Startups are meant to be rocket ships - some reach outer orbit… Others crash back down to earth in a ball of flames
Rob Bridgman built Snug from £1M to £31M revenue in just three years, only to watch it nearly collapse overnight when the market turned. This is the unfiltered story of what it really takes to survive as a founder when everything falls apart.
🧠 What You'll Learn:
▪️ How to build challenger (or “Pirate”) thinking into your culture from day one
▪️ The "Clear Is Kind" framework that transforms difficult conversations into breakthroughs
▪️ Why Rob's "Golden Hour" policy became their secret weapon for creativity and retention
▪️ The brutal reality of what happens when growth-stage funding disappears overnight
▪️ How feedback loops with customers can drive exponential product-market fit
▪️ How to scale from 12 to 70 people without losing your startup soul
📖 Chapters
0:00 - Intro
1:06 - From Childhood "Inventor" to Entrepreneur
3:42 - The Values That Built Snug's Culture
10:10 - How "Clear Is Kind" Revolutionised Team Performance
15:49 - Working With the Best: Hiring Top 5% Talent
17:17 - The Nonviolent Communication Framework
24:04 - Give Every Team Member Professional Coaching
26:21 - Making Culture Tangible: Weekly Pulse Surveys & NPS
39:46 - The ICE Framework: How to Prioritise 100+ Product Ideas
44:22 - Year One: Selling One Sofa to £1M Revenue
46:26 - The Three Pillars: Product Innovation, Customer Journey & Brand
52:25 - Year Two: £7M Revenue During COVID Chaos
54:32 - Year Three: £31M and 70 People - "It Was Absolute Chaos"
57:24 - Scaling Pains: From 12 to 70 People in One Year
59:29 - Fixing Our Management Structure Crisis
67:00 - The Fundraising Nightmare: From £70M Valuation to £900K Exit
69:23 - Selling to SCS: From Pirates to Navy
78:13 - What I'd Do Differently: Standing Your Ground From Day One
85:33 - The Fork in the Road: Rebuild Snug or Start Fresh?o
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