Bringing the Fun Back to Start-Ups with DesignMyNight's Nick Telson-Sillett

In this episode of "Made It with Connor Tomkies," Nick Telson-Sillett shares his journey from founding "Design My Night" to exiting for over £35 million. Nick talks about the challenges of scaling a company in a competitive market, the importance of financial freedom, and how to navigate earn-outs. He also discusses his ventures in angel investing through Horseplay Ventures and his efforts to support the LGBTQ+ founder community. Tune in for insights on business growth, exit strategies, and the evolving startup landscape.

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Chapters:

[00:00:00] Introduction and Competitors Wise Up
[00:00:14] Naming Companies: Trumpet and Design My Night
[00:01:21] Nick’s Post-Exit Life and Identity
[00:02:06] Transitioning After a Big Exit
[00:02:52] Growing Design My Night to £35M
[00:04:10] Creating the Market for Bar Reservations
[00:05:26] Selling the Vision: Bar to Bar
[00:06:34] Selling to The Access Group
[00:08:00] Why It Was Time to Sell
[00:09:33] Navigating the Earn-Out Period
[00:12:19] Structuring the Earn-Out Deal
[00:14:24] Managing Post-Acquisition Relationships
[00:18:39] Horseplay Ventures: Angel Investing
[00:21:14] Supporting LGBTQ+ Founders with Proud Ventures
[00:25:36] Launching the Pitch Deck Podcast
[00:28:31] VC vs. Bootstrapping Startups
[00:31:39] Honest Mobile: Revolutionizing Mobile Contracts
[00:33:54] Fanbase: iOS for Sports Teams

Nick's Stuff:

Proud Ventures: https://www.proud-ventures.com/
Trumpet: https://www.sendtrumpet.com/?ref=nicklinkedin
Horseplay Ventures: https://horseplay.ventures/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicktelson/

My Stuff:

Podcast: https://www.madeitpod.com/
Website: https://www.connortomkies.com/
X: https://twitter.com/ConnorTomkies
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connortomkies/