‘Quitting school, uni and jobs made me successful’
Steven Bartlett was expelled from school, left university after one lecture and recently quit his successful global business.
He says “quitting is for winners” and knowing when to quit is as important in becoming successful as knowing when to start a business.
Until August 2020, the 28-year-old was the CEO of Social Chain, a social media marketing and publishing company which he founded at the tender age of 21.
But to understand why somebody would choose to walk away from a company with 750 staff in four countries with an estimated annual turnover of $200 million, you have to wind the clock back just over a decade.
Speaking to Naga Munchetty on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 5 Live, Steven says he was “very crafty and entrepreneurial” and even ended up making the school money by convincing a vending machine company to put one in the common room for free and give the school a cut of the profits.
He says he was ultimately kicked out of school because of his low attendance and because he “wasn’t conforming… I didn’t look like the thing they wanted me to look like in order for them to get the marks they need for the league tables.”
The budding entrepreneur went on to take one lecture at the University of Manchester before dropping out to start a business called Wallpark, an online forum for students.
“My mum comes from Africa… and in her society and culture, education has a much higher value because it’s much harder to attain a quality education.
“I called her in the second week of my time at University and told her I was going to drop out and start a business… [she] told me ‘don’t talk to me until you go back to university’ and I didn’t talk to her for two years.”
His relationship with his mum has since been repaired, and looking back on that time, Steven has realised his mother was trying to protect him from experiencing the “pain in business” she had experienced in the previous 25 years of starting various unsuccessful businesses.
“It wasn’t until my business was successful that she realised I was safe and our relationship is great now… this is a lesson for all people, when your parents don’t approve of your choices, it’s because of love and because they’re trying to protect you and really it’s just a disagreement about the way that you’ll attain your safety.”
But the road to success is paved with failure, Steven says he was so poor while working at Wallpark that he had “stomach pains for days on end… at this point I started shoplifting Chicago Town pizzas.
“I figured that I had no choice, I had a Plan A and I didn’t have a Plan B and I was going to make myself a success regardless of what it will take to get there… I am thankful for this unwavering sense of self-belief that is the thing I consider my greatest privilege.
“In trying to figure out how to market Wallpark… I discovered this thing called social media and I was so fascinated by how engaged social media was back in 2013-14.”
Steven was 21 years old when he drank a “big glass of wine” and wrote an email to his investors telling them he was quitting the company and going to pursue social media – that move led him to found Social Chain.
When asked about why he ultimately left his most recent company, Steve was at pains to say he didn’t leave because the business was failing or because he’d been “kicked out”.
“It’s possible for someone to make the independent decision that their time is come”, he said, “and for me I no longer believed that this journey would give me what I wanted for me to remain fulfilled, incredibly challenged and motivated.”
Steven also had some words of wisdom for people wishing to follow in his entrepreneurial footsteps.
“I think one of the real levellers, one of the most powerful things that has happened in the last 20 years is we have this incredible thing called the internet.
“You can train yourself from the comfort of your bed if you want to, or launch your business on this amazing global platform.
“It might sound a little bit harsh, but the mindset that you’re too old or that you don’t know stuff so doors are closed to you, those negative stories that you tell yourself are your biggest single danger.”
But what is next for this serial quitter?
“I’m gonna do a ton of things, I’m doing a theatrical show with one of the directors from Hamilton, I’ve got my book ‘Happy, sexy millionaire’ launching in March and I’m working in biotech for the first time, I’m learning to DJ.
“This is the year that I give 100% of Steve Bartlett.”
