Virgin StartUp

Think you’ve got a great idea for a new product? You’re not alone. The biggest mistake lots of first time founders make is not testing their idea before going all-in. Here’s how you do it: After more than a decade in Australia, entrepreneur Christian H. returned to the UK craving his favourite aussie drink; fresh-pressed, alcoholic ginger beer. He couldn’t find it, and set out producing his own with an eye on taking the product to market. 1️⃣ - Test, iterate, test again 🫚50 types of ginger later and many trials, he perfected a recipe that captured the essence of the Australian ginger beer he was looking for – refreshing, organic, and full of flavour. 2️⃣ - Passed the family and friends test? Find actual customers next. 👨👧👧🎪Like most founders, Christian tested his first products on family and friends before going further a field (quite literally) and blowing away festival-goers by the unique taste of Sunnyside.  3️⃣ - Demonstrate demand 📈 Christian firstly turned to Kickstarter - the rewards based crowdfunding tool - to produce a trial batch to bring his drinks to the masses, which turned into two sell-out production runs. 4️⃣ - Now’s the time to secure funding After this success, Christian used a £25,000 Start Up Loan from Virgin StartUp, to help launch the business and take Sunnyside to market. Now, Sunnyside Drinks Co® Alcoholic Ginger Beer is award-winning, snapping up a Silver award at the Free From Food Awards 2024. If you have a product or business you have tried, tested and validated, a Start Up Loan could support manufacturing and launch. Check out our website for more stories like these and find out more about a Start Up Loan: https://virg.in/3LYRtelv #StartupStories #StartupSuccess #FoodandDrink #StartUpLoan #NewProduct #GingerBeer #SummerDrinksInspo #freefrom #awardwinning

Thinking of creating more video content but not sure where to begin? Stop scrolling and start watching 📵 This week on the Community, video experts and Virgin StartUp-funded Shooting Reels led a session on how to build a content strategy on a budget, and how video can help you engage and activate your audience at each stage of their journey. From building out your customer profiles, to understanding the difference between push and pull marketing, co-founder Dom Deacon got founders on track to put new ideas into action for their startup. Every week new premium events are dropped on our Community to help founders with everything they need to build thriving businesses. Explore membership options and sign up: https://virg.in/46AOG4x #ContentMarketing #PowerHour #VirginStartUpCommunity #Marketing #Media #TargetAudienceTips #StartUpSuccess #Entrepreneurship

👋 Hello to our new followers ! We want to take this chance to let you know about our free investment-readiness programme exclusively for founders based in Greater London who're on the road to scale. If you have: 💷 At least £50k in annual turnover 🗓️ Been trading for at least 18 months 👨🏾🤝👨🏿 2 employees or more Your business could qualify for the Autumn cohort of Empower100. This is your notice to book in a call with Steven Betts and find out how to benefit from this incredible opportunity to grow. Find out more and book your discovery call now: https://virg.in/3A4BBE1 #investment #startup #business #training #accelerator #Londonbusiness #londonstartup #startuplondon

How do you stand out in a multi-billion pound industry? 🤔 Jess Hunt and Jenna Meek launched REFY in 2020 and the brand has taken off as a leading challenger brand in the beauty industry, rapidly gaining a foothold with loyal customers through their minimalist aesthetic and social brand presence. 💻 From setting new beauty standards to creating trends that resonate globally, REFY's success has been mastered by engaging with their audience through interactive events and campaigns, collaborating with major influencers and celebrities like Molly-Mae Hague and members of Little Mix, and partnering with some of the biggest beauty retailers like SEPHORA, to expand their market reach. 💋 🤝🏼 💬 Charlotte Geoghegan, Head of Brand at REFY, will be talking about brand identity, content creation, influencer partnerships and community engagement in our Power Hour with her on 7th August. Learn the strategy that helped REFY take social media by storm, amassing millions of followers across Instagram, TikTok, and beyond. 📲 🌪️ Swipe to see what else is coming up on the Virgin StartUp Community. ➡️ Explore memberships and sign up to events at: https://lnkd.in/gCqJ8gtJ #Refy #BeautyIndustry #BeautyBusiness #BrandExperts #PowerHour #VirginStartUpCommunity #StartupSuccess 

