Wake Up with Chris Donnelly

How do you build a $100 million creator business from scratch?

This week, Chris sat down with Jordan Schwarzenberger, the man behind the Sidemen’s explosive business empire.

From YouTube videos to burger chains, clothing brands, and viral drinks, Jordan has helped turn a group of creators into a $100M+ powerhouse.

In this episode, he breaks down:

- How the Sidemen scaled from content to commerce

- The blueprint for building creator-led IP

- The biggest mistakes creators make when launching products

- Why community is everything,  and how to lose it in seconds

- What makes a product actually go viral

- The highs, lows, and lessons from building with one of the biggest creator groups in the world

If you’re a creator, founder, or entrepreneur who wants to turn attention into assets,  this is the playbook.

0:00 Introduction

2:15 Jordan Early Years

7:05 Why You Shouldn't Go To Uni

10:15 What is a Monoculture?

13:55 Moving from Vice to LadBible

19:15 Jordan Starting His Own Agency

22:45 The Success of Chicken Shop Date

25:15 How to Command a Room When You're Younger

31:15 Jordan Starting with the Sidemen

35:15 Creating VIRAL Sidemen Brand

39:15 The Worst Business to Start

44:15 What Does Success Look Like for the Sidemen

45:15 Is There Competition with Prime?

47:15 How to Monetise Your Audience

49:15 How to Create Your Own IP

53:15 How to Build the Right Brand After Going Viral

58:15 Build Out Your Brand

1:04:15 Entertainment Vs Education 

1:06:15 Creator Enterprise, Going Into SaaS

1:09:15 What Should Creators Stop Doing

Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/chrisdonnellyofficial/

Follow Jordan: https://www.instagram.com/jordanschwarz/

Ever wondered why your perfectly logical idea still flops?

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, thinks logic is the real enemy of innovation.

In this episode, Rory dismantles everything you thought you knew about business, branding, and consumer behaviour. From pricing psychology to irrational decision-making, he shows why people don’t buy what's logical, they buy what feels right. And if you’re a founder, marketer, or builder of any kind, this episode is your blueprint for thinking differently.

Here’s what we cover:

•  Why logic kills creativity in business

• The psychological levers that actually drive sales

• Why branding is about perception, not performance

• What most startups get wrong about value

But this isn’t just theory. Rory also talks about:

• The danger of over - optimisation

• Why data can’t explain human behaviour

• How real innovation happens outside the spreadsheet

If you want to build a brand that people fall in love with, not just tolerate, this is the episode to watch.

Sign up to Revolut Business at https://www.revolut.com/rb/wakeup and add money to your account before September 14th, 2025, to receive a £200 / $200 welcome bonus. Subscription fees and T&Cs apply. Available for new Business customers in the UK and US.

US Customers: Revolut is not a bank. Banking services are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. The Revolut USA Prepaid Visa and Prepaid Mastercard are issued by Lead Bank pursuant to licensing by Visa(c) U.S.A. Inc. and Mastercard International for Mastercard cards. Your funds are FDIC insured up to $250,000 through Lead Bank, Member FDIC. See https://www.revolut.com/en-US/ for more details. 

00:00 Introduction

03:04 Fat-Tailed Marketing

05:40 Blockbuster Not Buying Netflix

11:35 Reverse Benchmarking

20:40 Business Idea: Car Rental Company

26:30 How to Think Non-Rationally

36:30 Reframing the Value of Something Psychologically

39:00 Perception vs Value

43:00 Success of Family-Run Business 

49:00 Jaguar Marketing

53:20 Why People HATE Innovation and New Inventions

1:03:40 Why Is Marketing Doomed?

1:10:30 Heathrow Pod

1:23:45 Best Marketing Ever

1:25:50 How Marketing Is Changing with AI

1:32:00 Think Like a Cop

1:38:00 How Increasing Your Price Can Make You More Money

1:45:00 How to Find the Best House

1:54:05 How Are Older People Going to Deal with AI?

1:56:50 Why Millionaires Are Leaving the UK

2:01:30 Why the Tax System Is F*cked for Young People

Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/chrisdonnellyofficial/ 

Follow Rory: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorysutherland/?originalSubdomain=uk

Ever wondered what it takes to go from $0 to $100 million?

