Read time 2 mins
Author Sophia 🌱
The tables have turned! In this episode of the Wild Cards Podcast, we have Tillo CEO & Co-Founder Alex Preece in the hot seat 🔥
While all of the episodes so far have been recorded in the studio, this special episode was recorded live at Affiliate Huddle in conversation with fellow podcast owner and trustee of the Rockinghorse Children’s Charity, Sam Thomas.
Wild Cards is the business podcast for anyone looking to take their game to the next level. So far, Alex has sat down with Wild Cards guests Gail Cohen, Michel Gustavsson, and James Jittle, but in episode 4, the tables turn, and Alex finds himself revealing his own Wild Card story on stage and to an audience at 2023’s Affiliate Huddle held in Brighton Dome.
In this episode, Alex reveals his personal journey from touring both Iraq and Bosnia on operational duty to starting his first business, declaring bankruptcy, and ultimately selling the first daily deal business to moneysupermarket.com in a deal worth ÂŁ11m.
“I sometimes think how the hell did I get from one place over here to this place over here…”
Sam gets Alex to look deep into his childhood, what it was like for him growing up, how he got on at school, and the impact that a tragic death involving a family member had on his future.
“We didn’t have a lot, and curveballs come in here and there in terms of journeys I had to take…”
Alex also explores his time in the army, where he spent seven years serving his country and jumping out of military planes, an experience that would change the way he approaches life and the challenges it presents.
“It wasn’t a surprise that I was going to go into the military it was very much a place where you need to go to find your way. But I joined, and then a curve ball comes along… I remember finishing training and walking into the Naffi, which is sort of like a cafe on site in a military base, and then seeing on TV this enormous tragedy happening, which was 9/11, and thinking, well, that’s obviously going to change the way we do things today and low and behold it did and it meant we quickly deployed in 48 hours’ notice.”
After leaving the army, Alex then shares the learnings he took from founding his first business and, when things didn’t work out, what he had to do to get through one of the most difficult times in his life.
“It’s not easy to say this, it’s not that I think everything is a positive …but I feel very lucky to get to do the things I get to do. Even back then [when things didn’t work out with my first business] , I thought, I’m lucky I'm not in the army, I'm lucky I’m not in Afghanistan… I’m lucky I'm not in a ditch in Iraq.”
To hear more, including how Alex then went on to found his first million-pound business and ultimately co-found Tillo, be sure to listen to the full episode available on Spotify and Apple Music!
Or watch the episode as it unfolded live from the Affiliate Huddle!
To stay up to date with Wild Cards, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Music and turn on notifications if you want to be the first to hear about new podcast episodes.
We’ll also be posting regular updates on our Wild Cards social media channels:
If you’ve got a wild card up your sleeve and would like to feature on the Wild Cards podcast, then submit a guest application by sending us an email using the button below.
