#75 How to build real authority in 2025

In this episode, I sit down with Sam Winsbury, founder of Kurogo, a leading personal branding agency working with founders and CEOs. Sam shares how he built Kurogo from a solo freelancing gig into a 15-person team generating 30–50 inbound leads a month through content. We cover: • Why personal branding is still underrated in B2B • How Sam landed his first clients and scaled his offer • What positioning actually means, and why most founders skip it • The pricing lessons that took Kurogo from £500 retainers to revenue-share deals • Hiring mistakes, growth pains, and why a big team isn’t always better • How he manages a fully remote team across 3 continents • What’s next for personal branding: podcasts, newsletters, and real authority • Behind the scenes of launching his new podcast, Success Clues Whether you’re building an agency, growing your personal brand, or thinking about how to stay relevant as content gets more competitive, this episode is packed with practical insights. Sam: LinkedIn YouTube Kurogo: Website Follow Me:  YouTube Newsletter  LinkedIn  Instagram Twitter TikTok Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 01:17 – What Kurogo does 02:03 – The story behind the name 03:11 – Why Sam skipped the 9-to-5 06:16 – From ghostwriting to full-service 08:38 – How his pricing strategy evolved 10:04 – When the business started taking off 11:17 – Early lessons from LinkedIn 13:37 – ROI from personal branding 15:13 – Downsizing, AI, and staying lean 16:40 – Building systems while scaling 19:13 – Learning from clients 21:43 – Remote culture & team dynamics 23:30 – Sam’s current role in the business 25:12 – Where personal branding is heading 27:18 – What’s still hard at this stage 29:28 – Sam’s personal content process 31:38 – Launching the Success Clues podcast 34:55 – Why I started my own podcast 38:02 – Owning your audience 39:51 – Hardest moment as a founder 42:25 – Identity shifts and self-belief 48:38 – What he’s building with Kurogo 50:01 – What he’d do differently 51:19 – Why most middle management is useless 52:14 – Final questions Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.