Building The Brand with James Burtt

How to sell your business for £50M? Howard Kosky built his specialist PR agencies over 32 years then sold it for £50M - and says leaving felt like grief.So, what is a business exit strategy really? Howard who is considered to be a broadcast PR pioneer sits down with James Burtt on Building The Brand to break down selling a business in the UK, how to value a business beyond EBITDA, and how private equity really buys companies.How much is my business worth? Howard's answer: Your value is not your profitability. Buyers pay for future-proofing, niche dominance, and runway. In this episode he reveals his first IPO windfall at 28, engineering a management buyout in 2001, buying Cue Sheet magazine to own the market, building 5 interconnected companies, and why he chose PE investment for his final exit. He also breaks down due diligence survival, vendor due diligence, why buyers chip price, and the emotional support gap no advisor warns you about.If you want a UK founder playbook for business valuation, exit planning, and life after selling a business — this is it.🎙️ Guest: Howard Kosky — Founder, Markettiers4DC🎙️ Host: James Burtt — Building The Brand👇 KEY MOMENTS: Selling a Business & £50M Exit Strategy:0:00 — How to sell your business for £50M? The day after the deal0:54 — Why does selling a business feel like grief?2:13 — Radiators vs drains: What founders get wrong after exit8:02 — What is life after selling your company really like?13:13 — Business exit strategy: What is your right to win?15:50 — How did Marketeers for DC start in broadcast PR?20:29 — What happens in your first IPO at 28?24:46 — How does a management buyout from a PLC work30:39 — How to spot digital opportunity early in business?42:39 — Should you buy a competitor to own your niche?54:34 — Where do you really make your fortune? Fame vs fortune57:11 — When is the right time to sell your business to private equity?01:04:50 — How do buyers value a business? Future-proofing vs profit01:10:21 — How to survive due diligence when selling a business?01:24:49 — Why is there no emotional support when you sell your company?ABOUT BUILDING THE BRAND:Building The Brand is the business podcast for people who don't just want inspiration - they want to understand how success is actually built. Hosted by James Burtt, each episode goes beyond the headline with in-depth conversations and signature pause moments that tactically break down strategy.FOLLOW for weekly interviews with UK founders on selling a business, scaling, and brand building.

What happens when you post a video every single day for 243 days and STILL can't break 1,000 views on TikTok?Layton went from working as an electrician to building a successful personal brand, growing an audience of nearly 250,000 followers and securing brand partnerships with companies including Sony, DJI and Adobe.But his success didn't happen overnight. He committed to posting content for 400 consecutive days, learning how to create better videos, build audience trust and turn social media attention into a profitable creator business.Today, Layton helps entrepreneurs, founders and businesses master short-form video content, Instagram growth, storytelling and personal branding through online courses, workshops and brand collaborations.In this episode of Building The Brand, Layton sits down with James Burtt to explain why most businesses get their content strategy wrong, why views don't necessarily equal sales, how to create engaging videos without expensive equipment and how he turned his content into multiple income streams.He also shares the practical formula behind his viral videos, why brands should prioritise storytelling over selling, how to negotiate paid UGC and influencer brand deals, and why consistency is one of the most underrated tools in building a successful personal brand.Connect with Layton:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/layton_video/Want more from Building The Brand? Connect here:https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletterKEY MOMENTS:0:00 — Posting 400 Days in a Row: The Reality of Building a Personal Brand01:46 — Why Most Businesses Get Their Video Content Strategy Wrong03:01 — Content Consistency vs Batching: How to Get Better at Making Videos19:22 — Overcoming Camera Anxiety and the Fear of Posting Online21:22 — 243 Days Without Going Viral: Why Persistence Builds Audience Trust27:38 — How Businesses Can Create More Video Content In-House30:13 — Monetising Your Personal Brand With Online Courses and Digital Products35:15 — How to Get Brand Deals and Build Multiple Creator Income Streams40:50 — How Consistent Content Builds Trust, Followers and Brand Awareness45:11 — Brand Storytelling, Social Proof and UGC Marketing That Converts51:45 — How to Negotiate Influencer Brand Deals, Fees and Usage Rights54:26 — Do Talking Head Videos Still Work? Creating Authentic Content01:04:30 — Finding Original Content Ideas and Avoiding Social Media Comparison01:10:17 — How to Film Better Instagram Reels: The 15-Shot Video Formula01:12:07 — Viral Videos vs Valuable Content: Building a Social Media Sales Funnel01:22:35 — Instagram vs Email Marketing: What Actually Converts Into Sales?01:30:43 — The One-Brick-a-Day Mindset for Building a Successful Business

Guy Phoenix builds £25M super homes for billionaires complete with shark tanks and helipads! The Channel 4 star reveals how he went from terraced houses to Monaco mansions.How do you go from building standard terraced houses to building some of the most extravagant luxury homes in the world for billionaires? Guy Phoenix - luxury home builder, star of Building Britain's Superhomes on Channel 4, and founder of Guy Phoenix Luxury Developments - sits down with James Burtt for an unfiltered conversation on Building The Brand.Guy doesn't call himself a builder. He calls himself an artist. In this episode he breaks down how the Guy Phoenix name became synonymous with luxury and extravagance over 20+ years, why he once built ONE super home on a plot where he could have built six houses, why a client paid him £50,000 just for a conversation, and why his future billionaire project will cost hundreds of millions.You'll hear how his son Jack took the brand to another level with YouTube and TV in the last 3 years (90% of growth), his on-site design process with spray paint and string, 585 lighting circuits vs 23 in a normal house, six-figures-a-month interest bills, £300k planning fees, Monaco, Miami, Beverly Hills expansion, and his take on the UK property market, wealth exodus and tax.If you want to understand luxury property development in the UK, how to build a personal brand in construction, and the mindset of the ultra-wealthy who buy Guy Phoenix homes - this is it.KEY MOMENTS: 0:00 - How Guy Phoenix Accidentally Built a Luxury Brand 01:54 - I Am Not a Builder. I Am an Artist. 04:01 - Shark Tanks, Lagoons, Helipads & Football Pitches: Client Wish Lists 06:06 - How His Son Jack 10X'd The Business With YouTube & TV 0:40 - The Hundreds-Of-Millions Billionaire Super Home 12:23 - From Terraced Houses To £25M Mansions: The Stepping Stones 13:41 - Designing With Spray Paint & String: Guy's Process 27:02 - UK Wealth Exodus, Tax & Stamp Duty Truth 29:14 - Moving to Monaco: Why He's Relocating 30:50 - The £50,000 Chat & Hugh Grant Story: Fame & Clients 32:59 - Impenetrable Homes: Security For Billionaires 50:00 - 585 Lighting Circuits: His Lighting Superpower 51:00 - Hard Work, Resilience & Short Temper: Work Ethic 52:35 - Legacy: Homes That Live On After He's Gone 53:12 - Strip Billionaires Naked & They'd Get Rich Again: Wealth MindsetWant more from Building The Brand? Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletter

Former Diary of a CEO Head of Trailers Ant Smith - one of the first 10 key hires who helped build the world's fastest growing podcast - reveals his short form content strategy  for YouTube Shorts, TikTok and podcast trailers. Ant goes full tactical on how to go viral short form. Ant made 450+ trailers for Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, turning 90-second  podcast trailer cuts into miniature movies. In this episode of Building The Brand with James Burtt, he breaks down exactly how to grow a podcast with short-form: why disconnection kills retention, how to sell the guest in 10 seconds, the psychological effect behind cliff-hangers, eye-lines for retention, perfect imperfection cuts, and his ai video editing workflow that turned 4 hours into 20 minutes.If you want  podcast growth , a proven youtube shorts strategy and real storytelling psychology from inside DOAC, this is the playbook. This is Ant Smith x Building The Brand Part 2 - more stories, all tactics. Perfect for podcasters, video editors, and founders using short-form to grow.👇 CHAPTERS - Diary of a CEO Short-Form Tactics:0:00 — Hook: Why 90 seconds decides if they watch 2 hours02:50 — Who is Ant Smith? Early DOAC hire to Head of Trailers11:20 — He'd never heard of Steven Bartlett: joining Diary of a CEO13:00 — Not a podcast, a show: the trailer philosophy that changed podcasting29:40 — How Ant used AI in DOAC trailers (guest intros in 20 mins)32:30 — Disconnection kills retention: the #1 retention rule34:00 — Perfect imperfection: the authenticity cut that builds trust38:00 — Quantity vs quality: AI for marketing teams41:00 — Best AI tools for video creators (Artlist, Envato)44:00 — Human-led ideas, AI for brutal feedback (Claude workflow)46:00 — Psychology of cliff-hangers & the Zeigarnik effect50:00 — Eye-lines for retention in YouTube Shorts53:40 — Why story is king for brands and creatorConnect with Ant via https://www.linkedin.com/in/antedits/Building The Brand hosted by James Burtt - new episodes weekly on business, podcasting & brand building. Subscribe for tactical breakdowns.

How do you help build one of the UK’s best-known challenger beer brands, walk away from the business you helped create and then start all over again in a completely different industry?Hannah Williams helped build Tiny Rebel from a home-brewing experiment into a major independent brewery employing around 120 people, while acting as CFO and helping scale the company through rapid growth.Today, she is CEO of the Alacrity Foundation, working with technology startups and entrepreneurs, while simultaneously building Lucky No.7 Coffee alongside her husband Mo.And she’s doing it with many of the same principles that helped Tiny Rebel grow: move quickly, test the market, build a distinctive brand, surround yourself with great people and learn as you go.In this live episode of Building The Brand from Ideas Fest, Hannah shares the entrepreneurial lessons behind building Tiny Rebel, launching a coffee brand, scaling a startup, building a team and creating a brand people actually remember.Want more from Building The Brand?Connect here: https://buildingthebrand.co.uk/newsletterIn this episode, Hannah reveals:How Tiny Rebel went from home brewing to employing around 120 peopleWhy they ignored advice that the business needed a traditional marketing budget and backed social media marketing insteadHow Tiny Rebel hit its original three-year forecast within just nine monthsWhy Hannah believes naivety can sometimes be more powerful than confidence when starting a businessWhy knowing when you are no longer adding value can be critical as a founder or senior leaderHow simply asking successful entrepreneurs for help led to mentorship and advice from people behind businesses including Gymshark and GrenadeWhy she hires for “will over skill” and believes attitude can be more valuable than experienceWhy great businesses require partnerships, co-founders and complementary skill setsHow Hannah and Mo created the Lucky No.7 Coffee brand around their blended family of sevenWhy Lucky No.7 used events to test its branding, products and customer response before expandingWhy moving into physical retail earlier than planned can sometimes create unexpected growth opportunitiesHow Hannah combines startup thinking, technology and ecommerce with a traditional physical product businessHannah also explains the personal side of entrepreneurship: leaving Tiny Rebel after more than a decade, growing up around entrepreneurial parents, raising children around business and why financial success means less to her than creating experiences and making a difference to other people.Lucky No.7 Coffee: https://www.instagram.com/lucky.no7coffee/Alacrity Foundation: https://alacrityfoundation.co.uk/Ideas Fest: https://ideasfest.uk/Under The Canvas: https://underthecanvas.co.uk/0:00 — From Tiny Rebel to Building Lucky No.7 Coffee03:35 — How Tiny Rebel Started With Beer Brewed at Home04:45 — Ignoring Traditional Marketing Advice & Betting on Social Media05:25 — Hitting a Three-Year Business Forecast in Nine Months06:30 — Why Naivety Can Be an Entrepreneurial Advantage08:00 — Why Hannah Walked Away From Tiny Rebel09:25 — How to Get Successful Entrepreneurs to Mentor You11:00 — Knowing When You’re No Longer Adding Value to a Business15:55 — “Will Over Skill”: Hannah’s Approach to Hiring Great People22:00 — Why Entrepreneurs Need the Right Partner Around Them26:45 — Building the Lucky No.7 Coffee Brand From Scratch30:30 — Launching Into Retail Without a Traditional Business Plan32:00 — Testing Your Brand Before Trying to Scale It35:00 — Why Moving Too Early Can Sometimes Create Your Biggest Opportunity36:25 — “Slow Down to Speed Up”: Balancing Momentum With Strategy40:45 — Building a UK Coffee Brand Beyond Physical Stores41:30 — AI Search, GEO & the Future of Ecommerce Discovery43:25 — Why Hannah Never Feels Like She Has Done Enough