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Ben Francis

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2021-12-27

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2021-12-27

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1. “Oh, I don't know where to begin. Like, in terms of starting the business, there were several times we invested everything we had on a particular event or a particular product line. COVID was tough. He's like, when the business is growing at the rate that we're growing, even just making sure that we've got enough stock to fulfill the forecast for the following year is it's tough to manage and work out. Moving from zero to 900 staff in nine years, that's so hard. And it's like everyday hard because in many respects when a big problem comes in and it just hits you in out of nowhere. Look at that problem and you try and solve it, whereas people forget about the everyday nagging problems of making sure that the majority of the people that currently exist in Gymshark weren't in Gymshark 12 months ago.”

   2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

2. “Larger offices, it's a hub of Gymshark. When you're there, you're in it. We work together. We eat together and refuel. Many of us go and lift in the gym after together. And it builds that genuine community in the business”

   2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

3. “Exactly We're working on it now. That's what we're trying to work through. There are some people that are on remote contracts, so they choose to work remote. There are many, the vast majority are on contracts, which means they're based in HQ. Personally, you're right. The whole thing about, like I said earlier, being able to watch Steve, right, is massive for my development. So if I'm a youngster that's coming in to work at Gymshark, I want to be in the office. I want to learn and I want to grow and I want to be around people. That's not to say you can't learn on Zoom. I think you can. And I think there's great utility for Zoom. And I think there's areas where it's really helpful and useful. But if I'm a young product designer, I want to be around designers. I want to be able to be inspired and I want to have that conversation. I want to be able to share ideas in the moment rather than having to jump on Slack forward slash Zoom, jump on a call and so on. Hopefully they're free. So yeah, for me, like I said, I like to be in the office. I think it's a great place to learn. And the office for us, which is why we're investing in this campus.”

   2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

4. “So we, I mean, listen, there are people at Gymshark that work remotely and it works for them, and that's fine. Personally, I'm a little bit old schooling. I'm in the office pretty much every day, unless I'm out at meetings. I just love to be in the office. That doesn't mean it's right or wrong. I'm sure I would probably do a day, maybe a month or a quarter working from home if I need to work through things. Because when we did work from home, I found that I finally got to my to-do list, which was useful. And I'd never really got to that previously. We're sort of open-minded. There are some people that remote work. It makes sense for them as long as it makes sense for the business as well as them. That's cool. Personally, I like to be in the office.”

   2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

5. “Listen, commercially, the business did okay. Like, people were shopping online, and there were more people working out from home. They were cycling, they were running. That side of the business did well, but managing hundreds of staff around the world, working from home. Mental health, making sure that we're supporting them through complete uncertainty was definitely difficult.”

   2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

6. “Product at that point. And the moment that caught me, which was within like 24 hours of being locked down, I was lucky. I have an office at home. I shut the door. I've got a desk and I can just work through that. And when I'm finished, I can close the door at the end of the day. I was chatting to someone. And they were like, they were in a studio apartment in Birmingham City Centre and their partner was making their breakfast behind them and they were sort of like balancing their laptop on the work surface and it was all just I remember chatting to her and thinking okay this is going to be really just really tough for some people from a professional perspective and then I'm chatting to my mom who worked at the QE in Birmingham City Centre hospital in Sally Oak she was telling me about what was going on there and I was like it was very it became very”

   2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

7. “We didn't, so I wasn't CEO at the start of COVID. I came in in August So that was interesting. So we were lucky again because we were completely set up for Zoom. Everyone has laptops. We're a digital business. So working from home thanks to our tech team in the investments they made from a systems perspective, it wasn't like tough. I know there are other companies that not everyone had a laptop and so on. So that I couldn't imagine where to start there. And we had that moment where So what we have is because we have an office in Hong Kong, we have offices in the UK, we have offices in the US. And we literally saw, because COVID sort of came from the east to the west, didn't it? And we saw Hong Kong closed, right? Everyone went into lockdown and there was this bit where I know I was thinking, never happen here. Never happen here until it did, right? And then boom, lockdown, everyone working from home. And I was in, what was I doing at that point? I think I was just finishing in marketing. And I think I was moving into.”

