Silent Disco Founder: "I didn’t want to build a company; I wanted to build a feeling" | Toby Burns

Summary

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Podcast Summary

James Reed: All About Business

Episode Title: Silent Disco Founder: "I didn’t want to build a company; I wanted to build a feeling" | Toby Burns
Release Date: August 25, 2025
Host: James Reed (A)
Guest: Toby Burns (B), Founder and Director, The Silent Disco Company

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the creation, growth, and philosophy behind The Silent Disco Company, with founder Toby Burns sharing his journey from a teenage entertainer to an innovative business owner. The conversation delves into the importance of brand clarity, innovation through global inspiration, and the silent disco's cultural impact, offering actionable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins: From Entertainer to Entrepreneur

• Toby’s Early Start: Began as a children’s entertainer at 15, working up to 10 parties a week while still in school, chauffeured by “a man in a van called Pete.”
  • “I was being picked up with a man in a van from school... going straight to do parties when you’re in school.” (02:14)
• Event DJing: Progressed to high-end events, including bar/bat mitzvahs and corporate gigs, sometimes with extravagant budgets.
  • “I've seen some quite outrageous events… quarter of a million quid on this two year old's birthday.” (04:03)

2. The Lightbulb Moment: Creating Silent Disco

• Problem Spotted: Recognized the need to entertain kids during events while adults dined.
• Silent Disco Inspiration: Discovered the silent disco concept in the US and decided to import and adapt it for the UK market.
  • “I saw silent disco in America and I still go to America because all the new ideas are there first. Or China.” (06:34)
• Early Business Move: Sold six months of silent disco events before the equipment even arrived from overseas, paying for his initial order up front.
  • “I’d sold it in to the next six months of events before I got it... all the kit was already paid for.” (09:08)

3. Innovation through "Swipe and Deploy"

• Continuous Global Research: Regularly travels to China and the US for new ideas, supporting a business philosophy the host dubs “swipe and deploy.”
  • Quote: “Swipe and deploy, yeah... I hope your listeners... can swipe and deploy into their businesses.” (07:06 / 07:11)
• Hard Work Behind Glamour: Visits to manufacturing partners in China are described as grueling rather than glamorous, with long days of factory visits.
  • “As soon as I land, it’s non stop for seven days, car to factory, factory.” (07:50)

4. The Silent Disco Experience & Its Cultural Impact

• First Event Experience: Toby still gets joy from seeing people enjoy silent discos, comparing it to commuters in their musical bubble.
  • Quote: “I still get the same feeling and the same smile watching people in their own little world... it gives people choice.” (09:21)
• Lasting Appeal: Despite a decade in business, silent disco remains new and exciting for many.
  • “It still amazes me now that people say to me, I've never seen a silent disco before, and we've been doing this 10 years.” (11:00)
• Multiple Channels for Choice: The company now offers up to 10 music channels at events, supporting diverse musical preferences.
  • “People love choice. I mean, we do a 10 channel system now... you can actually have 10 different genres of music.” (14:01)

5. The Silent Disco vs. Traditional Partying

• Fostering Community Rather Than Separation:
  Host challenges if headphones drive people apart; Toby argues the opposite—that silent disco draws non-dancers to the floor and facilitates easier conversation.
  • Quote: “I promise you... even the people that I'm told would never get up at a party and dance... they are on the dance floor.” (15:18)
  • “You just pop your headphones off, have a conversation... you haven’t got to shout over the DJ and the music.” (15:53)
• Adaptation to Social Change: Silent disco gives a new lease of life to nightclubs and pubs (especially post-COVID), allowing them to thrive within noise restrictions.

6. Building a Ubiquitous, Clear Brand

• Naming Philosophy:
  Toby emphasizes the importance of “saying what it does on the tin,” evident in his company's name and in others he’s created.
  • Quote: “I'm a big believer in like brand should say what they do on the tin.” (16:52)
• First-to-Market Advantage:
  By naming his company “The Silent Disco Company,” Toby positioned it as the generic go-to brand in the UK—comparable to “Hoover” for vacuum cleaners.
  • “We are the silent disco company. That was the brand. We wanted to be the go to experts.” (18:00)
• Premium Service: Differentiated from earlier, lower-quality UK operators by offering better products and targeting the high-end segment.
• Expanding via Acquisitions and Spin-offs:
  Developed related brands such as “Karaoke Hire Company” and “Screen Hire Company,” all using the same naming convention.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Innovation:
  “Swipe and deploy, yeah... I hope your listeners... can swipe and deploy into their businesses.”
  —Toby Burns (07:06/07:11)