Virgin StartUp funded businesses were everywhere across Transport for London’s Underground this weekend - we love to see it! 🤩 🚇 If you were out and about in the capital enjoying the weather, you would’ve been hard pushed to miss some of our favourite startups who’ve launched brilliant campaigns recently, showcased across the tube and above ground too. 👀 But what’s the deal with outdoor ads? Whilst they can have massive reach, boost credibility and target new customers, they’re not for every stage of business, and require more investment and resources than digital campaigns do. ⚖️ Outdoor campaigns can be a great way to scale once you’ve established a foothold in your industry, effective in massively increasing brand awareness, launching a new product or targeting a specific demographic and geography. ✅ 🤩 We’re so happy to see our founders thriving with these campaigns - if you spot any, tag them #VSUInTheWild! All of the businesses featured were supported by Virgin StartUp. ⭐️ DASH Water MOTH Drinks - B Corp™ Holy Moly | B-Corp™ ⭐️

#pov you’re at a Virgin StartUp Changemakers event featuring NEOM founder Nicola Elliott 🔥 Thanks to Virgin Money for making these events free for founders everywhere. Hosted by Natalie Pearce at x why 🎤 Next up in August is The Body Coach founders Joe and Nikki Wicks #startupevents #founders #communityevents

What problem are you solving for your customers?   If you can't answer that in simple language that everyone can connect with, then neither will your customers.   This week, Virgin StartUp Mentor and former L'Oréal Marketing Director Katie Rose helped founders in the Virgin StartUp Community refine their value propositions during her latest Power Hour.   What would you ask Katie if you had the chance?   Well, now you can! She's running an open "Ask the Advisor" session later in July for members to join. Get your questions ready for this marketing and brand expert.   You can book in the Premium Events section.   Not a member yet? Explore your options at https://virg.in/4fbKtbo #marketing #branding #valueproposition #startup #founder #entrepreneur

This week, we released our second annual Founder Barometer research report, taking the pulse of start-up Britain. Every year, we ask hundreds of founders how they feel about the future, their business prospects, financial stability, and what more can be done to help entrepreneurs start up and thrive. So, how are founders feeling? Swipe to see our latest findings, which highlight the pressure small business owners are under, what more support they want from the government, and how they feel about AI. The good news? More than ever, founders are looking for a community of peers, mentors, and supporters to help them broaden their networks, learn new skills, and create thriving, sustainable businesses. We recently launched our Community to do just that—a new home for founders in the UK to come together and feel empowered to take the next steps on their founder journey. How are you feeling about the future for you and your business? Share your thoughts in the comments below. #FounderBarometer #Research #Entrepreneurship #UKSME #SME #Founders #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneur

New mentor announcement 📣 : Julia Cove-Smith is the former CEO of Emma Bridgwater and led the British pottery business through a transformation to B Corp status after securing an £8m investment in 2020.   With extensive experience in retail, marketing, and e-commerce from driving the brand forward for well over a decade, Julia knows exactly how to manage teams effectively and where to invest your time and money. In addition to Emma Bridgewater, Julia has held senior positions at Waterstones and WHSmith. She is now part of the Virgin StartUp Community and open for Mentor Office Hours.   You can now book a 1:1 call with Julia to get answers to:   🎯 Improving your customer engagement 👆 Stepping up your marketing and commercial skills 🌎 Questions about achieving B Corp status in 2024 Don't miss the chance to get a slot before they’re booked up.    Available to Community members only. 📅 Date: 18th July 🕒 Time: 10:00-13:30 🔗 Find out more and sign up via the link in the comments.   ➡️ Swipe to see what else is coming up for members, including Mentor Office Hours with Nicolas Medicamento MIH , founder of Doctor Cocktail Uk, Varun Bhanot, founder of MAGIC AI, and Advisor calls with Natalie Pearce, co-founder of The Future Kind. #VirginStartUpCommunity

It's been a decade since Virgin StartUp began our journey to empower UK founders 🚀 Back in 2013, the UK was buzzing with entrepreneurial spirit, and Richard Branson saw an opportunity to support this wave of innovation in a uniquely Virgin way. Teaming up with Virgin Unite and Virgin Money, the idea was simple but powerful: provide funding, mentorship, and support to passionate founders who had the vision but needed a little help to make it a reality. Since then, we've supported over 5,000 founders, providing more than £75 million in Start Up Loan funding through our partnership with the British Business Bank. We've helped thousands more startups prepare for growth, raise and investment and build brilliant teams - many of them now sit among some of the best businesses in the country. Our mission has always been to help founders transform great ideas into thriving businesses, and we're proud of the incredible community we've built with our partners, mentors, advisors, supporters - and you. Here’s to the next decade of unleashing the new generation of thriving UK startups. ⭐️ #VirginStartUp #Entrepreneurship #Startups #Innovation #RichardBranson #BusinessGrowth #Founders #10years #VSU10Years