Keynote 01Marketing · AI · Profit
Scalable or Screwed?
The keynote on marketing, AI and growing at a profit.
Joel Stone · Live
Cut through the noise
Find the bottleneck.Break through.
Joel Stone is a keynote speaker, bestselling author and consultant on digital marketing, AI and the mentality to scale. He co-owns Codebreak, the award-winning agency that has served over 1,000 businesses, and has spoken to rooms of 20 to 1,000 people from Glasgow to Las Vegas.
Joel Stone
Keynote speakerBestselling authorConsultantCo-owner, CodebreakStay hungry
- Businesses served at Codebreak
- 1,000+
- Years in marketing
- 18
- Podcast episodes hosted
- 370+
- Stages across the UK, Europe and the US
- UK · EU · US
In Joel's words
Mostmarketingisbruteforceandhope.
The hustle and grind that got you here will bankrupt you as you scale.
The setlist
Work with Joel.
03 tracks. No ballads.
“You blewthe roof off.”
What audiences say
Thank you for an inspiring talk and taking the audience for such a ride!
Susan Carruthers, Founder, The Scottish Marketing Summit
Joel headlines again at Hampden Park on 29 October 2026.
Headline acts
Keynotes and workshops.
Workshops cover digital marketing, AI automation and the mentality to scale.
Keynote 02Full title on the Speaking page
Getting out of your own way.
A second keynote, on getting out of your own way.
Joel Stone · Live
Recognised by
Recognised by
01 / 04- Male Entrepreneur of the Year 2022, QIB
- Marketing Agency of the Year 2024, SME Awards · Codebreak
- Caitlin's Kickstart Award, Outstanding Achievement
- Written for The Drum, An opinion piece
Case studies
Five bottlenecks. Five breakthroughs.
4×
Enquiries in two years
Loft boarding installer, north east UK
- Bottleneck
- The owner quoted every job.
- Fix
- The service turned into packages, with marketing aimed at homeowners with more to spend.
- Result
- In two years: enquiries up four times, each costing a third of what it did.
£200k+
Well over £200,000 a month in sales, up from £2,500
“These guys have a world-class marketing team built in, ready to go. I don’t have to teach them anything. I don’t have to lead them.”
Ben Knight, The Trade Tribe
- Bottleneck
- An investment education business growing on word of mouth and organic webinars.
- Fix
- Paid ads to drive webinar sign-ups, with clear follow-up sequences behind them.
- The work
- Consultancy from Joel. Done-for-you marketing from Codebreak.
45%
Up about 45% on her latest launch, in a year her peers reported falling sales
“Codebreak have got us through those times. And now we have just had our biggest launch by far.”
Kim Raine, ADHD expert
- Bottleneck
- Online course launches had plateaued.
- Fix
- High-intent Google PPC, Meta retargeting and better follow-up sequences.
- The work
- Consultancy from Joel. Done-for-you marketing from Codebreak.
£250k+
In enquiries from leading brands
“I had a phone call from a senior buyer at Hugo Boss who had found our website, thought we looked amazing, and wanted to invite us to be part of the tender programme.”
Ian Ward, City Install
- Bottleneck
- Sales had plateaued after a period of strong growth.
- Fix
- A rebrand, a new website (since redesigned, rewritten and rebuilt twice) and ongoing Google PPC.
- Also
- Another client found City Install by searching ChatGPT for graphic installation in London.
- The work
- Consultancy from Joel. Done-for-you marketing from Codebreak.
24 hrs
Notice to run an in-person Meta Ads workshop, after the previous provider let them down
“I have someone as part of my team that my customers and clients can turn to when they are stuck. And of course, when your clients generate results, they tend to stay longer.”
Paul Mort, Unstoppable Alliance
- Bottleneck
- Nobody reliable to run Meta Ads workshops and AI talks for a client list of over 350 entrepreneurs.
- Fix
- Paul hired Joel to run regular in-person and online days, then hired Codebreak to take over Unstoppable’s ongoing marketing.
- The work
- Workshops from Joel. Done-for-you marketing from Codebreak.
What audiences say
“For me, the standout moment came from Joel Stone, the headline speaker, who shared a brilliant formula that helps you calculate exactly how much you need to spend on marketing to reach your business goals.”
“My favourite talk of the day. Insightful, funny, vulnerable, useful. What a guy.”
Leading Marketing Expert and Entrepreneur
About Joel.
Joel Stone’s marketing has driven more than £400 million in sales for over 1,000 businesses. He’s a headline speaker, an award winner and a bestselling author. He also trained as an accountant for eighteen months, so yes, he will ask to see your numbers.
He grew up in Ludlow, Shropshire. His dad struggled with his mental health and his mum worked several jobs to keep food on the table. That’s where the drive comes from. The dark sense of humour too.
At 21 he went freelance with no network, no clients and no obvious way of getting either. Then the local football team needed raffle prizes. That gave him a reason to walk into every business in the area, tell them who he was and leave a card behind. A handful became clients. Not a bad return on a raffle.
In 2020, Codebreak lost 80% of its clients within two weeks of lockdown. Joel sold his house to pay his team. In the middle of all that, he wrote a book. Stay Hungry became an Amazon bestseller, and Codebreak came out the other side working internationally. It now has clients in ten countries. Later, Joel bought out his business partner and rebuilt the agency around AI instead of hiring. Neil Maclean bought in soon after, and the two run it together.
On stage in the UK, the USA, Spain and the Netherlands, Joel is blunt and funny, and he brings the numbers. The only person he makes fun of is himself. Ask his clients what he’s like and they say the same thing. Genuine. Honest. Unapologetically himself.
“When somebody shows their true self all the time… you instantly trust them.”
If you want someone on your stage who’ll tell your audience the truth and make them laugh while he does it, book Joel. Want help with AI or your marketing? There’s advisory, and there’s Codebreak.
The book
Stay Hungry
How to create Marketing That Sells™, even in the new economy. Written with Andy Rao.
Rated 5 stars on Amazon · £9.99
Encore
Planning an event, or stuck on a business bottleneck?
Tell Joel what you need: speaking, advisory or Codebreak.