Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett sat down for a Q&A session at the Music Hall in Aberdeen, offering advice on achieving success.
A success story in his own right, Mr Bartlett built a $500m social media marketing company from his bedroom in Manchester.
A university dropout, the entrepreneur is a recognisable face in the UK, as a dragon on Dragons’ Den and hosting the popular podcast Diary of CEO.
The event, organised by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce and attended by 1,400 people, gave an insight into his life from humble beginnings living in Plymouth, speaking with BBC’s Fiona Stalker.
He described having “internal shame” during childhood, recalling one incident where his mother turned up at his school in just lingerie.
Mr Bartlett had the crowd in awe, describing his journey and the lessons he has learned on the way, coming across as personable and humorous at times.
‘Uncertainty’ is a threat to a company’s success
His entrepreneurial flair began when he was young, selling items from the family home and trying to get a vending machine installed at his school.
He noted that “self-belief and confidence” propelled him to start trying to make money at an early age.
He said when he first approached company bosses floating the idea that social media was the future, he was laughed out of the boardroom.
Back in 2012, social media was a new thing and Mr Bartlett says that bosses were dismissive of new untested things.
He soon built a global social media marketing business by first convincing people with popular Facebook pages to sell them to him to reach a wider audience.
Mr Bartlett touched on several real-world situations, which gave the audience pause for thought about how companies use specific tactics on consumers.
He said one of the biggest issues was “uncertainty” pointing to examples including Domino’s and Uber.
Top tips for success from a Dragon
Domino’s introduced the pizza tracker so customers knew exactly when their pizza would arrive and Uber allows passengers to track their driver alleviating uncertainty.
Another topic he touched on was the idea of culture and how it is fundamental to a company or team dynamic.
He recalled conversations with people who described Sir Alex Ferguson as a “savant man manager” and that culture in the locker room was “everything to him”.
Another threat to success in a company is the time taken to make a decision, according to Mr Bartlett.
‘Thought-provoking session’
Acting quickly and not dithering, waiting for 100% certainty, it could be the difference between success and failure, although he advocated for failure.
He said his business was a “culture of experimentation” and that failure leads to feedback, leads to knowledge, leads to power.
He finished off the event by speaking about making sure your expectations in life are being met and it will help you find happiness and success.
One audience member described the event as “thought-provoking” while another said he enjoyed the advice he gave and would try to implement it into his life.
Conversation