David Jones

way earlier than everyone else who could go to the gym twice every day so that if everyone else was doing two hours in the gym, he was doing four. After 10 years, he'd done twice as much. I think it's quite true around business. If you work twice as hard as everyone else, you'll get on faster, you'll learn more, you'll do better. From then on, I think

trust your own judgment and your own gut, because by the time you become the global CEO, there are way too many people around you who want to tell you what they think you want to hear. And what becomes really, really valuable, and Kate Robertson, my co-founder of One Young World, has been this to me for my entire career, is, you know,

trust your own judgment and your own gut, because by the time you become the global CEO, there are way too many people around you who want to tell you what they think you want to hear. And what becomes really, really valuable, and Kate Robertson, my co-founder of One Young World, has been this to me for my entire career, is, you know,

when you've said a dumb thing or got off stage and it actually hasn't been one of your vintage moments, instead of going, that was amazing, they go, you know, that was shit and I'd never say that again. That's way more valuable than the 80% of people telling you you're just incredible.

when you've said a dumb thing or got off stage and it actually hasn't been one of your vintage moments, instead of going, that was amazing, they go, you know, that was shit and I'd never say that again. That's way more valuable than the 80% of people telling you you're just incredible.

And so I think surrounding yourself with people who will be honest, but at the end of the day, you've got to trust your own judgment. I think if I take the entire journey of the BrandTech group, everybody who I knew who was smart and senior in finance told me it was impossible to raise $300 million with a PowerPoint. Impossible.

And so I think surrounding yourself with people who will be honest, but at the end of the day, you've got to trust your own judgment. I think if I take the entire journey of the BrandTech group, everybody who I knew who was smart and senior in finance told me it was impossible to raise $300 million with a PowerPoint. Impossible.

And these are really, really talented senior people in big organizations. Fortunately, I didn't listen.

And these are really, really talented senior people in big organizations. Fortunately, I didn't listen.

2014, yeah. So I was in my gardening leave year, and I started raising in 2015. I was running a big, successful holding company, but I could see the frustration from my clients. in that they wanted a new model. So I could see a huge need for it. And I could also see just from that case study I told you about that it's really hard and really complex to change big legacy businesses.

2014, yeah. So I was in my gardening leave year, and I started raising in 2015. I was running a big, successful holding company, but I could see the frustration from my clients. in that they wanted a new model. So I could see a huge need for it. And I could also see just from that case study I told you about that it's really hard and really complex to change big legacy businesses.

They're very good at what they do, but if you look back in history, you can't find a single example of where the big incumbent is the market leader post the revolution. Just never happens. Because all of the things that made them very successful in that world are all of the things that make it really complicated to lead in the next world. I think I just had an absolute belief that

They're very good at what they do, but if you look back in history, you can't find a single example of where the big incumbent is the market leader post the revolution. Just never happens. Because all of the things that made them very successful in that world are all of the things that make it really complicated to lead in the next world. I think I just had an absolute belief that

Not only did clients want a new model, but I knew how to build that. But the problem was, if you were solving the issue for the world's global clients, there's no point in being three of us in a loft in Soho, New York, because adding another company to the 10,000 they're already working with, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Not only did clients want a new model, but I knew how to build that. But the problem was, if you were solving the issue for the world's global clients, there's no point in being three of us in a loft in Soho, New York, because adding another company to the 10,000 they're already working with, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution.

So the reason for raising the money is I wanted to acquire businesses that solved our clients' biggest pain points, that were tech or tech-enabled. So the start point was to say, we'll never buy ad agencies or traditional ad agencies. We'll buy tech or tech-enabled companies that solve our clients' biggest pain points and put them together at global scale.

So the reason for raising the money is I wanted to acquire businesses that solved our clients' biggest pain points, that were tech or tech-enabled. So the start point was to say, we'll never buy ad agencies or traditional ad agencies. We'll buy tech or tech-enabled companies that solve our clients' biggest pain points and put them together at global scale.

We'll have technology and what we called machine-generated content and AI as a founding vertical. And we launched saying, look, we think you can do all marketing better, faster, and cheaper using technology. And back then, no one understood what it meant. but the good news was no one else was trying to do it. Today, everybody understands what it means, but everyone else is trying to do it too.

We'll have technology and what we called machine-generated content and AI as a founding vertical. And we launched saying, look, we think you can do all marketing better, faster, and cheaper using technology. And back then, no one understood what it meant. but the good news was no one else was trying to do it. Today, everybody understands what it means, but everyone else is trying to do it too.

But I think it really just came from a passionate belief that this business needed to exist, but the only way that I can deliver it is to raise the money to scale it fast. Because what we wanted to do was solve the problem for the world's biggest global brands.