Davie Fogarty did that with 1 product in 1 year. After 7 failed startups, Davie finally cracked the code, and built The Oodie, one of the fastest-growing eCommerce brands in the world.

In this episode, he shares his exact formula:

• How to find the right product

• His Facebook ad strategy that generated $1M in a day

• Marketing, sales, and operations at scale

• What most founders get wrong when building a business

But this isn’t just the highlight reel. Davie also opens up about the darker side:

• Panic attacks, burnout, and stress-induced rashes

• The pressure of success, and nearly walking away from it all

• Why the biggest wins can also be the loneliest

And now? He’s using everything he learned to help millions and investing in them on SharkTank. This is his most honest, unfiltered conversation yet,  and if you're serious about building a business, you need to hear it.

Sign up to Revolut Business at https://www.revolut.com/rb/wakeup and add money to your account before August 31st, 2025, to receive a £200 / $200 welcome bonus. Subscription fees and T&Cs apply. Available for new Business customers in the UK and US.

US Customers: Revolut is not a bank. Banking services are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. The Revolut USA Prepaid Visa and Prepaid Mastercard are issued by Lead Bank pursuant to licensing by Visa(c) U.S.A. Inc. and Mastercard International for Mastercard cards. Your funds are FDIC insured up to $250,000 through Lead Bank, Member FDIC. See https://www.revolut.com/en-US/ for more details. 

Chapters: 

0:00 Introduction 

2:20 Davie early years 

6:00 from 0 to 10M in first year 

7:00 Skill to build a 10M business

8:00 how to jump on trends 

10:30 Why are scared of Ai 

11:30 Davie's E-commerce success 

13:30 Launching 10 businesses at the same time 

18:00 Fear of failing 

19:00 Davie's Health Challenges 

25:00 Competitiveness 

26:00 Understanding Anxiety 

30:00 Flexing  

34:10 How Oddie exploded (finding the right market)   

33:00 Riches in the niches 

33:30 How to find the perfect product 

37:00 The importance of building a brand not just selling a product 

40:00 Best tools find trending E commerce business 

42:00 Why Davie stepped down as CEO

45:50 Shark Tank 

53:00 E Commerce Exits 

1:00:00 Losing money on crypto 

1:01:00 Davies fear of Public speaking 

1:02:40 Life now after Business 

1:07:00 The people who were with you when you had nothing 

1:08:50 Biggest Secret about Billionaires 

1:10:00 How to stop caring what people think of you 

1:13:20 Stop following your passion

Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/chrisdonnellyofficial/ 

Follow Davie: https://www.instagram.com/daviefogarty/

What does it really take to turn your audience into a multi-million dollar company?

Nathan Barry went from broke blogger to the founder Kit, a bootstrapped SaaS powerhouse generating $45 million a year in subscription revenue.

This episode is more than just a story.

It’s a masterclass in how creators can build real, scalable businesses, without investors, hype, or burnout.

We cover:

• How Nathan grew from $2K/month to $100K… then $500K… then $3M/month in revenue

• The Ladder of Wealth Creation and how to climb it step-by-step

• How to go from selling a $250 product to a $2,500+ product

• Why email is still the most powerful tool in the creator economy

• His framework for moving from low-ticket to high-ticket offers

• How the Flywheel Effect transformed his business and how you can build one too

• Why he turned down Spotify

• How creators can spot underpriced, overvalued opportunities

Whether you're just starting out or already have an audience, this conversation will challenge how you think about money, audience growth, and long-term success.

Sign up to Revolut Business at https://www.revolut.com/rb/wakeup and add money to your account before August 31st, 2025, to receive a £200 / $200 welcome bonus. Subscription fees and T&Cs apply. Available for new Business customers in the UK and US.

US Customers: Revolut is not a bank. Banking services are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. The Revolut USA Prepaid Visa and Prepaid Mastercard are issued by Lead Bank pursuant to licensing by Visa(c) U.S.A. Inc. and Mastercard International for Mastercard cards. Your funds are FDIC insured up to $250,000 through Lead Bank, Member FDIC. See https://www.revolut.com/en-US/ for more details.

