What started as an Instagram page Sophie created while feeling lost about her own marketing career has grown into a community reaching more than half a million people. Sophie shares how she built Pretty Little Marketer without a traditional business plan, responded to what her audience actually needed and eventually turned years of trust and community-building into a sustainable business. She also explores choosing the right social platforms, getting comfortable with being seen trying and why the systems behind your business matter long before you think you'll need them.

Whether you're building an audience, growing a founder-led brand or trying to turn an engaged community into a viable business, this episode offers practical lessons on social media, experimentation, advocacy and building around the people you want to serve.

In this episode:

• Starting before you know exactly what your business will become
• Getting comfortable with the cringe of trying something new in public
• Turning an Instagram audience into a genuine community
• Why Sophie built Pretty Little Marketer by responding to what people asked for
• The difference between building an audience and building a community
• Creating connection between your customers, not just between them and your brand
• Why community advocacy can become a powerful growth channel
• Being an advocate for your business without making yourself the entire brand
• Choosing social platforms based on what you want to be known for and who you want to reach
• Why doing one platform well can beat trying to be everywhere
• Using new platforms as a sandbox for experimentation
• Why systems and processes can future-proof a founder-led business when life doesn't go to plan

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From making their first 100 sets in London while working other jobs to collaborations with brands including H&M and the Natural History Museum, Molly shares how storytelling, curiosity and a willingness to ask for help shaped Desmond & Dempsey. She explores building a brand before perfecting the product, balancing creativity with commercial reality, working alongside her husband and co-founder and creating a culture where play and hard work can coexist.

Whether you're building a consumer brand, turning a creative idea into a viable business or trying to protect what makes your brand distinctive as it grows, this episode offers practical founder lessons on storytelling, product, culture and building with curiosity.

In this episode:

• Spotting the gap that became Desmond & Dempsey
• Why a little naivety can be an advantage when starting a business
• Asking for help when you don't know how an industry works
• Testing demand with the first 100 sets of pyjamas
• Building the brand story before the finished product existed
• Why storytelling and product quality play different roles in customer loyalty
• Keeping your purpose consistent while evolving how you communicate it
• Balancing creative integrity with the need to build a profitable business
• Creating rituals that bring play, celebration and curiosity into company culture
• What Molly has learned from building a business with her husband and co-founder
• Why co-founders need to align on risk, work and integrity
• Treating mistakes as learning, as long as you don't make the same one twice
• The collaborations and milestones that created some of Desmond & Dempsey's biggest "pinch me" moments

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From starting his first business at 14 to launching Fanbytes at university and eventually selling the influencer marketing company in an eight-figure exit, Timothy shares the mindset and lessons behind his entrepreneurial journey. He explores learning from failed businesses, building valuable skills, experimenting without becoming attached to the outcome and why founders should look for growing markets where demand is already emerging.

Whether you're searching for a startup idea, building your first business or trying to work out where to focus next, this episode offers practical founder lessons on resilience, opportunity, experimentation and increasing your chances of building something people genuinely want.

In this episode:

• Finding the "third door" when traditional routes to an opportunity are closed
• What Timothy's first failed business taught him at 14
• Why every big business starts with a small first transaction
• Treating failed ideas as training for the business that eventually works
• Building the skills your next stage of growth requires
• Why your business doesn't have to become your identity
• Using "it's not that deep" to navigate setbacks and founder pressure
• What happened when a £500,000 investment fell through at the last minute
• Why you should expect to act before you feel completely ready
• Building a network when you don't already have one
• Why Timothy doesn't believe founders need completely original ideas
• Using "wave picking" to identify growing markets and better startup opportunities
• Why what you choose to work on can matter more than how hard you work

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inspired by her daughter's eczema-prone skin, Joanna developed products she believed could better serve families like hers, testing early samples with parents before fighting to get Childs Farm onto the shelves of retailers including Waitrose and Boots. She shares how genuine customer recommendations transformed the business, why suppliers should be treated as part of your team and what founders need to understand before taking investment and eventually selling their company.

Whether you're developing a consumer product, trying to win your first major retailer or preparing to scale a growing brand, this episode offers practical founder lessons on customer research, word of mouth, relationships, investment and building a business around a problem you genuinely understand.

In this episode:

• Turning a personal problem into an opportunity to challenge an established category
• Testing early products with real customers before going to market
• How persistence helped Childs Farm break into Waitrose and Boots
• Creating a point of difference through clinical and user trials
• The customer Facebook post that helped transform the business
• Building a marketing strategy around standout packaging, sampling and word of mouth
• Why genuine customer advocacy can be more powerful than paid influence
• Treating manufacturers and suppliers as an extension of your team
• How a strong supplier relationship helped Childs Farm through a major funding crisis
• What changes when you take money from external investors
• Navigating the decision to sell a deeply personal business
• Why Joanna's most important founder advice is to know your customer inside out

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From starting Hertility as a clinical trial to building a platform designed to give women better answers about their reproductive health, Helen shares why women’s healthcare has been held back by poor data, delayed diagnoses and systems that often intervene too late. She also explores funding a women’s health startup, building trust in a high-stakes category and why education is just as important as access when it comes to helping people understand their bodies.

Whether you’re building in healthtech, solving a problem rooted in lived experience or trying to create change in an industry that has overlooked its customers for too long, this episode offers practical founder lessons on evidence, trust, resilience and building with purpose.

In this episode:

• Why Hertility started as a clinical trial rather than a traditional startup
• Turning scientific expertise into a solution for an underserved healthcare problem
• Why women are often asked to wait too long for answers about their reproductive health
• What 7,000 expressions of interest revealed about unmet demand
• Building a healthcare product when there is no room for a careless MVP
• What founders can achieve before seeking external investment
• Why bringing potential critics into the process early can build trust
• The funding challenges facing women’s health businesses
• How Hertility is building better data on female reproductive health
• What emerging data suggests about vaping and reproductive hormones
• Why reproductive health education is still missing from so many people’s lives
• Building a founding team around science, law and operations

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From landing a first project with Sky with no agency experience to building a purpose-led creative agency over 17 years, Tom shares why Nice and Serious is defined as much by the work it turns down as the work it takes on. He explores giving employees a genuine say in business decisions, creating campaigns that cut through, experimenting with ideas and why growing slowly can sometimes be smarter than chasing somebody else's version of success.

Whether you're building a purpose-led business, developing your brand or trying to create marketing that people actually notice, this episode offers practical founder lessons on values, creativity, company culture and staying true to what your business exists to do.

