Mahmud Kamani, the fast fashion tycoon who founded Boohoo, became an early backer because he liked the “good vibe about it” and how it could “translate into any language”.
The billionaire gave them rental space and began mentoring Solomou, urging him to be wary of who he took advice from.
Kamani, who enjoys a lifestyle of extravagant parties and fast cars, told the Guardian in 2015: “Once you raise your head up and start listening to a million different people, you change your model, and you don’t want to do that.”
Mini media empire
A push to expand LadBible’s horizons began in 2016. It set up Joyride, a creative agency designed to extract more money from advertisers targeting its younger audience, before gulping down rival online publisher, Unilad, when it plunged into administration in 2018.
The collapse of one of the biggest Facebook publishers caused doubts to swirl around new media. The prospect of building a lasting business on social platforms appeared fraught with risk after Unilad succumbed to debts of more than £6m.
Yet LadBible has made some headway in…