What happens when you leave a high-profile media career to chase an idea everyone says is impossible?

In this episode of Ride to Success, we sit down with Dom Cotton, former BBC journalist and co-founder of Newlane, the cycling startup behind a foldable commuter helmet that took seven years to build — and nearly didn’t happen.

At age 50, Dom took a leap into unfamiliar territory: hardware innovation. No engineering background. No product design experience. Just one goal — to create a helmet that made cycling safer, simpler, and more accessible for everyday riders.

Dom shares:

• How he handled years of rejection from investors and manufacturers

• What kept him going when the helmet “couldn’t be made”

• How a personal problem turned into a Red Dot Award-winning product

• What cycling taught him about purpose, resilience, and reinvention

• Why you don’t need all the answers to start something meaningful

This is a story about starting over, building with purpose, and proving the doubters wrong — one ride at a time.

🔗 Listen now and get inspired to ride your own path.

Social Links to Ride to Success:

Follow Pedro Couto Lopes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-couto-lopes/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_ridetosuccess/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ridetosuccess/

-

Thanks for listening

#RideToSuccess