In this episode:

• Turning an unexpected first opportunity into a creative agency
• Why your purpose should guide what you say no to as well as what you pursue
• How Nice and Serious uses its Moral Compass to let employees vote on prospective client briefs
• Why turning down lucrative work can strengthen your brand
• Giving employees meaningful ownership over important business decisions
• Building a values-led team without compromising on talent and quality
• Why surprise is one of the most powerful tools in marketing
• Creating distinctive campaigns without a huge marketing budget
• Testing ideas rather than putting everything behind one big campaign
• Finding the intersection that makes your founder or brand voice distinctive
• What an expensive expansion into New York taught Tom about chasing other people's definitions of success
• Why protecting the quality of your work can matter more than growing quickly

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From losing their savings on the first version of Mous to moving to China to learn how to build better products, James shares why founders need to get the fundamentals right before chasing growth. He explores crowdfunding, testing marketing ideas, building viral content, delegating to a team you trust and why failure can become an invaluable source of learning when you're prepared to keep going.

Whether you're developing a physical product, experimenting with startup marketing or trying to build a team capable of scaling with you, this episode offers practical founder lessons on product development, resilience, testing and creating a brand that gets noticed.

In this episode:

• How dyslexia influenced James's route into entrepreneurship
• Why founders should build teams around complementary strengths
• Learning to delegate rather than trying to control everything
• What went wrong with the first version of Mous
• Moving to China and getting paid to learn from earlier product mistakes
• Why product quality needs to come before founder thought leadership
• Testing products with real customers throughout development
• Turning crowdfunding into a launchpad for Mous
• How testing multiple ideas led to Mous's distinctive viral marketing
• Why founders shouldn't be afraid of looking ridiculous when experimenting
• Building healthy disagreement into co-founder relationships
• Developing new products around capabilities rather than chasing unrelated opportunities

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From experimenting with botanical distillation at home to helping establish the alcohol-free drinks category, Ben shares the thinking behind Seedlip and his latest venture, Sylva, which explores the extraordinary flavours found in trees and wood. He reflects candidly on the personal sacrifices behind rapid growth, knowing what your brand will say no to and why his second time building a startup still comes with uncertainty, stress and the possibility of failure.

Whether you're developing an original idea, creating a new category or questioning what growth should look like for your business, this episode offers a different perspective on curiosity, creativity, founder wellbeing and building without compromising what matters to you.

In this episode:

• Why Ben's businesses begin with curiosity rather than market gaps
• How a 17th-century book helped inspire the experiments behind Seedlip
• Creating a category when customers don't yet know they need it
• What Ben learned from Seedlip's rapid international growth
• Why building a second startup doesn't make the uncertainty disappear
• Defining your brand by what you refuse to do
• Using a "not now" list to protect your focus without abandoning good ideas
• Why Sylva is exploring trees and wood as a new source of flavour
• Rethinking what scale and success should look like the second time around
• How a late autism and ADHD diagnosis changed Ben's understanding of himself and his work

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From entering venture capital with little experience of how funds worked to raising millions to back Black founders, Karl shares the realities behind building Black Seed and challenging an investment system where great businesses and founders can still be overlooked. He explores the power of storytelling, why a little healthy delusion can be a founder advantage, learning from hundreds of rejections and knowing whether venture capital is actually the right funding route for your business.

Whether you're preparing to raise investment, working out how to tell your founder story or deciding which funding route is right for your startup, this episode offers a candid investor perspective on resilience, relationships and what it takes to turn belief into momentum.

In this episode:

• Why Black Seed was created to address unequal access to startup investment
• The "healthy delusion" Karl believes founders need
• Why early-stage investors often back the founder as much as the idea
• Creating a compelling story around your business rather than relying on numbers
• What Karl learned from more than 200 fundraising pitches
• Turning investor rejection into a valuable feedback loop
• Why warm introductions still matter in venture capital
• Knowing when your startup is actually ready for VC investment
• Why raising investment can create problems if your business fundamentals aren't ready
• Building community alongside capital to support overlooked founders
• Maintaining belief and energy through a difficult founder journey

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From hand-delivering early orders and running pop-ups around Notting Hill to challenging conventional jewellery retail and building an international brand, Connie shares why she trusted her instinct when others told her to focus on ecommerce. She also explores raising investment, creating memorable customer experiences, building company culture and making the difficult transition from hands-on founder to empowering CEO.

Whether you're building a consumer brand, creating a community around your business or learning how to lead as your startup scales, this episode offers practical founder lessons on customer experience, culture, leadership and building a brand for the long term.

In this episode:

• Turning childhood experiences into a distinctive jewellery brand
• Why Astrid & Miyu prioritised physical retail when others were focused on ecommerce
• Starting with five customers rather than obsessing over the first hundred
• Doing unscalable things to create memorable early customer experiences
• Building a genuine community without treating community as a marketing tactic
• Knowing when to trust your instinct over external advice
• Defining company values and using them to hire the right people
• Moving from hands-on founder to an empowering leader
• Why founders sometimes need to stay quiet to let their teams develop ideas
• Asking for help when the transition to CEO becomes difficult
• Turning moments of brand hype into sustainable long-term growth

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From spotting unanswered skincare questions on Reddit to launching in Sephora just months after starting, Colette shares the decisions, risks and near misses behind The INKEY List’s rapid growth. She explores why founders need to sell the dream and then deliver on it, how listening to customers can be more valuable than expensive research and why staying focused on your purpose matters as your team, markets and competition grow.

Whether you're building a consumer brand, preparing to pitch a major retailer or navigating rapid startup growth, this episode offers candid founder lessons on customer insight, product quality, scaling and backing yourself even when imposter syndrome tells you otherwise.

In this episode:

• Finding a business opportunity by listening to real customer conversations
• Keeping your purpose intact as your startup grows
• Staying relevant without chasing every new trend
• Why customer conversations can beat expensive market research
• What a failed beauty brand taught Colette about execution
• Selling the dream to retailers before you've built everything
• How The INKEY List landed Sephora and expanded internationally at speed
• The cash flow pressures behind rapid business growth
• Why founders remain one of their brand's most powerful sales tools
• Finding your superpower and pushing through imposter syndrome

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freddie shares how he stripped his original idea back to the essentials, won his first customers by knocking on doors and challenged the idea that flowers should only be bought as gifts. He also reflects candidly on subscription growth, sustainability, international expansion, hiring and the personal pressures that come with building a business over more than a decade.

Whether you're testing your first business idea, building a subscription model or navigating the pressures of startup growth, this episode offers practical founder lessons on starting small, listening to customers and building a business that can evolve without losing what made it distinctive.

In this episode:

• Turning experience at Abel & Cole into a flower subscription idea
• Stripping a startup back to the minimum you need to launch
• Winning the first customers through door-to-door sales
• Challenging established customer behaviour around buying flowers
• What founders should know about subscription businesses and customer retention
• How the subscription model can help reduce waste
• Expanding internationally and the complexity that comes with growth
• Why hiring the wrong person can pull founders back into the detail
• Learning to delegate and create boundaries around work
• The reality of founder stress and why growth isn't always a straight line

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From spotting a gap in food gifting to working with brands including Dior and Emma Bridgewater, Harriet shares how Biscuiteers grew across ecommerce, corporate gifting, wholesale and physical retail. She explores why founders should focus on earning customers rather than relying on paid advertising, how different sales channels can strengthen each other and the realities of scaling a manufacturing business in the UK.

