Steven Bartlett | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Bartlett in 2024 | |||||||
Born | Steven Cliff Bartlett 26 August 1992 | ||||||
Nationality | Botswana-British | ||||||
Occupations |
| ||||||
Known for | Social Chain Dragons' Den The Diary of a CEO | ||||||
Awards | Forbes 30 Under 30 (2020) | ||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
Channel | |||||||
Location | United Kingdom | ||||||
Years active | 2019 – present | ||||||
Genre | Podcasting | ||||||
Subscribers | 6.24 million [1] | ||||||
Total views | 409.4 million [1] | ||||||
Contents are in | (in English) | ||||||
| |||||||
Last updated: 25 May 2024 | |||||||
Website | stevenbartlett |
Steven Cliff Bartlett (born 26 August 1992) is a British entrepreneur and podcaster. He is the founder of Thirdweb, Flight Story and Flight Fund. [2] [3] He was the co-founder and co-CEO of Social Chain, but stepped down as CEO in 2020. [4] In 2021, 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] In 2023, according to Spotify Wrapped, it was ranked in the top 10 most popular podcasts globally. [8]
Steven Cliff Bartlett [9] was born on 26 August 1992 [10] in Botswana to an English father and a Nigerian mother. [11] His mother left school at age seven and could not read or write; his father is a structural engineer. [12] He moved to Plymouth, England, at the age of two, where he grew up, attending a secondary school, Plymstock School, from which he was expelled in sixth form. [13] [14] [15] He went to study at Manchester Metropolitan University, but dropped out after one lecture. [14] [16]
In 2013, Bartlett founded Wallpark, an online messaging board. [16] In 2014, Bartlett co-founded Social Chain, a social media marketing company based in Manchester, England, United Kingdom, along with Dominic McGregor. [4] [17] In 2017, he created a podcast series called The Diary of a CEO, which has featured guests including Liam Payne and Tom Blomfield. [18] As of 2021, it was 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. [19] [20] In 2023, according to a podcast chart, The Diary of a CEO has the second largest weekly audience in the United Kingdom. [21]
In 2019, the Financial Times reported that Steven and Wanja Oberhof would jointly manage Social Chain AG, which was valued at €186M at the time that it merged with Lumaland. [22] In 2019, Social Chain and German online retailer Lumaland merged to become The Social Chain AG, listing on Xetra and the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange. [17] The listing valued the business at over $200 million. [23] In November 2021, Social Chain AG moved to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange's prime standard reaching a valuation of $600 million. Bartlett's website initially said that he founded a $600 million company. However, The Times reported that Bartlett had left the business at the time of the second listing. [24] Bartlett noted to The Times that he retained a “significant” shareholding in Social Chain AG at the time of the second listing and that he was under contract to work for the company “on a range of strategic matters” at the time of the $600m valuation, including the up-listing to the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, for which he received a “further package of virtual shares/options”. [24] [25]
In 2019, he featured in the Channel 4 series The Secret Teacher, [26] going undercover at a school near Liverpool as a teacher. [27]
In December 2020, he created the private equity company Catena Capital, [28] then joined the board of directors of Huel, a £72 million food replacement company, as a non-executive director. [29] [3] In 2021, Bartlett joined the BBC One investment show Dragons' Den . [30]
In September 2023, Bartlett accompanied Prince William on Royal visits in Bournemouth after being announced as an advocate of his foundation, Homewards. [31]
Kimaï will be working with Steven and his team to amplify their digital presence, in exchange for a 3 per cent equity stake. The deal is the biggest investment made by The Diary Of A CEO podcast host since he first joined the programme in 2021. [32]
In May 2024, Steven Bartlett's The Diary of a CEO podcast launched a dedicated 24/7 channel exclusively on Samsung TV Plus. The Diary of a CEO is the first vodcast (video podcast) and YouTube channel of its kind to partner with Samsung, the company revealed. [33] [34]
Thirdweb, a Web3 startup founded by Bartlett, raised $5m in seed investment, and an additional $24 million in 2022, nine months after going live. The Series A funding round valued the startup at $160 million. [35] The funding was led by Katie Haun's $1.5 billion crypto fund, with participation from investors including Coinbase Ventures, Shopify, and Polygon. The company aims to simplify the process of building decentralized applications on the blockchain. [2]
In January 2023, Bartlett launched Flight Fund, a $100 million fund for tech investment. [36] The fund claims to support diverse founders and high-growth startups in blockchain, biotech, health, commerce, technology, and space sectors. The fund had a stated goal to invest in around 20 companies, offering small stakes at discounted valuations in exchange for support from previous founders who are limited partners in the fund. [3]
The BBC, which currently airs The Dragons' Den, reprimanded Bartlett in 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." [37]
The Advertising Standards Authority took action against Bartlett 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 Bartlett 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." [38]
In 2021, Bartlett released his first book, Happy Sexy Millionaire, [39] which was a Sunday Times bestseller. [40] In 2023, Bartlett released his second book, The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life, [41] where he recollects topics from the podcast of the same name and condenses it into a published print version. The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life was shortlisted at The British Book Awards for Book of the Year after it became the fastest-selling personal development book since records began. [42] [43]
In 2018, Econsultancy named him "The most influential figure in the industry." [13] 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. [44] Bartlett is regularly booked for public speaking engagements. [23]
Reid Garrett Hoffman is an American internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcaster, and author. Hoffman is the co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, a business-oriented social network used primarily for professional networking. He is also Chairman of venture capital firm Village Global and a co-founder of Inflection AI.
Theodoros Paphitis is a Greek-Cypriot British retail magnate and entrepreneur. He is best known for his appearances on the BBC business programme Dragons' Den and as former chairman of Millwall Football Club.
