https://www.youtube.com/@buildingthebrandofficial Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter Andrew explains how Pareto competed against multibillion-pound facilities management companies by being more agile, flexible and customer-focused. He reveals how that strategy helped the company grow organically from £18 million to £32 million in a single year. ▪️How Andrew built Pareto Facilities Management from his bedroom to £50 million in turnover ▪️The working-class upbringing that shaped his ambition and work ethic ▪️Why his original financial freedom target was only £2 million ▪️How customer-first flexibility helped Pareto grow during COVID ▪️Growing organically from £18 million to £32 million in one year ▪️How smaller businesses can compete against multi-billion pound corporations ▪️Why hiring senior leaders helped scale beyond the founder ▪️Building a powerful B2B brand in an unglamorous industry ▪️Using networking, PR, awards and major client names to create authority ▪️Winning brands including Twitter, Yahoo, Bulgari and London Zoo ▪️How Pareto won a £2.3 million contract while turning over only £1.5 million ▪️The brutal family sacrifice behind Andrew’s business success ▪️Answering 835 due diligence questions and completing a $100 million exit KEY MOMENTS: 0:00 — The real sacrifice behind Andrew’s $100 million exit 2:10 — Going all-in on Pareto for 10 years 3:24 — Working-class roots and the original £2 million exit target 6:45 — Why the founder eventually becomes the bottleneck 10:36 — How COVID became the catalyst for Pareto’s growth 13:43 — Growing organically from £18 million to £32 million 16:46 — Turning a business crisis into a competitive opportunity 26:56 — PAUSE POINT: Building a B2B brand around mission 29:29 — The £104 billion facilities management opportunity 39:30 — Learning business inside a chaotic SME 43:29 — The corporate takeover that triggered Pareto 46:06 — Networking before you need something 49:17 — Using awards to build authority and credibility 54:31 — Risking his marriage, house, money and reputation 1:11:47 — Winning a £2.3 million contract at £1.5 million turnover 1:17:35 — PAUSE POINT: Choosing premium clients intentionally 1:21:10 — Putting his daughter down to answer a customer 1:33:41 — 835 due diligence questions in three and a half weeks 1:36:54 — Decompressing after the exit and rebuilding family life 1:45:17 — Andrew’s next 10-year chapter

    Bedroom Startup To $100M Exit In Under 10 Years… But What Is The Cost Of Success?

  7. Jul 8

    3.3B Views A Month... How Benjy Leslie Built The UK's No.1 Social First Talent Agency In Just 6 Years!

    Can a 20-year-old with no experience turn one TikTok creator into a £250,000 opportunity and build one of the UK’s most respected social-first talent agencies?Benjy Leslie is the founder and CEO of Connect Management, one of the UK’s leading creator talent management and influencer marketing agencies. In just six years, Connect has grown from a lockdown start-up into a major force in the creator economy, working with social-first talent, YouTubers, TikTok creators, brands, agencies and some of the biggest names in modern media.Want more from Building The Brand - connect here:https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletterConnect with Benjy:https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjy-leslie-837b64144/In this episode, Benjy explains how he made £250,000 from one creator in three months, why social media is “the free lottery” for founders, how Connect Academy generated £1m for micro-creators in its first year, why brands need to move beyond one-off influencer campaigns, and why the future belongs to creators, entrepreneurs and businesses that can build attention, adapt quickly and turn content into long-term brand value.▪️How Benjy Leslie built Connect Management during lockdown ▪️Turning one TikTok creator into £250,000 revenue ▪️Why energy, belief and naivety can beat experience ▪️How creators become salespeople, media brands and business owners ▪️How Connect Academy generated £1m for micro-creators ▪️Why brands need to move beyond one-off influencer campaigns ▪️How YouTube shows are shaping the future of branded content ▪️Why social-first creators are changing TV and media ▪️Building culture through incentives, rewards and high standards ▪️Why founder content drives clients, talent, trust and recruitment ▪️Why social media is the free lottery for entrepreneurs ▪️Launching Connect Management in America without losing culture KEY MOMENTS: 0:00 — Why social media is the free lottery 1:33 — 3.3 billion views and the bedroom start-up story 3:43 — Making £250,000 from one TikTok creator 5:14 — Naivety, belief and early-stage founder energy 6:05 — What Connect Management does for creators 7:02 — Connect Academy and the creator pathway 10:06 — What makes a creator commercially valuable 13:21 — Using data and AI to track creator trends 15:05 — Scaling to 60 staff while staying bootstrapped 19:51 — PAUSE POINT: Culture as a business growth strategy 24:53 — Best boss PR, incentives and sales motivation 30:52 — Why brands get influencer marketing wrong 31:05 — YouTube shows and the future of branded content 33:08 — Why creators need patience and consistency 37:57 — Targeted sales, attention and commercial logic 40:24 — Why great salespeople listen and move on 47:17 — Why TV is not dying, it is evolving 49:39 — 360 talent management and creator brands 51:30 — PAUSE POINT: Evolution, relevance and content strategy 54:41 — Why founders should treat social media as the free lottery 58:11 — Recruitment, founder brand and social proof 1:00:14 — Launching Connect Management in America 1:02:43 — Selling Fletcher Holman to Wolves through social media 1:03:59 — PAUSE POINT: Finding million-pound ideas in unexpected places 1:06:58 — Scaling without losing company culture 1:10:30 — Ronaldo, Haaland and authentic content

    3.3B Views A Month... How Benjy Leslie Built The UK's No.1 Social First Talent Agency In Just 6 Years!

  8. Jul 8 ·  Bonus

    PREVIEW: Benjy Leslie On Building a 3.3B View Creator Agency

    Benjy Leslie is the founder and CEO of Connect Management which has grown from lockdown start-up into a social-first talent agency representing the biggest names in modern media.LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE NOW

    PREVIEW: Benjy Leslie On Building a 3.3B View Creator Agency
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Building The Brand is a Top 50 business podcast for people who don’t just want success stories - they want to understand how success is actually built. Hosted by James Burtt, each episode features in-depth conversations with entrepreneurs, founders, and creators behind standout brands. This isn’t surface-level storytelling. This is a tactical break down of real decisions, trade-offs and lessons behind standout brands Past guests include world-renowned business and entrepreneurial figures Gary Brecka, Grant Cardone, Joe Foster, Mark Victor Hansen and John Lee Dumas. Not how to. This is how you.

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