Virgin StartUp Changemakers

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Natalie Pearce sits down with MAGIC AI co-founder Varun Bhanot to explore how founders can test an ambitious business idea before investing heavily in building it.

From his own experience of transforming his health to creating an AI-powered personal trainer, Varun shares how MAGIC AI went from an idea and product renders to paying customers before a working product even existed. He also explores fundraising, finding product-market fit, building a team and why working inside a startup can be one of the best ways to prepare for becoming a founder yourself.

Whether you're sitting on a startup idea, testing a new product or preparing to raise investment, this episode offers practical founder lessons on validating demand, backing your judgement and turning an ambitious concept into something customers will pay for.

In this episode:

• Why working for a startup can prepare you to become a founder
• Finding a business idea rooted in a problem you genuinely care about
• Varun's five-step approach to testing a startup idea
• Validating customer demand before building the finished product
• Using landing pages, product renders and paid advertising to test an MVP
• Going from a £99 customer deposit to shipping 1,000 MAGIC AI units
• What Varun has learned from raising more than £2 million
• Why founders shouldn't assume investors know their business better than they do
• Hiring slowly, building culture and managing the co-founder relationship
• Where AI could take personalised health and fitness next

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Natalie Pearce sits down with ReBorn co-founder Brian Walmsley to explore how founders can build sustainability into a physical product from the very beginning, rather than trying to fix its impact later.

From spotting the huge amount of waste created by the homewares industry to developing products from recycled materials and securing listings with John Lewis and Waitrose, Brian shares the commercial realities of building a circular business. He explores customer research, pricing, sustainable product design, raising investment and what it takes to convince a major retailer to take a chance on a new brand.

Whether you're developing a physical product, building a sustainable consumer brand or trying to break into major retail, this episode offers practical founder lessons on designing for circularity, validating what customers will actually buy and turning sustainability into a commercially viable business.

In this episode:

• Spotting a sustainability opportunity in an established industry
• Why designing with recycled materials isn't enough on its own
• Building products around circular design and end-of-life
• Testing whether customers will actually pay for your idea
• Working backwards from the price customers are willing to pay
• Securing a major retail partnership before the finished product existed
• Building relationships with buyers at retailers such as John Lewis
• Using accelerators, investment and partnerships to get a product to market
• Why people, planet and profit all matter when building a sustainable business

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Natalie Pearce sits down with Canopey co-founders Thomas Panton and Hugo Douglas-Deane to explore how startups can make sustainable choices easier for customers without expecting them to be perfect.

From tackling greenwashing and verifying sustainability claims to building a marketplace designed around trust, Thomas and Hugo share the thinking behind Canopey and the realities of building a purpose-led startup. They also explore co-founder relationships, hiring, customer feedback and why founders need to keep questioning and evolving their ideas as their businesses grow.

Whether you're building a sustainable brand, developing a marketplace or trying to embed purpose into your business, this episode offers practical founder lessons on earning customer trust, building the right team and making sustainability more accessible.

In this episode:

• Making sustainable shopping simpler and more accessible
• Why greenwashing is damaging customer trust
• How Canopey verifies sustainability claims before products reach its marketplace
• Why being better matters more than trying to be perfect
• Choosing co-founders with complementary skills
• Building a healthy culture as your founding team grows
• Why customer feedback should continually shape your product
• Using accelerators strategically at different stages of startup growth
• Why founders should talk about their ideas instead of fearing they'll be stolen

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Natalie Pearce sits down with Zinc VC co-founder Ella Goldner to explore how purpose-led founders can build businesses that create meaningful impact and still deliver commercial returns.

From Zinc’s mission-driven investment model to the realities of raising capital as an underrepresented founder, Ella shares what investors actually look for, why profit and purpose need to reinforce each other and how founders can decide whether venture capital is right for them. She also reflects on co-founder relationships, measuring impact and building an ecosystem that gives ambitious founders the support and capital to tackle major social challenges.

