Turning A Hobby Into A £350M Brand | George Sullivan, The Sole Supplier

George Sullivan was written off as a kid, kicked out of a school his parents nearly broke themselves paying for, undiagnosed ADHD, and eight jobs in three years before he ever built anything real.13 years later, he's the founder of The Sole Supplier, Europe's leading sneaker and streetwear platform, reaching 4.5M+ people a month and driving over £350M in revenue for brands like Nike, adidas and UNIQLO.In this episode of What It Takes, George opens up about the chaos of undiagnosed ADHD, the moment self-reflection changed everything, nearly walking away from the business with £3k left in the bank, the brutal 2022-2023 crash that forced him to make people redundant, getting medicated at 35, and what it's actually taking to lead a 34-person team without losing himself in the process.This is a raw, honest conversation about building a business while fighting your own mind and what it takes to keep going when it would be easier to stop.Chaters0:00 13 Years of The Sole Supplier2:03 Childhood, Sacrifice & Getting Kicked Out of School3:55 Undiagnosed ADHD: Impulsivity, Weed & Self-Reflection11:58 Becoming a Dad: "How Hard Can a Baby Be?"15:12 Getting Medicated at 35 & the UK's Drink Culture22:28 Bad First Jobs, Real Mentors & the Truth About Gen Z31:04 Founder Profits, Redundancies & Why Duvet Days Exist37:39 Sneakers, Failed Startups & How The Sole Supplier Began47:06 Nearly Quitting & the £2K Google Ranking Moment54:01 The 2022 Crash, Redundancies & Rebuilding Trust1:09:14 Leadership Lessons, Letting Go & What It Actually TakesFollow George:https://www.instagram.com/georgesullivantss/?hl=en-gbThe Sole Supplier: thesolesupplier.co.ukFollow Olly: https://www.instagram.com/olly.303/https://www.tiktok.com/@ollyfawcett303?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pchttps://www.linkedin.com/in/olly-fawcett-668566177/Get frequent behind the scenes updates from Olly: https://whatittakes.kit.com/51cd36dc35