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

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

Can rebellion, enthusiasm and one strange idea change your entire life?

Simon Woodroffe, founder of YO! Sushi, YOTEL and the wider YO! brand, shares the extraordinary journey from boarding school, rebellion, prison, rock and roll stage design and TV rights to launching YO! Sushi at 45 and building one of Britain’s most recognisable modern brands.

Watch more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@buildingthebrandofficial

Want more from Building The Brand - connect here:https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter

Get Simon’s book YO! Man:https://yo.co.uk/yoman/

▪️Why Simon believes enthusiasm is the trait behind his success

▪️Why rebellion can become entrepreneurial fuel

▪️Going to prison and how it changed Simon’s life

▪️How Simon became a rock and roll stage designer

▪️Working around Rod Stewart, Queen, ABBA, Jethro Tull and major live shows

▪️Spotting the opportunity in music TV rights before the market existed

▪️Why the best founders can be early to a market without being reckless

▪️How a lunch meeting sparked the idea for YO! Sushi

▪️Why conveyor belt sushi, robots and Japanese culture felt like the future

▪️Launching YO! Sushi at 45 with his own money on the line

▪️How word of mouth turned YO! Sushi into an iconic British brand

▪️The story behind YOTEL and building a brand across multiple verticals

▪️Why Simon still believes in YO! Home, YO! Airships and future YO! concepts

KEY MOMENTS:

0:00 — The trait behind Simon’s success

2:06 — Boarding school, authority and rebellion

7:17 — Getting arrested and going to detention

12:43 — Working on yourself as a founder

16:31 — PAUSE POINT: Work on yourself

23:31 — Intensity, enthusiasm and leadership

28:32 — Becoming a rock and roll roadie

32:06 — Band, brand and live spectacle

38:00 — Spotting the music TV rights opportunity

43:06 — Being early to new markets

45:04 — PAUSE POINT: Early or mistaken?

49:24 — The lunch that sparked YO! Sushi

52:04 — Researching and believing in the idea

55:13 — Gut instinct vs market research

56:35 — YO! Home and future living

1:02:09 — Opening YO! Sushi to an empty room

1:02:50 — The queue that lasted five years

1:05:24 — Growing YO! Sushi and YOTEL

1:08:26 — PAUSE POINT: Unrelenting enthusiasm

1:13:57 — Simon’s advice for entrepreneurs

Simon Woodroffe, founder of YO! Sushi, YOTEL and the wider YO! brand, shares the extraordinary journey from boarding school, rebellion, prison, rock and roll stage design and TV rights to launching YO! Sushi at 45 and building one of Britain’s most recognisable modern brands.

Full episode out now on APPLE | SPOTIFY | AMAZON MUSIC

Can you lose a multi-million-pound fashion business almost overnight… and still come back to build a brand in a completely different industry?

Charles Gay is the founder of Favela, the Brazilian-inspired beer brand bringing sunshine, culture, gluten-free lager, hospitality partnerships and premium party energy into the UK and European drinks market.

Watch more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@buildingthebrandofficial

Want more from Building The Brand - connect here:https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter

In this episode of Building The Brand, Charles shares the incredible story of going from fashion entrepreneur and brand creator to launching Favela Cerveja, a Brazilian beer brand built around culture, community, purpose and one very clear gap in the market.

But this conversation is not just about beer, hospitality or building an alcohol brand.

It is about losing everything, having to shut down a successful fashion business almost overnight, dealing with the pressure of staff, suppliers and cancelled orders, rebuilding from scratch, raising investment, learning a new industry, cold-calling bars, driving beer across Europe himself, and proving that brand-building principles can transfer across completely different markets.

He also breaks down the realities of the drinks industry, from brewery partnerships, wholesalers, distributors and hospitality groups through to premium venues, football sponsorship, Ibiza activations, Amazonico, Dubai, Marbella, O Beach Ibiza and the strategic move into aluminium bottles.

Connect with Favela:https://www.favelacerveja.com/

IN THIS EPISODE:

▪️How Charles Gay went from fashion entrepreneur to beer brand founder

▪️Why Brazil inspired the creation of Favela Cerveja

▪️Spotting the gap for a Brazilian beer brand in the UK drinks market

▪️Creating a gluten-free, vegan and purpose-led beer brand

▪️The role of brand design, packaging, IP and trademarks

▪️How Charles raised his first £1M to launch Favela

▪️Why investors backed the founder, the story and the purpose

▪️How to build a drinks brand through bars, restaurants and wholesalers

▪️Why cold-calling and hand-delivering product still matters

▪️How Favela partnered with O Beach Ibiza and Amazonico

▪️The strategic importance of aluminium bottles in beer

▪️The difference between on-trade, off-trade and supermarket distribution

▪️Why the right venue partnerships matter more than being everywhere

KEY MOMENTS:

0:00 — Charles Gay on raising £1M, Ibiza and building Favela

1:05 — From fashion entrepreneur to Brazilian beer brand founder

3:15 — Creating a gluten-free, organic, vegan beer concept

5:22 — Spotting the gluten-free trend before the market caught up

9:25 — PAUSE POINT: Market gaps are easier to see from outside the industry

11:37 — Losing the fashion business and saving Favela

19:18 — Relaunching Favela and raising the first £1M

22:06 — The Favela Foundation and building a purpose-led beer brand

23:45 — PAUSE POINT: What survives when a business collapses?

