So… about that mystery partner

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been dropping a few hints about a new investor and strategic partner joining the Ethical Agent Network.

Some of you guessed.

Some of you messaged me privately with wild theories (a few of which genuinely made me laugh).

And a few of you clocked that this wasn’t just “someone with money”, but someone who’d been around a long time.

So let me tell you who it is and, more importantly, why it makes sense.

It’s Nick Cheshire, owner of Nest in Essex.

But before we get into strategy, growth, or the future of the Ethical Agent Network, we need to rewind.

Because the first “deal” Nick and I ever did didn’t involve contracts, shareholders’ agreements, or pitch decks.

It involved a very large bag of jelly babies.

About six years ago, Nick wanted some prospecting letter templates we were selling. I quoted him for a bundle. He came back and said, “I only really need half of these.”

I said, half-jokingly, “Alright, I’ll do them at a discount, but I want a big bag of jelly babies as a sweetener.”

I didn’t expect him to take that seriously.

Two days later, a massive bag of jelly babies turned up.

Here’s the awkward truth: I don’t even like jelly babies.

But I didn’t have the heart to tell him. So, I thanked him, laughed about it, and ate a few out of politeness.

That was the start.

Since then, we’ve worked together, talked regularly, swapped ideas, challenged each other, and somewhere along the way, become good friends.

Nick was also one of the founding members of EAN.

But long before the EAN, he was already doing the right things, quietly building his agency in Rayleigh.

Nick is 35. He’s owned his agency since he was 24.

I’m 53 (although my new left hip is only three months old, which makes me feel a little younger).

I think it’s important to say this out loud: people my age won’t be the ones shaping this industry in ten or fifteen years.

That future belongs to people like Nick, young, tech-savvy agency owners who are still in the thick of running agencies every single day.

Despite the age gap, we’ve got a lot in common. A belief in innovating constantly. A dislike of shortcuts and pretentiousness. Oh, and ADHD, our meetings veer from the sublime to the very ridiculous.

Nick’s investment will help with the day-to-day running of EAN, help shape where we go next, and support the new training, content and peer support elements we’re constantly adding to the members’ benefits.

So yes, this is a partnership announcement.

But really, it’s just the next chapter of a relationship that started with a joke and a big bag of jelly babies.

And honestly?

That probably tells you everything you need to know.

Watch this space.

Jerry