Christina Richardson

Founder, Foundology & Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship, University College London

Christina is a former tech founder, now on a mission — through Foundology, the global peer-coaching community for founders — to fuel the humans behind the startups and scaleups in a world that demands so much of them.

Christina is also the host and author of the FounderFuel Channel, and Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship at University College London, where she trains the next generation of early-stage founders for their journey, having launched the first dedicated founder-leadership MSc programme within enterprise education.

At Foundology, hundreds of founders from around the world unite every month to coach and support each other in FounderCircles. These curated and confidential founder-only peer-coaching groups are all about pressure-testing decisions and tackling real challenges with the support and shared intelligence of others who truly get it.

After almost a decade as a tech entrepreneur, Christina retrained as a coaching psychologist. Her research lifted the lid on the state of founder mental health in 2019 and was debated by MPs in Westminster. She has since launched the largest study yet on what makes founderhood different and how to perform sustainably as a founder — supported by The Entrepreneurs Network, UCL and Imperial College London.

Prior to this, Christina’s career started managing brands at Nestlé, Britvic and Mercedes, driving marketing growth and innovation. She then co-founded two technology startups herself — the first launched in 2012 and was acquired by Enterprise Nation in 2015; the second was a Cannes Lions Innovation award winner and used by brands like Samsung, Vodafone and Expedia.

Why do you support the work of The Entrepreneurs Network?

As an entrepreneur, research is interesting but actioning that research is what matters. The Entrepreneurs Network, alongside their work with the APPG for Entrepreneurship, is the beacon of this mindset. Time and time again, they delve deeply into topics that affect founders, and their recommendations for improvements actually come to fruition. Connecting politicians and business in this way is fundamental to improving the lives of entrepreneurs who are the lifeblood of our economy, sustaining jobs today and creating the jobs of the future.