   2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

8. “Yeah, and I think I can also empathize, listen, what Zuckerberg has done is like on a completely other world to what any pretty much anyone else has done, certainly myself. But in the early days of Gymshot, I didn't want to be plastering myself on social media, by the way. I didn't want to be on YouTube. I wanted to just knuckle down and focus on building the business. Because remember, I didn't know what it would be at that point. It was only when people started asking for that that I then decided to do it. So I do also understand the idea of just knuckling down and focusing on what you're good at. But you're right, the problem that that comes with is other people get to control the rhetoric or the language or the description of yourself.”

   2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

9. “Those three forces converging at the point where Gymsharp was founded is completely and utterly look. And I do understand that. But I'm also aware of the fact that there's loads of those things happening elsewhere in the world right now that probably aren't being completely taken advantage of. I am aware of the fact that it's luck, but I also think as well in me doing this, I'd like to think that regardless, even if you don't want to start your own business, which by the way is completely cool. And I probably say in many respects that's probably a good idea because it is very difficult to do this. I still think there's a lessons that can be learned. And I love the thought of people being able to take something away from the Gymshark story and create something cool of their own.”

   2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

10. “And by the way, I was incredibly lucky, massively lucky, and that would be completely right. And listen, I would completely understand that. But for some that want to, then that to me is a proof of one it can be done. Now, I am very well aware of the fact that I was very lucky. One in the people I've met, two in terms of timing. So fitness was on the up, right? In the early 2000s, all over the news was obesity rates are rising. So fitness was on the up because people were encouraging people into the gym and fitness. Director-Consumer came out of nowhere. People were more comfortable in the sort of 2010s than ever buying things online, right? In the early 2000s, people weren't that comfortable buying online from a company they had never heard of, let alone one from another country abroad. But number three, we had social media.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

11. “Because if we go back to me on the inside working with my granddad and being able to learn about those stories that eventually led to, in many ways, the gymshark we see today. Think I would love to be able to provide that to other people around the world, particularly here, first and foremost, it can be done, right? So you can start a business in the UK, whatever, in this world, online, and it can become a unicorn in under 10 years. And if you don't want to, you don't have to go and borrow a load of money. You don't have to highly leverage yourself. If you're a problem solver, you're open-minded and you're self-aware. It can be done. And I think one that I think that's the first sort of like step for me.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

12. “Some people are just naturally comfortable, and that's cool. And I think, but that's the main thing. And I do think for whatever reason, I think it's probably, maybe we're not taught it. Maybe it just doesn't feel natural. And by the way, if you can speak publicly, if you can speak to Cameron and if you can speak to groups, that is.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

13. “So, first and foremost, prepare impromptu remarks, whatever you want to call it, prepare stories, prepare things, like make sure you're well prepared. And generally you want to, if you're not very good at it, like for me, I had to over prepare. I had to prepare, you know, this many things for a conversation that was this long. And then the aim of that is to become comfortable. That's the main thing. And that was the biggest difficulty for me. Become comfortable. So now I'm super fortunate. You could put me on a stage in front of a thousand people and I would be a bit peculiar if I wasn't prepared, but I'd be fine and I'd be comfortable. Because then once you're comfortable, what you do is you buy yourself time. So then if we're on stage and you ask me a question five years ago, I'd probably like panicked and answer as quickly as I can with whatever. Whereas now I'm going to process it, think about it, and then come back with a response because I'm comfortable. And like, I think the stages to all different types of learning. And that was it for me. One, preparation. Once I'd done that.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

14. “And that really stuck with me because then I know a lot of other people do this as well when we're talking about a particular subject. Now, I'm fortunate now because I've done so much of this. I've got like all these different sentences and phrases and things that I can draw on. But in the early days, it's like, so Ben, you're going to talk about, you're going to publicly talk about the gymshot story. Now, historically, even though I knew the Gymshot story inside out because I was there, I'd struggle with that. So what I do is I prepare phrases, sentences, words, reminders in my head. So if someone said, I don't know, talk to me about the first event, it would just sort of roll off the tongue. And granted, I probably wouldn't do that anymore. But in the early days, that got me over that hump of that nervousness, that frog in my throat. I don't know where to start because that's the main thing is once you've started, it's fine, right? It just goes. But even just having that first sentence of, oh, the first event was body power and we did this and this and this. And then it, yeah, that really helped me.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

