In today’s episode of Bright Founders Talk, we sit down with Gavin Wheeldon, the CEO of Purple, a global leader in public WiFi and connectivity solutions. With a background rooted in programming and a lifelong passion for tech, Gavin brings both technical insight and entrepreneurial grit to the table. 

From building one of the earliest AI-driven language model companies to now leading a business that powers guest WiFi in over 80,000 venues worldwide, his journey is nothing short of impressive. What started as frustration with clunky captive portals evolved into a mission to transform the public WiFi experience globally. Under Gavin’s leadership, Purple became a pioneer in secure, seamless connectivity — even enabling entire cities like Newcastle to become unified WiFi zones. 

In our conversation, he shares the early failures that shaped his leadership style, and the lessons that come from scaling tech businesses with real-world impact. Gavin’s story is a testament to the power of persistence, innovation, and solving problems that truly annoy you. Join us as we explore the mind behind one of the most quietly ubiquitous tech infrastructures in modern urban life.

From WiFi Rage to Global Reach: How Frustration Sparked a Tech Revolution

If you've ever cursed your phone for trapping you in a WiFi login maze, you're not alone. Gavin certainly has — and that frustration is exactly what lit the spark behind Purple. “I absolutely hate those bloody captive portals,” he admitted, laughing. What most of us just grumble about, Gavin decided to fix. Not just for himself, but for half a billion users worldwide. Purple started by cleaning up the clunky experience of public WiFi and ended up reinventing how cities — yes, entire cities — connect people. Today, from McDonald’s to major airports, Gavin’s tech quietly keeps you online without the digital headaches.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Gavin’s entry into the world of public WiFi wasn’t driven by passion for routers or network architecture. It came from being a self-described “techie geek” who couldn't stand poor user experiences. He looked at the WiFi login process, saw chaos, and thought, “Surely this can be better.” That mindset led to some of the industry’s firsts — like social login for WiFi and mobile-first responsive design — years before anyone else even thought about it. More recently, Purple has gone beyond convenience to tackle security, rolling out encrypted, seamless roaming networks across Newcastle and beyond. It’s not just about logging in anymore — it’s about making the public internet feel as safe as your home connection.

Of course, being the CEO steering all this innovation wasn't exactly part of a grand plan. “I didn’t even know what a CEO was,” Gavin confessed. At 19, he launched his first business, built a team, and... crashed hard. Cash flow? A mystery. Profit? A number that didn’t always match the bank account. But failure became fuel. After regrouping in London and selling a later venture to Capita, Gavin came back stronger — and smarter. The result is Purple: a company born from personal irritation and built with the kind of grit only real-world lessons can teach.

Fail Fast, Learn Faster: How Gavin Turned Hard Lessons into Smart Leadership

Gavin’s not your average tech CEO — he’s the guy who’ll stay up past midnight tinkering with AI just for the fun of it. That genuine passion for technology runs deep, and it shows in how he leads Purple. But it wasn’t just enthusiasm that shaped him. It was failure. Big, humbling, gut-punch kind of failure. “Telling people they were losing their jobs because of my mistakes… that stays with you,” he said quietly. After his first business went under, Gavin didn’t just bounce back — he studied harder than ever, earned his Chartered Director status, and made sure he’d never wing it again. These days, he knows enough about every part of the business to challenge assumptions — but smart enough to hire people even better than him at doing the job.

When it comes to data and digital engagement, Gavin’s approach is surprisingly simple: don’t be shady, and you’ll be fine. “If you treat customer data with respect, you’ll generally be okay.” In a world where privacy fears can shut down innovation before it starts, Purple walks a tightrope — balancing smart analytics with ethical use. Gavin’s team helps clients unlock insight from the physical world — think footfall patterns and bounce rates in a shopping mall — but without creeping anyone out. It’s about being useful, not invasive. It turns out the rules across the globe — GDPR, CCPA, Poppy — are all pretty similar at heart: do the right thing.

