With his trademark baseball cap, tight-fitting black jumper, skinny black jeans, perfectly manicured facial hair and massive watch, image is clearly important to Steve Bartlett.
The 24-year-old CEO of the Social Chain says he chooses to wear black because it limits the number of decisions he has to make 鈥� and he has to make a lot of decisions.
Bartlett is supremely confident but insists it falls short of arrogance. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 arrogant,鈥� he says.
鈥淚 know what arrogance would feel like if it was in me. I really believe in myself.
鈥淚鈥檝e sucked at all of my businesses, in different ways. I鈥檝e made loads of mistakes.
“You鈥檝e got to make mistakes to learn: a good failure is worth much more than a good success, in my mind.鈥�
If ever an office reflects the vision of its leader then the Social Chain is it.
From the surreal moment French Bulldog Louie sauntered into our meeting room to the office鈥檚 slide, sleep pods and fully stocked bar, there seem to be no limits to Bartlett鈥檚 imagination 鈥� which explains the success he and his company have achieved.
The 鈥榠nfluencer鈥� business claims to be able to reach more than 300 million people with its viral marketing campaigns.
Bartlett, who promotes his company in part through public speaking, expects it to turn over 拢9 million in this financial year.
And he believes Social Chain could be a ‘billion-pound’ company down the line.
Bartlett was fashionably late for our interview and, as befits a man who has made a living through managing social media,聽he knows the profile he wants to maintain.
A quick look through his Twitter timeline reveals photos of him catching planes to New York, dining with clients in LA and speaking to budding entrepreneurs.
However he aims to paint a picture of someone who doesn鈥檛 give his clothing much thought.
鈥淪omeone in the company sat down with me recently and asked me what they should be wearing 鈥� for their image 鈥� and my opinion was 鈥榖e true to yourself鈥�,鈥� he says.
鈥淭his is what I dress like on the weekend. I鈥檓 not trying to be someone I鈥檓 not. This is who I am.
鈥淚鈥檝e had people come for an interview in a shirt and tie and an amazing suit on and I think 鈥榳hat is it you鈥檙e trying to do with that suit? Are you trying to tell me that you鈥檙e smart, or intelligent?鈥�
“I鈥檇 much rather someone rolled in with whatever they wear on the weekend so I can get to know the person, without the wrap.鈥�
The Social Chain office is a far cry from his childhood in Plymouth, which Bartlett says didn鈥檛 involve birthdays or Christmases.
鈥淢y parents had no money,鈥� he reflects.
鈥淚鈥檇 be lucky to get a card. I came to realise fairly quickly that if I was going to have stuff in my life, it was going to be down to me.
鈥淚 wanted to have a good life. I wanted to have all the things that my friends have. I wanted to create my own birthdays and Christmases.鈥�
The Manchester-based firm has been accused of plagiarising content for its hugely popular social media pages 鈥� including @BeFitMotivation, which has 1.67 million followers, @BritishLogic and @PrimarySklProbs 鈥� in recent months.
It openly admits to reusing content from Twitter, Tumblr and Reddit. However Bartlett says that it鈥檚 a two-way street.
鈥淎ny publisher which puts out thousands of pieces of content every single day runs the risk of one of those images or sentences they鈥檝e used having been used by someone else,鈥� he contends.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a very fine line between curation and plagiarism. Some of our pages curate images so they鈥檒l find images online, post them and tag the person who made the images.
鈥淲e鈥檙e probably the biggest victim of plagiarism.鈥