Whether you're building a consumer brand, exploring new sales channels or trying to grow without becoming dependent on paid acquisition, this episode offers practical founder lessons on brand building, partnerships, customer experience and sustainable business growth.

In this episode:

• Spotting an opportunity to reinvent food gifting
• Using PR and storytelling to build early brand awareness
• Why corporate partnerships became an important growth channel
• Expanding from direct-to-consumer into wholesale and physical retail
• Using stores as both sales channels and brand experiences
• Why Harriet believes founders should earn customers before buying them
• Collaborating with complementary brands to reach new audiences
• The realities of funding and scaling a manufacturing business
• The funding challenges facing female founders
• Building the creative team behind millions of hand-iced biscuits each year

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From becoming an entrepreneur at 15 after finding himself homeless to building and selling businesses and creating HelpBnk, Simon shares the lessons that shaped his unconventional approach to entrepreneurship. He explores why ideas matter less than execution, the importance of asking for help, finding purpose and why founders should resist building businesses around opportunities they don't genuinely care about.

Whether you're searching for your first business idea, questioning the direction of your startup or trying to reconnect with why you became a founder, this episode offers a provocative perspective on entrepreneurship, purpose and turning the things you care about into action.

In this episode:

• How necessity pushed Simon into entrepreneurship at 15
• Why everyone can develop their entrepreneurial skills
• Why execution matters more than having an original idea
• Sharing your business idea instead of protecting it
• The difference between your purpose and your dream
• Why asking for help can be harder than giving it
• Getting more value from mentors by asking better questions
• Why raising investment might not be the problem you actually need to solve
• The importance of protecting your business with a trademark
• Why founders should follow what they care about rather than simply filling a market gap

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted by Virgin StartUp Mentor and PACK'D founder Luke Johnstone, the series features candid conversations with founders including David Abrahamovitch of Grind, Pip Murray of Pip & Nut, Alex Partridge of UNILAD and LADBible, Olivia Jenkins of D.LOUISE, Andy McNulty of Touch Stay and Abi Selby of Spabreaks.com.

Hear their lessons on startup growth, leadership, resilience and the people who helped them along the way.

Subscribe to Founder to Founder on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From posting her first confidence video despite wanting to delete it to building a global community, writing a book and working with organisations including Google, Meta and Morgan Stanley, Tiwa shares how taking action shaped her entrepreneurial journey. She explores finding your strengths, building alongside your community, navigating setbacks and developing a mindset that helps you keep moving when entrepreneurship doesn't go to plan.

Whether you're struggling to take the first step, building a business alongside your day job or questioning whether you're ready for your next opportunity, this episode offers practical founder lessons on confidence, community and learning as you go.

In this episode:

• Why confidence doesn't mean eliminating fear or self-doubt
• Taking action before you feel completely ready
• Finding your "power circle" of strengths, passions and values
• Building a startup alongside a full-time job
• Rebuilding when Covid disrupted Tiwa's original business plan
• Turning free content into a community and sustainable business model
• Why founders should build with their community, not in isolation
• Reframing imposter syndrome by remembering what you've already achieved
• Why knowledge and capability aren't the same thing
• Developing a mindset of learning and levelling up

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From witnessing food being thrown away while working at events to building an early website and convincing businesses to take a chance on the idea, Jamie shares the lessons behind Too Good To Go’s growth. He explores finding your first major partners, building a purpose-led team, measuring impact and why keeping things simple can help founders tackle even the biggest problems.

Whether you're building a sustainability startup, developing a marketplace or trying to scale a purpose-led business, this episode offers practical founder lessons on resilience, partnerships, impact and turning a problem you care deeply about into a scalable business.

In this episode:

• Turning first-hand experience of food waste into a business idea
• Why being young and inexperienced gave Jamie the freedom to fail
• How purpose can help founders build resilience through difficult moments
• Growing from startup generalists to a team of specialists
• Landing Too Good To Go's first major partnership with YO! Sushi
• How internal champions can help startups break into bigger businesses
• Building a brand that organisations want to partner with
• Measuring environmental impact without overcomplicating it
• Aligning commercial growth directly with positive impact
• Why food waste is becoming an increasingly important part of the climate conversation

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From developing their first drinks with supermarket ingredients to getting TRIP into Selfridges, Soho House and major supermarkets, Olivia shares how instinct, customer feedback and distinctive branding helped turn an unfamiliar wellness ingredient into an accessible consumer proposition. She also explores sampling, word of mouth, retail growth, building a team and what it means to scale a business alongside your husband and co-founder.

Whether you're developing a food or drink product, building a consumer brand or trying to turn early customer enthusiasm into serious growth, this episode offers practical founder lessons on getting started, creating demand and building a brand people want to talk about.

In this episode:

• Turning a personal experience into a startup opportunity
• Building an accessible brand around an unfamiliar product category
• Developing and testing your first physical product
• Why getting your product into customers' hands matters so much
• Using customer feedback and word of mouth to build momentum
• Finding your first retail stockists and getting in front of buyers
• Building an authentic community around a consumer brand
• Growing from a family-run startup into an international team
• Working with your partner as a co-founder
• Protecting your mental wellbeing while scaling quickly

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From creating her first rainbow skirt after stepping away from fashion to building an instantly recognisable brand stocked by major retailers, Olivia shares how creativity, community and social media shaped her unconventional founder journey. She also explains why she chose to slow the business down, produce less and rethink what growth, sustainability and success actually mean to her.

Whether you're building a creative business, feeling the pressure to keep scaling or questioning what success should look like for you, this episode offers a refreshing perspective on creating a business that supports your ambitions without letting the industry define them.

In this episode:

• How rediscovering creativity led to the Olivia Rubin brand
• Building a business organically without starting with a traditional business plan
• Creating a distinctive brand through colour and personal identity
• Using social media to build community, test products and drive sales
• Why founder-led content can be difficult to outsource
• Rethinking overproduction and sustainability in fashion
• Introducing rental and giving existing designs a longer life
• Why Olivia decided to step away from the pressure of constant collections
• Defining success on your own terms rather than chasing endless growth
• Learning to recognise and celebrate the wins along the way

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From identifying an overlooked opportunity in the bathroom to launching during Covid and selling millions of deodorant refills, Charlie shares how Wild created demand in a market investors initially thought was too small. He explores finding product-market fit, building a loyal community, creating memorable marketing, navigating the co-founder relationship and why sustainability has to be embedded in the business rather than added as an afterthought.

