Steven Bartlett: The Podcaster Who Became the Youngest Dragon
Steven Bartlett
Steven Bartlett was born in 1992 and co-founded the social media marketing agency Social Chain in Manchester in 2014, building it from a bedroom operation into a company that later went public through a reverse merger with the German firm Lumaland in 2019.
He joined Dragons' Den in its nineteenth series in 2021 at the age of 28, making him the youngest person to sit at the table in the show's history, alongside established panellists Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies.
From Social Chain to Flight Story
Bartlett stepped down as co-chief executive of Social Chain AG in 2020, before the UK agency built under that name was later sold on for a reported £7.7 million in a separate deal that Bartlett publicly defended against critics who questioned the company's valuation.
He went on to found Flight Story, a media and investment company, which sits alongside his continuing role as host of The Diary of a CEO podcast, first released in September 2017.
Building The Diary of a CEO
The Diary of a CEO grew from a straightforward business interview podcast into one of the most listened to shows of its kind, and Bartlett expanded the format into a book, The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws for Business and Life, which became a Sunday Times number one bestseller and has since been translated into 35 languages.
That combination of a large existing audience and a media company of his own is what makes his presence in the Den different from the other dragons, since founders pitching to him are also pitching, in effect, to his platform.