Ben Bailey

Gett

Leading growth for London’s Black Taxi App.

VP of Marketing

Freelance | Self-Employed

Start-ups grow faster with my help 🤓 🚀 

High-intensity programs designed to get founders their first customers faster.

Recent wins:

- Grew a startup from zero to £300k monthly revenue in 6 months through Meta ads
- Found a scaleable and profitable growth channel in a competitive Fintech environment
- Helped an international start-up break the UK market by discovering their audience through creative 

Need help figuring out your growth levers? DM me.

Startup growth consultant

LiveMore Mortgages

Led growth in the fight against financial exclusion for the over 50s with groundbreaking new mortgage products.

- Record B2B growth while reducing acquisition cost by >75% through strategy revamp
- Built B2C funnel from scratch, with a creative-led approach, reaching profitability in two months and consistent month-on-month growth

Marketing Director

Even

Founding team, leading the marketing and sales function at a FinTech on a mission to end "Generation Rent" through an interest-free equity loan.

There are two million fewer young homeowners now than there were a generation ago. The rising cost of living coupled with stagnant wages means people are living in housing purgatory. 

Even is here to end “Generation Rent”. With an interest-free equity loan, we can triple a first-time buyer’s deposit without affecting their affordability.

Chief Marketing Officer

Nested

Head of Brand, and later the marketing function at PropTech disrupting the home selling process. 

Covering brand, acquisition and nurture in our mission to build the modern way to move. Notable projects: brand positioning and messaging, creative development and execution across TV, Radio and Social Media.

Nested is led by GoCardless founder Matt Robinson.

Head Of Brand

Studio British

Founder and Marketing Director covering brand, acquisition and customer experience in our mission to slow down fast-fashion. 

studiobritish.com is the home of luxury British fashion.  Successfully launched an MVP with sales to 25 countries and an industry high average order value. Responsible for wide ranging business and marketing strategy through to delivery across channels such as ppc, SEO, social and partnerships.

MyBuilder.com

Part of management team for online marketplace, I led marketing, in charge of acquisition and lifecycle for B2C and B2B. 

MyBuilder.com is an online marketplace dedicated to helping homeowners find quality tradesmen. Since joining we've enjoyed fantastic growth, currently helping 50,000 tradesmen to win work with 90,000 homeowners posting jobs each month.

Player-manager of the marketing function at MyBuilder, reporting to the CEO, with 5 direct reports. Covered a variety of disciplines; strategy, above the line creative development, media planning, agency management, paid search, SEO, content, social media, events, copy and email marketing to name a few. 

Successfully grew the team to help MyBuilder grow significant awareness through use of TV, OOH and PR. We're now the fastest growing company in our space on-track to become the first place a homeowner will think of when they need to hire a tradesman.

Marketing Lead

Zipcar

Grew the newly-established HR function by developing process and structure around recruitment within Zipcar. Developed and took charge of end-to-end recruitment for roles across all disciplines at all levels of seniority.

Talent Acquisition Manager, UK & Europe

Delivered an excellent level of customer service to our membership base of 100,000 of London members, responsible for managing and training the team, high level complaint resolution.

Customer Service Manager

Universal Music Group

Two hit UK singles, big in Japan. Highlights included playing Glastonbury and Brixton Academy, Q Magazine cover story and runner-up single of the week in NME. Several tours including the UK, Europe and the Far East. Occasionally get noticed in the pub.

Musician

Growth 🚀 Marketing 🤓 Start-ups💪🏾

📈 Growth for start-up and scale-ups
🤝 Hands-on people leader
❤️ I build brands people love

I fell into start-ups by joining a shabby outfit above an industrial garage in South Wimbledon, then known as Streetcar. That business exited to Zipcar which eventually sold to Avis for a cool half a billion.

At MyBuilder, it became clear marketing was the function where I could add most impact. We grew that business and exited to IAC (Expedia, Trivago). 

Since then I’ve worked with and advised multiple companies in growth and marketing, with roles like Head of Brand, Head of Marketing, Marketing Director and Chief Marketing Officer. 

I love a bit of stradegee, but will never get tired of hands-on building, whether it’s creative, copywriting, PPC, SEO or paid search. 

Leading the marketing function at a FinTech on a mission to end "Generation Rent" through an interest-free equity loan.