• On Creating Experiences:
  “I still get the same feeling and the same smile watching people in their own little world... that's the feeling it gives people.”
  —Toby Burns (09:21)

• On the Power of Clarity:
  “I'm a big believer in like brand should say what they do on the tin.”
  —Toby Burns (16:52)

• On Community:
  “Even the people that I'm told would never get up at a party and dance... they are on the dance floor.”
  —Toby Burns (15:18)

• On Brand Ubiquity:
  “We are the Silent Disco Company. Not any. We are the Silent Disco Company. That was the brand.”
  —Toby Burns (18:00)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00–02:26: Toby's early days as a children’s entertainer
• 05:02–06:46: The “lightbulb moment” and learning from global business trips
• 09:03–10:10: First silent disco event; describing the magic feeling and initial sales strategy
• 11:00–11:43: Continued novelty and what makes silent disco fun
• 14:01–14:54: Innovations in choice (10-channel system) and corporate uses
• 15:13–15:53: Defending the sociability of silent disco
• 16:44–19:03: Building a clear, premium brand and expanding with descriptive company names

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Conclusion

Toby Burns’ journey with The Silent Disco Company provides a vivid, authentic look at business-building grounded in clarity, innovation, and an unwavering focus on experience over product. His philosophy—“I didn’t want to build a company; I wanted to build a feeling”—emerges throughout the conversation, reminding listeners that entrepreneurship can be as much about moments and emotions as it is about strategy and numbers. Whether with “swipe and deploy” or his naming principles, Toby’s lessons are practical, memorable, and accessible for anyone working to make their own brand ubiquitous.

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Transcript

[A]

Welcome to All About Business with me, James Reed, the podcast that covers everything about business, management and leadership. What do you get when you mix a love for music with a bold idea to reinvent the party experience? A business that turned quiet nights into a booming industry. Today's guest is Toby Burns, the founder and director of the Silent Disco company. They now run over 1500 events a year, allowing groups of partygoers to listen to different channels of music simultaneously. In this episode, we talk about making your brand ubiquitous amongst competitors, the importance of innovation, and what Toby thinks needs to be done in the UK to allow businesses to grow well. Today on All About Business, I'm really delighted to welcome Toby Burns. Toby is the founder and director of the Silent Disco company. And I've had the pleasure of going to a silent disco more than once, Toby. So I'm looking forward to asking you lots of questions about it. And on my way to work today, coming into the studio, I thought I wouldn't listen to a podcast on the tube as I usually do, but I curate my own silent disco. So I had a variety of genres blasting in my head and I walked in with a bounce. So I thought that would get me in the right spirit to talk to you today. And it did. And I'm really looking forward to hearing your story because you started out, I understand, as a children's entertainer as a teenager, and then you went on holiday to America and you came across this wonderful silent disco concept which you brought to the uk. So, Toby, can I begin by asking you, what was the first silent disco you organized? Like, how did people take to this concept when you brought it here?

[B]

It was, it was actually quite a strange one. I was DJing at the time doing sort of corporate, Jewish, Arab, real high end events.

[A]

So what regular.

[B]

This goes regular. Right. So had the children's entertaining, probably doing 10 parties or so a week. So quite a lot of parties a week.

[A]

And now kids in the afternoon and then adults in the evening.

[B]

Exactly. And midweek I was being picked up with a man in a van from school, from college, Going straight to do parties when you're in school.

[A]

You were working?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. So 15.

[A]

So you started at 15?

[B]

Yeah, going out, man in a van at 17.

[A]

So you couldn't drive at 15, so someone had to take you.

[B]

So you literally had a man in a van called Pete.

[A]

So you had a chauffeur.

[B]

It's a glamorous way of stop. Van.

[A]

Well, someone drove you. Yeah, okay, Pete.

[B]

But essentially, yeah, chauffeur was driven in this smelly old clapped out van went and did these jobs, children's entertaining, lots and lots and lots. And the story behind it was I really sort of cut back on that because it's a very unsociable job. I missed out on birthdays, on family events, someone else's because people were booking me, especially with the, the kids stuff. Sometimes six months, sometimes a year in advance.

[C]

Right.

[B]

You know, and then I get an invite for a family wedding two months before. Can't then turn around to a, to a customer and go sorry, I can't do your kids party now.

[A]

Credit you for that because I said to us. But there's a reputation, yeah, it's important.