Whether you're building a consumer brand, launching a sustainable product or trying to stand out in a crowded market, this episode offers practical founder lessons on customer experience, brand building, resilience and scaling with purpose.

In this episode:

• Finding an opportunity to disrupt an overlooked product category
• Why Wild chose deodorant as its first sustainable bathroom product
• Creating a new market when investors don't believe one exists
• Finding product-market fit while launching during Covid
• Turning your earliest customers into brand advocates
• Building a strong co-founder relationship and navigating disagreements
• Creating marketing people actually remember
• Why not everything needs to be scalable in the early days
• Building culture as your startup team grows
• Why sustainability needs to sit at the heart of the product and business model

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded as part of Virgin StartUp’s 10th birthday celebrations, Simon reflects on finding your why, asking for help as a leader and adopting an infinite mindset that focuses less on beating competitors and more on continually improving. Together, Holly and Simon explore the role businesses can play in society, why founders have an opportunity to provide the vision and leadership people are looking for, and how optimism can become a practical force for navigating uncertainty.

Whether you're defining the purpose behind your startup, developing as a leader or thinking about the kind of business you want to build over the next decade, this episode offers a thought-provoking perspective on leadership, vision and building something that lasts.

In this episode:

• Finding and articulating the purpose behind your business
• Why asking for help can make you a stronger founder
• The difference between finite and infinite approaches to business
• Why your competitors can become valuable "worthy rivals"
• Developing a vision bigger than individual products or goals
• The role founders and business leaders can play in society
• Why optimism doesn't mean ignoring difficult realities
• Building belonging and purpose through company culture
• Why founders should focus on early adopters rather than convincing everyone
• The three pieces of advice Simon would give startup founders

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From taking over his dad’s old phone shop and opening the first Grind to making a crucial investment in ecommerce just before Covid, David shares the strategic decisions and moments of luck that shaped the business. He also explores building a team and culture as you scale, earning customer trust, raising capital through everything from crowdfunding to angel investment and why the founder’s role has to evolve as the company becomes more complex.

Whether you're growing a consumer brand, expanding into new revenue streams or navigating the shift from founder-does-everything to leading a larger organisation, this episode offers practical lessons on brand building, business growth, people and funding.

In this episode:

• Turning a family phone shop into the first Grind
• Why Grind expanded beyond physical coffee shops
• The strategic decision that helped the business survive and grow through Covid
• Building direct-to-consumer revenue alongside a hospitality business
• Why brand and company culture are inseparable
• Hiring people who can grow with the business
• Building customer trust through the decisions nobody sees
• Raising capital through bootstrapping, angel investment and crowdfunding
• How the founder's role changes as a company scales
• What becoming an angel investor taught David about raising money

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From witnessing the scale of ocean plastic pollution first-hand to building a brand that has funded the collection of more than one billion plastic bottles in weight, Will shares how Ocean Bottle combines product, purpose and profit. He also explores building a recognisable brand, landing major corporate partnerships, fundraising, surviving a 90% revenue drop during Covid and staying focused when there are countless problems you want your business to solve.

Whether you're building a sustainable startup, developing a purpose-led consumer brand or working out how to scale without diluting your impact, this episode offers practical founder lessons on focus, partnerships, funding and turning purpose into a business model.

In this episode:

• Turning first-hand experience of ocean plastic into a startup idea
• Building environmental and social impact into your business model
• Why businesses need to make sustainable choices easier for customers
• Building a brand with the longevity to support a long-term mission
• How corporate partnerships became an unexpected growth channel
• Staying focused when your mission creates countless opportunities
• Finding investors who genuinely align with your purpose
• Surviving a 90% fall in revenue during Covid
• Why founders need peers who understand the realities of entrepreneurship
• Scaling impact alongside commercial growth

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chance shares the personal experiences that led him towards therapy and how Self Space grew from a tiny two-room site in Shoreditch into a mental health business bringing therapy onto the high street. The conversation explores making therapy more accessible, building a brand that challenges traditional perceptions of mental healthcare, navigating co-founder relationships and protecting your own wellbeing while growing a purpose-led business.

Whether you're building a business around a deeply personal mission, thinking about your own mental health as a founder or trying to create a brand capable of changing behaviour, this episode offers a candid perspective on growth, purpose and making space for the human side of entrepreneurship.

In this episode:

• Why mental health support shouldn't begin only when things go wrong
• How Chance's personal experiences shaped his journey into therapy
• Taking therapy out of the traditional therapy room and onto the high street
• How Self Space grew without a conventional marketing strategy
• Building a human brand around a traditionally stigmatised subject
• Navigating a co-founder relationship with honesty and self-awareness
• Balancing purpose with the commercial realities of scaling a business
• Why founders shouldn't mistake perfection for progress
• Chance's approach to mental maintenance and protecting his own wellbeing
• Why moments of joy matter when building a business is hard

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From his own experience of transforming his health to creating an AI-powered personal trainer, Varun shares how MAGIC AI went from an idea and product renders to paying customers before a working product even existed. He also explores fundraising, finding product-market fit, building a team and why working inside a startup can be one of the best ways to prepare for becoming a founder yourself.

Whether you're sitting on a startup idea, testing a new product or preparing to raise investment, this episode offers practical founder lessons on validating demand, backing your judgement and turning an ambitious concept into something customers will pay for.

In this episode:

• Why working for a startup can prepare you to become a founder
• Finding a business idea rooted in a problem you genuinely care about
• Varun's five-step approach to testing a startup idea
• Validating customer demand before building the finished product
• Using landing pages, product renders and paid advertising to test an MVP
• Going from a £99 customer deposit to shipping 1,000 MAGIC AI units
• What Varun has learned from raising more than £2 million
• Why founders shouldn't assume investors know their business better than they do
• Hiring slowly, building culture and managing the co-founder relationship
• Where AI could take personalised health and fitness next

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From spotting the huge amount of waste created by the homewares industry to developing products from recycled materials and securing listings with John Lewis and Waitrose, Brian shares the commercial realities of building a circular business. He explores customer research, pricing, sustainable product design, raising investment and what it takes to convince a major retailer to take a chance on a new brand.

Whether you're developing a physical product, building a sustainable consumer brand or trying to break into major retail, this episode offers practical founder lessons on designing for circularity, validating what customers will actually buy and turning sustainability into a commercially viable business.

In this episode:

• Spotting a sustainability opportunity in an established industry
• Why designing with recycled materials isn't enough on its own
• Building products around circular design and end-of-life
• Testing whether customers will actually pay for your idea
• Working backwards from the price customers are willing to pay
• Securing a major retail partnership before the finished product existed
• Building relationships with buyers at retailers such as John Lewis
• Using accelerators, investment and partnerships to get a product to market
• Why people, planet and profit all matter when building a sustainable business

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From tackling greenwashing and verifying sustainability claims to building a marketplace designed around trust, Thomas and Hugo share the thinking behind Canopey and the realities of building a purpose-led startup. They also explore co-founder relationships, hiring, customer feedback and why founders need to keep questioning and evolving their ideas as their businesses grow.

