It's been another whirlwind of a year so far at Virgin StartUp, with hundreds of founders starting up this year. Below, Sam Lehane shares his favourite startups from 2022 so far... 

Founder(s): Fabian Clark and Rohan Radhakrishnan
StartUpQuarter 
Why we love them: A delicious and low alcohol spirit, just in time for summer!

Founder(s): George Greer
StartUpProject Harmless
Why we love them: Making poop bags more sustainable, by making them plastic-free and water reactive so they disintegrate - sounds like a great idea to us!

Founder(s): Nathan Cleal
StartUpCleal’s Wheels
Why we love them: Cycling lessons and birthday parties – great combination. We’re excited to see this one grow. 

Founder(s): Edward Hall
StartUpMacroPro Photography
Why we love them: We really loved seeing the projects this young founder was working on and how he wants to take his photography business to the next level.

Founder(s): Amy Cruickshank
StartUpMoo Music, Moray
Why we love them: How they go about bringing music, children and family together sounds like a lot of fun. 

Founder(s): Jason Hale
StartUpCodex Books
Why we love them: It was really inspiring to see how this life-long librarian is following their passion for books and setting up their own bookstore in Cirencester, Gloucestershire.

Founder(s): Mehdi Soltani
StartUpBistro Corner
Why we love them: This restaurant in the heart of Mortlake offers delicious looking Modern European cuisines in a beautiful setting.

Founder(s): Paul Barthorpe and Alexandra Gaude
StartUpMoloko
Why we love them: We think the affordable bike rental they offer will help keep the UK cycling! 

Founder(s): Fergus Corrigan
StartUpNorthern Lavender
Why we love them: A lavender farm in the North of England – magic!

We've helped hundreds of founders access almost £4m in Start Up Loan funding, all of which comes with pre and post-funding support to help you map out the year ahead and grow your business.

Over the years we’ve helped fund over 5,000 new businesses to date, including well-known brands like CastoreLoveCornOddboxBlack Milk CerealByBi and Change Please

If you think Start Up Loan funding and support may be for you, you can find out more here