Launch. Scale. Exit: "It Was an Accidental Business" with Jimmy Vestbirk

Some of the best event businesses don’t follow a blueprint. They’re born from curiosity and a gap nobody else has noticed.

Jimmy Vestbirk launched Legal Geek in 2015; a decade later, he sold it. But the journey to acquisition was anything but straightforward. There were the early years of building credibility without a legal background, a no-tie policy that everyone told him wouldn't work, and a brand built on high-fives and warehouse venues in a sector that’s typically confined to stuffy hotel conference rooms.  

In this post, Jimmy shares what he'd do differently, what he wishes he'd known from day one, and what’s next for Legal Geek.  

What inspired you to launch Legal Geek?

Honestly, it wasn't meant to be an event business at all. I launched Legal Geek as market research for a legal tech startup I was trying to build.  

After a couple of years working on the startup, I exited it and focused full-time on the event, which had grown quietly in the background. So it was an accidental business that happened through trying to do something else entirely. 

How did you know it was the right moment to go out on your own?

I've always just run my own thing. I didn't come from a job before this. I'd run different smaller businesses and tried my hand at a lot of different things through my twenties and thirties. So for me, Legal Geek was more of a progression. A serious business, more focused on one thing.  

But more than anything, I landed on something at the right time.  

Timing is everything. Legal technology was growing rapidly, but there was nothing in the events space serving that need. Though I'd attended a lot of well-developed technology conferences, that format just hadn't transferred to the legal sector. I knew I had to take advantage of that opportunity.  

What two or three decisions in the early years made the biggest difference to the outcome?

Building a really strong brand and ethos. It sounds simple, but we had a no-tie policy at our events. For lawyers, particularly back then, people told me that just wouldn't work - that lawyers wear suits, that decision-makers wouldn't go for it.  

But what we found is that lawyers actually love not wearing suits. They like to think differently. We brought together the rebels in legal who are trying to change the profession and have a positive impact on it. It's a small thing, but it was symbolic, and it helped us build a culture that became a real part of the business's value. 

We also introduced high-fiving - which sounds quirky, but it ties into something deeper. We have a strong ethos around people genuinely meeting each other, making friends, and then doing business. Most business conferences are just lead gen machines. We believe relationships matter more. And that was our ‘North Star’ throughout those ten years of growth.  

What metrics ended up mattering more than you expected?

Probably the financial fundamentals, if I'm honest. I didn't start Legal Geek as a business in the traditional sense, so getting the profit and revenue organised wasn't really on my radar in the early years, which sounds silly but it's true. I was building a community first. 

We also had COVID hit right in the middle of our ten-year cycle. I’d grown something organically as a small business for a while, then COVID was a reset. 

After that, we really professionalised and grew the business properly. It was almost like growing up as a founder and as a business.

What was the hardest part of launching, and the hardest part of selling?

On the launching side, it was credibility. I have no legal background, but I was trying to reach large law firms and major corporations.  

The legal profession can feel like a closed space, and they like you to be a lawyer. The initial questions people would ask are: Are you a lawyer? When did you train? And I'd say no, never been a lawyer. Sometimes I'd even mention that I'm dyslexic, and you'd watch the shutters come down. 

What changed everything was the brands that sponsored us. When we had big law firms and the Law Society backing us, credibility came with them. There was a quote that described us as the festivalisation of events, backed by the pillars of the institutions. That combination - the fun brand with serious institutional support - was the unlock. 

On the selling side, it was the due diligence process, having never done it before. This was especially difficult while you’re running the business at the same time. It was incredibly involved. 

We genuinely couldn't have done it without Steve. I'll be honest, I underestimated the role of a broker. Coming from the legal space, I had lawyers, accountants, and professionals around the table. A broker seemed like an expensive luxury I didn't really need. But having been through it, that was the best money we spent.  

What was the most rewarding part of launching and of selling?

Launching: building a community. We had people start businesses at our event, find their first investors, and their first clients. At our very first event, I did a Startup Alley and made it free for startups to exhibit. A lot of those businesses have been with us ever since and are incredibly loyal because of that early support. We were in the trenches together. 

We also invested a lot in mental health and using our stage for good. The legal profession is notoriously hard on people, with crazy hours and high stress. When we started addressing those topics, really powerful stories came out. We've tackled quite heavy subjects, including domestic abuse, and had incredibly moving responses from people who were grateful we created that space. Of course, we do things for growth, but I like to think we also do things for the right reasons.  

On the selling side: achieving an exit is something you quietly want from the start, whatever you say. The success rate of businesses that stay profitable for ten years and then exit is actually quite low. It's a real achievement. But more than that, Steve helped us sell to a company that's genuinely the right fit. It wasn't just an exit. I'm still very much involved, and I want to grow the business within the group. But I've let go of the admin of running a small business, the stuff that was never my skill set. And now I can focus on what I'm actually good at, within an entrepreneurial corporate that gives me the freedom to do that. 

What might have sped up the journey from launch to exit?

Getting a CFO earlier. We brought in a fractional CFO in the later years, got more ambitious with targets, started professionalising - hiring more senior people, investing in systems and processes. That CFO role was probably one of the most important hires we made. It gets the finance, targets and budgets in order, and all of that comes up in diligence anyway. That's what I'd do from day one if I were starting again. 

What mistakes would you not make again?

I didn’t hire a senior team early enough. There may be a maturity nuance there - not an age thing, just exposure. 

I also think I would have benefited from an events background, or from hiring someone who had one earlier. I made it all up as I went, which meant Legal Geek was completely different because it wasn't built from a blueprint. That was a strength in some ways. But having a blueprint - or someone who knew how events businesses actually work - would have saved me a lot of time. 

The thing that wins in the end is consistently delivering and getting the basics right. That's true in most businesses. I was always good at that part. What I didn't do was layer in the professional infrastructure early enough. 

How do you think an event owner might benefit from Manta Media Capital?

Looking back, if we'd been thinking about the exit from the start - had the right structures in place, had the right people around us - the sale process would have been so much easier. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Three months of intense diligence while we were also in a busy event cycle. It was a lot, but the buyers acknowledged that we were a small business and were really fair to us. 

What I can say with certainty is that this deal would not have happened without Steve's (and his team’s) support. Steve’s work on the deal was important but, as I reflect now, he also ensured we had a strong working relationship with our new owners by negotiating on our behalf.  And what I'd say to anyone who's never done it before: having people around you who have done it, who know what to look for and can keep you on track through the process - that's not a luxury. That's essential. 

What's next for you?

I'm very much still involved and focused on growing Legal Geek within the group. We're doing a lot of the things we always wanted to do but didn't have the resources (or perhaps the confidence) to pursue. We never took any funding. It was always just me building it up from nothing. When it's your own money and you've earned every penny of it, it's hard to make big decisions on venues in new countries.  

Now I've got the backing of a group that genuinely supports what we're doing, I can focus on growth without the weight of running a small business. We're geo-adapting our events within the portfolio and scaling into new markets.  

It feels like a new chapter - and the right one. 

Manta Media Capital works with event founders at every stage, bringing genuine industry expertise alongside the capital to help you build something worth selling. If that sounds like the support you're looking for,take two minutes to apply for funding with Manta Media Capital.