0:00 Introduction

2:10 Nathan’s Backstory

5:00 Celebrities on Kit 

6:00 How to Make Great Content

8:42 Nathan's Childhood

12:23 Discovering Web Design

14:40 Writing Books

18:00 How to make a lot of money selling to a small audience** 

20:00 Email Drives Everything

24:00 Writing 1,000 Words a Day for 600 Days

29:00 Life Transformation: $60K to $250K

30:55 Ladder of Wealth Curation

34:00 From $2K/Month to $100K/Month

35:42 Almost Gave Up

38:30 Getting ill

45:30 Doubling Down on Kit

53:00 Power of Word of Mouth

1:00:00 Jumping from $500K to $3M/Month

1:02:00 Why He Rejected Spotify

1:04:00 Building the Flywheel

1:13:30 Low-Ticket to High-Ticket Products

1:14:30 How Ryan Reynolds Became a Billionaire

1:17:00 Teaching Skills to People With Money

1:20:00 Chris’ Digital Product

1:25:00 Nathan’s Non-Flexing Philosophy

1:28:40 What’s the Difference Between a Strip Mall?

1:34:00 How Reese Witherspoon Became a Billionaire

1:37:55 Final Take: What Can People Wake Up To Today?

Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/chrisdonnellyofficial/?hl=en 

Follow Nathan: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbarry/?hl=en

No one teaches you how to embrace failure, but what if that’s the only way to truly succeed?

Today, I’m sitting down with Elizabeth Day, bestselling author, journalist, and host of the How To Fail Podcast, the hit podcast that’s changed how millions of people think about setbacks.

Elizabeth opens up about the moments that shaped her: growing up in Northern Ireland, feeling like an outsider at school, the pursuit of confidence, and how repeated rejection eventually became her greatest superpower.

She also shares the deeply personal stories behind her success, from boarding school struggles to navigating miscarriage, online hate, and public life, and why your ability to fail well might be the most important skill you’ll ever learn.

If you’ve ever felt like you're behind, broken, or not enough, this one’s for you.

Sign up to Revolut Business at https://www.revolut.com/rb/wakeup and add money to your account before August 31st, 2025, to receive a £200 / $200 welcome bonus. Subscription fees and T&Cs apply. Available for new Business customers in the UK and US.

US Customers: Revolut is not a bank. Banking services are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. The Revolut USA Prepaid Visa and Prepaid Mastercard are issued by Lead Bank pursuant to licensing by Visa(c) U.S.A. Inc. and Mastercard International for Mastercard cards. Your funds are FDIC insured up to $250,000 through Lead Bank, Member FDIC. See https://www.revolut.com/en-US/ for more details.

0:00 Introduction

1:40 Elizabeth & Chris’ experiences with IVF struggles

7:00 Self doubt in your 20s 

9:55 Elizabeth’s early years

15:40 “Confidence in a muscle you can flex”

16:55 Elizabeth’s first job at 12 

20:30 Gossip columnist

23:20 “Just do the hard thing over and over again”

24:50 Introverted Vs Extrovert

31:00 Understanding failure

35:20 If you're feeling lost watch this  

39:15 Thoughts on Ozempic 

41:15 How to balance it all

49:30 Elizabeth's IVF story

59:40 Sally Phillips opens up about failure

1:03:30 Kate Winslet opens up about failures

1:05:30 Psychic readings 

1:13:30 Failing in your 20s 

1:16:00 5 year plans

1:21:00 The importance of friendship

1:23:00 Work addiction

1:26:50 Conflict avoidant

1:29:20 Stop being a people pleaser

1:32:00 How to set boundaries

1:35:00 How to deal with negative opinions

1:40:20 Justin Baldoni & Blake Lively court case 

1:44:50 Elizabeth being a CEO & Founder

Follow Chris: https://www.instagram.com/chrisdonnellyofficial/ 

Follow Elizabeth: https://www.instagram.com/elizabday/

Pre sale link: https://lnk.to/OneOfUsElizabethDay