Virgin StartUp

Dreamers, it’s here! 🚨🤩 Our January Changemakers chat between Simon Squibb and Natalie Pearce is available to rewatch exclusively on the #VirginStartUpCommunity Login and get inspired: https://virg.in/3CsbGb7 #SimonSquibb #ElevatorOfDreams #VirginStartUpChangemakers #FounderEvent Virgin Money

A sweet treat for February! 🍪💡 🧑🍳 We’re serving up something extra special for this month’s Changemakers: Harriet Hastings, the founder and CEO of Biscuiteers is joining us 🎉 Back in 2007, Harriet spotted a gap in the market for luxury food gifting and turned it into Biscuiteers - now a household name selling millions of biscuits every year. From crafting the iconic Biscuiteers Book of Iced Biscuits, to opening the world’s first icing cafés, Harriet’s journey can teach you exactly how leaning into creativity and innovation, with a big sprinkle of resilience can help you on your way to sweet success with any startup idea you have. 🌟 What’s on the menu for the conversation? 🌟 ✨ The highs and lows of building a brand from scratch  ✨ Lessons in leadership and innovation  ✨ Harriet’s mission to support women in business - 80% of the Biscuiteers team are women. If you’re a foodie founder, this is for YOU. 📅 19th February ⏰ 18:30 - 21:00 📍 Virgin HQ, Central London 🎟️ Premium Virgin StartUp Community Members get priority access: https://virg.in/4gbfg7i Thanks to Virgin Money for making these events possible. #VirginStartUp #Changemakers #HarrietHastings #Biscuiteers #FounderCommunity #WomenInBusiness #StartupStories #FoodGifting #Innovation

Have you made it down to Virgin Hotels Shoreditch London to pitch your dream business idea to Richard Branson and Simon Squibb yet? If not, it’s your time to shine. It couldn’t be more simple: You have 60 seconds to pitch via the video doorbell on level -2 of the hotel. Richard and Simon will then share their favourites on their social channels. And that’s not all—each week, prizes are up for grabs for Simon and Richard’s favourites. It’s your chance to make your business dreams a reality. Head down to Virgin Hotels and make it happen!

Dropping out to build dreams. Nothing makes me more excited than the stories of entrepreneurs taking huge leaps to create a new future for themselves. Fin Doyle – the 20-year-old founder of MIUE – is a brilliant example. He saw a gap in the market, and he went for it. While most of his peers were settling into university life, Fin realised there was a lack of non-alcoholic drinks made for people his age (the ‘sober curious’ generation). He decided to throw caution to the wind, drop out of uni, get a Virgin StartUp loan, and launch MIUE. The branding is brilliant. Fin is proof that the best way to start a business is to make a start.

I was hanging out with Sir Richard Branson the other day. And I asked him just one question: “Want to help me help people?” Without even hesitating, he said YES. I showed him our dream doorbell and some of the thousands of pitches we've had... and he loved it! He told me he'd always had a dream to allow people to pitch their ideas in an elevator. And within just a few days, we'd set up a dream doorbell at the Virgin Hotel in Shoreditch... right next to the elevator. Together, Richard and I will be watching YOUR pitches. And we’ll be sharing our favourites with our combined 50 MILLION followers. This could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Work on your pitch. Practice it. Perfect it. Because this is your chance to get advice, exposure, and maybe even support for your dream. Remember the more risk you take, the luckier you get How to pitch: Step 1: Head down to Virgin’s London hotel (Shoreditch). Step 2: Pitch your dream to the doorbell. Step 3: Your pitch will be uploaded to HelpBnk.com. (T&Cs apply) Oh yeah... Richard and I have also put our favourite business resources and tips over on elevatorofdreams.com to help bring your dream to life. Good luck! HelpBnk - Virgin StartUp - Virgin Hotels

Did you catch Simon Squibb on This Morning 📺 announcing the #ElevatorOfDreams with HelpBnk ? In case you missed it, you can pitch your dream business idea from 9am tomorrow at the doorbell in Virgin Hotels Shoreditch in London 🎤 Simon and Richard Branson will pick their favourites and react to them on their social accounts. Looking to make 2025 the year your business dreams come true? We'll see you tomorrow morning!

Tag yourself 📸 1st Changemaker of 2025 with Simon Squibb? Completed ✅🤳🏽 A big thanks to Simon, his HelpBnk team and our host Natalie Pearce for a brilliant evening in the new Virgin HQ, filled with inspiration and even a surprise doorbell to practice pitching for the #ElevatorOfDeams at Virgin Hotels Shoreditch going live at 9am this Friday🔔 Dreamers in the #VirginStartUpCommunity! If you can see yourself - tag yourself below so we can all get connecting! 🏷️ Big shoutout to Virgin Money for making these events free for founders to attend.🤩🎟️

Do you have a dream business idea? Head to Virgin Hotels London-Shoreditch and visit 'The Elevator of Dreams.' The Elevator is a place where aspiring founders can go to pitch their business ideas to a global audience of potential investors. Budding entrepreneurs can buzz the video doorbell and quickly present their dream ideas to the camera. Sir Richard Branson and Simon Squibb will share their favorite pitches. Virgin StartUp HelpBnk

Do you have a dream? Pitch it to me and Simon Squibb at Virgin Hotels in London at our Elevator of Dreams video doorbell. Here’s all the details: https://virg.in/42cxi5V Virgin StartUp HelpBnk

SOLD OUT🔥 Tickets for our January Changemaker with Simon Squibb are now all gone! Make sure to join the Virgin StartUp Community to get early access to all our future events: https://virg.in/40pdieV Thanks to Virgin Money for making these events possible.