Ben Hounsell - Founder - The Offline Club

I reckon if I took this photo on a film camera, Ben would've rated the breakfast 10/10

That's because Ben Hounsell is building The Offline Club® - event hangouts that swap screen time for real time. You turn up, hand your phone in - 1 hour for yourself, 1 hour to meet others. No screens, just you.

Finding your ‘why’. Some are in search of financial freedom, others in search of bigger impacts.

We spoke about:

- Ben's journey to date. Having graduated university only within the last few years, he's jumped straight into the startup deep-end and worked with pick'em (a flavoured toothpick brand, yes you heard that) in growth - eventually learning the 'go viral' tiktok strategy.

- He built The Unplug Club which got picked up by the BBC, CBS and major press. This led Ben to grow very quickly, with an attendee return rate of over 40% - eventually joined forces to build even bigger dreams with The Offline Club® 

- Too much money spent on sh*t apps. Early stage capital is too often spent on developing clunky technology that no one wants. It always reminds me of the term ‘Minimum loveable product’ that 😎 Caroline van den Bergh once said to me - build something your customers love, not just something that works. 

- Social media as a growth tool. The irony is to get people to attend screen free events, your best chance to attract them is on their own screens. We spoke about understanding metrics to create content that sells. Ben has intensely observed how content performs and when content is bound to do well. And whilst you can chase trends and chase metrics, you can probably guess Spoiler - the answer is still good content and good product. 

- Focus. Ben and his housemate, Jake (who’d come to my founders breakfast last week) have built an environment around focus and building. It’s not about ‘hustle’ culture, it’s about surrounding yourself with people who have the ambition and drive to ship something cool and always test the edges of what’s possible. 

- Finding your ‘why’. Some are in search of financial freedom, others in search of bigger impacts. Every founder has their ‘why’, some of them find it sooner than others. Either way, finding it can get you further.

Need to switch off and connect? Check out The Offline Club® and connect with Ben - he’s building and surrounded by great builders. 

A massive thanks to Vestd for supporting our series!