Whether you're building an impact startup, preparing to raise investment or questioning which type of funding is right for your business, this episode offers a practical investor perspective on commercial ambition, purpose and making your business investable.

In this episode:

• Why purpose and profit should strengthen each other
• How Zinc VC selects founders and mission-driven businesses to back
• Deciding whether venture capital is actually right for your startup
• What investors look for before writing an early-stage cheque
• Why underrepresented founders still face greater barriers to funding
• Building and testing a strong co-founder relationship
• Choosing investors who align with your vision and values
• How early-stage startups can think about measuring social impact
• Why traction and commercial thinking matter even in purpose-led businesses

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Natalie Pearce sits down with HANX co-founder Farah Kabir to explore what it takes to build a startup in a category where challenging the status quo is part of the job.

From spotting a problem in the condom aisle and surveying thousands of potential customers to putting their own savings into the first products, Farah shares how she and co-founder Dr Sarah Welsh built HANX around the needs of an underserved audience. She also opens up about the realities of raising investment as a female founder, breaking into major retailers, building a trusted brand in a taboo category and expanding from condoms into the wider women's health market.

Whether you're developing a consumer product, trying to disrupt an established industry or building for an underserved customer, this episode offers practical founder lessons on research, resilience, retail and staying focused on the problem you're trying to solve.

In this episode:

• Turning an awkward customer experience into a startup opportunity
• Using customer research to validate an idea before investing in it
• Building a brand around an underserved audience
• The realities of fundraising as a female founder in a taboo category
• Getting into Boots, Tesco and other major retailers
• Why HANX prioritised retail rather than relying on subscriptions
• Knowing when to ignore conventional startup advice
• Expanding from one product into a broader women's health proposition
• Why rejection can be useful when you believe strongly in the market you're building for

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Natalie Pearce sits down with DASH Water co-founder Alex Wright to explore how an overlooked problem in the food supply chain became the foundation for one of the UK’s fastest-growing drinks brands.

From testing an imperfect product in London parks to selling millions of cans and expanding internationally, Alex shares how DASH used customer feedback to sharpen its proposition and put wonky fruit at the heart of its brand. He also explores raising investment, securing retail listings, building a purpose-led team and why sustainability needs to remain part of the business as you scale.

Whether you're testing your first product, building a food and drink brand or trying to scale a purpose-led startup, this episode offers practical founder lessons on starting before you're ready, listening to customers and turning sustainability into a genuine business advantage.

In this episode:

• Turning food waste into a viable business opportunity
• Why DASH stopped trying to create the perfect product and launched an MVP
• Testing an idea with real customers before investing heavily
• How customer feedback changed DASH's brand positioning
• Getting your first retail listings and knowing which retailers to target
• Raising investment as your startup reaches new milestones
• Keeping purpose and sustainability at the heart of a growing company
• Hiring people who genuinely share your values
• Expanding internationally without spreading the business too thin

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Ben Keene sits down with Unbound co-founder and author Dan Kieran to explore the part of entrepreneurship that business books often overlook: what building a company does to the person building it.

Drawing on more than a decade of building and leading crowdfunding publisher Unbound, Dan shares the lessons behind what he calls the founder’s “second journey”. From fundraising and finding the right co-founders to protecting your mental health, managing your ego and eventually making yourself less essential to the business, this is a candid conversation about becoming the founder your company needs without allowing it to consume you.

Whether you're taking your first steps into entrepreneurship, leading a growing startup or questioning your relationship with the business you've built, this episode offers a different perspective on success and the personal work that comes with being a founder.

In this episode:

• Why founders go on two journeys when they start a business
• Separating your identity and self-worth from your startup
• The three responsibilities Dan believes every founder should prioritise
• Turning your vision into a tool for better business decisions
• How to tell a stronger story when raising investment
• Finding co-founders with complementary skills and navigating conflict
• Why great leaders step forward when things go wrong and back when things go right
• Protecting time for the activities that support your mental wellbeing
• Building a company that can eventually succeed without you

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Ben Keene sits down with Change Please founder Cemal Ezel to explore how entrepreneurship can be used to tackle one of society’s biggest challenges: homelessness.