15. “There's a few bits. So there's one that they told me, and there's a quote I've said online. I think it's a Winston Churchill quote, whether or not it's true. You know, you see all these quotes and whether or not they're true or not. There's one where it says, I'm just preparing my impromptu remarks, which is like, obviously impromptu remark is a quick sort of like thing that you've sort of made up on the spot.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

16. “Had public speaking lessons. I did actually Shopify actually put me on a public speaking sort of camera thing, which was cool. Then I did some here back in the UK and just slowly worked it. And then the thing that really helped me was just... Wouldn't probably do this now due to time, but he was just saying yes to things, just saying, yep, I'm going to do it. And you know what? I'm going to make a fool of myself. I'm sure there's some footage somewhere of me sweating and shoveling around a stage somewhere like. Falling over my words and being terrible at it. But that's just a necessary evil to get good at anything, really.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

17. “And then I was at an event or something, I can't remember what it was. I think there was an event at Gymsharp. And I'm chatting away to people, chatting away, chatting away, and said, hello, I'm Ben. How are you? Have a great day. You know, what do you do? And someone said, I'm a public speaking coach. And then all of a sudden I've gone, boom, light bulb, I'm terrible at public speaking. You're a public speaking coach. And I was like, can you teach me? And that's literally how it happened. But if I hadn't have sat there and done that work and written it down, it probably would have gone on, right? I probably would have said, oh, okay, enjoy your day. I'll see you soon. It was lovely to meet you. And then...”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

18. “So there's two things. So, public speaking, one in front of a camera, two in front of an audience, or whatever you want to call it. To a group, I found those as two very different things. And it's weird, right? Because if I so Steve would be great in front of an audience but struggle in front of a camera, I was fortunate my other half Robin was a YouTuber so she's brilliant in front of a camera and she taught me how to work in front of a camera basically not through I don't know it was just through brute just keep going keep going stick in front of the camera in front of me in the first vlog she recorded and edited the whole thing So she taught me how to sort of work in front of a camera I did have public speaking lessons And that was massively life change and for me and the going back to that list of things by the way when I said about these are the things I'm good at these are the things I'm bad at one of those things was public speaking And this is why I'm such a massive advocate of making a list, right? Because public speaking was one of the many things on my list which was a weakness, but I didn't then immediately go and draw out a plan. I just had that list and I said, I know, I think I had it as my wallpaper on my phone. Public speaking is something I'm bad at.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

19. “Speed, efficiency, just simple, no messing around. I don't have to sit and think about, I don't know, what am I going to wear today or I don't know anything like that? It literally just a case of it simple, comfortable, and I like it.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

20. “I don't know. I don't think so. I definitely don't have a massive attention to detail. I've got the attention span of a gnat. If it's something that's really, I don't know, something that just like aligns with me, then I can obsess over it for months on end. It's something I don't find particularly interesting, I have to use every ounce of strength of every cell in my body to remain focused on it. Like I find that really difficult. I don't know if I'm a perfectionist. I'm probably not the best person to comment on that. I wouldn't say so. I don't look like a perfectionist. I'm a bit scruffy and I sort”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

21. “It's not to say that I don't like it, but I know that individuals that really struggle with change don't tend to do well at companies like Gymshark. If you just want a nine to five that is going to be consistent and stay the same, then it's definitely not the right place for you because it's so rapidly changing, not only because of the business itself, but because of the world that we're in. 10 years ago, Facebook was only small. Snapchat didn't really exist. Instagram barely existed. Shopify was very small. The ecosystem in the world that we Was completely different. So change as well, I think, is important.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

22. “I feel like So to be fair, I don't get too much of this, but I just don't want people to agree with me because I want to be challenged all the time. For me, We want the best outcome. I don't care if it's my opinion or your opinion. I want the best outcome. And if my idea is crap, tell me it's cool. It's fine. I will not take it personally. So, I don't want people, I don't want the whole thing of a yes man, yes person, whatever you want to call it. I think.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

23. “Learn to give feed Examples with feedback, empathy, understanding why people do certain things, like understanding the fact that no one is perfect, certainly not me, nor anyone Pretty much never have I seen someone go out of their way to like damage the brand. Like people are doing things for good intentions. No one's designed a product in a particular way because They want to see the brand negatively affected. No one's posted on social or done something in particular because they want to see the brand negatively affected. It's essentially a difference of opinion. So I think like understanding that and being aware of it whilst I'm giving feedback I think is important.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