Whether you're building a sustainable brand, developing a marketplace or trying to embed purpose into your business, this episode offers practical founder lessons on earning customer trust, building the right team and making sustainability more accessible.

In this episode:

• Making sustainable shopping simpler and more accessible
• Why greenwashing is damaging customer trust
• How Canopey verifies sustainability claims before products reach its marketplace
• Why being better matters more than trying to be perfect
• Choosing co-founders with complementary skills
• Building a healthy culture as your founding team grows
• Why customer feedback should continually shape your product
• Using accelerators strategically at different stages of startup growth
• Why founders should talk about their ideas instead of fearing they'll be stolen

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Zinc’s mission-driven investment model to the realities of raising capital as an underrepresented founder, Ella shares what investors actually look for, why profit and purpose need to reinforce each other and how founders can decide whether venture capital is right for them. She also reflects on co-founder relationships, measuring impact and building an ecosystem that gives ambitious founders the support and capital to tackle major social challenges.

Whether you're building an impact startup, preparing to raise investment or questioning which type of funding is right for your business, this episode offers a practical investor perspective on commercial ambition, purpose and making your business investable.

In this episode:

• Why purpose and profit should strengthen each other
• How Zinc VC selects founders and mission-driven businesses to back
• Deciding whether venture capital is actually right for your startup
• What investors look for before writing an early-stage cheque
• Why underrepresented founders still face greater barriers to funding
• Building and testing a strong co-founder relationship
• Choosing investors who align with your vision and values
• How early-stage startups can think about measuring social impact
• Why traction and commercial thinking matter even in purpose-led businesses

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From spotting a problem in the condom aisle and surveying thousands of potential customers to putting their own savings into the first products, Farah shares how she and co-founder Dr Sarah Welsh built HANX around the needs of an underserved audience. She also opens up about the realities of raising investment as a female founder, breaking into major retailers, building a trusted brand in a taboo category and expanding from condoms into the wider women's health market.

Whether you're developing a consumer product, trying to disrupt an established industry or building for an underserved customer, this episode offers practical founder lessons on research, resilience, retail and staying focused on the problem you're trying to solve.

In this episode:

• Turning an awkward customer experience into a startup opportunity
• Using customer research to validate an idea before investing in it
• Building a brand around an underserved audience
• The realities of fundraising as a female founder in a taboo category
• Getting into Boots, Tesco and other major retailers
• Why HANX prioritised retail rather than relying on subscriptions
• Knowing when to ignore conventional startup advice
• Expanding from one product into a broader women's health proposition
• Why rejection can be useful when you believe strongly in the market you're building for

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From testing an imperfect product in London parks to selling millions of cans and expanding internationally, Alex shares how DASH used customer feedback to sharpen its proposition and put wonky fruit at the heart of its brand. He also explores raising investment, securing retail listings, building a purpose-led team and why sustainability needs to remain part of the business as you scale.

Whether you're testing your first product, building a food and drink brand or trying to scale a purpose-led startup, this episode offers practical founder lessons on starting before you're ready, listening to customers and turning sustainability into a genuine business advantage.

In this episode:

• Turning food waste into a viable business opportunity
• Why DASH stopped trying to create the perfect product and launched an MVP
• Testing an idea with real customers before investing heavily
• How customer feedback changed DASH's brand positioning
• Getting your first retail listings and knowing which retailers to target
• Raising investment as your startup reaches new milestones
• Keeping purpose and sustainability at the heart of a growing company
• Hiring people who genuinely share your values
• Expanding internationally without spreading the business too thin

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Drawing on more than a decade of building and leading crowdfunding publisher Unbound, Dan shares the lessons behind what he calls the founder’s “second journey”. From fundraising and finding the right co-founders to protecting your mental health, managing your ego and eventually making yourself less essential to the business, this is a candid conversation about becoming the founder your company needs without allowing it to consume you.

Whether you're taking your first steps into entrepreneurship, leading a growing startup or questioning your relationship with the business you've built, this episode offers a different perspective on success and the personal work that comes with being a founder.

In this episode:

• Why founders go on two journeys when they start a business
• Separating your identity and self-worth from your startup
• The three responsibilities Dan believes every founder should prioritise
• Turning your vision into a tool for better business decisions
• How to tell a stronger story when raising investment
• Finding co-founders with complementary skills and navigating conflict
• Why great leaders step forward when things go wrong and back when things go right
• Protecting time for the activities that support your mental wellbeing
• Building a company that can eventually succeed without you

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From leaving a career in the City and launching with a £25,000 Start Up Loan to supporting people experiencing homelessness through employment, housing and wraparound services, Cemal shares how Change Please has grown its impact without losing sight of its original purpose. He also explores partnerships, international growth, testing ambitious ideas and why founders should actively seek out criticism rather than protect their ideas from it.

Whether you're building a social enterprise, growing a purpose-led business or looking for ways to create greater impact through entrepreneurship, this episode offers a compelling perspective on thinking bigger while staying relentlessly focused on the problem you want to solve.

In this episode:

• Turning a personal search for purpose into a social enterprise
• Using an MVP to prove an ambitious idea can work
• How a Start Up Loan and mentoring helped Change Please get started
• Why founders should invite criticism of their ideas
• Building partnerships with major organisations
• Using employment and enterprise to tackle homelessness
• Scaling social impact into new countries and markets
• Balancing entrepreneurial ideas with the demands of leading a growing team
• How Cemal is using AI to test ideas and challenge his thinking

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From experimenting with home brewing and delivering beer on foot around Brixton to building a distinctive brand and eventually partnering with Heineken, Xochitl and Mike share the decisions behind Brixton Brewery’s growth. They explore starting a business with friends and partners, building deep roots in a local community, knowing when outside investment can help you scale and what it feels like to eventually step away from a business you've built.

Whether you're starting a food or drink business, building a community-led brand or considering investment and growth, this episode offers practical founder lessons on starting small, staying distinctive and finding the right partners for the next stage.

In this episode:

• Turning a shared interest into a viable business idea
• Starting a brewery without professional brewing experience
• Why Brixton became central to the brand rather than simply its location
• Building a distinctive identity in a crowded craft beer market
• Starting a business with friends and life partners
• Growing production when your original space can no longer keep up
• Deciding whether investment from a much larger company is right for you
• Maintaining your identity while working with a global partner
• Knowing when it is time for founders to step back from the business

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From testing sauces at farmers' markets and developing a new lower-alcohol spirits category to creating food experiences designed to spark joy, the panel shares different routes into the industry. They explore product development, finding your market, building a loyal community and navigating the realities of supply chains, rising costs and sustainability as a food and drink business grows.

