I recently went one-on-one with Kit Chilvers, co-founder and CEO of Pubity Group.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Kit: Pubity Group grew off the back of my love of soccer. It all started at 14 years old, when I began posting the latest soccer news on my @footballnewz page on Instagram. At the same time, my friend and business co-founder Iyrah Williams created a soccer memes page on Instagram. Eventually, after posting all day every day, both of us grew a loyal and very big following. My goal was to provide football fans with the fastest news to their Instagram feeds. I posted relentlessly (this was at school on an iPod!), at the back of class, in between football matches, on the bus home… I never stopped! I was
posting 30-50 times a day back then, while most other people were posting a couple times a day. Of course, early on (and still now to be honest) there was a lot of trial-and-error. I got to learn more about social media and the audience in a year than most people did in a decade – just because the timeframe was so condensed. This passion over a decade grew to 160 million followers and 20+ different brands. In 2024 alone, we hit more than 180 billion views across social media.
I have always had a very gamified mindset. Gaming was a big passion of mine around that age, and I realized I could apply the same principles to my emerging business – like overcoming obstacles, levelling up, learning from setbacks, and creating success. It made me look at challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles. And it made building the business fun and forward-looking even during tough times.
I’ve faced so many setbacks, I have lost count. Every time one hits, I pause, reflect, and figure out how to avoid repeating the mistake. But honestly, the most important thing is to just keep going. Endurance is everything in this industry – often all it takes is one smart tech shift or a new insight, and you’re right back in the game. By that point, most people have already tapped out.
Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?
Kit: This was more of a fun experiment than a formal business idea. But I could see from the start that building an engaged audience was key; I understood having people’s attention was extremely valuable. I realised that if I focused on growing the audience and making it as engaged as possible, and honestly just posting content they liked, then revenue would come off of the back of that. I went from growing the soccer audience to then expanding into different niches, like soccer boots. I then went and set up Pubity, our most well-known page.
With Pubity, I wanted a brand name that captured that awkward but exciting moment when everything changes – puberty. It’s when you start figuring out who you actually are, discovering your voice, and seeing the world differently for the first time. Life doesn’t stop evolving after puberty, and neither do we. The name Pubity reflects how we’re always growing and changing right alongside our audience.
I also realised there needed to be more positivity on social media and the Internet. Online, there’s so much despair, negativity, and anger. It was important to me and Iyrah that Pubity as a business should take people to a happier, more interesting place – to create and share content that makes people smile. This is our mission as a business. We do this in our content, but we also take it much further. We have raised millions of dollars for charity, and just recently, we planted 40,000 trees in Ecuador to celebrate reaching 40 million followers.
What advice do I have for coming up with great ideas? When I started my first page, I chose something I was deeply passionate about. Over the years, I’ve watched countless people try to build their own audiences, only to lose interest and drop off. The key learning from my experience is to find a topic you genuinely care about. You have to create content around something you’re actually into, otherwise you’ll get bored when things inevitably get tough, and believe me, they always do. Once you get bored, your audience will too. So pick something you truly care about, then figure out exactly what problem you’re solving for people who share that same passion. What are they missing? What are they looking for? If you connect your passion to a real solution for your audience, that’s when you have a great idea.
Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea?
Kit: I trust my gut instinct above all, but also try to back it up with data. At Pubity Group, we aren’t afraid to experiment and iterate – trial, test, learn, refine. You learn by doing and by experimenting; we see what works and what fails. With some of our pages, we had them up and running for six months to build an audience before trying to drive revenue. For our business, the audience will always be the main value driver. If you increase and then maintain audience attention, the revenue will follow.
In terms of advice, never shy away from testing and testing again, but then analyze the results. We spend a lot of time in the comment section, trying to understand the audience reaction. We then let the data guide any strategic pivots.
Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level?
Kit: Our growth strategy involves compounding, which means we consistently try to achieve small wins. This goes back to when I first started, posting a lot of content each day. From that, I learned in a single day what often took others weeks or months. This ensured that time worked in our favor. And over a decade, these incremental efforts resulted in big growth and impact.
Another crucial step – we built a network of brilliant people, including mentors, advisors, and industry leaders who provided insights on their own experiences. I’ve learned so much from others just by staying curious. By asking the right questions of trusted people, you can open your mind to new ways of working. And think in decades rather than days and weeks. Seek out exceptional people who can challenge, support, and inspire you!
Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips?
Kit: My best sales and marketing tip is simple: always put the audience first. Our audience grew up on social media – they spend hours every day scrolling, and they can spot fake advertising instantly. They know when something doesn’t feel real. The trick is letting the creators and businesses (like us) who truly understand the audience take the lead creatively. Too many brands try to control every detail, assuming they know best, but they usually don’t. When brands trust the experts who actually have the audience’s attention, it always leads to stronger results. We’ve stuck by this approach even when it meant turning down deals that didn’t fit. Staying true to our audience has helped us work with amazing global brands like Meta, Fortnite, Subway, Netflix, MrBeast, Gymshark, Paramount, Dunkin’, Disney, Visit Dubai, and many more.
Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Kit: The best leaders I’ve ever known have two qualities in common: they’re relentlessly persistent and genuinely open to feedback.
Great leaders actively seek out different viewpoints first. They’re calm under pressure, seeing setbacks as valuable learning opportunities rather than failures. And crucially, they surround themselves with people who are supportive, insightful, and willing to challenge their thinking.
This doesn’t always have to mean a formal group of mentors or advisors. Sometimes the most transformative insights come from unexpected places, could be quick chats, random introductions, or short conversations with people you admire. I’ve personally had powerful revelations from casual 15-minute discussions, moments that opened my eyes to perspectives I’d never even considered. Often, those people probably never realised the massive impact they had.
If you’re a leader or aspire to be one, make it a priority to build genuine relationships, remain open to new ideas, and actively pursue diverse viewpoints.
Adam: What do you believe leaders should understand about Generation Z?
Kit: Gen Z grew up on social media – they can get everything they need on social media because they spend hours a day scrolling. You need to know what they truly like. They quickly detect and reject anything that looks fake. Since we are Gen Z speaking directly to Gen Z, it’s all we know. We’ve grown up in this space, with this audience. But authenticity is key.
Contrary to popular belief, Gen Z’s attention isn’t limited – young people simply demand relevant content that aligns closely with their values, interests, and lifestyles. When they are interested, they are all-in. Think of bingeing an entire Netflix series or taking a deep dive into a Reddit page. Industry and political leaders need to understand and embrace authenticity to engage with this audience – and not shy away from longer content if it makes sense for the brand or message.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Kit: 1. Share your journey – authentic storytelling inspires and educates others. While sometimes it may seem like someone is an ‘overnight success,’ in reality, it took years of hard work, long days, consistency, and maybe a little luck to get where they are now. Your path may influence others and vice versa.
2. Embrace curiosity – never stop asking questions and learning from those around you. And don’t just ask about how to do something or what someone has learned, but ask the people around you about their favorite books, places to visit, anything that might shape who they are and what you can learn from them. Curious people are more understanding of new ideas and ways to implement them.
3. Be humble and patient – recognize that true, lasting success is built gradually, often requiring years of consistent effort and resilience.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Kit: The best advice I’ve received is very simple: “sleep on it.” Whether facing a minor issue or a big strategic decision, stepping back and avoiding immediate emotional reactions has consistently provided clarity, perspective, and ultimately better outcomes. This allows you to still trust your gut but also gives enough time to consider other points of view or outside advice.
