When a room starts to believe in your vision

On the morning of Wednesday 20th May, Nathaniel and I arrived at the The Corner Hotel in Aldgate East for the final pitch day of the Shine programme.

Three months earlier, LOXKIN had entered the process as a growing social enterprise with strong instincts, early traction, and a belief that materials, repair, circularity, and healthier systems mattered.

By the final module, something had shifted.

The business itself had become clearer.

Not just to us but to the people around us.

From idea to alignment

One of the most interesting parts of the programme was how quickly the process moved beyond traditional pitching.

This wasn’t simply about refining slides or rehearsing answers.

It became a shared exploration of what LOXKIN could actually become.

Throughout the modules, the cohort challenged assumptions, pressure-tested ideas, refined messaging, questioned strategy, and helped shape the business into something sharper and more coherent.

By the final week, the pitch no longer really felt like ours alone.

Nathaniel and I had joked early on that the ideal outcome would be reaching the final pitch and barely needing to speak, because the cohort would understand the business deeply enough to deliver it themselves.

That’s almost exactly what happened.

After one final intense rehearsal, where the team quickly realised there was still work to do everyone regrouped, adapted, and refined the presentation together under pressure.

And when the final pitch came, the cohort delivered it brilliantly.

Nathaniel and I stepped in mainly during the Q&A afterwards.

Honestly, watching a room full of thoughtful, intelligent people communicate the vision for LOXKIN back to us was one of the most meaningful moments we’ve had since starting the business.

Because what they were presenting wasn’t just a wood finish.

It was a wider way of thinking about materials, longevity, repair, healthier interiors, local production, circular systems, and the role design plays in determining what happens to materials over time.

More than a product

Throughout the process, LOXKIN itself became more defined.

The conversations forced us to articulate things we had often only felt intuitively before:

That the final finish applied to wood shapes what happens next.

Whether something can be repaired.
Whether it can remain in use.
Whether wood stays part of a circular system or quietly becomes waste.

But also something much bigger than that.

That healthier material systems create healthier environments.
That maintenance and repair cultures strengthen communities.
That slower, more thoughtful systems often create better long-term outcomes socially, environmentally, and economically.

The programme didn’t change the vision.

It clarified it.

And perhaps more importantly, it showed us that other people could see it too.

The pressure and the growth

One of the most valuable parts of the experience was the group dynamic itself.

There wasn’t really a traditional hierarchy.

Different personalities, experiences, communication styles, and leadership instincts all collided in the same room.

Sometimes smoothly.
Sometimes uncomfortably.

There were moments of tension, vulnerability, reflection, challenge, and growth.

But that friction mattered.

Because building better systems requires people to think differently together.

Over time, trust developed.

Conversations became more open.
People stepped outside familiar roles.
The process became less about presenting polished ideas and more about collectively improving them.

That shift became especially visible during Module 2 at Paddington Farm Trust.

Stepping away from normal business environments, into nature, slower rhythms, shared meals, and long conversations, changed the quality of the dialogue completely.

People stopped performing quite so much.

And started reflecting more honestly.

Not just on business.

But on leadership, values, pressure, collaboration, purpose, and the kinds of systems we actually want to help build.

Pitch day

The final pitch was delivered to an investment panel including Jason Richards in the room, alongside Stefan Huber Fux and investor Anna Colombatti joining remotely.

Following the pitch and Q&A, the panel stepped away to deliberate.

Then they came back with the decision.

An additional £35,000 investment into LOXKIN.

And, for the first time in the programme’s history, an additional £5,000 specifically dedicated to improving impact reporting and measurement.

The funding itself was hugely appreciated.

But perhaps the most valuable part was something less tangible.

It was the feeling of experienced, respected people looking deeply at what we are building and believing it matters.

Not just commercially.

But systemically.

That kind of validation gives energy to difficult journeys.

Especially when you are trying to build something slightly outside conventional models.

From pitch to implementation

Now comes the important part.

Turning vision into implementation.

The investment allows us to move faster on several areas identified throughout the programme:

• certification and testing
• improved impact reporting
• stronger sales and marketing systems
• scaling production carefully
• building partnerships
• and continuing to position LOXKIN within wider circular material systems

At the end of the pitch, Jason commented that our projected numbers felt ambitious.

We smiled and said hopefully we’d exceed them.

Now we have to go away and try.

What we’re taking with us

More than anything, the process reinforced something we already suspected:

The future probably won’t be built by isolated businesses competing blindly against one another.

It will be built through collaboration.
Shared learning.
Systems thinking.
And people willing to question the assumptions underpinning the systems we currently live within.

That applies to materials.
To design.
To business.
And to leadership itself.

LOXKIN entered the programme with momentum.

We leave it with something far more valuable:

Greater clarity around what we are actually building and a much stronger belief that it matters.

We may still have a steep hill to climb.
But we leave this process more aligned, more prepared, and more certain that we’re climbing it together.

A final note

One thing this process reinforced for us is the value of openness.

We’ve been sharing these journal entries because we genuinely want people to follow along with what we’re building not just the successes, but the thinking, challenges, lessons, and evolution behind it all.

LOXKIN is still growing, still learning, and still refining what it can become.

And in many ways, that feels aligned with the wider ideas we care about most:

Collaboration.
Transparency.
Shared learning.
And building better systems together.

So thank you to everyone reading, supporting, questioning, contributing, and following the journey so far.

We’re glad you’re here for it. ⭕️💚💯