{"podcast":{"title":"First Principles","slug":"first-principles-7708985","podcast_index_feed_id":7708985,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/PODAGEN4765221373","website_url":null,"image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/06eebd2a-0779-11f1-826e-37926ac18342/image/fca7c8febd1441fc3b0d54084418b06d.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Adrian Wells","episode_count":426,"summary":"First Principles isn't another business podcast recycling the same startup stories. Adrian Wells takes the fundamentals that actually matter and breaks them down like you're having coffee with the smartest professor you ever had. Wells spent twelve years teaching philosophy and critical thinking before ditching the lecture hall for the microphone. Turns out, the same principles that help you think clearly about ancient Greek ethics also work pretty well for modern business decisions. Who knew? Every episode strips away the latest trends and buzzwords to focus on the core ideas that don't change. How to actually evaluate evidence when everyone's throwing around statistics. Why most \"revolutionary\" business advice is just old wine in new bottles. The thinking patterns that separate smart decisions from lucky guesses. You won't get hyped-up success stories or flavor-of-the-month strategies. Instead, you'll learn how to think through problems the way philosophers have for centuries, applied to the stuff that matters in your work and life right now. Multiple new episodes drop daily, so there's always something fresh when you need it. Follow now if you're ready to think better, not just…","last_synced_at":"2026-09-20T02:18:54.580675+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-principles-7708985"},"episode":{"title":"The £2M Mistake That Nearly Destroyed True Geordie's Career","slug":"the-2m-mistake-that-nearly-destroyed-true-geordie-s-career","published_at":"2026-09-07T06:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-principles-7708985/the-2m-mistake-that-nearly-destroyed-true-geordie-s-career","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-principles-7708985","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PODAGEN2797126046.mp3?updated=1776257971","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PODAGEN2797126046.mp3?updated=1776257971","summary":"What if building a £2M media empire started with a depressed football fan making videos in his bedroom? In this episode, Adrian Wells breaks down the wild journey of True Geordie's Brian Davis, from unemployed Newcastle supporter to YouTube powerhouse who survived career-threatening scandals and came back stronger. 🎯 What You'll Learn: • How Davis turned personal struggles with depression into a 1.8M subscriber YouTube empire • The exact £2M mistake that nearly destroyed his career in 2019 and cost him major sponsors • His three-phase rebuild strategy that created multiple revenue streams beyond ad money • Why starting during failure, not success, actually gave him a competitive advantage 👤 Perfect for: lifelong learners and anyone who's ever wondered how online creators really build sustainable businesses behind the highlight reels. 📍 Chapters: [00:00] Adrian Wells introduces the True Geordie phenomenon [01:45] From depression to YouTube: Why Davis started making videos in 2012 [04:20] Building the brand: How football rants became a media business [06:50] The £2M scandal that changed everything [09:10] The comeback blueprint: Multiple channels, podcast networks, live events [11:30] What creators get wrong about building lasting businesses The numbers tell the story: 1.8M main channel subscribers, 500k+ podcast downloads per episode, and a diversified business that survived its biggest crisis. But the real lesson isn't about YouTube metrics. It's about how someone turned their worst moments into their biggest opportunities. Davis didn't follow the typical creator playbook. He built something that could withstand controversy, algorithm changes, and industry shifts. That kind of durability doesn't happen by accident. 🔔 Never miss an episode: Follow First Principles on Sp…","meta_description":"What if building a £2M media empire started with a depressed football fan making videos in his bedroom? In this episode, Adrian Wells breaks down the wild…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1079,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/first-principles-7708985/episodes/the-2m-mistake-that-nearly-destroyed-true-geordie-s-career/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/first-principles-7708985/the-2m-mistake-that-nearly-destroyed-true-geordie-s-career.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}