The Bottleneck Podcast

James Watt with Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba on BrewDog, gut instinct and starting again

James Watt quit law after two weeks, spent seven years as a captain on a North Atlantic fishing boat, then built BrewDog from two humans and a dog into a business making a million cans of beer a day. In this episode he joins Rory and Elfried to talk about the power of naivety, why differentiation always beats optimisation, and what it actually takes to build a challenger brand from nothing.He also opens up on what really happened at BrewDog — the private equity deal that almost worked brilliantly, and finishing a painful second in the bid to buy his own business back. And he reveals his plan for a new beer business called Second Best.Plus: why community will always beat audience, the danger of bottom-of-funnel obsession, and what his new platform SocialTip is doing to bring word-of-mouth marketing into the digital age. Follow RoryInstagram: @rorysutherland_clipsTikTok: @RorysutherlandclipsX: @rorysutherlandLinkedIn: in/rorysutherland/Follow ElfriedInstagram: @elfriedsambaLinkedIn: in/elfriedsamba/https://www.butterflyeffect.xyz/Follow JamesInstagram: @captainjameswatt / @socialtiphq / @secondbestbeerLinkedIn: in/jameswatt-investor-entrepreneur-punk/X: @JamesBWattA Sassy+ original podcast series

Mark Tapscott and Daniel Davey with Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba on Britain's 1st EV sportscar

Tesla veterans Mark Tapscott and Daniel Davey are the co-founders of Longbow Motors — a British electric sports car company with a radical idea: that cars should be getting lighter, simpler and more exciting, not heavier, duller and more expensive. They join Rory and Elfried to explain what it actually takes to build a car company from scratch in 2026. From first principles and physics to the new motor manufacturing business model, this is a conversation about great product design, the death of corporate thinking, and why the UK might be sitting on the most exciting opportunity in automotive since the internal combustion engine.

Jamie Bartlett with Rory Sutherland and Elfried Samba on AI, trust and the internet

Jamie Bartlett has spent 15 years investigating the strange corners of the internet before they crash into the mainstream. In this episode, he joins Rory and Elfried to explore how AI, video, podcasts, crypto, conspiracy culture and online subcultures are changing how we think, trust and behave. From chatbot delusions and “techno admin” to why outsiders often spot the future first, this is a funny, unsettling and deeply useful conversation about what happens when new technology meets human nature. Follow Rory Instagram: @rorysutherland_clips TikTok: @Rorysutherlandclips X: @rorysutherland LinkedIn: in/rorysutherland/ Follow Elfried Instagram: @elfriedsamba LinkedIn: in/elfriedsamba/ https://www.butterflyeffect.xyz/ Follow Jamie Instagram: @jamiejbartlett/ LinkedIn: in/jamie-bartlett-a091b6134/ X: @JamieJBartlett https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/233361/jamie-bartlett A Sassy+ original podcast series

Robbie Lyle with Elfried Samba on AFTV, Global Fan Network, and building a sports media empire

Robbie Lyle started AFTV with a borrowed camera, a borrowed mic, and a belief that football fans deserved to be heard. Thirteen years later, he’s built one of the most influential fan media businesses in sport, with billions of views, millions of followers, and a whole new generation of creators following the path he helped create.In this episode, Robbie and Elfried explore the real story behind AFTV, from filming outside stadiums while still working as a building surveyor to building a 25-person media company across AFTV, DR Sports and the Global Fan Network.They talk about execution, fear, criticism, spotting talent, learning from new platforms, and why the biggest opportunity in media still belongs to the people willing to move first. Follow RoryInstagram: @rorysutherland_clipsTikTok: @RorysutherlandclipsX: @rorysutherlandLinkedIn: in/rorysutherland/Follow ElfriedInstagram: @elfriedsambaLinkedIn: in/elfriedsamba/Website: butterflyeffect.xyz/Follow Robbie LyleInstagram: @robbielyleofficialLinkedIn: in/robbie-lyle-14a077134/Follow AFTVYouTube: @AFTVmediaWebsite: aftv.co.ukTikTok: @aftvmediaInstagram: @aftvmediaFacebook: @aftvmediaX: @aftvmediaSnapchat: @aftvmediaTwitch: @aftvmediaPodcasts: aftv.co.uk/podcastsA Sassy+ original podcast seriesInstagram: @rorysutherland_clipsTikTok: @RorysutherlandclipsX: @rorysutherlandLinkedIn: in/rorysutherland/Follow ElfriedInstagram: @elfriedsambaLinkedIn: in/elfriedsamba/Website: butterflyeffect.xyz/Follow Robbie LyleInstagram: @robbielyleofficialLinkedIn: in/robbie-lyle-14a077134/Follow AFTVYouTube: @AFTVmediaWebsite: aftv.co.ukTikTok: @aftvmediaInstagram: @aftvmediaFacebook: @aftvmediaX: @aftvmediaSnapchat: @aftvmediaTwitch: @aftvmediaPodcasts: aftv.co.uk/podcastsA Sassy+ original podcast series

Conny Kalcher with Rory Sutherland on customer loyalty, human connection and building trust at scale

Conny Kalcher, Chief Marketing Officer at Zurich, joins Rory Sutherland to explore why most companies get customer experience wrong. After decades at LEGO and now at one of the world’s largest insurers, she explains how businesses drift into short-term thinking — and what it takes to shift back to building real, lasting relationships. During her time at LEGO, she helped expand the brand beyond children into a global creative platform, unlocking new audiences and deeper engagement. In her current role at Zurich, she’s applying that same thinking to transform a 150-year-old organisation from product-led to customer-led. From training empathy across 60,000 employees to using AI to simplify thousands of customer interactions, this episode is about turning “customer-first” from a slogan into a system. They explore trust, retention, human behaviour, and why the companies that win are the ones that stay valuable over time. Follow Rory Instagram: @rorysutherland_clips TikTok: @Rorysutherlandclips X: @rorysutherland LinkedIn: in/rorysutherland/ Follow Elfried Instagram: @elfriedsamba LinkedIn: in/elfriedsamba/ https://www.butterflyeffect.xyz/ Follow Conny Kalcher LinkedIn: in/conny-kalcher-198ba5/ X: @ConnyKal A Sassy+ original podcast series