Untangling Steven Bartlett and the $425 million vision to build a ‘Disney for Creators’

Steven Bartlett has quickly become one of the UK’s most successful content entrepreneurs and his latest play, a $425 million bid to build a “Disney for the creator economy,” shows no sign of slowing that momentum.

His newest venture, Steven.com, aims to consolidate his sprawling media and business ecosystem – from The Diary of a CEO and Flight Story to Thirdweb and Flight Fund — under one brand built around storytelling, software, and scale.

Backed by $425 million in investor capital and an audacious ambition to redefine modern media, Bartlett’s move reflects a wider belief: the era of legacy media dominance is ending.

As he told a recent audience of brands and marketers, we’re watching “in slow motion, but also very quickly, the bundling of institutions.”

Still, the scale of Bartlett’s empire can make it hard to tell what’s strategy and what’s spin. The Daily Influence takes a closer look at his ventures and, crucially, how the pieces connect.

Wallpark

Bartlett’s first venture came after dropping out of Manchester Metropolitan University. Launched in 2013, Wallpark was a digital student noticeboard connecting university communities across UK cities. Though short-lived, it gave him early lessons in building products, managing teams, and scaling online marketplaces and marked the start of his entrepreneurial journey.

Social Chain

In 2014, Bartlett co-founded Social Chain, the social media marketing agency that made his name. The company pioneered viral content campaigns when brands were only just waking up to social. Rapid expansion followed across Manchester, London, and New York, and by 2016 Social Chain had more than 200 employees and a client list of major consumer brands.

Social Chain AG

In 2019, Social Chain merged with German e-commerce firm Lumaland via a reverse takeover to form The Social Chain AG and list publicly in Germany. Co-led by Bartlett and Wanja Oberhof, the group expanded rapidly, acquiring dozens of companies across media and retail and growing to more than 750 employees.

In 2023 the brand sparked debate when reports revealed the original UK agency had sold for just £7.7 million, raising questions over Bartlett’s earlier claims of having built a £300 million business at 28. Bartlett has since clarified that figure referred to the valuation of the wider listed group, not the agency he co-founded, and that he stepped down as co-CEO in 2020 to focus on strategy.

The Diary of a CEO

Launched in 2017 with a £100 microphone in his bedroom, The Diary of a CEO has grown into one of the world’s most influential podcasts and cemented Bartlett’s position as both a media entrepreneur and storyteller in his own right.

Known for its intimate and often emotionally charged interviews, it has featured leaders from science, entertainment, and politics alongside founders and cultural figures. It now serves as the centre of Bartlett’s distribution strategy, and AI-driven translations are helping the podcast reach non-English-speaking audiences worldwide.

Thirdweb

In 2021, Bartlett co-founded Thirdweb with Furqan Rydhan and Jake Loo. The platform helps people build Web3 apps like digital memberships, NFT projects, and token-based communities without needing to code.

The company launched with $5 million in seed funding and quickly gained traction among developers and brands experimenting with blockchain tools. By 2022, Thirdweb had raised $24 million at a $160 million valuation and was being used by tens of thousands of developers worldwide.

Thirdweb marks Bartlett’s move beyond content, into infrastructure that could power the next-generation of creator-owned digital products.

Flight Story

Launched in 2021 with former Social Chain managing director Oliver Yonchev, Flight Story helps companies tell their story and attract investors using modern marketing tools.

The idea came from a shift Bartlett saw in how people invest, a new generation buying and selling stocks through their phones and taking cues from social media rather than traditional finance outlets. Flight Story helps brands and listed companies reach those audiences by combining creative marketing, communications, and investor insight.

It has since expanded into a broader media and marketing group, producing campaigns, content, and podcasts, and now serves as the operational home for The Diary of a CEO and Bartlett’s wider ventures.

Flight Fund

Launched in 2023, Flight Fund marked Bartlett’s entry into venture capital.

Backed by leading European entrepreneurs, the fund invests in early-stage companies across health, biotech, commerce, and space-tech. Bartlett framed it as a response to traditional VC models, arguing that founders should be backed by people who have actually built and scaled businesses. The fund now operates under the Flight Story group, sitting alongside his media and technology ventures.

Flight Studio

In 2024, Bartlett launched Flight Studio, initially as a project to help The Diary of a CEO grow faster and reach more people. After three years of development, Bartlett opened it up to other creators.

The Studio now produces and supports a range of podcasts, including We Need to Talk with Paul C. Brunson and Begin Again with Davina McCall. It helps creators produce, edit, and promote their shows using the same tools and technology that power Bartlett’s own content — part of his plan to build the systems behind modern creator-led media brands.

Stan Store

In May 2025, Bartlett became the co-owner of Stan Store, a creator-commerce platform that lets influencers and entrepreneurs sell products, courses, and digital services from a single link. Dubbing it the “biggest deal of his life”, the tie-up came after Bartlett’s partner used the tool to launch her own business within minutes.

Flightcast

Launched in October 2025, Flightcast is a video-first podcast platform co-founded by Bartlett and Rox C, the former engineer behind creator MrBeast’s production pipeline.

The tool lets creators publish their shows everywhere with one upload — distributing video and audio versions across YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Built-in AI features help with editing, clipping, and analytics.

Designed to make high-quality podcast production faster and more accessible, Flightcast uses the same technology that powers The Diary of a CEO, now opened up to other creators.

Legacy Black

Announced in October 2025, Legacy Black is a media company formed as a joint venture between Bartlett’s Flight Story and the UK Black Business Show, led by Dr. Raphael Sofoluke.

The company aims to become the leading global media brand for Black entrepreneurs, with content and initiatives focused on business, wealth, and culture. It launched with the goal of driving more than $100 billion in economic impact over the next decade — one of Bartlett’s most socially driven ventures to date.

Brand Steven

Beyond his ventures, Bartlett has built a personal brand that spans television and publishing. Since joining BBC’s Dragons’ Den in 2021 as the youngest investor in the show’s history, he has become one of its most recognisable figures.

He is also the author of two bestselling books, Happy Sexy Millionaire and The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life, and is now developing children’s content and AI-driven educational projects, expanding his reach to new audiences and age groups.

Steven.com

At the centre of Bartlett’s $425 million empire is Steven.com, the holding company that brings together all his media, tech, and investment ventures under one roof. It embodies his belief that creators who control their audience, tools, and capital can rival traditional media companies.

Positioned as the operational core of his “Disney for creators” vision, Steven.com connects every part of his ecosystem. In building it, Bartlett has moved from creator to architect, reshaping what influence looks like in the age of ownership.