20VC: From Penniless Printing Shop Offices to Public Company and One of the Largest Entertainment Companies: The Story of LADbible | The Future of Content & Social Media | US vs Europe: Is Europe F****** with Solly Solomou

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

Founder and CEO of LADbible Group, Solly Solomou has built one of the largest and most engaged digital media entertainment companies in the world. Under his leadership, LADbible has grown to reach two-thirds of 18-34-year-olds in the UK, with a global audience of over 494 million followers, including 141 million in the US. The company’s content now has a total reach of over 1 billion people worldwide.

In Today’s Episode We Discuss:

From Printer Shop Office to Ringing the IPO Bell:

• How did Solly start LADbible with no money and no experience?

• How did a moment with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube show Solly that he had something special with LADbible?

• In the expansion of the business, what new products did not work? What did Solly learn from the failures of products?

• Why did Solly always want to build the business without an external funding?

• What are the top 3 pieces of advice Solly gives to young entrepreneurs starting a business today?

The Future of Content and Social Media:

• How does Solly see wearables changing the future of media and social?

• Does Solly agree that the friendship graph has been eradicated by interest graphs?

• Does Solly think TikTok should be banned?

• Why does Solly think TikTok Shop is the most interesting product in social today?

Europe vs US: Is Europe F******:

• What are the single biggest differences between doing business in the US vs Europe?

• Why did Solly decide to go public in London on The London Stock Exchange?

• How tough is it being a public company in London?

• How important are local liquidity markets if Europe is to regain competitiveness?

• If Solly were advising Keir Starmer on how to stimulate growth in the UK, what would he say and advise?