24. “Hurricane Ben, that would have been the Ben that would have been described prior to my 360 feedback. So I'll give you an example, right? So there would be a Particular product that I didn't like, and my opinion would be just direct, brutal, and probably not take into account other people's feelings or thoughts. And that's not to say that everything that you should do in business should always be, you know, stepping around people's feelings because I definitely don't think that's the way. But equally, don't be a dick. And there was definitely times in the early days when I was a bit of a dick.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

25. “Stress and long hours and busyness over. I think Robin probably asked me the same question regularly, if I'm honest. I genuinely love it. I love the people that I work with. And you're right. I do not have to do this job. There is no two ways about it. I do it purely because I absolutely adore it and I want to challenge myself. And I want to be the best version of myself possible. I have genuine ambitions to be a great chief execut of this business one day. I don't think I'm anywhere near there now. And it's a bit like someone has to be a great CEO in five, ten, twenty years time. So why not me? And I'm always ambitious on behalf of the business more than I am myself, right? So I'll always put the business first because it is my baby and I've been there from sewing the clothes in the early days, going to the first events, like looking at having no money in the bank because of the risk that we take. And so the business for me always comes first and the people within the business always come first. But personally, I'm also ambitious for myself as well.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

26. “Learning. That doesn't mean I sit there reading books 24 7, but I love learning and being amongst it, and there's no better role for that.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

27. “I So I'm so proud of the fact that I found Gymshark. It's so great. But I don't want it to be a bit like Ben founder the business and that's all he did. Like I want to do way more than that. And for me, with my personality and the way I'm built, I think it's a far bigger challenge for me to run Gymshark at the scale it is now as a chief exec than it is to start the business, right? Like there are so many businesses that are started that die after year one after year two after year three after year four and five for me I'm proud of the fact that I founded the business. I'm proud of the fact that I've worked in the chief roles but to be in the front seat in the CEO role a business like Gymshark moving forward is one is the most exciting thing in the world for me it's the biggest challenge that I could possibly like go for and for me that's exciting like I want to aim high both for the business but also personally for myself as well and like you said at the start I love”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

28. “Now, the other thing I would say is the business today is a very different place to where it was. I don't know what the numbers are, but prior to Steve, we were maybe 30 employees. Now we're 900. We were one office in the Midlands. Now we're several offices around the world. So it's a very, very different place. But doing the chief of brand when the business was this big and then product at this big, then marketing it this big and tech and so on. Having the intricate understanding of those areas, not every area of the business, but many of the areas has really helped as well.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

29. “So, first and foremost, I think, like I said, I've done all these roles and I'd built up to a point where I sort of thought I might be able to do it. And I think the fact that Steve came to me two years prior to coming to the job and he said almost like, I think you can do this. So that was a huge vote of confidence because this wasn't like an overnight thing, right? This was a two-year buildup from the first conversation Steve had to me and his conversation was, I think I've taken the business to a point where I can, which is great, that he would be so honest and open about that. And then we had a two-year period of, okay, like, are we going to bring someone in from the outside? Or Ben, are you going to be able to do this role? And, you know, again, similar to what I did in 2015 is these are the things that I now need to do to be good enough at doing that role. So there was a long, almost warmer Pandover, whatever you want to call it to that.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

30. “Yeah, so I've had that, but I had that for five or six years because then it was branding into marketing, to product, there was tech for a little bit. I've moved around a lot. So this CEO role is the first genuine home I've found since sort of running the business back in 2013, 2014.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

31. “So he actually came in and reported in to me, but it was clear within, I don't know, a year or so that he was better. So I vacate the seat. He comes in and he's done a great job since. Then I think after that, I did, I think it was product for a little bit, which was great fun. Oh, sorry, I did marketing, which was great fun. And marketing is all it says in the tin, right? All the marketing, all the ads that you see online, everything that comes with that. And that was great fun. And I learned a lot there. I traveled the world. I spent time with Facebooks, Googles, or the partners like that. And I learned a hell of a lot there.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