[B]

And in our industry you're only good as, as good as your last job. So I really cut back on that over a period of time because it's very unsociable and I was doing these sort of much larger productions and you know, even some weddings or bar and bat mitzvahs which the spend overall were sometimes exceeding £100,000 in, in an event for a 13 year old. And I've used an example on it on another pod and it was a two year old's birthday, right. And they spent quarter of a million quid on this two year old's birthday.

[A]

And the two year old won't remember it? No, I suppose, I mean else will.

[B]

5.

[A]

Were you, were you an entertainer?

[B]

I was an entertainer. So I was a very small piece this event, quarter a million. But you saw the scale. 500 people. I mean I don't even know 500 people that I could invite to my own wedding. This was a two year old but it's in their culture to invite, you know, lots and lots of people that have huge extended families. And I say it's always relative. You know, if you're earning 25 million, if you're worth 25 million, you might spend quarter of a million pound on a party. If you only earn 25 grand a year you'll spend 250 quid on a party. So it's relative but I did see some quite outrageous events where they spent just.

[A]

But you're mentioning this because you saw an opportunity in that or.

[B]

So I saw.

[A]

Is that why?

[B]

Yeah, I saw an opportunity.

[A]

Incredible that people spend that much. Yeah, it's sort of interesting as a business opportunity as well.

[B]

So I really, I, I landed in this sort of bar, bat mitzvah market, Arab corporate where I was DJing quite high profile events.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And not to name drop but Google ended up being one of My clients. So I still DJ for them three times a year.

[A]

So you're Google's favorite dj, One of them.

[B]

But we still. And now they have silent disco and everything, so. But there was a light bulb moment where I used to play five a side football on a Thursday and I actually, on a Thursday broke my wrist playing football. I just had a bad fall and I broke my wrist. And I remember going to the hospital that night and I've told this story many times and they said, we need to put you in a cast. And I said, well, I need to DJ on Sunday, so I'll come back on Monday because I can't DJ in a cast. I'll come back on Monday and you can put me in a cast.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And that's exactly what I did. But it was that light bulb moment of going, if I'm not working, I'm not earning. It's key man driven. People are booking me and I really wanted to create a business and a commercially profitable enterprise, you know, that I don't have to be in it all day every day. But I knew when I was doing these events that there was a period of time where the adults were eating and the kids finished eating in 5, 10 minutes. And then they're causing havoc, you know, because they're bought. And I saw silent disco in America and I still go to America because all the new ideas are there first. Or China.

[A]

Well, that's what I thought was interesting. Yeah, you know, way to go there and look for things and bring them over here.

[B]

Yeah. And I still do that.

[A]

You do that?

[B]

Yeah, I was in China four weeks ago.

[A]

Do you go to America and China look for new ideas?

[B]

Yeah, so I go to each of them every year and try and go to as many trade shows as possible. And even if I don't find that off the shelf idea that I can swipe and deploy in the uk, I might get ideas and go. I like the look of that. If I adapt it like this.

[A]

I like that. Your business strategy is swipe and deploy.

[B]

Swipe and deploy, yeah.

[A]

That's opportunity for anyone listening, isn't it?

[B]

I hope your listeners, you know, can take a few golden nuggets that they can swipe and deploy into their businesses.

[A]

Because knowledge deploy strategy.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

So that expression before, I like it. So, so do you get better ideas from China or from America now?

[B]

I think China, because we're going direct to the factories. We have a lot of our stuff manufactured in China anyway. So I try and in that week's trip, which I say is my hardest working week of the year, right. People go, you're going on a nice holiday to China. And I go, no, it's, it's relentless. As soon as I land, it's non stop for seven days, car to factory, you know, factory.

[A]

So you have an itinerary that's been put together.

[B]

Yeah. And it's a, it's a hardcore week.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I just took one of our team with me for the first time. I normally go on my own, but we filmed everything for our YouTube channel and stuff like that because we wanted to give a bit of raw behind the scene. And I said, it's going to be tough, you're going to be tired, we're going to get, you know, you know, you probably have five hours sleep a night and even it's not as, it's.

[A]

Not as glamorous as I thought it.

[B]

Was going to be. But we tried to have some fun while we were there. But I think most of the tech now we find in China before or if I've seen ideas at trade shows, will go direct to manufacture in China most of the time.

[A]

So let's go back to that first silent disco.

[B]

So, yes.

[A]

So, yeah, so describe. Where was it? What was this? It was, it was, yeah.