David Oliver Sacks is a South African-American entrepreneur, author, and investor in internet technology firms. He is a general partner of Craft Ventures, a venture capital fund he co-founded in late 2017. Additionally, he is a co-host of the All In podcast, alongside Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg. Previously, Sacks was the COO and product leader of PayPal, and founder and CEO of Yammer. In 2016, he became interim CEO of Zenefits for ten months. In 2017, Sacks co-founded Craft Ventures, an early-stage venture fund. His angel investments include Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, and Airbnb.
Deborah Sonia Meaden is a British businessperson and TV personality who ran a multimillion-pound family holiday business, before completing a management buyout. She is best known for her appearances as a 'Dragon' on the BBC business programme Dragons' Den.
Terrence Thomas Kevin O'Leary, sometimes called Mr. Wonderful or Maple Man, is a Canadian businessman, investor, journalist, and television personality. From 2004 to 2014, he appeared on various Canadian television shows, including the business news programs SqueezePlay and The Lang and O'Leary Exchange, as well as the Canadian reality television shows Dragons' Den and Redemption Inc. In 2008, he appeared on Discovery Channel's Project Earth. Since 2009, he has appeared on Shark Tank, the American version of Dragons' Den.
Dragons' Den is a British reality television business programme, presented by Evan Davis and based upon the original Japanese series. The show allows several entrepreneurs an opportunity to present their varying business ideas to a panel of five wealthy investors, the "Dragons" of the show's title, and pitch for financial investment while offering a stake of the company in return.
Robert Warren Pittman is an American businessman. Pittman was the CEO of MTV Networks and the cofounder and programmer who led the team that created MTV, and is the cofounder of iHeartMedia and Casa Dragones Tequila. Pittman joined iHeartMedia's predecessor company Clear Channel in November 2010 as an investor and the company's Chairman of Media and Entertainment Platforms, was named CEO in 2011 and chairman in 2013. Pittman led Clear Channel's transformation into iHeartMedia, Inc. in September 2014 to reflect its new multiplatform business and expanded mission. Pittman has also been the former chairman and CEO of Clear Channel Outdoor, CEO of AOL Networks, Six Flags Theme Parks, Quantum Media, Century 21 Real Estate and Time Warner Enterprises, and COO of America Online, Inc. and AOL Time Warner.
Vinny Lingham is a South African-born American Internet entrepreneur who is the co-founder & CEO of an identity protection and management startup based in California called Civic. He was also previously the founder and CEO of Gyft & Yola, Inc. He is also the co-founder of SiliconCape, an NGO based in South Africa that aims to turn Cape Town into a technology hub.
Jaeson Ma is an American entrepreneur, artist, and media executive. He is the founder of the east-west talent, brand strategy & investment firm East West Ventures, a co-founder of 88rising, and a co-founder of Stampede Ventures, chairman and co-founder of broadcast production and distribution company EST Media Holdings, and its subsidiary ventures: EST Studios,, Eastern Standard Times, and OP3N,. He is also a member of Milken Institute - Young Leaders Circle (YLC). Ma has also been featured in Variety 500.
National Public Radio is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national syndicator to a network of more than 1,000 public radio stations in the United States. It differs from other non-profit membership media organizations, such as the Associated Press, in that it was established by an act of Congress.
Lionsgate Canada is a Canadian entertainment company and a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition and production of films and television series.
Dragons' Den is a Canadian television reality show based on the internationally franchised Dragons' Den format which began in Japan. The show debuted on October 3, 2006, on CBC Television, and is hosted by Dianne Buckner. Aspiring Canadian entrepreneurs pitch business and investment ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing business financing and partnerships. The show also has a Quebec-only spin-off called Dans l'oeil du Dragon.
Chamath Palihapitiya is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian and American venture capitalist, engineer, SPAC sponsor, founder and CEO of Social Capital. Palihapitiya was an early senior executive at Facebook, working at the company from 2007 to 2011. Following his departure from Facebook, Palihapitiya started The Social+Capital Partnership, through which he invested in several companies, including Yammer and Slack. He is a co-host of a technology podcast, All-In, along with David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg.
Brittany "Brit" Morin is an American venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and technologist. She is the co-founder of and managing partner at Offline Ventures, an early stage venture fund and studio, founder and CEO of Brit + Co, a media and digital education company based in San Francisco, the founder of Selfmade, an education and community platform for female entrepreneurs, and the founder of BFF, an open-access community for women and nonbinary people in Web3.
Marques Keith Brownlee, also known professionally as MKBHD, is an American YouTuber and professional ultimate player, best known for his technology-focused videos as well as his podcast Waveform. As of December 2023, he has more than 20 million subscribers across all channels and 3.93 billion total video views. Vic Gundotra, a former senior vice president of Google, called Brownlee "the best technology reviewer on the planet right now". At the 10th Shorty Awards in 2019, he was named "Creator of the Decade" The former name of his YouTube channel is a concatenation of MKB and HD. With New York PoNY, he is the 2022 WFDF World Champion in the Open Category for ultimate Frisbee.
MOD Pizza is an American fast-casual pizza restaurant chain based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2008, MOD has more than 560 locations as of December 2023 in the United States and two locations in Canada.
Huel Ltd. is a British company that makes plant-based meals, snacks, drinks, and food supplements. The head office is in Tring, Hertfordshire.
Tej Lalvani is a British businessman and the CEO of the UK's largest vitamin company Vitabiotics, founded by his father Kartar Lalvani. He is best known for being one of the "dragons" on the BBC television series Dragons' Den from 2017 to 2021.
Sriram Krishnan is an Indian-American internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcaster, and author. He is a general partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.