In this episode of The Startup Leap, Maria and Yvonne sit down with Tessa Clarke, co-founder of Olio, the mission-driven app turning surplus food into community sharing. With over 7 million users in 60 countries, OLIO is tackling the global food waste crisis while proving that purpose-driven businesses can scale.

Tessa shares:

✅ Her journey from senior leadership at Dyson to startup founder

✅ The “light bulb” moment that sparked OLIO

✅ Navigating brutal fundraising rounds and finding conviction-based investors

✅ Building a thriving consumer marketplace

✅ Balancing profit and purpose while scaling globally

✅ Lessons from becoming a B Corp certified company

Whether you’re passionate about sustainability, building marketplaces, or scaling mission-driven startups, this conversation is packed with insights you can use.

📍 Timestamps

00:00 Fundraising Challenges in the Early Days

01:23 The Light Bulb Moment: Birth of OLIO

02:41 From Corporate Career to Startup Life

04:13 The Global Food Waste Problem

07:18 Early Market Research and Validation

10:27 Monetization Strategies and Challenges

14:36 Fundraising Journey and Investor Criteria

18:39 Personal Growth and Resilience

22:42 Building a Consumer Marketplace

34:48 Balancing Profit and Purpose

39:28 Final Reflections and Founder Advice

Youtube: https://youtu.be/nw1zCqhm9o0

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