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Everyone wants to build fast, but Harry Sanders had to build just to survive.

At 17, he faced something no one should: sleeping under a bridge in Melbourne with nothing but a backpack and a laptop. A social worker gave him a plan. He took it, learned fast, and built StudioHawk to one of the world’s top SEO agencies from scratch.

Today, Harry runs a 140-person team across three continents, hiring what he calls “wholesome nerds”: people with low ego and high potential. His rule is simple: ideas don’t build companies. Discipline does.

This episode’s about patience, pressure, and the kind of mindset it takes to build when the world writes you off.

🔗 Find Harry on LinkedIn, Instagram & YouTube

Takeaways from Harry’s episode

1️⃣ Sit on every new idea for a week

Founders love ideas, but too many ideas kill execution. Harry writes them down, waits seven days, then only shares the ones that still matter. Discipline protects your team from chaos.

2️⃣ Hire for hunger, not CVs

Harry doesn’t chase perfect CVs. He hires “wholesome nerds” — people with curiosity, humility, and something to prove. Skill can be taught, but attitude can’t.

3️⃣ Simplicity scales faster than scope

StudioHawk only does SEO. No ads. No websites. That focus turned a solo hustle into a global agency. Clarity beats diversification every time.

4️⃣ If you can’t leave, you don’t own it

Harry learned the hard way that being across everything makes you the bottleneck. The business only became scalable when it stopped depending on him.

5️⃣ Confidence is built, not gifted

He wasn’t born confident, but he earned it through small reps and public failures. Every time you step outside your comfort zone, you strengthen the muscle that makes the next leap easier.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Hawk Academy — Harry’s free SEO training platform

How to see the fan-out queries ChatGPT runs — The video on Harry’s Insta

Hit subscribe for more conversations that move you forward 🔔

In this episode we cover:

00:00 Introduction to Harry Sanders

02:25 How Harry went from homeless teen to founder

07:48 How StudioHawk grew into a $20M global SEO agency

11:02 How to hire ‘wholesome nerds’ and spot raw talent early

13:12 Why your early team can hold back your next stage of growth

21:52 Why focus scales faster than ideas

26:49 How to shift from survival mode to CEO mindset

32:53 Why Harry gives back to fight youth homelessness

35:46 Will AI kill SEO? Here’s what’s really happening

42:00 How new brands can get seen in AI search

50:12 Why most founders aren’t ready for SEO yet

54:25 How education became StudioHawk’s growth engine

57:05 What it really costs to build something that lasts

Pass this on to a builder stuck in idea chaos 📤

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