Purple’s magic isn’t just in getting people online — it’s in making WiFi work for businesses in ways most don’t expect. Gavin talks about it like it’s second nature: spinning up 500 Walmart stores in Canada in just hours, integrating with loyalty programs like McDonald’s MyMcDo to boost signups by hundreds of percent, or slashing support tickets by 90% with just a smoother login experience. But beyond the tech, there’s some real storytelling power in what Purple enables. Take Avanti Trains, for example — they used Purple’s platform to find out passengers were freezing, tweaked the air-con, and saved a cool £250K a year. That’s what Gavin means when he calls it “an ongoing relationship.” Because once a client sees what’s possible, WiFi becomes more than a utility — it becomes a goldmine of insight.

Firestarter: How Gavin’s Hands-On AI Approach Lights the Way for Smarter Business

When Gavin talks about AI, he doesn’t float into abstract theory — he gets practical, fast. For him, AI isn’t some distant future; it’s a tool that’s already reshaping how teams work today. He’s not just talking about using ChatGPT to write an email — he’s talking deep integrations that supercharge operations. “We’ve built Gemini deep research directly into HubSpot,” he explains. “So the minute a lead comes in, the system pulls everything you need — blogs, events, company growth, tech strategy — and populates it automatically.” Sales teams walk into meetings armed with instant context, skipping hours of manual prep. That’s not just efficiency — it’s a competitive edge.

But Gavin’s enthusiasm doesn’t blind him. He knows AI can be both brilliant and… completely dumb. “It can do incredible things in 30 seconds that used to take days, and still mess up the simplest task,” he laughs. That’s why he’s all about knowing your tools, understanding their limits, and figuring out how to make them work together. He’s even got AI agents checking each other’s work — using Gemini to gather research and GPT to sanity check it. While many still treat AI like magic, Gavin treats it like a smart co-worker — one that occasionally needs a bit of babysitting. His view is clear: the more you use it, the more you learn how to really make it useful.

Gavin also sees a major disconnect between what people think AI can do and what it’s actually doing right now. Most stakeholders, he says, still only use basic chat tools — barely scratching the surface. “Show someone deep research and it’s like you’ve invented fire,” he jokes. The irony? These tools have been there the whole time, just one click away. The fear that AI will steal jobs tomorrow comes from not having truly engaged with its real capabilities today. For Gavin, the future belongs to what he calls “super producers” — the people who embrace AI, build workflows around it, and become ten times more effective. And if you’re not one of them? Well, someone else using AI probably will be.

WiFi Without Borders: Gavin’s Bold Mission to Connect the Disconnected

Gavin’s got one big mission that still keeps him up at night — and no, it’s not chasing the next round of funding or breaking into a new market. It’s fixing public WiFi once and for all. “I still hate it,” he admits, half-joking, half-dead serious. His vision? A seamless, secure global WiFi network where users roam from café to stadium to city park, just like they do with mobile data. No login loops, no passwords scribbled on napkins. But beneath the frustration lies a deeper purpose: digital inclusion. Millions in the UK and tens of millions in the US still lack proper internet access. Gavin wants Purple to help close that gap. “People without connectivity end up paying more for less — that’s just not right,” he says. With Purple’s B Corp status, this isn’t just a business goal. It’s a social mission baked into the company’s DNA.

But turning that mission into reality means tackling the gnarliest challenge of all: scale. Sure, Purple’s landed global giants like McDonald’s, Walmart, and the Miami Heat. But what about your neighborhood coffee shop or the corner bar? “99% of venues are SMBs,” Gavin points out. “Try selling secure public WiFi to someone in the middle of washing dishes and taking orders — it’s not easy.” The road to global coverage runs straight through small businesses, and reaching them takes a different kind of hustle. It’s not just about tech anymore; it’s about storytelling, trust, and being so frictionless that even the busiest café owner says, “Yes, let’s do it.” With Purple already live in 90 countries, there’s momentum — but plenty more ground to cover.

Looking ahead, it’s AI that has Gavin fired up. He’s not fantasizing about sentient robots; he’s excited about practical breakthroughs that can supercharge everything from customer service to operations. “We overestimate what AI can do in the short term, and underestimate what it’ll do in the long term,” he says. And if there’s one piece of advice he’d offer future founders, it’s this: just start. “The hardest part is putting your trainers on,” Gavin says, borrowing a runner’s mantra. Ideas are cheap — execution is everything. And when it comes to learning? Never stop. Books, podcasts, mentors — soak it all in. Because in Gavin’s world, curiosity isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s fuel for building the future.