What I Learned Launching a Global Running Series in 151 Days with Zero Budget

Day 116: "We need to postpone the event."

The words I never wanted to say. After three months of 16-hour days building RunGP from scratch, operational issues in Qatar meant our inaugural global running series had to move from May to October.

I had to tell elite athletes. Hundreds of registered participants. Partners who'd backed us. Local authorities. The press.

Oh, and we'd barely posted on social for weeks because we'd been too busy building.

This is what 151 days of launching a sports property with zero budget actually looks like.

Most launches get 3-6 months. We had 53 days. No marketing budget. A core team of two. One shot to get it right on stage with one of Britain's greatest athletes.

Here's what I learned when everything was on the line:

1. Start with story, not stuff

Day two of our kickoff workshop changed everything. We'd spent day one on the logical stuff: logistics and venues. Essential work, but it wasn't the unlock.

Then we cracked the talent strategy: household names (Mo) + rising stars + content creators. Suddenly we weren't building a race. We were building a show. A broadcast product that people would actually want to watch.

That insight gave us permission to think bigger, but it also meant every single element had to work in perfect harmony.

2. Two people can move mountains (but you'll feel every boulder)

When it's just you and one other person, there's no hiding. I found myself writing privacy policies at 2am, configuring ticketing backends, learning CMS systems from scratch, handling international legal compliance.

The tools were simple: ChatGPT and Claude for rapid content, Google Suite for collaboration, Slack to contain the chaos. But the real advantage? Zero committee paralysis. Every decision happened in minutes, not meetings.

3. Authenticity beats algorithms every time

Our entire launch strategy hinged on one moment: a flawless Web Summit reveal in Qatar. CEO and Mo on stage, unveiling the RunGP brand and format to a global audience. Press conference beforehand, global press release distributed simultaneously, new website going live as they spoke.

Everything had to work in perfect sync. The Mo collaboration video that followed hit 100k views, but the real win was £500k+ in earned media value through traditional press coverage.

But the real magic happened in the trenches. Hours spent replying to every comment. Direct messages with running micro-influencers. Real conversations with real people who cared about what we were building.

We built our first 1,000 advocates one relationship at a time. It wasn't scalable, but it was bulletproof.

4. Transparency is your insurance policy

Back to day 116. The postponement call that could have killed everything.

I made a choice: own it completely. Wrote a transparent blog post explaining exactly what happened. Personally called every major partner. Consistent messaging across every channel.

The result? Not a single refund request. No public drama. Trust actually strengthened because we treated people like adults and told them the truth.

The brutal lesson that changed how I build

Moving fast is brilliant until it isn't. After five startup sports properties and over €25M in media spend, I've learned that even the best strategy needs enough runway to land safely.

Small teams with clear vision will always outpace big budgets with confused strategy. But timeline pressure can make you cut corners that come back to bite you.

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is admit you're not ready and explain why.

The lessons from those 151 days will shape everything I build next.

Looking to experience Porter Wills for yourself? Let’s Talk