Whether you're experimenting with your first recipe, preparing to launch a food or drink startup or working out how to take an existing product to the next stage, this episode offers practical founder lessons on testing, differentiating and scaling a brand in a crowded market.\

Featuring:

• Fabian Clark, co-founder of Quarter
• Dominique Woolf, founder of The Woolf’s Kitchen
• Andy Young, co-founder of Black Milk

In this episode:

• Finding a gap in a crowded food and drink market
• Testing your idea before investing heavily
• Developing products customers genuinely want
• Building a distinctive brand around more than the product
• Creating loyal customers and community
• Managing supply chains and rising ingredient costs
• Knowing when to outsource or bring in additional expertise
• Building sustainability into packaging and operations
• Staying resilient when economic conditions are outside your control

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From documenting their first jacket on Instagram to creating limited made-to-order batches that sell out in minutes, Becky and Huw share how transparency, community and an obsessive focus on quality shaped Paynter. They explore building in public, pricing, manufacturing, dealing with copycats and why they have resisted the pressure to pursue endless growth, even as demand has increased.

Whether you're building a fashion startup, developing a physical product or questioning the assumption that every successful business needs to scale as quickly as possible, this episode offers a different perspective on growth, customer loyalty and creating products designed to last.

In this episode:

• Building an audience before you have a finished product
• How customer input helped shape Paynter's first jackets
• Why Paynter chose limited, made-to-order production
• Creating scarcity without manufacturing marketing hype
• Turning transparency into customer trust and loyalty
• Building a premium brand without a big advertising budget
• Responding when other businesses copy your ideas
• Why growth does not always mean making and selling more
• Challenging fast fashion through quality, longevity and less waste

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From flexible working and founder wellbeing to psychological safety, transparency and hiring the right people, the panel explores what workplace culture actually looks like in practice. They share lessons from cultures that worked and those that didn't, discuss how founders can lead by example, and consider how much responsibility businesses should take for helping their teams work in ways that suit them.

Whether you're making your first hire, scaling a growing team or rethinking how your company works, this episode offers practical perspectives on creating a culture where people can do great work without sacrificing trust, flexibility or wellbeing.

Featuring:

• Molly Johnson-Jones, co-founder of Flexa
• Hector Hughes, co-founder of Unplugged
• Jim Woods, co-founder of BetterSpace

In this episode:

• Building company culture intentionally from your first hires
• Why psychological safety matters in growing teams
• Hiring for values, humility and attitude as well as skills
• Flexible working and why different people work best in different ways
• How much transparency founders should share with their teams
• Supporting employee wellbeing without turning it into a workplace perk
• What founders can learn when company culture goes wrong
• Knowing when to hire slowly and when to act quickly if someone isn't the right fit

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From making her first nut butters at home and testing them at market stalls to crowdfunding, finding a manufacturer and winning supermarket listings, Pip shares the decisions that helped turn an early idea into a national brand. She also explores building a distinctive identity, managing cash flow, hiring the right people and why founders need to think carefully about scaling before chasing bigger distribution.

Whether you're developing a food or drink product, building a consumer brand or trying to take your startup into retail, this episode offers practical lessons on testing demand, building a brand people remember and growing without getting ahead of yourself.

In this episode:

• Finding a gap in a crowded food and drink market
• Testing your product with real customers before scaling
• Finding a manufacturer when you're an early-stage startup
• Crowdfunding and raising the money to launch
• Why distinctive branding matters from day one
• Getting into supermarkets and building distribution strategically
• Managing cash flow and the hidden costs of scaling a food brand
• Building a team and culture that can grow with the business
• Balancing commercial growth with sustainability and positive impact

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From building an audience organically and finding the right influencers to experimenting with TikTok, creating video and knowing when paid advertising is actually worth it, the panel shares what they've learned from building brands and communities online. They also explore why understanding your audience matters more than chasing followers, and how founders can create a realistic social media strategy with limited time and budget.

Whether you're starting from zero, struggling to grow engagement or wondering where to focus your limited marketing resources, this episode offers practical advice for using social media to build awareness, community and ultimately your business.

Featuring:

• Henry Connell, co-founder of The Uncommon
• Abi Oyepitan, co-founder of LIHA Beauty
• Corrie Jones, founder of Untapped Digital

In this episode:

• Building a social media strategy around business goals, not trends
• Choosing the right platforms for your customers
• Growing an audience without a huge advertising budget
• Working with influencers authentically and effectively
• Why video and short-form content can help startups reach new audiences
• Turning social media attention into customers and retail opportunities
• Knowing which social media metrics actually matter
• Creating content consistently without letting social media take over your business

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Launching a travel startup just before Covid hits. Being inspired by your daughter to launch a business which ends up landing Beyonce as a client. Going from a kitchen table blog to a multimillion pound business.

These are just some of the stories we've uncovered in our new startup podcast series; The Jump, hosted by Ben Keene.

Shedding light on inspiring tales from the world of startups in the UK, The Jump gets unrivalled access to founders to hear the stories behind the brands.

See virginstartup.org for more.

We're bringing you this podcast in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From crowdfunding a first product and bootstrapping from a bedroom to testing ideas door-to-door, the founders share how they got started with limited resources. They explore funding, pricing, digital marketing, building a community and working with co-founders, alongside why having a bigger purpose can help keep you moving when startup life gets difficult.

Whether you have an idea you haven't acted on yet, are testing your first product or are working out how to fund and grow an early-stage startup, this episode offers practical lessons from three founders building their businesses one step at a time.

Featuring:

• Jill Henry, co-founder of Meander Apparel
• Lysander Bickham, co-founder of Leo’s Box
• Rob Ford, co-founder of Box & Sprout

In this episode:

• Turning an initial idea into a product people will pay for
• Testing demand before investing heavily in your business
• Bootstrapping, Start Up Loans, crowdfunding and raising investment
• Finding the right pricing strategy for your product
• Building a community before pushing for the sale
• What works and doesn't work when marketing a startup online
• Building a healthy relationship with your co-founder
• Why purpose can keep founders moving through the difficult days

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dan shares how his own experiences of insomnia and anxiety led him towards brain health and eventually to Heights, but this conversation goes much further than one startup story. From closing a previous venture after raising millions to deliberately rebuilding around stronger values, he reflects on startup culture, fundraising, product development, mental health and the difficult decisions founders have to make as they grow.

Whether you're navigating the pressures of entrepreneurship, building a team or trying to create a healthier relationship with your business, this episode offers a candid perspective on learning from failure, looking after yourself and building with greater intention the next time around.

