10 Years of Gather Social: A Personal Reflection on Entrepreneurship

I started Gather Social 10 years ago with a £300 laptop and a simple dream: to provide a better life for myself and my partner. I didn’t have lofty salary expectations or grand ambitions. My goal was straightforward—one day, I just wanted to earn more than I did in my job at the time.

At that point, I wasn’t going very far in the corporate world, and I felt like a failure. As I sailed past my 30th birthday, I decided it was time for one more shot at starting and running a business. It felt like a now-or-never moment.

It’s fair to say that not everyone thought this was a good idea. In fact, pretty much everyone except two people was convinced I was making a mistake. Those two individuals, believed in me when others didn’t, and over the last decade, they’ve become close mentors. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in business is that you don’t have all the answers, and you never will. But a good ear—someone who can listen, challenge your thinking, and guide you—is free and invaluable to your success. The people you surround yourself with can make or break you, and sometimes, all it takes is a couple of voices of belief to drown out the noise of doubt.

I also learned that resilience and self-belief are non-negotiable. Everybody thought I was going to fall flat on my face and end up back in a 9-to-5 job. I became the laughingstock at dinner parties, or at least that’s how it felt. Maybe it was all in my head, but every time someone asked, “How’s your little business going?” I felt the sting of those jabs.

At my lowest, I was broke, with holes in my socks, trying to make it work. I’d tell myself, “Socks aren’t that essential anyway.” I learned to brush off the doubts and the judgment—both from others and from myself—and just kept going. Resilience and self-belief carried me through those moments when quitting felt like the easiest option.

One of the biggest myths about business is the idea of overnight success. Sure, it exists—but it’s mostly confined to the internet’s bullsh*t halls of fame. For a business to last 10 years, you have to be patient. I believed in my idea, built resilience to criticism, and kept going, but I needed something to break in my favour. That turning point came when my business partner quit. At the time, it felt like a crisis, but it gave me the freedom to pivot the business into creating content—a move that turned out to be the best decision I ever made.

The second big moment came with the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Suddenly, businesses stopped dismissing social media as “something for kids” and started to see the potential. These two moments rewarded my patience and gave Gather Social the momentum it needed to thrive. Patience in business isn’t just a virtue; it’s a necessity. Keep showing up, and the turning point will come.

Then came COVID—the mother of all business nightmares. The world was in panic mode. Businesses were shutting their doors, laying off staff, or putting them on furlough. Gather Social lost 85% of its work in just five weeks.

At that moment, I had two choices: shut everything down and hope for the best, or risk it all and keep going. I chose the latter. Instead of cutting costs and furloughing staff, I told all our clients we would work for free.

We used that time to retrain—learning video editing, video production, and everything we could to adapt. And when the world came out of hiding, we were ready. Gather Social, as it exists today, was born.

The gamble paid off. The world suddenly demanded video, and we were perfectly positioned to deliver. While other businesses scrambled to rehire and rebuild, we had the capacity to take on work immediately because no one had been furloughed. Not only did we survive—we grew.

There are so many highs and so many lows of running a business. I would be lying if I said I had loved every minute of the last 10 years, and there have definitely been times when I wanted to quit.

If I were to pick a highlight, it wouldn’t be a single moment or deal—it would be watching Amy and Mary grow into brilliant marketers, managers, women, and just all-round exceptional human beings. The support they have shown me throughout dark moments of illness has, without question, prevented me from losing everything. You don’t think about what your team might look like or who might stick around, but these two—I am so proud to call colleagues. Their enthusiasm, passion, and love for their job have driven me to be better, and through personal loss, they have helped me rediscover my motivation for getting up every day and trying my best. I owe it to them because they choose to do it every day for Gather Social. Without knowing it then, creating an environment where they could grow was the reason why I started the business, and I feel truly blessed to call any of the team my colleagues and friends.

There have been massive personal costs along the way. Gather Social was started to try and provide my then-partner, with the life I had promised her when I asked her to be my girlfriend. I put everything into fulfilling that promise, and it gifted me Gather Social—completely at the expense of my relationship. There wasn't time to fix problems at home when everything always seemed to be on fire 24/7. My priorities changed along with my values, and my desire to own shiny objects was replaced with my boyhood love of planes and adventure.

One day, I had the most fortunate experience of realising I was living my childhood dream—being a business owner. And it wasn’t about money at all. It was about aeroplanes and the beach and my discipline to be able to work from anywhere whenever I needed to work—which was all the time.

But most importantly, if you want your business to last 10 years, you need to understand that you can’t do it alone. Listen to the wants and needs of the people who are part of your team. And if they tell you you’re being a twat, then that means you’re being a twat, and it would be a good idea to stop behaving like one with immediate effect.

Looking back on 10 years of running a business, I can say with certainty that there is no secret formula to success. It’s about believing in yourself when no one else does, being resilient enough to keep going when things get tough, and having the patience to wait for your moment. It’s about taking risks when it would be easier to play it safe. More than anything, it’s about showing up every single day, even when you don’t feel like it.

And with that, here’s to the next 10 years.