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"I cold called all of the landlords I'd ever met at Bristol and got horribly rejected by most. Definitely cried a lot in the first few weeks."

That's how Hannah Chappatte started hybr and this episode opens with it.

Rejected by the University of Bristol on her predicted grades, she proved them wrong, got in, got a first, then skipped the consulting grad schemes to fix the thing every student complains about: finding a house. Fast forward, hybr has raised a £3.24M seed round and is building the one-stop rental platform for the UK's 3 million students, first-time renters drowning in jargon, deprioritised by agents, and at risk of exploitation.

This is a masterclass in validation, resilience and focus from a founder who did it with no network, no funding and no playbook, and who'll tell you straight: if you can avoid raising money, avoid it.

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Rejection is the R&D. Every landlord "no" became a rewritten pitch and a rebuttal, until the yeses came. Persistence isn't gritting your teeth; it's a feedback loop. Validate by selling, not by building in silence.

2. Focus is a system, not a feeling. Two company objectives per quarter, one North Star metric. If a project doesn't ladder into them, it doesn't get worked on, however shiny.

3. Build sustainably from day one. Validate on the smallest possible scale with minimal tech investment, prove the problem and market are big enough, and design for profitability early; it de-risks everything that comes after. And it applies to you too: Hannah calls out the sleep-under-the-desk myth. Sprints are real; burnout kills businesses.

WHAT WE COVER - Cold-calling landlords, crying through rejections, and rewriting the pitch every time - The consulting grad-scheme escape and throwing herself in 100% after graduation - Going from co-founder to sole founder after three months , and why her next business will have one - Both sides of the marketplace: what students and landlords actually need - Raising a £3.24M seed in a market where 2% of funding goes to women - The worst advice ever: the VC who'd only invest if she pivoted to food - The power of being underestimated - The event where 100 people RSVP'd and one turned up - Radical Candor, building a team of 15, and rejecting hustle culture - Gen Z, mental hygiene, remote-vs-office, and her vision: no empty rooms in the UK

💬 Hannah has a question for you , see the pinned comment and tell us your answer. Guest: Hannah Chappatte LinkedIn: Hannah Chappatte | HYBR: https://hybr.co.uk Socials: @hybr.uk on TikTok, Instagram and X Hosted by Ollie Tiramuragan Collard and Dr. Becky Sage.

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