Spotlight Series: Sam Winsbury
Legacy Club shines a light on some of our members to see what makes them and their business tick.
We spoke Sam Winsbury, Founder & CEO of leading personal brand agency, Kurogo.
Please tell us a little bit about you the person (not you the business owner): I'm a relatively easy going and laid back guy. I'm 24, sport obsessed and love spending my free time doing exercise or trying the best food London has to offer with my partner.
Describe your business in less than 30 words: We turn founders and CEOs into thought leaders through personal branding. We help them by developing a 'positioning strategy', creating social conttent and landing PR opportunities on their behalf.
What industry or sector does your business fall in to?: Marketing
What did you do before you started your business?: I was a student. I launched Kurogo straight after I graduated and was even working on building the foundations whilst studying. I've never had a proper job!
What have been the biggest struggles that you have encountered, and what did you do to overcome them?: Hiring a team. I've never had an interview before so hiring, training and leading a team was all completely new to me. I considered myself quite a good 'leader' throughout my younger years but found that leading a school sports team doesn't quite compare to leading a team in business. I've made a lot of mistakes but have learnt from every single one of them and have now built a network of mentors and advisors to sense-check my ideas with.
Have you had any external investment to date?: No
Have you ever had to make any major changes or pivots to your business, and why?: We're actually in the process of restructuring our entire business right now, which is easily the biggest operational shift we've had. We're splitting a key role in the business ('Personal Brand Manager') into 3 specialist roles and building 'pods' to deliver for clients. It's allowing our team to specialise in the areas they're best at and us to provide clients with triple the support - so we're really excited about the results. But that means recruiting and training a lot of new team members in one go, recreating our processes and getting used to a new way of working - hopefully keeping all our clients happy in the process!
Do you struggle with, or have you found any of the following barriers to your business growth?: Leadership Capacity, People & Talent
Do you have any business hero's, if so, who are they?: I find Shan Hanif - the CEO of Genflow - fascinating and admire what he's built in a similar industry. He's always been able to predict the future well, is an original thinker and a great leader.
Financial Rewards or Business Awards?: Financial Rewards
What was the last book you read?: $100M Leads - Alex Hormozi
Tell us something totally unique about your business: We just launched the world's first content studio dedicated to personal brand content in the heart of London - Fleet Street.
Finally, please tell us what we can look forward to with your business in the next 12 months.: We're looking to expand our services across PR, podcasting and event booking as we become a full service personal branding agency. You might even see a second Kurogo Studio launching in London or Manchester too!