There are two million fewer young homeowners now than there were a generation ago. The rising cost of living coupled with stagnant wages means people are living in housing purgatory. 

Even is here to end “Generation Rent”. With an interest-free equity loan, we can triple a first-time buyer’s deposit without affecting their affordability.

Helping Fintechs Grow Without Limits | Founder & MD @ Growth Gorilla | Host @ The Fintech Marketers and Leaders Podcast

We’re the fintech-first growth agency making user acquisition a breeze.

We’ll help you attract the right users and reach your growth goals by seamlessly blending Paid Media, Influencer Marketing, and Creative & Content.

Whether you want to tackle new territories or launch new products, your fintech’s future depends on new customers — and we know where and how to find them.

As we power your brand awareness and credibility, new users will roll in from all platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Google, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. 

Ready to acquire more ideal users and move one step ahead of your competitors?

Put your brand in the hands of an experienced team that has worked with over 40 fintechs.

Want to work with us? Drop me an email at shameer@growthgorilla.co.uk

Shameer Sachdev

Your UGC isn’t underperforming.

Your structure is.

Most fintech brands are:
- Testing random creators
- Boosting posts with no funnel
- Calling it “content strategy”

Then wondering why CAC creeps up.

On March 25th, we’re hosting an invite-only roundtable for fintech & FS marketers who want UGC to actually perform.

We’ll break down:
- How to build trust and convert
- How to revive stale creative
- How to blend influencer + UGC + paid properly
- How to measure what actually matters

No panels. No recycled slides.

Just real fintech and FS marketers in the room.

Previous guests include teams from Monzo, Wise, Chip, GoCardless, Shares, and Tembo.

Last ones sold out.

Fintech & FS brands only.

Link in the comments.

Most campaign breakdowns you see?

Polished case studies. Sanitised results. No mention of what didn’t work.

That’s not how we do it.

At FP Live 2026, I’ll be breaking down the good, the bad, and the stuff that never made it past compliance.

→ What made performance spike
→ What killed momentum
→ How to avoid the mistakes that cost brands thousands

No fluff. No filter. Just honest insights on what it takes to run campaigns that actually convert in financial services.

See you there?

I started Growth Gorilla 8 years ago and since then I’ve been helping fintech brands scale.

I’ve seen the good, the bad… and the “why did we approve that?” campaigns.

So I’m launching a monthly newsletter to share some insider secrets with the hope that it might help you with your next campaign.

And the first edition is now live. I break down why your influencer marketing isn't broken, it's just being played too safe.

If you’ve ever blamed compliance, over-scripted a creator, or expected ROI in 7 days… you might want to read this.

I’ll be publishing monthly and if you care about growth without the fluff, subscribe.

In the 8 years I've been running Growth Gorilla, helping over 50 brands to scale, I see the same pattern again and again. A fintech or FS brand decide

Open article: Influencer marketing isn’t broken. It’s just being played too safe. by Shameer Sachdev • 4 min read

Influencer marketing isn’t broken. It’s just being played too safe.

Campaigns don’t fail because of bad ads.

They fail because of weak strategy.

At FP Live 2026, I’m talking about what separates the brands scaling performance from the ones burning through budget.

It comes down to:
→ Positioning
→ Trust
→ Creative that reflects real-life problems

We’ll be digging into the campaigns that worked, and the ones that didn’t, with the receipts to prove it.

If you work in fintech or financial services, and you want your next campaign to actually land…

You’ll want to be in the room.

I’ll be speaking at FP Live on March 23rd as part of the Campaigns that Count panel.

We’ll be getting into the campaigns that actually delivered in financial services.
Not just the highlight reel.

The thinking behind them.
The execution.
What worked.
What didn’t.

And how teams navigated all the usual industry challenges.

Basically, the stuff you want to, but don’t get to see on case study slides.

Should be a solid, honest conversation with people who’ve actually done the work.

I’ve spent the last 8 years helping 50+ fintechs grow, so there’s no shortage of real stories from the frontlines.

If you want to hear a few of them, come say hey.

Or drop me a DM and we’ll grab a coffee, always up for a proper chat.

If your paid performance has plateaued, it’s probably not your targeting.

It’s your creative.

And more specifically, your UGC strategy.

Most brands treat UGC as filler content.

The smartest fintechs treat it as their performance engine.

That’s what we’re unpacking on March 25th at our invite-only roundtable.

