Sam Thompson: King of the (content) jungle
Sam Thompson has built his career across TV presenting, radio hosting, podcasting, and writing. He first found fame on ‘Made in Chelsea’, then went on to become a familiar face across reality TV, taking part in ‘Celebrity Big Brother’, ‘Celebrity Coach Trip’, multiple series of ‘Celebs Go Dating’, and ‘Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins’, where he came third. His radio career began in 2022 when he took over a Sunday show on ‘Hits Radio’, and by 2023 he’d also become a regular panelist on ‘Love Island: Aftersun’ and co-host of the ‘Love Island: The Morning After’ podcast. His biggest win came when he was crowned champion of the 23rd series of ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’ He is also a ‘Sunday Times’ Best Selling author and co-host of podcast ‘Staying Relevant’ which receives over one million downloads a month.
Now, he’s swapped the celebrity jungle for a content jungle.
Content Jungle
In 2025, Sam co-founded and launched Content Jungle – a curated platform and app designed to connect brands and content creators with verified, high quality creative talent, such as photographers, videographers, and editors.
“I started Content Jungle because I saw a gap in the creator market. I increasingly found it difficult to find talented creatives such as videographers who were not only brilliant at their craft, [but] available and understood the nuances of a specific brief. If my regular videographer was booked, I struggled to find someone I could trust to deliver what I needed. There wasn’t one premium, trusted hiring platform.
“That’s what led me to start Content Jungle. A curated app where creators, brands, and agencies could find the very best videographers and editors,” said Sam.
Sam has 4.5 million social media followers which gives him a unique insider perspective on the creator economy.
“When you’re a creator … you see how brands approach content production and have a unique perspective on how different that process could be, what is possible and the logistics behind it.
“And you understand from the talent side how hard it is to be found, to prove your worth, to be taken seriously as a professional rather than just someone who can point a camera and press record.” Content Jungle was built from those two lived experiences simultaneously.
“The 22% talent approval rate is us building the trust layer that the market is desperately missing. Brands deserve to hire confidently. Talent deserves to operate in an environment that takes quality seriously, and I use my unique experience to bridge this gap,” said Sam.
Humans at the heart
The platform takes a clear stance on human-crafted content at a time when AI-generated media is everywhere and that was a deliberate founding principle from day one.
“We believe it more now than when we started. The argument isn’t anti-AI, it’s that as AI makes mediocre content easier to produce, the ceiling on what brilliant human creativity can achieve becomes more valuable, not less.
“Brands are realising that audiences can feel the difference. Authenticity isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore; it’s what cuts through.
“Our platform is built around the belief that great human talent is a competitive advantage for the brands that know how to find and hire it.
“That’s not a marketing position; it’s something Ben [Hacker] [Content Jungle co-founder] and I genuinely believe, and it shapes every product and business decision we make.”
Experience matters
Early traction is often the hardest thing to manufacture for a startup, but Sam and Ben were very deliberate and personal about it. The first hires came through Sam’s network and Ben’s direct outreach, which led to word-of-mouth referrals.
“We weren’t trying to prove volume; we were trying to prove the experience,” said Sam.
And what that told the pair of them was real: a 65% repeat booking rate in the first nine months. “That’s the number I’m most proud of, because it’s such a tangible success marker. When brands come back again and again, they’re telling you the experience delivered. That early proof, earned through concierge-level attention rather than advertising, is what gives us the confidence to scale it properly now,” notes Sam.
But if there was one thing Sam would have done differently, it would have been to push harder to remain focused.
“In the early days, we got all kinds of feedback that we should open the platform up wider to animators, hair and makeup artists, etc., and say yes to all production services.
“We know now that nailing one vertical is the answer. The market for trusted, curated, high-quality videographers and editors is massive and underserved.
“We should have planted our flag there more firmly from day one and stuck with serving videographers and editors only.
“The moment we got really clear on that, everything from the product decisions, the conversations with investors, and the talent we wanted on the platform became clearer,” said Sam.
One of Sam’s proudest achievements is a feeling he keeps coming back to when a brand tells him they’d found a videographer or editor through Content Jungle that genuinely changed the quality of their output.
“It’s when someone says, ‘we wouldn’t have found this person anywhere else.’ That’s the infrastructure gap we’re trying to close.
“Every time we fill it, that’s a win. The goal is to make that feeling happen thousands of times a year. We’re just getting started.”
ADHD as a superpower
Sam has recently opened up about his diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), giving him a new framework for understanding his long-standing struggles with focus, time management, and his famously energetic personality.
“My ADHD diagnosis has changed my life – for the better. I now understand my brain in ways I wish I did before, especially as a child who struggled so much with learning and applying myself.
“The great thing about my experience is my hyper-fixation – when I focus and love something I give it 110%. I genuinely believe this often gives me an edge on business projects because I will give it my all, and something extra too. My diagnosis has lifted a huge weight I didn’t know existed,” he noted.
Given his public profile, his openness about the condition carries real weight. It helps break down stigma around adult ADHD, encourages wider conversation about mental health and neurodiversity, and may empower others to seek support.
Sam juggles presenting, podcasting, running a business, and a public profile on a day-to-day basis but he says its important people understand that he doesn’t have the perfect balance.
“I’m not sure I know anyone who does?! Multi-tasking can be something I am very good at, but sometimes very bad at! That said, what I do recognise is how fortunate I am to do a creative job I love – and the variety of projects is the best part!”
With Content Jungle, Ben runs the day-to-day operations and the overall business trajectory. Where Sam genuinely adds value is in the network, the credibility, and the access to the creator and brand world.
“I am thankful we’re such a great team with the perfect culmination of skill sets,” he said.
Sam’s story also points to a broader need for understanding and accommodation of neurodiverse people, in entertainment and beyond, standing as a reminder that with the right support, people with ADHD can thrive.
“It needs to be addressed that having ADHD has very real highs, and very real lows. Whilst I want to raise awareness and education, I never want to play down the difficulties. That said, I also want to encourage both children and adults to fulfil their dreams, whether neurodiverse or not because there can be so many limitations placed on us.
“I genuinely believe my ADHD is a superpower, and I feel very passionate about doing as much for the community as I can. I’ve been an ambassador for ADHD UK for three years now and it’s been the honour of my life.”
Future success
Content Jungle had originally planned to raise funds through a Crowdcube crowdfunding campaign but recently changed course after institutional investors expressed interest and asked for more conventional deal terms.
The company is now pursuing traditional angel investment instead, with interest coming from both the UK and the US.
For Sam, he knows exactly what he wants the future to hold: “To be honest, I feel so lucky as I am – if I can continue being busy, in the varied aspects of my career, from presenting, podcasting, and business I’d be very happy. If I can do this alongside my charity partners, UNICEF, ADHD UK, and The King’s Trust, to create change, that would make me a very happy man.
This article originally appeared in the July’26 magazine issue of Startups Magazine – see SM’s Magazine Archives for more featured publications.
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