Four logos. One business. And a founder who took far too long to realise he was one.
What started as a simple idea became a life-changing journey. Here's the story of Phil's Conversation, the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, and how my clients helped me discover a much bigger purpose.
My journey at Phil's Conversation began with my favourite 15 minutes of a Cambridge exam-preparation class. Before opening the books, I'd chat with my students about life, their lives. Most of them wanted to keep talking, but we had exams to prepare for. It was then when I thought, 'what if the conversation WAS the lesson?'
The excitement lead me to checked whether the domain englishconversation.ch. was available. And OMG, it was!!! I'll never forget that moment! Suddenly, everything felt possible. I quick built my first website (see below), and created a side hustle alongside teaching at five language schools, and dreamed of a place devoted to conversation.
After my first few clients, things felt real. I started taking low-cost business courses, learning from YouTube videos and religiously listened to Reid Hoffman's Masters of Scale, I felt like a real entrepreneur. I was building, gaining a few clients here and there - it felt real, brought so much joy, and became my passion. Then in, 2018, as my dream of being an entrapreneur felt more real than ever, I even borrowed money to build an app in 2018, for a business that barely existed yet (see below). In essence, I was an English teacher with a big idea and no clue about business.
In early 2020, I went all in, quit all my teaching jobs and wanted to devote all my attention to my 'startup'. My boys were five and three at the time. Two months later: COVID hit, and we all went into lockdown. Strangely, my calendar filled up. People were home and had time. Jackpot! I felt like a success! That was until, we all realized that we were getting used to a new normal. Then my new clients all had face reality, went back to work, and bookings dwindled.
That's when things got serious. I went all in and had a young family to support. I knew how to coach, but entrepreneurship? I realised even more on YouTube, cheap courses, expensive mistakes, and moments wondering what on earth I was doing. My family felt it, too. I won't romanticise it.
I kept having extreme lows and extreme highs, even feeling super lonely at times. But what kept me going were my clients. They were my beacon of hope and the fuel I needed to keep going. Some even gave a little extra when times were tight, not only financially, but by offering their expertise and advice, pointing me in the right direction, such as the amazing Leonie Gehler. My family and some extraordinary people stood by me. They know who they are. I'll never forget it.
Fast forward to today. This year I took a workshop with Michael Weber and Stefan Trappitsch who helped me see something uncomfortable: I'd been building a business without truly seeing myself as an entrepreneur. I was running my business like a teacher which is why my business hasn't grown the way I had hoped. They encouraged me to focus my identity, one baby step at a time.
Meanwhile, my clients were changing the mission itself.
I'd started out thinking people needed more opportunities to practise. But over hundreds of conversations, I noticed many already spoke good English. They were funny, knowledgeable, full of ideas. Yet under pressure, their humour disappeared, their thoughts got smaller, and they held back.
They didn't necessarily need more English. They wanted their English to reflect who they actually were.
My clients helped me discover my niche. Today, I call it the Expression Gap: the gap between who someone is and how they come across in English.
The names and logos changed. I've rebuilt my website and, thanks to vibe coding, begun creating tools I once borrowed money to get built. Wonderful clients, but not enough yet. A little fish in a big ocean.
Looking at these four logos, I see more than a brand evolving. I see the people who believed in me, the mistakes, the lessons, and the conversations that shaped my business and me.
I started Phil's Conversation to give people more time to talk. But my clients taught me it's about much more than talking.
It's about being heard, being understood, and feeling comfortable enough to show people who you really are. That's what Phil's Conversation stands for today.
Because your English should never make you feel like less of yourself. Quite the opposite.
