Meet Cemal Ezel, founder of Change Please, the social enterprise helping people move out of homelessness through coffee.

Cemal shares how he went from City trader to purpose-led founder, why the first version of Change Please did not work as planned, and what he learned about building a business where quality, impact and sustainability all have to matter.

He also talks about receiving a Virgin StartUp loan, being mentored by Richard Branson on Necker Island, and why founders should start small, stay open to feedback and keep moving before everything feels perfect.

For anyone wondering whether to take the leap, this is a powerful reminder: you do not need to have it all figured out to begin.

Looking for support to start or grow your business?

Virgin StartUp is here to help with funding, mentoring, and a community of founders building businesses across the UK.

Explore resources, access support, and take your next step at virginstartup.org

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Virgin Money, supporting founders with brighter business banking.

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

In this episode of The Jump, Emilie and Deepak share how they tested the idea with early customers, built a grower-led model, used a Virgin StartUp loan to bring structure to the business, and handled a sudden surge in demand when Covid changed how people bought food overnight. It is a story about food waste, behaviour change, bootstrapping, logistics, and building a purpose-led business one odd box at a time.

Looking for support to start or grow your business?

Virgin StartUp is here to help with funding, mentoring, and a community of founders building businesses across the UK.

Explore resources, access support, and take your next step at virginstartup.org

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Virgin Money, supporting founders with brighter business banking.

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

In this episode of The Jump, William shares how his upbringing in South London shaped his ambition, why his father’s story inspired the mission behind Vitae London, and how a Virgin StartUp loan helped him buy the stock he needed to grow. From selling his first 13 watches to pitching Richard Branson live on stage, this is a story about purpose, product, representation, and building a brand that turns wealth acquisition into wealth distribution.

Looking for support to start or grow your business?

Virgin StartUp is here to help with funding, mentoring, and a community of founders building businesses across the UK.

Explore resources, access support, and take your next step at virginstartup.org

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Virgin Money, supporting founders with brighter business banking.

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

What began as kitchen experiments and DIY recipes became BYBI, a sustainable skincare brand now selling thousands of products a week in the US through Target. In this episode of The Jump, Dominika and Elsie share how they built a community before launching a product, used a Virgin StartUp loan to move from content to commerce, and grew from natural beauty outsiders into global brand founders.

It is a story about friendship, proof of concept, sustainability, scaling, and building a brand that raises the standard rather than follows the category.

Looking for support to start or grow your business?

Virgin StartUp is here to help with funding, mentoring, and a community of founders building businesses across the UK.

Explore resources, access support, and take your next step at virginstartup.org

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Virgin Money, supporting founders with brighter business banking.

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

So Selma registered Looks Like Me and set out to change what representation looked like in media and advertising.

In this episode of The Jump, Selma shares how she turned a deeply personal moment into a business, how a Virgin StartUp loan helped her create her first lookbook, and how rejection became fuel. From pitching brands with no industry roadmap to casting children for campaigns including Black Panther-inspired content and Beyoncé’s Brown Skin Girl, this is a story about identity, courage, motherhood, and acting on the idea you cannot ignore.

Looking for support to start or grow your business?

Virgin StartUp is here to help with funding, mentoring, and a community of founders building businesses across the UK.

Explore resources, access support, and take your next step at virginstartup.org

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Virgin Money, supporting founders with brighter business banking.

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

After a bold viral campaign involving a selfie on top of Christ the Redeemer, the business took off, growing into a multi-million-pound company with a mission to create one million friendships through travel. Then Covid hit.

In this episode of The Jump, Radha and Lee share what it felt like to watch revenue disappear overnight, how they handled administration, why they personally supported customers through the refund process, and how they found the strength to rebuild Flash Pack from the ground up. It is a story about love, focus, resilience, and what founders do when the business they have built is suddenly taken away.

Looking for support to start or grow your business?

Virgin StartUp is here to help with funding, mentoring, and a community of founders building businesses across the UK.

Explore resources, access support, and take your next step at virginstartup.org

This episode is brought to you in partnership with Virgin Money, supporting founders with brighter business banking.

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