Josephine Philips is the founder of SOJO, the UK's first on-demand clothing alterations and repairs app. She started SOJO by manually cycling garments across London to validate the idea before raising £1.8M in pre-seed funding (backed by Depop's own founder), landed Forbes 30 Under 30, and opened a permanent concession in Selfridges.
In this episode, Josephine gets brutally honest about the real journey: finding a tech co-founder early on,, the hiring mistakes that slowed her down, a six-week fundraising sprint that changed everything, and what it actually means to build with the end in mind.
This is a masterclass in doing more with less, moving fast without breaking your team, and why representation in VC funding is still one of the most urgent conversations in entrepreneurship.
What we cover:
If you're building something new or struggling to articulate why your idea matters, this one's for you.
We Are Ladies Who Launch!
CHAPTERS
00:00 Meet Josephine, Sojo Founder
03:17 The Tailoring Niche
07:48 The Problem with Fast Fashion
13:52 Validating The Business Idea
16:59 Finding A Tech Co-Founder
22:24 Launch Traction And Press
23:40 Funding And Getting Investment
29:48 Hiring Growing Pains
33:01 Corporate vs Startup Hiring
34:19 The Right Time For Funding
35:24 More Team Slower Progress
37:09 Focussing On Your B2B Strategy
38:11 Where Is Sojo Today?
39:16 Hiring for Complementary Skills
41:36 Testing Agility in Interviews
43:43 Representation in VC Funding
47:53 6-Week Fundraising Sprint
50:57 Selfridges Partnership Breakdown
54:49 Global Expansion Plans
01:00:33 Build With the End in Mind
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SOJO Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sojo.uk/
Josephine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josephine__philips/
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