What it takes to be an entrepreneur - Negativity

Andrew Hulbert has lived two distinct lives. From his late teens into his thirties, every hour was consumed by building a business from the ground up. Coming from a council estate family, he wasn’t born into wealth or a ready-made network, he carved out a path through relentless effort, scaling Pareto FM into a £50M company with 500 staff, focused on a culture that treated people better than the industry standard, ultimately selling it in a nine-figure private equity exit.

After that decade of full-throttle growth, Andrew pressed pause. The past 18 months have been about school runs, berry-picking with his kids, and rediscovering the small rituals of family life. He is candid about the cost of his earlier years, the friendships he put on hold, the moments missed at home, and equally open about the gratitude he feels now.

Andrew’s story isn’t one of rags-to-riches slogans, but of real choices and trade-offs. He talks about giving his father the gift of early retirement, supporting his family financially, and redefining what success meant once the “big exit” was behind him. He brings the same honesty to discussing entrepreneurship, leadership, and legacy as he does to parenting or men’s wellness.