Spencer Owen, Hashtag United Owner: ‘From YouTube To Building The Most Unique Club In Football’ (Ep69)

Today we’re delighted to welcome Spencer Owen, Founder & Owner of the iconic Hashtag United, to the show. This is one of the most unique organisations in football. Why? Well it was founded on the internet before becoming a successful men’s and women’s team competing in English football. Spencer, or Spencer FC as many of his fans know him, built one of the strongest online brands in football, with over 2m YouTube subscribers regularly engaging with his channel. 

When he decided to take Hashtag from online concept to physical sports asset, unsurprisingly it was met with confusion and ridicule by an industry not known for it’s acceptance and embrace of change. As a result, this show is one of most interesting assessments of both what makes football so great, and where there are major opportunities for change. It’s a very different take on the football owner and executive shows we’re used to, and that’s why we love it. 

This is sport for a modern age, packaged in a conversation explaining how a club that has more subscribers than many Premier League clubs has created a new blueprint for team ownership and management.

On today’s show we discuss:

SpencerFC to Club Owner:

• What was the first step in becoming one of the most famous football ‘influencer/streamer’ and how did that lay the foundations for Hashtag United?
• This is a club born on the internet; from creating a community online to turning those fans into active sports goers.
• Influencer driven sport has become a far more recognised phenomenon, but what was it like in the early days taking creators into real life football matches?
• This is reverse engineering a football club; why building a fanbase before they had an on-field product has given Hashtag a unique opportunity 

Business of Hashtag

• “We are at our heart an advertising business when you think about how we make money”
• Playing in the 7th tier of English football does not deliver big revenue, so what have Hashtag done to make themselves so commercially attractive.
• How not owning their own stadium is an issue they are looking to resolve and why a physical home for their broad fanbase will elevate the team’s identity.
• Raising money is next on the agenda but what type of people is Spencer looking to bring into the ownership group?
• “We are the opposite of Wrexham”

Dealing with Criticism…

• How naming the team Hashtag United created an unforeseen issue yet remains one of the most important things about the club.
• Is there a problem with creating a model dependent on views more than results?
• The story of how the club has used broader issues and opportunities in women’s football to create a really successful team.
• The 3pm blackout and the issues that it hides…?
• It doesn’t make financial sense to be promoted in non-league football! What does Spencer mean by this?

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