Virgin StartUp launches Momentum 2.0 accelerator for dyslexic entrepreneurs

Virgin StartUp has launched applications for the second round of Momentum, its free eight-week accelerator programme built specifically to help dyslexic entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

Momentum 2.0, which runs from 26 May to 14 July 2026, returns after what Virgin StartUp described as the most applied-for programme in its history. The inaugural cohort supported 30 founders last year, with nine in ten participants saying they came to view their dyslexic thinking as a strength by the time they finished. The programme is backed by Virgin Unite and run in collaboration with Made By Dyslexia, the global charity founded by Kate Griggs.

The accelerator is aimed at early-stage founders and offers a combination of tailored workshops, one-to-one mentoring and practical resources designed around the way dyslexic thinkers naturally operate. Virgin StartUp has also introduced a dedicated “Dyslexic Thinking” space within its online community for business founders, extending the programme’s reach beyond the cohort itself.

The commercial case for backing dyslexic entrepreneurs is well documented. Analysis from Made By Dyslexia suggests that dyslexic business owners contribute at least £4.6 billion to UK GDP annually and support more than 60,000 jobs. The charity estimates that one in three entrepreneurs is dyslexic, a statistic that underlines how closely entrepreneurial instinct tracks with the pattern recognition, creative problem-solving and big-picture thinking commonly associated with dyslexia.

Elle Upshall, scale up lead at Virgin StartUp, said the response to the first cohort had exceeded expectations and that the programme had demonstrated what happens when business support is designed around different ways of thinking rather than in spite of them.

Among the alumni of the first Momentum cohort is Alex Molokwu, founder of Loujo, an initiative that uses educational songs to help dyslexic children with reading and writing. Molokwu credited his mentor with helping him turn instinctive thinking into structured strategy. Aylin Abdullah, founder of Fractionals Match, an AI-powered marketplace for scaling businesses, said the programme gave her the space to articulate and lean into how she thinks, rather than treating it as something to work around.

Griggs, herself a dyslexic social entrepreneur, framed the initiative in broader economic terms, arguing that the UK has never needed dyslexic thinking more if it wants to unlock growth and innovation.

Momentum sits within a wider push across the Virgin Group to champion neurodivergent talent, inspired in large part by Richard Branson’s own experience with dyslexia. The ambition extends beyond the cohort: by helping dyslexic founders scale, the programme aims to drive job creation and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Applications for Momentum 2.0 close on 8 May 2026. Full details are available at virginstartup.org/momentum.