We’re talking:
- Real voices over stock footage
- UGC that converts, not just “looks authentic”
- How to stop wasting paid budget on meh content
- How to scale creator content without compliance chaos

We’ve had teams from Monzo, Chip, Wise and GoCardless in the room before.

And yes, they sell out fast.

Fintech & FS only.

If you want in, link’s in the comments.

In fintech, performance creative isn’t about looking pretty.

It’s about converting under pressure.

In 2026, the creative that’s winning shares 3 traits:
→ Structure: Hook, value, CTA, all fast and clear
→ Speed: Shot, edited, and deployed in days
→ Story: Based on real user pain, not marketing fluff

We’ve tested thousands of ads.

The ones that convert don’t always have to look “on brand.”

But they:
→ Stop scrolls
→ Build trust
→ Drive action

If your in-house creative process takes 3 weeks to ship one ad?

You’re losing to teams building modular, story-led systems.

We can build one for you.

Drop me a DM.

Demos are out.

Narratives are in.

Fintech UGC that performs in 2026 sounds like:
→ “I was stuck with £3k debt…”
→ “I never understood how to invest until…”
→ “Here’s how I saved £4,200 in 6 months…”

Why does this work?
→ Story = emotional connection
→ Emotional connection = action
→ Action = conversion

Want your ads to stick?

Write like a story.

Film like a story.

Build trust like a story.

We script UGC that converts, not just fills ad space.

Let’s build yours.

UGC isn’t new.

But making it work in fintech? Different game.

Compliance. Trust. Long buying cycles. Skeptical users.

If you’re running UGC like a fashion brand, you’re going to struggle.

On March 25th we’re bringing together fintech & FS marketers only to talk about how to make UGC and performance marketing actually scale.

What we’ll cover:
When to blend influencer + UGC + paid
How to measure creator content across the funnel
How to refresh creative before your metrics tank
What’s actually working right now

No agencies in the room. No suppliers. No fluff.

We’ve hosted teams from Monzo, Wise, Chip, Tembo, Yonder and Unbiased.

Seats go fast. They always do.

Link in the comments.

If your creator content keeps getting blocked last-minute…

That’s not a compliance problem.

That’s a process problem.

The best fintechs in 2026 are pulling compliance in early:
→ Briefing docs pre-reviewed
→ Pre-cleared messaging frameworks
→ Clear escalation processes
→ Training for creators on do’s + don’ts

When compliance is part of the creative process, not a blocker at the end?

Campaigns move faster, content performs better, and risk actually drops.

Let’s fix the bottlenecks.

We’ve done it before, and the results speak for themselves.

The best-performing fintech content in 2026?

It’s not coming from in-house designers or agency freelancers.

It’s coming from creators.

People who:
→ Know how to structure content for TikTok, Meta, and Shorts
→ Have native trust with your target audience
→ Move faster than any traditional team can

But here’s the difference between a good creator collab and a content flop:

The brief.

Most brands either:
→ Over-brief and kill the creator’s voice
→ Under-brief and get useless fluff

Here’s how we run it:
→  A deck with everything they could need to know about about the company
→ Hook suggestions, not scripts
→ Visual examples of what performs
→ Compliance guidance built in early

And we don’t stop there.

We plug creators into:
→ Performance creative
→ Onboarding content
→ Organic posts
→ Lifecycle emails

Because this isn’t about “influencer marketing.”

It’s about supporting traditional creative with Influencer Marketing and UGC content that actually works.

We’ve built creator programs for billion-pound fintechs.

DM me if you’re ready to do the same.

What’s working right now in UGC?

→ Hook-led content with immediate tension
→ “Here’s what no one tells you about…” formats
→ TikTok-style text overlays with built-in CTAs
→ Lo-fi with just enough structure
→ Creator duets and reactions (performing 2–3x over static)

We’re also seeing success with:

→ Creator carousels on Meta
→ Mobile-screen overlays showing the product
→ Native “listicle” edits: 3 ways I [action]

UGC isn’t about what looks best.

It’s about what performs.

We track and optimise across dozens of creators weekly.

Want to see what will actually drive ROAS for you?

DMs open.

taplio

The Battle

Ben Bailey

Shameer Sachdev

Followers

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Performance ScoreShameer Sachdev's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Ben Bailey

Shameer Sachdev

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Shameer Sachdev's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreShameer Sachdev's LinkedIn Performance