[B]

So I was saying that the kids are bored and I thought, right, if we can do a silent disco for the kids or people that had finished eating, we can entertain them while everyone else is having a peaceful dinner without allowing noise. I still remember it was. I, I basically ordered the kit. It was going to take about three months to get it on the sea, get it here. And I'd sold it in to the next six months of events before I got it. And I, you know, sold the idea. I had bookings in advance that all the kit was already paid for, the.

[A]

Kit was in a crate coming across the Atlantic.

[B]

And I remember, and I still have, I promise you, 10 years on the same feeling. And I don't go to as many now, but if I do go, I stand there for a minute and only a couple of weeks ago I was at one and I take my headphones off and I still get the same feeling and the same smile watching people in their own little world as if you're on the tube, you're listening, if you're singing, you're the only person on that train in that moment. And that's the feeling it gives people. It gives people choice that they can choose what music they want to listen to on the headphone. You're not listening to just one DJ of a song that you don't want to hear. It gives people choice and it's a piece of entertainment. And I still have the same smile on my face watching people, honestly, they're in their own world, just dancing.

[A]

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[B]

Yeah, loved it.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Just sort of loved it.

[B]

And it still amazes me now that people say to me, I've never seen a silent disco before, and we've been doing this 10 years, and even I've been.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I've got to ask where you went now.

[A]

I was at a friend's party, and it was great. And what I remember, and what I like particularly is you have different lights that show what channel you're listening.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

When you're dancing. So it was red, blue, green.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

And. And so you can find the sort of people who like the same music as you as well in the silent disco. Dance together.

[B]

Fun. You know, like when someone says, you know, turn to blue, turn to green, you know, what's wrong? People like choice, and this really does give you a choice.

[A]

But it is funny when you take them off and you just see people, you think they're all mad. You know, it looks. It looks very odd.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And it also doesn't upset the neighbors, which I think is probably why they had it, because they wanted the pub.

[B]

Yeah. And I think since COVID and I talk about this a lot, I think there's been a real shift from nightclubs.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, so many nightclubs, so many pubs are closing down across the country. It's very sad. And we did an episode on YouTube of nightclubs that we actually work with that are now putting on the silent disco events. It's given them a new lease of life because your conventional nightclubs are dying. People want to go and see their favorite act at a venue rather than go to a nightclub and see the same DJ that's there every Week. So there's been a real shift in terms of people partying at home, not disturbing the neighbors than going out to bars and clubs. There's been that real shift.

[C]

Right, right.

[A]

So you were sort of doing children's entertainment originally as a dj. Can I ask what your Persona was? What did you have a name or what?

[B]

I mean, because I remember stage name, it was a long time ago, was DJ tj, which is a play on my middle name, DJ tj. I was, I, I perceived to be sort of your cool children's entertainer, not your clown. You know, the magic, the silliness, it was more cool, it was more disco games. You know, there was an element of magic, but, you know, fire and illusional stuff just to try and be cooler. And I think the kids then want to be with you on the dance floor.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Because, you know, you're perceived as a.

[A]

Cooler when it's a parent. I mean, you just want the kids to be having a good time so you can chat to the other parents.

[B]

And sort of see as a children's entertainment. That was really frustrating when you're trying to perform and the noise in the room is filled with chattering.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But now as a parent, I want five minutes peace.

[A]

Yeah, well, that's why you were being paid.

[B]

I've seen it on both sides. But it is tough when you've got a room of nattering mums. Yeah, it's really quite distracting when I just, you know, turn up, turn up to level nine or something. Drown them out.

[A]

I suppose when you, when you are DJing in the old days, certainly people would come up and ask you to play stuff all the time. So I suppose that gave you the insight that people quite like to listen to different stuff to what you're playing.

[B]

People like choice. People love choice. I mean, we do a 10 channel system now. So you would have had three red, blue, green, three channels of music. We do a 10 channel, so you can actually have 10 different genres of music.

[A]

They all different colors as well.

[B]

All different colors.

[C]

Right.

[B]

For people to listen to. And we do a lot of that for corporate exhibitions.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Trade shows where they might have different breakout rooms and keynotes. So there's lots of use for the headphones. But people love choice, you know, And I think when you give people choice, it's a, it's a form of entertainment. But it also means people don't leave early when that, you know, the DJ's too loud.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You can turn your headphone down or they're playing a song. You don't want, you take your headphone off, you go to the bar, you know, until that song's finished. However, with Silent Disco, it really gives people a choice that you just flick between what you want. All right.

