Steven Bartlett co-founded Social Chain before becoming a Dragon on BBC's Dragon's Den.
Bartlett launched Social Chain in 2014 with Dominic McGregor. The company began as a social-media marketing agency and built campaigns around online communities, influencers and viral content. Its name reflected the founders' focus on networks of connected social-media users.
The business later grew into an international media and marketing group. Social Chain became associated with major corporate expansion and a public listing through a business combination involving German company The Social Chain AG.
Bartlett's technology and entrepreneurship background helped distinguish him from Dragons whose careers were rooted mainly in retail, manufacturing or property. Social Chain is not the same as Diary of a CEO, the podcast Bartlett created separately; that podcast became another major part of his public profile.