32. “Of the period where I was sort of becoming a CEO because I started off as the chief of brand, right? So the business was smaller at this stage. I can't remember the exact size or say 20, 30 million in revenue maybe. And I managed the creative, the imagery, the videography, the athletes and sponsorships and all these different things, the events. That was cool because I just I got a real detail understanding of all those things, like really detailed. I was in the nuts and bolts of everything. Funnily enough, it then happened again. A guy called Noel came in who was way better than me. And he came in as the chief of brand. So, again, I'm sort of left a little bit high and dry. I was CEO, now I'm not, chief of brand, now I'm not.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

33. “I was young, I knew I had time, and I think that helped. But it was heartbreaking because the other thing as well is that doesn't mean to say exclusively everything Steve did, for example, I thought was right. There was things that he did. Well, I thought maybe I wouldn't do that or I would think differently. And sometimes he would be right and sometimes he would be wrong. But what I can't do, and this is the weird balance, right? Because I'm founder and I am like a majority shareholder of the business. So ultimately I have control of the business. But there's no point in me putting him as CEO and then just overall in what he says he's in the CEO because he's the best person for the job and I have to trust his judgment and opinion. And it's that weird balance of that. And I never, and I never have to this day, played what we'd call like the shareholder card. I've never come in and gone, this is the way it's going to be just because. So, yeah, then I was fortunate enough to watch Steve learn from Steve and that really helped. And this was the beginning, I think.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

34. “Heartbreaking as well because again, it's one thing moving yourself out of a role. It's another thing moving someone then into that role who does it really good. And like I'm looking at them, I'm like, you're way better than me. And I just have to like know that to be honest, I think I use that as motivation to one day be as good as that. That was the inspiration. I think maybe because...”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

35. “And I realized that my strengths, particularly at the time, were around creativity, around product, around brand, around marketing, around understanding the industry, the customer, and so on. So I was mulling the idea, do I work on my weaknesses? Do I focus on my strengths? And to be honest, I don't really know the answer to what the best way of doing this is. But I decided through, I think it was a Gary video to focus on my strengths. And I said, right, do you know what I'm going to do? I'm 20, whatever it is, three, 24. I am purely going to focus on my strengths now. And that's when I went into a brand role, a product role, a marketing role. Everything that was front end and creative at Gymshark, I completely lent into. That was when Steve came into the business. Steve became the CEO. So I was sort of like the responsibility of maybe some of the areas I was weaker at, finance, ops management. That was then moved away from me. And I purely, completely and utterly focused on this.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

36. “And you're right. So that's the dangerous thing. And I think that's why I was so fortunate because Gymshark, for the most part, not entirely, had been very successful until that point. So it was difficult for me to go, well, wait a minute, I can't be that bad, right? But yeah, I think the thing with Robin where she literally put it on me, that was the moment. So what I did then, and I was actually watching it, it was a Gary V video that I was watching actually. So what I did was I had the weaknesses which were both self-defined but defined by other people. I also had my strengths because by the way, your strengths come back with a 316. No one reads them. You only look at the weaknesses, right? But there is a list of strengths in there somewhere.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

37. “And then, like later on, she was, I said the same. I said, that was a load of rubbish, wasn't it? That's nothing like me. And then she said, that's the most you thing I have ever read. And then it was like, that was it. It was like, I didn't even say anything. I remember like everything came crashing down around me because there was nowhere to hide. Like, she knows me more than anyone. And like, I can kick and I can scream and I can say, no, it's not true. But in my heart of hearts, I knew it was true. And that was the moment I realized I have to change. I have to improve, I have to develop. And if you're talking about becoming self-aware, I think that was my moment.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

38. “Left it on the side, and I think I don't know what I've done. I'd gone to the gym or whatever else. Now, my other half, who's now my wife, ended up reading it, and I'd come home and I'd seen her literally just finishing it on like the last couple of pages. And I was so angry, right? I literally grabbed it off her and I said, mine, don't read it. Like, it's not even me anyway, is it blah, blah, blah, left her alone and we just carried on with our day.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

39. “That's the first thing. Now, fortunately, it's anonymous. You can't do that. And that would be terrible anyway. But then I read it, I took it home.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

40. “I mean, you could ask someone else to do it. The first really, the time it hit home for me, and it was like. Ton of bricks on the top of my head was I did a 360 feedback. So anyone that doesn't know what a 360 feedback is, I'm sure you can find it online if you Google it. But basically, you ask the people around you to describe you and it prompts you as it goes. So Ben is, I don't know, X, Y, and Z. Those people fill it in anonymously. Then it comes back to you and you have this thick wad of paper that basically fully describes yourself. And I actually did this, it was around when we met, so around 2015, and I had it and I printed it off and I read it and I was so upset and annoyed. And I remember thinking this is not me. And I took it home that night. And it was just erratic, hot-headed, arrogant. Poor manager, all these things from your”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