[A]

But another view might be that it's taking people away from being sort of together, listening to the same thing, you know, on a dance floor, all dancing to the same tune. At a wedding or a festival. Yeah. Which people really enjoy, isn't it? I mean, they're all going off into their little worlds, like everyone looking at their phone. I mean, isn't this a concern?

[B]

I think it actually is the opposite. And I know I'm biased, but the facts are there.

[A]

Go and explain.

[B]

And the feedback is there. That actually, I think it brings people together onto the dance floor. It brings people on because, you know, at parties, you got some people sitting at the table, eating. They don't. They're not really dancers, you know, they like to sit there and have a drink, have a chat. Then you got the people at the bar that are flicking back and forward when you've got silent disco. I promise you, even the people that I'm told would never get up at a party and dance, you know, they're not those sorts of people. They like to sit there and they are on the dance floor, they are dancing.

[A]

So how do you do that?

[B]

I mean, how does that have the music does it. The choice?

[A]

They just. They find something they like.

[B]

They find something they like. And I think a comment that always came up in the early days is, well, how am I going to speak to my friends if I've got headphones on? My view in the early days was like, well, if you were at a club or a party, you've got to shout pretty loud over the music to hear each other. You know, you're shouting in their ear. It's not pleasant just to talk to each other. This, with this, you just pop your headphones off, have a conversation, pop your headphones back on. You haven't got a shout over the DJ and the music. So I actually think it's. It's more sociable doing it this way.

[A]

So you set this business up, you founded this business in the UK 10 years ago, 2015, and you decided to call it the Silent Disco Company, which is kind of what it is.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

I mean, can you talk me through that? How did you land on that and why? I mean, I have a view that it's brilliant, but I want you to share why, what you did.

[B]

All of our. Pratt, I'm a big believer in like brand should say what they do on the, on the tin.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You know and I find it much easier when the name says exactly what the business is. And you know, there are other companies in the event space and I think.

[A]

The children in the event space that.

[B]

Really say what they, they do. And I think maybe it came from the agency as a children's entertainer that I worked for and they were called, they're still going now. They were called the perfect party people. Right.co.uk and you know that really tells you what that agency does. We are the perfect party people.

[A]

And they used to get your bookings.

[B]

And they used to, you know, do with all the bookings. I got my bookings for the week, 10 bookings, you know. Great.

[A]

And they're still going strong.

[B]

They're still going. I think at a peak there are about 16 entertainers now they're down to three or four. Because a lot of people do it on their own. They don't want to pay that commission. But actually they dealt with everything and it wasn't a lot, you know, 20, 30 quid a book in. It's.

[A]

So it's worth having an agent in that.

[B]

It's worth having an agent. And really when we made Silent Disco I wanted it to say what it, what it was, which is we are the silent disco company. Not any. We are the silent disco company. That was the brand we wanted to be the go to experts. We set ourselves quite premium in the market and that really comes down to the customer service.

[A]

Were you the first to do this in the UK at that time?

[B]

Yeah, with our particular model of headphones. There were a couple in the UK that were doing festivals.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But they were very cheap, like plasticky China headphones.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And again the market that I'd come from, which was that corporate high end market, we needed something premium and these sort of plasticky stuff. So we really set ourselves premium and then obviously subsequently lots of other companies have do similar stuff now. But we really set ourselves as the Silent Disco company and all of our subsequent brands over the past 10 years. Because we have some different brands in here.

[A]

Yeah. What do they talk me through those.

[B]

So we have the karaoke hire company.

[C]

Right.

[B]

Says what it is, the screen hire company. So we do like home cinemas where you can have an inflatable screen in your garden, have a movie night.

[A]

An inflatable screen.

[B]

Yeah. So you just plug it in, inflates. You can have a movie night with your family. It's a big life savings.

[A]

Go company. The karaoke company. The screen company, any others, and then.

[B]

We'Ve got a couple. We've bought and acquired other silent disco.

[A]

Companies, but they're all coming in behind your brand.

[B]

They come in. So they've got their own names, not following the same brand, but they. They all feed into the silent disco company.

[A]

Because what I. What I thought it was brilliant. I mean, obviously it says what it does, but by being the first and taking that, you became, you know, like the Hoovers automatically.

[B]

The.

[A]

Yeah, you know, you know, the sort of. We were talking this with a. With another guest the other day about becoming sort of ubiquitous in that way, and you gave yourself the name.