#059: Steven Bartlett - From University Dropout to Social Media King - a podcast by Alex Chisnall

"I went to Manchster Met to study business management and I didn't register, but went down to where I thought my lecture was meant to be. I sat in the room for about half an hour and got very, very bored. I was convinced I was in the wrong room and I never went back. I went back to my halls of residence and I went down to the University and dropped out." Steven Bartlett, Co-Founder of Social Chain.

See Steven Bartlett's Social Chain co-founder 'live' in Manchester on March 21st 2018 here:http://bit.ly/2FlewvR

Social Chain is an award-winning and hugely innovative social media marketing agency, with a collective reach of over 200 million millennials across their platforms and an enviable global client portfolio that includes Apple, McDonalds, and the BBC. Social Chain was set up in 2014 by two young entrepreneurs - Steve Bartlett and Dom McGregor - who dropped out of university to pursue their business venture. Dom McGregor, Social Chain Co-Founder, tells us how they made it.

How it all began

Steven Bartlett moved to Manchester to enroll on a Business Management course at Manchester Metropolitan University, but that didn’t last long with the business vision he had on the side. Steven wanted to create a social media-assisted platform based on common interests and university life, designed to connect students in the same city. He envisioned it as a place where students from the same cities could connect, to share anything from advertising an event to selling old textbooks; a Gumtree for students. So with that in mind, he dropped out of university to focus His energy on Wallpark.

Whilst working to grow Wallpark, one of the main things Steven learnt more about was the behavior of young people on social media, on Twitter in particular.

During this time Steven stumbled upon a Twitter page aimed at students run by a student at Edinburgh University; his name was Dominic McGregor. Dom was posting extremely funny and relatable student content that in turn attracted thousands of followers. He saw the opportunity to use these platforms to connect a brand with its audience. If there was a way to weave a brand’s message seamlessly into the page, and engagement and following wouldn’t suffer, Steven wanted to create it. Steven got in touch with Dom and shared his vision, and soon enough he ended up ditching his studies too. Together they set up Social Chain...

 

Further episodes of Screw It Just Do It with Alex Chisnall

Further podcasts by Alex Chisnall

Website of Alex Chisnall