In this episode:

• How insomnia and anxiety helped inspire the idea for Heights
• What raising £5.5 million and closing a previous startup taught Dan
• Why company values matter most when things get difficult
• Building an audience before you've finished building the product
• Knowing when venture capital is right for your business
• Why founders need to stop having all the answers
• The role of nutrition, gratitude and movement in founder wellbeing
• Building in public and being honest when growth gets difficult

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From embedding impact into your business model to attracting talent, securing investment and partnering with larger organisations, the conversation looks at what building a better business means in practice. The panel also explores B Corp, the Better Business Act, impact investing and why startups have an opportunity to tackle some of society's biggest social and environmental challenges.

Whether you're starting a purpose-led business, working out how to measure your impact or looking to make an existing company more responsible, this episode offers practical ideas for building positive impact into the foundations of your business.

Featuring:

• Holly Branson, Chief Purpose and Vision Officer at Virgin
• Chris Turner, B Corp leader and campaigner for the Better Business Act
• Dama Sathianathan, Partner at Bethnal Green Ventures
• Victoria Stoyanova, founder of the Institute of Belonging

In this episode:

• Why purpose and profit do not have to compete
• Building positive impact into your business from the beginning
• What B Corp can teach founders about better business
• How the Better Business Act aims to change the role of UK companies
• Finding funding for purpose-led and impact startups
• Building partnerships with larger organisations
• Why purpose can help attract talent, customers and investment
• Turning social and environmental problems into opportunities for innovation

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From clothes that grow with children and unwanted denim given a second life to technology helping brands understand their supply chains, the conversation explores sustainability through design, data and new business models. The panel discusses made-to-order fashion, materials, packaging, transparency and the challenge of changing consumer behaviour without losing sight of commercial realities.

Whether you're building a fashion brand, developing a physical product or trying to make your supply chain more sustainable, this episode offers practical perspectives on creating products designed to last and using startup innovation to challenge established ways of doing business.

Featuring:

• Arabella Turek, COO of Petit Pli
• Mandeep Soor, co-founder of Bendi
• Andrew and Elizaveta Bennett, founders of Arkdefo

In this episode:

• Designing products to last rather than be replaced
• Turning waste materials into new products
• The realities of building a made-to-order fashion business
• Understanding sustainability across complex supply chains
• Making packaging more sustainable and useful
• Why transparency and product storytelling can change customer behaviour
• How startups can tackle problems established businesses struggle to solve
• Balancing sustainability, affordability and commercial growth

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From spending years perfecting a product to testing ideas at market stalls, winning over restaurant chefs and securing supermarket listings, the founders share very different routes to building successful food and drink businesses. They discuss pricing, product development, branding, bootstrapping and why creating something people genuinely want has to come before chasing scale.

Whether you're developing your first food or drink product, trying to break into retail or working out how to scale an existing brand, this episode offers practical founder lessons on creating a standout product and building a business around it.

Featuring:

• Ben Branson, founder of Seedlip
• Vivien Wong, co-founder of Little Moons
• Neil Potts, co-founder of The Vurger Co.

In this episode:

• Turning a food or drink idea into a viable business
• Knowing when your product is ready to launch
• Testing products and learning directly from customers
• Breaking into restaurants, retailers and supermarkets
• Pricing a product when you're creating something new
• Why strong branding needs an equally strong product
• Bootstrapping versus bringing in outside investment
• Building a bigger business without losing sight of its purpose

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From choosing the right platforms and creating content people actually want to engage with to working with influencers and turning followers into customers, the panel shares practical lessons from building brands and audiences online. They also discuss why consistency matters, how data can sharpen your social strategy and why authentic connection beats simply chasing follower numbers.

Whether you're launching your first social channels, struggling to turn engagement into sales or trying to build a loyal community around your brand, this episode offers practical advice for making social media work harder for your business.

Featuring:

• Montana Brown, founder of Swim Society
• Lucy Wright, co-founder of NICE
• Pilar Nalwimba, producer, presenter and podcaster

In this episode:

• Turning followers into customers and community
• Choosing the right social media platforms for your audience
• Why consistency matters more than simply posting more
• Creating content that offers value beyond selling your product
• Using data to understand what your audience responds to
• Working with influencers when you have a limited budget
• Why authenticity and direct customer conversations matter
• Protecting your wellbeing while building a business online

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From defining why your business exists to finding your audience and developing an authentic voice, the panel explores what makes a brand memorable beyond its logo or visual identity. They discuss founder-led storytelling, building a brand with limited resources, using social media to create community and why clarity and consistency matter more than trying to appeal to everyone.

Whether you're building a brand from scratch, struggling to communicate what makes your business different or looking for better ways to connect with customers, this episode offers practical ideas for turning your story into a genuine competitive advantage.

Featuring:

• James Hurst, Global Creative Director at Pinterest
• Alice Rhodes, co-founder of Depixym
• Corrie Jones, founder of Untapped Digital

In this episode:

• Why your founder story can be one of your strongest brand assets
• The six questions that can bring clarity to your brand
• Finding the right audience instead of trying to appeal to everyone
• Balancing the founder's voice with customer-led storytelling
• Building an authentic brand without a big budget
• Using social media to create community, not just broadcast content
• How to communicate during periods of uncertainty and change
• Why understanding your wider competition can sharpen your positioning

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From launching a skincare brand days before lockdown to turning a catering business into a model that also tackles food poverty, the founders share how they tested ideas, managed limited finances, found customers and adapted when plans went off course. They also discuss pricing, ecommerce, influencer marketing and why trusting your instincts matters when there is no obvious next step.

Whether you're sitting on a business idea, preparing to launch or trying to adapt an existing startup, this episode offers practical lessons on starting small, learning as you go and building momentum without waiting until everything feels perfect.

Featuring:

• Roshanne Dorsett, founder of The Glowcery
• Ayesha Pakravan, founder of The Plattery and Vital Meals
• Hannah Adams, founder of Pieces of the Puzzle

In this episode:

• Starting a business when the timing feels far from perfect
• Testing an idea without investing huge amounts upfront
• Managing personal finances while building a startup
• Pricing your product for profit, customers and future growth
• Using Instagram, influencers and ecommerce to find early customers
• Knowing when to trust advice and when to trust your instincts
• Turning setbacks into opportunities to adapt
• Protecting your energy and wellbeing while building a business

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From tying your identity to your startup to recognising the warning signs of burnout, the panel explores the pressures founders rarely talk about. They share their own experiences of failure, anxiety, grief and stepping back, alongside practical ways to protect your wellbeing, build resilience and create a support network when running a business feels lonely.

Whether you're starting a business, leading a growing team or finding it difficult to switch off from founder life, this episode offers a reminder that looking after yourself is part of building something sustainable.