26:37 — Rebuilding the brewery, team, marketing and distribution

30:05 — Cold-calling bars and hand-delivering beer in Glasgow

33:33 — Starting again, swallowing your ego and leaving fashion behind

39:15 — Why aluminium bottles are a major opportunity for Favela

42:15 — Getting Favela into O Beach Ibiza

47:01 — Driving beer through Europe to Ibiza with his dad

48:44 — PAUSE POINT: Founder mode means doing whatever it takes

52:25 — Amazonico, Dubai, Monaco, Miami and premium global venues

56:29 — Why on-trade comes before supermarket retail distribution

1:00:15 — The biggest lessons from losing a multi-million-pound business

1:03:40 — World Cup activations, Dubai, Spain and Favela’s next stage

Meet Charles Gay, the entrepreneur who has raised £4M to create Favela Cerveja, the Brazilian beer brand set to take on the drinks industry giants!

His journey from multi-million pound fashion mogul to FMCG challenger brand is a wild ride - you'll love this!

Get the FULL EPISODE now, on your favourite podcast player

Can you build serious wealth without academic success, qualifications or even being able to properly read a contract?

James Martin who is an entrepreneur, investor, mentor and commercial landlord who has amassed a huge net worth through business and property certainly thinks so!

Watch more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@buildingthebrandofficial

Want more from Building The Brand - connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter

In this episode of Building The Brand, James shares the brutally honest story of growing up with severe dyslexia, leaving school at 14 with no qualifications, turning rejection into opportunity, building his first business before the age of 18, selling and buying back that company, moving into land, planning and commercial property, and eventually building a multi-million-pound property portfolio.

James explains how dyslexia shaped the way he thinks, why he built teams around him from a young age, how a trusted business partner ripped him off for millions, what that taught him about contracts, partnerships and control, and why founders need to understand the rooms they are operating in before the stakes get too high.

He also shares how he built Ruskins from cutting grass and hanging baskets into a serious commercial business, how he sold it, bought it back for a fraction of the price, then sold it again, before moving into planning, land acquisition, wedding venues, commercial estates, container storage and business mentoring.

Connect with the brilliant James Martin on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/jamesmartinentrepreneur/

IN THIS EPISODE:

▪️Growing up with severe dyslexia and the shame of not being able to read properly

▪️Leaving school at 14 with no qualifications

▪️Why James hired a PA at 18 and built his business around his weaknesses

▪️Turning rejection from drama school into his first real client

▪️Building a landscaping and tree surgery company before the age of 20

▪️Winning pub, brewery, council, MOD and commercial contracts

▪️Selling Ruskins, buying it back, then selling it again

▪️Why being good at a business does not mean you should stay in it

▪️How James moved from trading businesses into land, planning and property

▪️Getting ripped off for millions by a trusted partner

▪️The importance of shareholder agreements, contracts and exit clauses

▪️Why commercial property became James’s favourite business model

▪️How he uses delegation, management and expert operators across multiple businesses

▪️The mindset shift required to go from £2M turnover to the next level

KEY MOMENTS:

0:00 — James on shame, scars, trust and being ripped off for millions

1:00 — Why the positive should be primary

2:14 — Growing up severely dyslexic

3:34 — School, shame and becoming the “cheeky chappie”

8:38 — Trusting solicitors, PAs and people around him

9:30 — PAUSE POINT: Build around your weaknesses

12:41 — The business partner who ripped him off for millions

15:10 — Leaving school at 14 with no qualifications

18:32 — How drama school became his first client

20:01 — PAUSE POINT: Rejection can become market research

21:36 — Winning 35 pubs before the age of 18

23:20 — Building Ruskins and growing into tree surgery

31:07 — Breaking into council and commercial contracts

34:39 — Brokering international rights and licensing deals

36:39 — Selling Ruskins for the first time

42:00 — Buying the business back from receivers

46:39 — PAUSE POINT: Does the business still fit the life you want?

49:39 — Moving into land, planning and development

51:39 — Why contracts and partnership agreements matters when millions are involved

59:28 — Why James loves commercial property

1:01:00 — Delegation, management and expert operators

1:04:54 — Baby steps, risk and learning before diving in

1:08:02 — Why James created the Baddow Park Mastermind

1:10:34 — Helping entrepreneurs think bigger

1:11:57 — James’s ambition: buying property until the day he dies

If you love this short clip, you will LOVE the full episode where James Martin shares how he went from leaving school at 14 and being unable to read contracts, got ripped off for millions, bought back the business he sold, and built a £50M+ property empire from lessons that nearly broke him.

FULL EPISODE OUT NOW ON YOUR FAVOURITE PODCAST PLAYER