Founder to Founder

In this episode of Founder to Founder, Luke Johnstone sits down with Abi Selby, founder of Spabreaks.com, to explore how she built the UK's leading spa booking platform while staying true to a mission of making wellness more accessible, inclusive and meaningful.

What began as a simple idea grew into a £36 million business that now sends more than 16,000 people to spas every week. Along the way, Abi challenged industry norms, opened wellness experiences to people often overlooked by the sector, and built a purpose-led business that has continued to evolve for nearly two decades.

Together they discuss entrepreneurship, leadership, resilience, mentorship, community and the realities of growing a business through major industry shifts, including the challenges of Covid.

This is an honest conversation about purpose, perseverance and building a company that creates impact beyond profit.

• The moment Abi spotted the opportunity behind Spabreaks.com
• Growing a business from startup to industry leader
• Why inclusivity became central to the company's mission
• Supporting people living with cancer through wellness experiences
• The role mentors played throughout Abi's journey
• Navigating Covid and rebuilding stronger
• Founder wellbeing and avoiding burnout
• Why relationships are one of the most valuable business assets
• Lessons from leading a £36m business over nearly 20 years

Looking for support on your own founder journey?

Founder to Founder is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start, grow and thrive through funding, mentoring, expert advice and community.

Find out more at virginstartup.org

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

In this episode of Founder to Founder, Luke Johnstone sits down with Pip Murray, founder of Pip & Nut, to explore how a simple idea born from marathon training became one of the UK's best-known challenger food brands.

What started with homemade nut butter, a blender and weekend market stalls grew into a multi-million-pound business stocked in major supermarkets across the UK.

Pip shares the realities of building a food brand from scratch, finding manufacturers, creating a standout brand identity, raising investment through Crowdcube and navigating the challenges of scaling in a highly competitive industry.

Together they discuss entrepreneurship, product development, fundraising, mentorship, leadership and what it takes to build a brand that lasts.

Whether you're launching a food business, building a consumer brand or looking for practical founder lessons on growth and resilience, this episode is packed with honest insights from someone who has spent more than a decade turning an idea into a category-leading brand.

• How Pip & Nut started from a homemade recipe
• Testing products through market stalls and customer feedback
• Finding manufacturers and building a scalable supply chain
• Raising £120k through Crowdcube
• Building a standout consumer brand on a limited budget
• Leadership lessons from scaling a food business
• The role mentors played throughout the journey
• Why patience often beats speed in entrepreneurship
• Growing a challenger brand in a competitive market 

Looking for support on your own founder journey?

Founder to Founder is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start, grow and thrive through funding, mentoring, expert advice and community.

Find out more at virginstartup.org

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

In this episode of Founder to Founder, Luke Johnstone sits down with Andy McNulty, co-founder of Touch Stay, to explore the journey of building, scaling and ultimately selling a SaaS business with no technical background.

Before founding Touch Stay, Andy held senior leadership roles at brands including Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Victoria Beckham. But it was a frustrating holiday rental experience and a strong entrepreneurial instinct that led him to launch Touch Stay, a digital guidebook platform now used by thousands of hospitality businesses around the world.

Andy shares the realities of startup life, raising investment through the Virgin StartUp Accelerator, navigating rapid growth during Covid, and the emotional challenges of selling a business he had spent a decade building.

Together they discuss intuition, mentorship, community, fundraising, product-market fit, startup exits and what founders often underestimate when building a technology business.

Whether you're launching a SaaS startup, preparing to raise investment or wondering what life looks like after an exit, this episode offers honest lessons from a founder who has experienced the full journey.

• How a holiday rental binder inspired the idea for Touch Stay
• Building a SaaS business without a technical background
• The role Virgin StartUp played in raising early investment
• Finding product-market fit and scaling sustainably
• How Covid accelerated growth rather than slowed it down
• Lessons on fundraising, mentorship and founder intuition
• The emotional reality of selling your business
• Life after exit and what comes next

Looking for support on your own founder journey?

Founder to Founder is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start, grow and thrive through funding, mentoring, expert advice and community.

