Steven Bartlett row – why numbers matter
Northern tech influencer Naomi Timperley has hit out at the ‘smoke and mirrors’ surrounding Social Chain and founder Steven Bartlett following the sale of the social media agency for £7.7m last month.
Speaking on the Northern Spin podcast Timperley said: “It is a problem, it’s smoke and mirrors. Yes, he’s done well. But saying publicly to people that you have sold a £600 million business is a different story.
“I think it’s a misconception and people have bought into him. It’s allowed him to do incredible things like Dragon’s Den, which is great for him.
“Steven has very cleverly built his personal brand, there’s nothing wrong with that, but people have bought into the whole $600m myth.”
Bartlett’s modest background is often cited in contrast to his role in floating a company worth $600m whilst in his twenties. It is true that he set up Social Chain in 2014 at the age of 21 and that it was first merged with investments of German entrepreneur Georg Kofler and later bought by German ecommerce giant Lumaland in 2019. Confusingly Lumaland then changed its name to “Social Chain AG”.
In a social media post on the morning after Social Chain AG floated in Germany, Bartlett said: “This morning I had the tremendous honour of ringing the bell as Social Chain joined one of the largest stock markets in the world and celebrated the start of its next chapter. We started Social Chain 7 years ago at 21 years old, in the university I had just dropped out of in Manchester. We were kids – kids that believed in the untapped potential of social media and kids that most importantly believed in ourselves. 7 years later, we’re adults now, and the company has grown up too: 1,400 team members, $700m of revenue this year, and at the start of its debut on one of the world’s largest stock markets.”
Timperley also hit out at business leaders and the media who have contributed to the false narrative around the Bartlett success story.
“Journalists have a responsibility. I think if people are making really bold claims, you need to do due diligence. It would take literally take two minutes to check on the Companies House website. I knew this stuff years ago, because I do due diligence and it’s not rocket science.
“I appreciate that not all journalists have the time, and that you can’t check out every single person. But you have a responsibility. I don’t like smoke and mirrors, people need to be their authentic selves and not try to be something they are not.”
Timperley, who is speaking at theBusinessDesk.com and JMW Women in Business lunch with Talk Talk’s Helen McHugh, also spoke on the podcast about her experiences of hosting a family from Ukraine in her home and the recent decision to award a government contract to Barclays Eagle Labs which led to the demise of Tech Nation.