Featuring:

• Pip Jamieson, founder of The Dots
• James Routledge, founder of Sanctus
• Sandra de Monte, founder of MindBerry

In this episode:

• Why your business should not become your entire identity
• Recognising the early warning signs of founder burnout
• Dealing with failure without seeing yourself as a failure
• The relationship between entrepreneurship, anxiety and uncertainty
• Why founders need people they can be vulnerable with
• Setting boundaries and learning when to switch off
• Building a team that supports rather than drains you
• Why looking after your mental health is part of running a business

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From purpose-led business and changing consumer expectations to sustainability, technology and entirely new ways of working, the conversation looks beyond short-term trends to explore the forces reshaping entrepreneurship. The panel discusses why profit and positive impact do not need to compete, how collaboration can create change at scale, and why founders should think much further into the future while taking practical action today.

Whether you're developing a new business idea, rethinking your business model or considering the long-term impact you want your company to have, this episode offers a thought-provoking perspective on building businesses that are ready for what comes next.

Featuring:

• Tracey Follows, futurist and founder of Futuremade
• Bruce Walker, CEO and co-founder of FutureX
• James Ghaffari, B Corp and sustainable business expert

In this episode:

• The trends shaping the future of entrepreneurship
• Why purpose and profit can strengthen each other
• Building a business around people, planet and long-term value
• How technology could reshape where and how we work
• Why collaboration can be more powerful than competition
• Making sustainability part of your business as you grow
• Why founders should think beyond the traditional five-year plan
• Turning a long-term vision into action today

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From building startups around demanding careers to navigating money, confidence and the pressure to create the perfect product, the founders share what pushed them to make the leap. They also discuss finding the right support, learning new skills on the job and why committing to your idea can fundamentally change the way you think about your business.

Whether you're growing a side hustle, considering becoming a full-time founder or trying to work out whether your business is ready for the next step, this episode offers practical perspectives on making the transition without waiting for a perfect moment.

Featuring:

• Ed Currie and Andy Coxon, co-founders of AKT
• Daisy Tinker, co-founder of A South London Makers Market
• Steph Giordano, founder of Baked by Steph

In this episode:

• How to know when you're ready to quit the day job
• Moving from side hustle to full-time founder
• Why waiting for the perfect product can hold you back
• Managing your personal finances before making the leap
• Building confidence when your professional identity changes
• Finding mentors, advisers and people you can trust
• Learning to understand cash flow and the numbers behind your business
• Protecting your wellbeing while building something on the side

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded during the uncertainty of 2020, the conversation feels remarkably relevant for anyone considering starting up in a changing market. From testing an idea before taking the leap to protecting cash, finding a co-founder and raising investment, the panel explores how founders can make decisions when there is no crystal ball and why periods of disruption can create opportunities for new businesses.

Whether you're sitting on a business idea, wondering if market conditions are right or trying to navigate uncertainty as an early-stage founder, this episode offers practical perspectives on starting small, managing risk and knowing when to move.

Featuring:

• Lucas London, co-founder of Lick
• Gabriela Hersham, co-founder of Huckletree
• Lucy Standing, occupational psychologist and founder of Brave Starts

In this episode:

• Is there ever a perfect time to start a business?
• Testing an idea before making the leap
• Spotting opportunities created by changing markets
• Managing uncertainty and founder anxiety
• Why protecting cash and runway matters
• Raising investment when market conditions are difficult
• What to look for in the right co-founder
• Why starting small can help reduce risk

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susie shares how selling homemade body scrubs at Greenwich Market as a teenager grew into Tropic Skincare, and the lessons she learned along the way about pricing, selling, building trust and creating a community of ambassadors. She also explores why passion needs to evolve into purpose as a business grows, and why bigger does not automatically mean better.

Whether you're starting your first business, building a consumer brand or deciding how quickly to scale, this conversation offers practical founder lessons on sustainable growth, customer trust and staying focused on why your business exists.

In this episode:

• Turning a homemade skincare product into a business
• What selling face-to-face taught Susie about customers
• Pricing your product with confidence from day one
• Building trust in a competitive consumer market
• Growing a powerful ambassador community through word of mouth
• Why purpose can make difficult business decisions easier
• Building sustainability into products and packaging
• Why founders should focus on profit, not vanity growth

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From tackling food waste and changing the way we consume fashion to measuring impact and navigating B Corp certification, the conversation explores what it really means to build a purpose-led business. The panel discusses why impact works best when it is part of the business model from the start, how to balance sustainability with commercial realities, and the role founders can play in changing customer behaviour.

Whether you're starting a sustainable business, defining your impact strategy or looking for ways to make purpose and profit work together, this episode offers practical lessons for building a business that creates meaningful change.

Featuring:

• Emilie Vanpoperinghe, co-founder of Oddbox
• Eshita Kabra-Davies, founder of By Rotation
• Richard Johnson, sustainability and business innovation expert

In this episode:

• Building positive impact into your business model from day one
• How Oddbox turned food waste into a scalable business opportunity
• How By Rotation is using the sharing economy to rethink fashion consumption
• Measuring the impact that genuinely matters to your business
• B Corp certification and when it makes sense for startups
• Finding suppliers and partners that share your values
• Balancing sustainability with the commercial realities of startup growth
• When founders should move from entrepreneurship into activism

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From finding a distinctive voice and defining what your business stands for to testing ideas with real customers, the conversation goes beyond logos and visual identity to explore brand purpose, personality, storytelling and customer experience. The panel also shares the reality behind campaigns that worked, ideas that didn’t, building brands on limited budgets and knowing when to listen to feedback and when to stand your ground.

Whether you’re launching a startup, developing your brand strategy or trying to stand out in a crowded market, this episode offers practical lessons for building a distinctive brand that can grow beyond its founders.

Featuring:

• Celia Pool, co-founder of DAME
• Nathan Perry, co-founder of Denzel’s
• Tom Tapper, CEO and co-founder of Nice and Serious

In this episode:

• What a brand really is beyond logos and visual identity
• Finding your purpose, personality and distinctive voice
• Building a strong brand without a big startup budget
• Knowing which customer feedback to act on
• Testing ideas quickly rather than chasing perfection
• What successful and unsuccessful campaigns can teach you
• Building sustainability and values into your brand
• Creating a brand that can grow beyond its founder

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live during the pandemic, this wide-ranging conversation explores how founders can lead through uncertainty, build resilient businesses, inspire teams and stay optimistic when everything around them is changing.

Simon shares practical advice on customer-first thinking, creativity during crisis, building businesses with purpose and why strong relationships matter more than ever. The conversation also includes audience questions from founders and a surprise appearance from Sir Richard Branson.

Whether you're starting a business, leading a team or navigating uncertainty, this episode offers timeless lessons on leadership, entrepreneurship and building organisations that put people first.

In this episode:

• Why businesses should put customers before themselves
• Leadership lessons for founders navigating uncertainty
• Building resilient businesses during times of crisis
• The difference between optimism and positivity
• How to build trust, culture and stronger teams
• Why purpose drives long-term business success
• Audience questions from Virgin StartUp founders
• A surprise appearance from Sir Richard Branson 

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.