The Startup Leap

The Startup Leap

#RealTalk #RealLessons 🚀 A podcast-focused newsletter exploring conversations with founders who took the leap to start their tech companies. ‍

Connect

Featured Posts

TSL Monthly Roundup: Our First IRL Event. Community Shoutouts. Robin AI's Big Win. Steve Jobs. Our Takes on AI.

TSL Monthly Roundup: Our First IRL Event. Community Shoutouts. Robin AI's Big Win. Steve Jobs. Our Takes on AI.

#1 April edition 🌸

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
Should You Raise VC Funding?

Should You Raise VC Funding?

Our hosts unpack the real trade-offs behind taking venture capital. From billion-dollar exits without VC to founders who bootstrapped before raising big, this is the honest guide to whether fundraising is right for your startup journey...

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
Lessons Building Africa's Most Valued Fintech Unicorn with ‘GB’ of Flutterwave

Lessons Building Africa's Most Valued Fintech Unicorn with ‘GB’ of Flutterwave

GB founded Flutterwave, streamlining payments across Africa and scaling it into a $3B fintech giant. Hear how he navigated trust, regulation, and resilience to build Africa’s top unicorn...

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
Female FoundersFemale Founders
+3+3
The Startup Leap Roundup #3

The Startup Leap Roundup #3

This founder started a fintech start-up at age 50 and has raised zero VC funding, a second founder left a career working with David Beckham to build a freelance talent marketplace. Our guests Sabrina and Raffi tell us their leap story...

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
BurnoutBurnout
+2+2
On Burnout & Managing Your Energy

On Burnout & Managing Your Energy

How Six Startup Leap Founders Protect Their Most Vital Resource, Their Energy.

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
FullTimeFullTime
+2+2
Burn the Boats. Going All In On Your Startup Idea.

Burn the Boats. Going All In On Your Startup Idea.

Inside the moments with founders who didn't play it safe. No Plan B.

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap

Archive

How a Tanzanian TV Host Built Africa’s Most Relentless Fintech

How a Tanzanian TV Host Built Africa’s Most Relentless Fintech

From broken remittances to global infrastructure - Nala’s Benjamin Fernandes shares what it really takes to build on hard mode.

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
Building Against the Odds

Building Against the Odds

How founders based in Africa turned regulatory chaos, investor doubt, and market scepticism into startup success

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
How Coen Jonker Built a 17M-User Digital Bank From a Consulting Project

How Coen Jonker Built a 17M-User Digital Bank From a Consulting Project

Before TymeBank became South Africa’s fastest-growing bank, Coen was pitching inside Deloitte and hearing “no” from 250 investors. Here’s how he turned rejection into resilience and built a digital bank for 17M+ people...

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
Not Every Startup Needs a VC Cheque

Not Every Startup Needs a VC Cheque

Why bootstrapping, grants, and customer revenue might just beat chasing VC and how these founders made it work

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
From the Ground Up: Founders Rebuilding Our Climate Future

From the Ground Up: Founders Rebuilding Our Climate Future

From fintech to food systems - two founders turning carbon into a business model, plus what London Climate Action Week reveals about the future of removals, resilience, and real climate strategy.

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
CodingCoding
+2+2
You Don’t Need to Code to Think Like a Builder

You Don’t Need to Code to Think Like a Builder

From HTML on a Nokia to AI-powered healthcare - plus the latest from London Tech Week on investment in compute, the UK’s first Entrepreneurship Advisor, and the launch of the world’s first AI regulatory sandbox.

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
Fall Hard, Rise Smart. How Founders Bounced Back From Brutal Setbacks.

Fall Hard, Rise Smart. How Founders Bounced Back From Brutal Setbacks.

Inside the real moments founders almost gave up - and the exact moves that got them back on track.

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
ValidationValidation
+2+2
Prove It First. How Founders Validated Before Building.

Prove It First. How Founders Validated Before Building.

Inside the scrappy, smart tactics that got early customers saying “yes.”

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
FullTimeFullTime
+2+2
Burn the Boats. Going All In On Your Startup Idea.

Burn the Boats. Going All In On Your Startup Idea.

Inside the moments with founders who didn't play it safe. No Plan B.

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
BurnoutBurnout
+2+2
On Burnout & Managing Your Energy

On Burnout & Managing Your Energy

How Six Startup Leap Founders Protect Their Most Vital Resource, Their Energy.

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
Trust Your Gut: The Invisible Co-Founder in Every Start-up

Trust Your Gut: The Invisible Co-Founder in Every Start-up

Some of the boldest startup leaps start with a gut feeling. This week, we hear the stories of founders who trusted their instinct - when logic said otherwise...

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
Building the World’s Largest Shared Wardrobe with Eshita Kabra-Davies of By Rotation

Building the World’s Largest Shared Wardrobe with Eshita Kabra-Davies of By Rotation

Eshita founded By Rotation to transform fashion and fight textile waste. From a honeymoon aha moment to building the world’s largest shared wardrobe, she’s scaling globally - owning 70% of her business and reshaping how we consume. Hear Eshita’s leap story...

The Startup Leap
The Startup Leap
FirstBack
123
Next Last