Our founder & CEO, Pete Reis-Campbell, was the featured keynote speaker at the University of Leicester's recent Career Sucess webinar. Pete discussed how he built Kaizen and the importance of having an entrepreneurial mindset.

1. CAREER SUCCESS
The Value of an
Entrepreneurial
Mindset
@petecampbell

2. TODAY
1. My career journey
2. The 5 key factors for a
successful startup
3. The DNA of an
entrepreneur
4. How to have a more
entrepreneurial
mindset at work
5. The (near) future of
business and the skills
required
@petecampbell

3. Who am I? Pete Reis-Campbell
INTRODUCTION
● CEO & Founder of Kaizen - multi-million pound
digital marketing I built from scratch at age 25
● We’re a team of 40+ that works global brands
including Adidas, eBay, LEGO, The AA & Moonpig on
innovative digital marketing campaigns
● Born in Leicester, attended Wyggeston and QE
College and studied Graphic Design at Coventry
University
● Named “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” by the FSB
London
● Bit of a nerdy introvert, proud Game Boy owner
● Just a launched a podcast on my journey entitled
“Growing Pains”
@petecampbell

4. My career journey before launching my own biz
MY
CAREER
JOURNEY
Side Hustle
Self-Taught Knowledge Professional Experience
@petecampbell
● My working class background
taught me to figure out things on
my own if I have a goal
● Built websites around things I
love when I was a kid
● Needed to pay the bills so learnt
how to make money online
● Didn’t have the capital to scale
so went to Uni and got a job
● Joined a marketing
agency to show SMEs
how they can make
money online
● SEO & Social was
exploding
● Worked with corporate
brands
● Built a personal brand as
a digital marketing
expert
● Landed freelance work,
so I worked evenings &
weekends
● Spotted a niche in the
market
● Saved up all the money
and quit my job to
launch an agency

5. THEN & NOW
Key Clients
Key Services
Team
KAIZEN
SEO
PR SOCIAL
PAID
45
People
● Sole founder, started in my bedroom at 25 with zero investors
● I spotted a niche for a marketing agency who could make content
that goes viral on a low budget
● I created digital content for SMEs and use it to get them press
coverage, social media mentions and higher rankings on Google
● I spoke at events, and used social media to raise our profile and
share our work - constantly building my network
● Grew slowly over 7 years, taking calculated risks on employees,
clients and finances
● The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge 3x growth in digital
marketing that we’re still experiencing now

6. The 5 key factors for a successful startup
KEY
FACTORS
Hire ambitious talent + train
05
Take calculated risks with
money
04
Have a competitive edge
03
Set a clear vision
02
Skills & experience in the
sector
01
● Taught yourself the skills
● Full-time experience
● Ran it as a side-hustle and built a personal brand
● Built up a fund to kickstart the business
● Are you building a startup or lifestyle business?
● What is are the personal, financial and biz goals?
● What will it look & feel like to work there in 5 years?
● Pick a niche within a niche
● Start cheap, hit capacity, then increase your prices
● Work like crazy and then ask for referrals
● Keep 3 months of running costs locked away
● Angel investors back your talent but want to see
proof of concept and early revenue
● Focus on low-cost marketing - social, SEO, PR
● People are buying you, and eventually, your team
● Document all your processes and use them to train
● Never micro-manage - empower with coaching,
goals and constant training to scale successfully
@petecampbell

7. THE
DNA
You work on
something you love
You reject
the status
quo
You teach
yourself
new skills
Natural
problem
solver
You use
failure as
fuel to
succeed
You build a
personal
brand in the
space
The DNA of an entrepreneur
@petecampbell

8. THE
MINDSET
How to be more entrepreneurial at work
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@petecampbell

9. THE
FUTURE
FUTURE BUSINESS SKILLS
● Building a personal brand is essential to any future leader
● The biggest opportunity right now is in tech-driven startups
○ Direct to consumer, specialist eCommerce brands - Eve
○ Mobile apps that deliver services in a disruptive form - Monzo
○ Business to business consulting in fast-growth spaces - Kaizen ;)
● Build knowledge and experiment in a passion you love that could one
day turn into a business
Thoughts on the future of business and skills required
@petecampbell

10. THE
FUTURE
Thoughts on the future of business and skills required
KAIZEN
● My next ‘mission’ is learning about mergers, acquisitions and investments
● We need investment to grow faster (problem solving), I’m learning about
our options (curiosity) and I’m educating myself to succeed (personal
growth)
DIGITAL MARKETING
● Marketing in particular is now about constant engagement with customers
over many channels, and short-form video is the current trend
CAREERS
● If you wanted to get into Digital Marketing, I’d look at Influencer Marketing
and Paid Social/Shopping Advertising - both are seeing 10x growth and
have way more jobs than people to do them.
@petecampbell

11. RESOURCES
BOOKS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW
● Michael E Gerber - The E-Myth Revisited
● Tim Ferris - 4 Hour Work Week
● Bob Iger - Ride of a Lifetime
● Rand Fiskhin - Lost and Founder
STARTUP PODCASTS
● Steven Bartlett - Diary of a CEO
● Startups.com - Startup Therapy
● My podcast! Growing Pains
Useful reading & listening
@petecampbell

12. Exit & repeat
Scale-up
THE
LIFECYCLE
OF
AN
ENTREPRENEUR
Start-up
Builds
knowledge
Explores
solutions
Identifies
problem

13. THE
BIG
SECRET
Ultimately, you have a vision that solves a
problem you’re passionate about and then you
use expertise and perseverance to succeed
* and a bit of good luck

14. Get in touch
Twitter
Email
Linkedin
@petecampbell
pc@kaizen.co.uk
/in/petecampbellkaizen/
Thank You!