Find out more at virginstartup.org

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

In this episode of Founder to Founder, Luke Johnstone sits down with Olivia Jenkins, founder of D.LOUISE, to discuss how she built one of the UK's fastest-growing jewellery brands from scratch with no industry experience, no business background and a powerful personal mission.

After losing her mother and facing a period of uncertainty during the pandemic, Olivia channelled her energy into creating D.LOUISE, a jewellery brand built around confidence, resilience and meaningful storytelling.

What started as a side project quickly became a thriving direct-to-consumer business, known for its sustainable, tarnish-free jewellery and loyal community.

Together they discuss grief, entrepreneurship, founder mindset, bootstrapping a product-based business, building confidence, and the realities of scaling a brand while staying true to your values.

This is an honest conversation about resilience, personal growth and what it really means to build a business with purpose.

• Why Olivia started D.LOUISE after losing her mother
• Building a jewellery brand with no industry experience
• Bootstrapping and growing a direct-to-consumer business
• Turning grief into purpose and motivation
• Developing confidence as a first-time founder
• The role mentors, coaches and community play in growth
• Managing founder wellbeing and mental resilience
• Why sustainable growth matters more than overnight success
• Building a brand rooted in authenticity and values

Looking for support on your own founder journey?

Founder to Founder is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start, grow and thrive through funding, mentoring, expert advice and community.

Find out more at virginstartup.org

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

In this episode of Founder to Founder, Luke Johnstone sits down with David Abrahamovitch, founder and CEO of GRIND, to explore what it really takes to build and scale a modern consumer brand.

David shares how he transformed his late father's old mobile phone shop on Old Street into one of London's most recognisable coffee brands, before expanding into direct-to-consumer, retail, grocery and hospitality partnerships.

Together they discuss startup growth, leadership, fundraising, mentorship, hiring the right people and the realities of scaling a business over more than a decade.

From opening the first GRIND location in Shoreditch to launching products into major supermarkets and serving millions of coffees every year, David reflects on the decisions, risks and lessons that shaped the journey.

If you're building a startup, growing a consumer brand or navigating the challenges of leadership, this episode is packed with practical insights from a founder who has scaled through multiple stages of business growth.

• How GRIND started from a single coffee shop in East London
• The realities of scaling a consumer brand
• Why mentorship and community matter as a founder
• Lessons on fundraising, hiring and leadership
• How to balance instinct with advice
• Why luck plays a bigger role in entrepreneurship than most founders admit

Looking for support on your own founder journey?

Founder to Founder is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start, grow and thrive through funding, mentoring, expert advice and community.

Find out more at virginstartup.org

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

What happens when an ADHD diagnosis helps explain your entire founder journey?

In this episode of Founder to Founder, Luke Johnstone sits down with Alex Partridge, founder of UNILAD, co-founder of LADbible, host of the ADHD Chatter podcast and Virgin StartUp Mentor.

Alex shares the highs and lows of building some of the UK's biggest media brands, the legal battle that nearly cost him everything, and how an ADHD diagnosis at 34 helped him better understand anxiety, entrepreneurship and the way his mind works. Together they discuss founder mental health, neurodiversity in business, mentorship, resilience, self-awareness and why understanding yourself may be one of the most important skills any entrepreneur can develop.

Whether you're building a startup, navigating founder challenges or exploring your own neurodiversity, this is an honest conversation packed with practical lessons and powerful insights.

• How Alex built UNILAD from a university side project
• The legal battle that almost cost him his business
• What an ADHD diagnosis revealed about his founder journey
• Managing anxiety, rejection and founder pressure
• The role mentors and community played in difficult moments
• Why self-awareness is a founder's greatest advantage
• How neurodiversity can become a business strength

Looking for support on your own founder journey?

Founder to Founder is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start, grow and thrive through funding, mentoring, expert advice and community.

Find out more at virginstartup.org

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.

Brought to you by Virgin StartUp

Looking for support on your own founder journey?

Founder to Founder is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start, grow and thrive through funding, mentoring, expert advice and community.

Find out more at virginstartup.org

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