From leaving a career in the City and launching with a £25,000 Start Up Loan to supporting people experiencing homelessness through employment, housing and wraparound services, Cemal shares how Change Please has grown its impact without losing sight of its original purpose. He also explores partnerships, international growth, testing ambitious ideas and why founders should actively seek out criticism rather than protect their ideas from it.

Whether you're building a social enterprise, growing a purpose-led business or looking for ways to create greater impact through entrepreneurship, this episode offers a compelling perspective on thinking bigger while staying relentlessly focused on the problem you want to solve.

In this episode:

• Turning a personal search for purpose into a social enterprise
• Using an MVP to prove an ambitious idea can work
• How a Start Up Loan and mentoring helped Change Please get started
• Why founders should invite criticism of their ideas
• Building partnerships with major organisations
• Using employment and enterprise to tackle homelessness
• Scaling social impact into new countries and markets
• Balancing entrepreneurial ideas with the demands of leading a growing team
• How Cemal is using AI to test ideas and challenge his thinking

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Ben Keene sits down with Brixton Brewery co-founders Xochitl Benjamin and Mike Ross to explore how a shared love of beer and their local community grew into one of South London’s best-known craft beer brands.

From experimenting with home brewing and delivering beer on foot around Brixton to building a distinctive brand and eventually partnering with Heineken, Xochitl and Mike share the decisions behind Brixton Brewery’s growth. They explore starting a business with friends and partners, building deep roots in a local community, knowing when outside investment can help you scale and what it feels like to eventually step away from a business you've built.

Whether you're starting a food or drink business, building a community-led brand or considering investment and growth, this episode offers practical founder lessons on starting small, staying distinctive and finding the right partners for the next stage.

In this episode:

• Turning a shared interest into a viable business idea
• Starting a brewery without professional brewing experience
• Why Brixton became central to the brand rather than simply its location
• Building a distinctive identity in a crowded craft beer market
• Starting a business with friends and life partners
• Growing production when your original space can no longer keep up
• Deciding whether investment from a much larger company is right for you
• Maintaining your identity while working with a global partner
• Knowing when it is time for founders to step back from the business

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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

In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Ben Keene is joined by the founders behind Quarter, The Woolf’s Kitchen and Black Milk to explore how you turn a food or drink idea into a distinctive brand that customers want to come back to.

From testing sauces at farmers' markets and developing a new lower-alcohol spirits category to creating food experiences designed to spark joy, the panel shares different routes into the industry. They explore product development, finding your market, building a loyal community and navigating the realities of supply chains, rising costs and sustainability as a food and drink business grows.

Whether you're experimenting with your first recipe, preparing to launch a food or drink startup or working out how to take an existing product to the next stage, this episode offers practical founder lessons on testing, differentiating and scaling a brand in a crowded market.\

Featuring:

• Fabian Clark, co-founder of Quarter
• Dominique Woolf, founder of The Woolf’s Kitchen
• Andy Young, co-founder of Black Milk

In this episode:

• Finding a gap in a crowded food and drink market
• Testing your idea before investing heavily
• Developing products customers genuinely want
• Building a distinctive brand around more than the product
• Creating loyal customers and community
• Managing supply chains and rising ingredient costs
• Knowing when to outsource or bring in additional expertise
• Building sustainability into packaging and operations
• Staying resilient when economic conditions are outside your control

Changemakers is brought to you by Virgin StartUp, the not-for-profit organisation helping founders start and scale the businesses they're passionate about.

Recorded live at Virgin StartUp's Changemakers events, every episode features honest conversations with entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders sharing the lessons, challenges and ideas shaping the future of business.

Looking to start or grow your own business?

Find out more at virginstartup.org

Brought to you in partnership with our friends at Virgin Money - the home of brighter business banking.

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