Matt Lane and Joe Schubert are the founders of 10startups1year, which is doing exactly what it says on the tin and following 10 startups for a year.
We chatted with Matt about how they came up with the idea for the business and what they’ve learnt so far.
Give their YouTube channel a watch and follow @10startups1year.
Hey 👋 Joe and Matt. How do you know each other?
We previously ran a business called BeerBods, an online beer club and subscription service. It started as a few friends tasting beer in a shed and was sold to the biggest beer company in the world seven years later. Joe’s the face of 10startups1year because he’s younger and more handsome, but we’re both passionate about helping more people into the world of entrepreneurship by sharing real stories, practical advice, and building a community of founders on the same rollercoaster.
Where did the idea for 10startups1year come from?
I started a business in my spare time in 2012, and to be honest, I had no idea at all what I was doing. It was the loneliest thing I’ve ever done. Everything in the media on startups was super unhelpful. It was mostly tech bros on social media talking about how they make a million quid in a day or nonsense on TV that felt equally unrelatable. The only thing I found helpful was that whenever I got stuck, I’d reach out to other founders navigating similar challenges. We learned from one another but also built a community where we were all in it together. We’re now trying to make that kind of content and community accessible to more people.
How long have you been planning this and going?
This is an idea I’ve had in my head for fifteen years! Basically, it’s what I needed when I started. It’s just that now a. I’ve got time to work on it and b. It feels like we have the tools (social media, YouTube, podcasts) to bring it to life in an effective way. We published our first episode in January this year (2025).
Who are the 10 startups?
We painstakingly trawled through hundreds of applications and spoke to over 50 founders to whittle it down to ten. That was probably the hardest thing we’ve done so far. Here are the 10 businesses we’re featuring;
Botivo make an award-winning alcohol-free aperitif that has just secured listings in Soho House and Waitrose.
Newlane have invented a foldable helmet to make riding around cities simpler and safer for everyone.
UP make software that allows you to upgrade or swap your theatre tickets and get access to exclusive content from the experiences you love.
Choppity is a website that helps you make social media clips from podcast recordings and video.
Beame is an SPF and wellness brand on a mission to create suntan lotion that is fun to unbox, use and reapply.
J-Luxe is transforming the fashion industry with activewear that’s size-inclusive and built by women for women.
Gut Wealth is a liquid supplement that calms digestive issues, improves bowel regularity, and reduces bloating.
Kabn offers luxury off-grid eco cabins in the Scottish Highlands.
Gigi’s is the hottest new pizza joint in Bristol. A brilliant little restaurant with big dreams.
We’re featuring a diverse and eclectic range of businesses, all over the UK and across a variety of industries, but all with amazing stories to tell.
What have the key takeaways been so far from the startups you’re featuring?
I’ve run and built businesses for almost fifteen years, and honestly, every time we’re with the founders for filming, I learn so much. In every episode, we try to cover a topic that is relevant to starting a business, like raising finance, finding a co-founder, and managing risk. Because the ten businesses are so diverse, they all have such a unique take but with some common threads too.
What’s been the steepest learning curve for you so far in setting up 10startups1year?
Starting a media business is tough. Media is changing so fast. A lot of the stuff you see exploding on social media is throwaway nonsense, so getting the balance right of getting eyeballs on your stuff whilst ensuring it has substance is a difficult balance. We’re both doing this part-time whilst we get it off the ground (we also run a small e-commerce and growth agency called =growth), and there are the normal startup struggles, such as time and funding. We’ve just started speaking to advertising and sponsorship partners, which is interesting.
What are your plans and aspirations for 10startups1year?
Depending on which bits of data you believe, between 40% and 60% of the UK population want to start their own business. Only 9% actually do it. We want to close that gap by nudging more people into entrepreneurship through content and community that inspires and educates, whilst shining a light on the amazing people that have already taken the leap. We like to think that in a decade from now, we’re as relevant as Dragon’s Den or (shudder) The Apprentice when it comes to entrepreneurship in the UK. As relevant, but also much better. Ha!
