Graham Hobson’s story of building Photobox might seem stereotypical. A technical founder builds a product he needs himself, overcomes the adversity of the early years, and sells it for a life-changing £400m.
Yet, some parts of his story are anything but stereotypical. First, he advocates for increased taxes on wealthy people like him to create a more just society. As Graham puts it, he didn’t check the rate of capital gains tax when he founded his business1.
Second, six years into the journey, Graham chose not to lead the business as CEO going forward but instead focus on his work as a CTO, working under an external, experienced CEO who turned out to be “the toughest boss” Graham ever had.
Not every founder CEO chooses to hire an experienced scale-up CEO and then stay working with them for nearly a decade, learning what it’s like to be part of a high-performing executive team. Spoiler: it wasn’t easy at all, but it was worth it.
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Timestamps
(Clickable on YouTube)
00:00 Introduction
01:59 Should We Tax Wealthy People More?
12:53 The Early Days of Photobox
18:18 A Merger with a Competitor
22:11 The Toughest Boss I Ever Had
29:13 Being Part of an Executive Team
30:00 Challenges That Shape Us
35:04 When To Go Fast and When To Go Slow
37:33 Advice To Own Son
41:36 Advice To Other Founder CEOs
46:26 Fresh Eyes Exercise for Leaders
51:02 Final Thoughts
It was the same as the top income tax rate, unlike today when it’s still much lower.
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