Host Natalie Pearce sits down with Harriet Hastings, the innovative founder of Biscuiteers—a luxury biscuit-gifting brand that transformed the food gifting space.

Harriet shares how her entrepreneurial leap came after stepping away from a successful career in publishing and PR, seeking greater control and flexibility as a mother of four. Starting Biscuiteers in her husband’s catering kitchen, Harriet spotted a gap in the market for stylish, personalised gifts and turned it into a business now icing nearly three million biscuits each year.

Key insights include:

• The power of storytelling and organic PR in building a brand.
• How Harriet strategically leveraged corporate partnerships with global brands like Dior, Cartier, and Emma Bridgewater.
• Her experience navigating challenges in manufacturing, scaling operations, and managing multi-channel sales strategies.
• Advocacy for female founders through her initiative “Buy Women Built,” tackling systemic funding issues and championing women-led businesses.

Hosted by Natalie Pearce.

Visit www.virginstartup.org to find out about how you can start-up and thrive. You can access Start Up Loan funding and free Business Advice to get your new business off the ground.

Thanks to Virgin Money for making these events free for founders everywhere.

The podcast is produced by Goldfish for Virgin StartUp.

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

Changemakers is back - and we're kicking off this new season with a bang - or should we say a dream - welcoming star of social media and serial founder, Simon Squibb.

Find out how Simon went from homeless to selling his business for millions to PWC, and why he's dedicating his time to making other founders' dreams come true.

Want more of Simon? Book an exclusive spot on our AMA with Simon only on the Virgin StartUp Community. Spaces are strictly limited and open to Virign StartUp Premium members only. Once you've had your membership approved, head over to Premium events to sign up. Visit community.virginstartup.org

Hosted by Natalie Pearce.

Visit www.virginstartup.org to find out about how you can start-up and thrive. You can access Start Up Loan funding and free Business Advice to get your new business off the ground.

Thanks to Virgin Money for making these events free for founders everywhere.

The podcast is produced by Goldfish for Virgin StartUp.

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

In this inspiring episode of Founder to Founder, we sit down with Olivia Jenkins, co-founder of D.LOUISE, the sustainable, tarnish-free jewellery brand that’s redefining what it means to build a purpose-led business.

After losing her mother and facing a period of uncertainty during the pandemic, Olivia poured her energy into creating something meaningful. With zero industry experience and just a gut instinct, she bootstrapped D.LOUISE into a fast-growing business rooted in bravery, simplicity, and joy.

We talk about turning grief into purpose, building confidence as a first-time founder, and why sustainable growth—not overnight success—is the mindset shift more entrepreneurs need to hear. Olivia also opens up about mentorship, mental health, and how showing up authentically fuels both community and commercial growth.

If you’re building a product-based brand or need a nudge of inspiration to get started, this one’s for you.

FOLLOW OLIVIA

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If you’re an early-stage founder looking for support to help you start up, join the Virgin StartUp Community to connect with other founders, mentors and advisors to support you through your journey.

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Hosted by Luke Johnstone, founder of PACK’D, Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner and Startup Mentor.

Luke started and scaled his disruptive food business, generating over £15M in sales delivering impactful products to more than 1 million customers.

PACK'D originally launched with support and funding from Virgin StartUp and now Luke returns to support the next generation of founders as a Virgin StartUp Mentor.

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

This is an episode from our newly launched Founder to Founder podcast. Follow us on Spotify and Apple to get the latest episodes when they drop.

In today’s episode, we’re joined by David Abrahamovitch, founder and CEO of Grind – from turning his Dad’s old phone shop into a go to coffee come cocktail destination, he’s since built a brilliant D2C brand. Today the company is a certified B Corp, they have 14 locations across London and sell millions of coffees every year through their home delivery service.

We’re talking to David about what it really takes to scale a business, how mentorship has played a role in his journey, and why surrounding yourself with the right people can make all the difference.

FOLLOW DAVID ABRAHAMOVITCH

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FOLLOW VIRGIN STARTUP

If you’re an early-stage founder looking for support to help you start up, join the Virgin StartUp Community to connect with other founders, mentors and advisors to support you through your journey.

Community.virginstartup.org

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TikTok

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Hosted by Luke Johnstone, founder of PACK’D, Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner and Startup Mentor.

Luke started and scaled his disruptive food business, generating over £15M in sales delivering impactful products to more than 1 million customers.

PACK'D originally launched with support and funding from Virgin StartUp and now Luke returns to support the next generation of founders as a Virgin StartUp Mentor.

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

In this powerful episode of Founder to Founder, we’re joined by Alex Partridge, founder, mental health advocate, host of the ADHD chatter podcast and co-founder of the viral media brands UNILAD and LADbible, and now Virgin StartUp Mentor.

After being diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 34, Alex is now a massive advocate for mental health and neurodiversity in the workplace, alongside that has authored his memoir ‘Now it all makes sense: how an ADHD diagnosis brought clarity to my life’.

Alex has truly experienced the full spectrum of entrepreneurship and we’re diving into his rollercoaster journey and how his experiences have helped shape his success today.

FOLLOW ALEX PARTRIDGE

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FOLLOW VIRGIN STARTUP

If you’re an early-stage founder looking for support to help you start up, join the Virgin StartUp Community to connect with other founders, mentors and advisors to support you through your journey.

Community.virginstartup.org

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TikTok

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

We’ve been behind the scenes with some of the UK’s boldest business minds - who all happen to be Virgin StartUp Mentors — David Abrahamovitch (GRIND), Pip Murray (Pip & Nut), Olivia Jenkins (D. Louise), Andy McNulty (Touch Stay), Abi Selby (Spabreaks.com), and Alex Partridge (UniLad & LADBible) — to talk growth, grit, and the power that mentoring has had on their startup successes.

The first episode drops this Wednesday, featuring viral media pioneer and host of the ADHD Chatter podcast, Alex Partridge. Subscribe to our new feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

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

We're back with a bonus! This week we meet the founder of Confident and Killing It, Tiwalola Adebayo.

Tiwa's hosting our International Women's Day panel event alongside Grace Andrews and Michelle Feeney. Grab your ticket now at: https://www.virginstartup.org/events/leading-with-confidence-women-making-moves/

Follow Tiwa and Confident And Killing It on Instagram.

The brand Tiwa mentioned is Kai Collective: https://kaicollective.com/

The book and video Tiwa mentioned are by John Maxwell.

This podcast is produced for Virgin StartUp by Goldfish

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

It's the last episode of Changemakers for 2024 😭

We're going out with a bang though, with the co-founder of Too Good To Go, Jamie Crummie, who's helping millions of us reduce food waste with their tech platform built around a strong purpose.

See you in 2025 for more inspiring conversations with founders creating sustainable impact across the UK.

Are you a new or aspiring founder? Our Community has launched, providing a new home for founders in the UK. Explore membership options here.

Visit www.virginstartup.org to find out about how you can start-up and thrive. You can access Start Up Loan funding and free Business Advice to get your new business off the ground.

Thanks to Virgin Money for making these events free for founders everywhere.

The podcast is produced by Goldfish for Virgin StartUp.

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