41. “Steve teach me how to people manage Steve teach me how to public speak like we didn't really do that but by him doing it I just watched him and I understood the traits or the things that he would do that helped him be great at that and then I just basically learned them and tried them and tried them and tried them and eventually got reasonably good at doing those things”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

42. “To identify with those things. I didn't want to say Ben is that because I didn't want to be that. And I think everyone, if you can somehow, I don't, I think I was lucky because I was surrounded by great people, right? So it's definitely easier said than done. But if you can try and not identify with those things, those parts of yourself that aren't maybe ideal. And you can, again, look at them in a logical manner as you would any other problem in life and try and solve them. So I'm not good at people management. Fine. Who's the best person I know that is? I'm going to go and chat to them. I'm going to pick their brains. Or even better, I'm just going to watch them. Because some people learn from just watching. Some people learn just by watching. And so Steve, for example, who's the CEO at Gymsharp previously, we didn't have that many...”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

43. “No, and this is the thing where I think what you need to do again, even more, I think everyone should do this, whatever field of work they're in or whatever, but particularly as an entrepreneur, because I feel like as an entrepreneur, everything's just amplified, right? Your wins are bigger, your losses are larger again, your weaknesses are exposed because you are exposed to the business and the world in many respects. But what you need to do is you need to write down like your character traits. The best example would be, and this is one that I'm currently working on, right, is people would be like, I don't know, I'm messy or I'm always like, I'm messy. What am I like? And the conversation for me is a bit like, okay, you're messy and you're always late, but those things should be up for grabs, right? You should be able to look at those things and go, don't roll your eyes and say, that's just me, because it's not. Or it doesn't have to be. Because if I'd have done that in the early days, I'd have gone, I'm introverted, shy, not good in front of cameras, terrible at public speaking, and I'm not good at people management. But I didn't want...”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

44. “So that was the period, that was a period of great self reflection for me. And that was when I was literally going, right, what am I bad at? What am I good at? And what's my choice? So actually around that point, I'd split the two out, good, bad, and I decided to lean into my strengths. I did that for about three or four years. And then I was like, right, now I'm really comfortable with my strengths. I know what I'm good at. Now I'm going to lean into my weaknesses and I'm going to become good at public speaking. I don't know people management, all these other things. So when we met, I was definitely a lot more nervous.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

45. “That was about 2015, wasn't it? That was in the early days. Yeah, so hopefully you can see the change that's happened in me from then to here.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

46. “Yeah, I definitely noticed that and listen and then I chose obviously to start pushing that on YouTube and stuff and then that happened more and more going forward.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

47. “In the early stages, I think, listen, I think it's important. I don't know the stats on how many businesses founded by individuals and not. I know when Lewis left in 2014, 2015, the six months after that was difficult. Not to be honest, not in terms of... The fact that he wasn't doing X, Y, and Z, it was just more the fact that it's just different, isn't it? And it's this whole new world, and it's a bit like I then natural, well, I then naturally sort of, I didn't lean into this as such until later on, sort of 2018-ish. I then very much became the face of the business in many ways. And then it was like, if people wanted to talk about the business or to the business, then they were coming to myself.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

48. “Well, have been to be fair, yeah. Because that's what you need, right? You need clear roles and responsibilities. And listen, regardless, if you don't have that, it just muddies the water, doesn't it”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

49. “Was it just no? So, in the early days, that never really happened. It was just a bit like, right, this is a list of things that we need to do. Let's just tackle them as we go. There was no organization in those days. And I think as the business then got more organized, that's when I think that's when our vision started to maybe move in separate directions.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT

50. “Yeah, we were. Yeah. Well, so we met in that IT class that I spoke about. So we met in IT when we were. 16, 17, whatever the first year of sort of post school is college form. We met then and then we just went to the gym together. And then there was a group of like. Six, seven, eight of us that would all go to the gym sort of every day together.”

    2021-12-27 · The Diary of a CEO · Gymshark CEO: How I Built A $1.5 Billion Business At 19: Ben Francis · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT