Steven Bartlett (businessman)

Steven Cliff Bartlett (born 26 August 1992)[2] is a British-Nigerian entrepreneur and podcaster. He is the co-founder of Thirdweb, Flight Story and Flight Story Fund.[3][4] He was the co-founder and co-CEO of Social Chain, however, he stepped down from the latter role in December 2020.[2] In 2022, he began appearing as an investor on the BBC One show Dragons' Den.[5][6] He also runs The Diary of a CEO podcast.[7]

Steven Bartlett
Bartlett in 2021
Born
Steven Cliff Bartlett

(1992-08-26) 26 August 1992[1]
Botswana
NationalityBritish
Occupations
Known forSocial Chain
Dragons' Den
AwardsForbes 30 Under 30 (2020)
Websitestevenbartlett.com

Early life and education

Bartlett was born in Botswana to an English father and Nigerian mother.[8] His mother left school aged seven and could not read or write; his father was a structural engineer.[9] He moved to Plymouth, England at the age of two, where he grew up, attending a secondary school, Plymstock School, and a sixth form.[10][11] He went to study at Manchester Metropolitan University, but dropped out after one lecture.[11][12]

Career

In 2013, Bartlett founded Wallpark.[12]

In 2014, Bartlett co-founded Social Chain, a social media marketing company based in Manchester, UK, with Dominic McGregor.[2][13]

In 2017, he created a podcast series called The Diary of a CEO, which has featured guests including Liam Payne and Tom Blomfield.[14] As of 2021, it is Europe's most downloaded business podcast and has featured British entrepreneurs Ben Francis, Lee Chambers and Grace Beverley, as well as other public figures including former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.[15][16][7]

In 2019, Social Chain and German online retailer Lumaland merged to become The Social Chain AG, listing on XETRA and the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange.[13] The listing valued the business at over $200 million.[17] Bartlett’s website initially claimed that he took Social Chain public at age 27, before leaving the company after it reached a valuation of $600 million. These claims were subsequently retracted after The Times reported that Bartlett had left the business more than a year before the floatation, and was not named in its prospectus.[18] In February 2023, Social Chain was acquired by Brave Bison for an initial consideration of £7.7million.[19]

In 2019, he featured in the Channel 4 series The Secret Teacher,[20] going undercover at a school near Liverpool as a teacher.[21]

In December 2020, he created a private equity company called Catena Capital,[22] then joined the board of directors of Huel, a £72 million food replacement company.[23] Bartlett, joins the nutrition company as a non-executive director.[4]

Thirdweb, co-founded by Bartlett, has raised $24 million in a funding round, that values the startup at $160 million,[24] led by Katie Haun's $1.5 billion crypto fund.[3]

In 2023, Bartlett launched a £100 million fund to back European entrepreneurs.[25]

Critics

Breaching guidelines on advertising

The BBC, which currently airs The Dragons Den, reprimanded Bartlett in March 2022 for breaching BBC guidelines on advertising. In a statement, they told The Radio Times: "We have clear guidelines around talent's commercial activity while working with us. Steven has been reminded of the guidelines." In a statement, Bartlett addressed the issue, adding: "This was a genuine oversight on my part. The posts have now been taken down.[26]

The Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom) took action against Barlett in August 2022 for breaching the CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 2.1, 2.3 and 2.4 in which he covertly advertised meal replacement firm Huel. The ASA ruled that the advertisement must not appear again in its current form and subsequently advised Barlett and Huel to "ensure that they made clear the commercial intent of advertising content in podcasts in future, for example by including a clear and prominent identifier such as “advertisement” and making sure the break from editorial content to the ad was clearly and audibly identified."[27]

Exaggerated valuation claims

Steven has been critiqued by The New Statesman as an entrepreneur who "styles himself as a business guru but beneath the clichés lies a thinly veiled craving for celebrity"[28]

The Times, among other significant newspapers, questioned the validity of Bartlett’s supposed fortune and fame in 2023, citing public documents which show that the company he founded recently sold for £7.7m.[29], a stark contrast to Bartlett's own words on a recent episode of Dragons’ Den, where he claimed: "I built a £300 million business at 28 years old!".[30] The company later sold for £7.7m, according to the BBC.[29]

James Hurley, Enterprise Editor of The Times, said in his investigation that "..the rise of Social Chain AG to a nine-figure valuation may owe more to mattresses and a wealthy 65-year-old media tycoon than Bartlett’s leadership."[18] On February 13, 2023, The Times reported that Bartlett is not the tycoon he claims to be built and floated Social Chain with a market valuation in excess of $600 million.[18] In return, the article became the subject of a legal complaint from Bartlett.

Books

In 2021, Bartlett released his debut book, Happy Sexy Millionaire, which was a Sunday Times bestseller.[31] In May 2021, it was confirmed that Bartlett, aged 28, would be the youngest-ever investor on the long-running BBC show Dragons' Den.[32]

Recognition

In 2018, the digital marketing community Econsultancy named him "The most influential figure in the industry."[10] In 2020 he was inducted into the Manchester Hall of Fame. In the same year he was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.[33] Bartlett has been a speaker more than 400 times, including at the United Nations, SXSW (an annual event in Austin, USA) and Ted Talk conferences (an American private non-profit foundation).[17]

References
  1. Rodgers, Kadeem (20 January 2020). "17 things we learnt from Steven Bartlett at JMMB's Elevate2.0". Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. Anon (2021). "Steven BARTLETT personal appointments". gov.uk. London: Companies House. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  3. Burroughs, Callum (25 August 2022). "Mark Cuban backed Steven Bartlett's new Web3 startup in 2021. Now, Thirdweb just raised $24 million in a round led by Haun Ventures with this 11-slide pitch deck". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  4. Burroughs, Callum (19 January 2023). "Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett has raised a $100 million fund to back the next generation of Europe's unicorn founders". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  5. Mantock, Rachel (2021). "New investor Steven Bartlett says his digital background gives him 'an edge' on Dragons Den". inews.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  6. Lewis, Isobel (2021). "28-year-old Steven Bartlett joins Dragons' Den as show's youngest ever Dragon". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  7. Charlton, Graham (3 December 2021). "Who Were Steven Bartlett's Favourite Guests on Diary of a CEO?". www.martechalliance.com. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  8. Samuelson, Kate (2 March 2022). "Steven Bartlett: from dropout to millionaire". The Week UK.
  9. Khomami, Nadia (6 January 2022). "How Steven Bartlett went from dropout to youngest ever Dragons' Den investor". The Guardian.
  10. Staff Reporter (2021). "5 things to know about The Social Chain CEO Steven Bartlett, the youngest ever Dragon". UK Tech News. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  11. Scotty (14 November 2019). "Interview With Steve Bartlett, CEO of the Social Chain Group". logros.co.uk. The Logros. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  12. Barrie, Thomas (2021). "Steven Bartlett: 'If you want a successful business, you have to instil a culture of learning'". gq-magazine.co.uk. GQ. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  13. Prior, David (17 August 2020). "Co-founders Steven Bartlett and Dominic McGregor to leave Social Chain". prolificnorth.co.uk. Prolific North. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  14. McKeever, Vicky (27 August 2021). "This entrepreneur is set to make $1.2 million from his podcast this year. Here's how he's doing it". cnbc.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  15. Benson, Rhianna (29 December 2021). "Meet Steven Bartlett - Dragon's Den's newest addition and youngest ever investor". walesonline.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  16. Walker, Peter (28 February 2022). "I didn't break Covid rules when kissing aide, says Matt Hancock". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  17. Anon (2020). "Steven Bartlett". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  18. "Why Steven Bartlett is not the tycoon he claimed". The Times. Retrieved 14 February 2023.(subscription required)
  19. "Brave new world as Social Chain is sold". The Times. Retrieved 14 February 2023.(subscription required)
  20. The Secret Teacher (2 June 2018). "Secret Teacher: teaching children without play was soul-destroying". The Guardian.
  21. "The Secret Teacher: Episode 3: Social media marketing magnate Steven Bartlett goes undercover at a cash-strapped school in Liverpool". channel4.com. Channel 4. Archived from the original on 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  22. "Steven Bartlett net worth, girlfriend and everything else about him in 2022". Unifresher. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  23. Robinson, Jon (9 February 2021). "Jon Robinson Social media guru Steven Bartlett joins fast-growing food replacement brand Huel". North West Business Editor. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  24. Lunden, Ingrid (25 August 2022). "Thirdweb raises $24M at a $160M valuation from Haun Ventures, Shopify and Coinbase for its web3 development kit". TechCrunch. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  25. Prescott, Katie (19 January 2023). "Dragon Steven Bartlett launches £100m fund for entrepreneurs". The Times. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  26. Morris, Lauren (8 March 2022). "Dragons' Den star says BBC sponsorship rule breach was 'genuine oversight'". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  27. Practice, Advertising Standards Authority | Committee of Advertising. "Huel Ltd". www.asa.org.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  28. Manavis, Sarah (14 March 2022). "Steven Bartlett's self-help guide to helping himself". New Statesman. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  29. "Steven Bartlett: Firm founded by Dragons' Den star to sell for £7.7m". BBC News. 3 February 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  30. "BBC One - Dragons' Den, Series 19, Episode 1, New Dragon: "I built a £300 million business at 28 years old!"". BBC. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  31. Stephenson, Hannah (30 June 2021). "Dragons' Den newcomer Steven Bartlett: I'm not particularly bothered about what other people think of me". irishnews.com. The Irish News. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  32. Virk, Kameron (20 May 2021). "Dragons' Den: Why new Dragon Steven Bartlett won't be wearing a suit". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  33. Alex Wood (17 March 2020). "30 Under 30: Meet The European Media & Marketing Moguls Of Tomorrow". Forbes. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
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