Richard Flint - ex-CEO of SkyBet

We speak to Richard Flint, the man who built SkyBet into one of the biggest tech companies in Leeds.Richard explains how SkyBet’s 'wrong' decision to focus on interactive TV in the early days actually ended up making the move to mobile betting a speedier success as well as the importance of integrating SkyBet products into SkyTV AND the multiple reasons why SKY plc eventually sold 80% of SkyBet.Richard also talks through how you build a company culture as well as the various stages that a business owner goes through and how to manage those changes.He also gives us his secret tip for those looking to source angel investment.INTRODUCING RICHARD FLINTRichard Flint is currently an Investor and Chair of three businesses:* Butternut Box - Europe’s leading online subscription dog food business, specialising in fresh dog food* Seat Unique - the UKs leading premium ticket marketplace offering VIP tickets to hundreds of sporting and music events* Ryde - a high energy indoor cycle and barre studio based in Leeds and soon to launch in Manchester He is also a Non Executive Director of Ladbible Group plc and Flutter Entertainment plc, and an angel investor in a number of other start up and scale ups. Richard was Chief Executive of Leeds based Sky Betting & Gaming from 2006 to 2018, during which time he grew the company from around 100 employees to over 1700. He led the company through its £800m spin out from Sky, and then on to its acquisition by The Stars Group for £3.4bn last year, before The Stars Group was in turn acquired by Flutter Entertainment plc. Richard was Glassdoor’s Chief Executive of the Year for 2018. He holds an Engineering Degree from Oxford and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University.EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS[00:02:20] – the importance of coaches and mentors[00:12:00] – the upturn in the performance of SkyBet[00:15:10] – the cultural changes made in SkyBet[00:17:25] – the opportunity that interactive TV gave SkyBet[00:26:15] – the £800m sale of SkyBet[00:31:30] – the learnings from going through the sale process[00:40:00] – what you need to know as a successful business owner[00:43:15] – how to build company culture[00:49:00] – what should companies do who are looking for Angel investmentKEY TAKEAWAYS & BUSINESS LEARNINGS* Get the right people on the bus for cultural change* The (wrong) decision to go with interactive TV was a key point in Sky’s strategy* Having their own software and platform allowed SkyBet to lead the market* Summer football tournaments affected Sky PLC and their year end reporting* There are lots of different skills needed at different stages of running a business* Reach out informally to Angel Investors if you are looking for investmentBEST MOMENTS“Truth be told, when I took over I didn’t know how to go about it.. and I didn’t do a very good job of it for a couple of years”“We had to move the whole company away from old style telephone betting to new style product marketing”“Sky didn’t want to tell the stock market every few weeks that they’d missed targets by say £20m because SkyBet had lost a few weekends in a row”“We became too big to ignore but too small to well understood”“The sale was emotionally difficult as I felt my baby was going to a home that wasn’t a suitable home”VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR YOUWebsite: www.leedsbusinesspodcast.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ri....chard-flint-803762/T (personal): @YorkshireFlintShout out tags: www.rydestudios.com‘Good to Great’ by Jim CollinsWant to watch instead of listen? Subscribe to our You Tube channel - https://youtube.com/@