Founder's Blog & Events.

On week 3, the founding cohort pitched their business ideas to a full audience in the LSE Lecture theatre. Not only did the audience get to see the creativity, determination, and passion of these young entrepreneurs, they were also a part of an environment that is genuinely life changing.

I asked the audience, “Who here, stood in a room full of adults at the age of 9–11 and defended their own business idea?” Not a single person. Instead, we were told to put our hand up and wait to be called on.

This is what should be shifting. I have seen these kids, firsthand, have so much innovation and energy to bring to the world. In founding Gridless, it was my belief that kids are far more capable than we give them credit for. And the founding cohort of 2026 has proved me nothing but right.

Speaking truthfully, I have learned more about life, purpose, skills, and knowledge whilst building Gridless than I have learned anywhere else. And I just can't describe the feeling of seeing that same development in these kids.

Last week, when we were conducting market research, it annoys the kids to hear that I was so happy seeing them be rejected. It brought me right back to last month when I was standing in Leicester Square trying to get people to play the Gridless investing game. Rejection, rejection, rejection, acceptance. And last week, every single one of them bounced back, eager to conduct another interview.

That level of resilience is formed only by experience.

Yesterday, I ran a workshop for my business, Gridless, at Southbank International School.

This workshop was a condensed version of the first week of our Entrepreneurship Programme, hosted at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Students explored how to turn everyday problems into business ideas, learned the fundamentals of pitching, and were introduced to the principles of investing.

Despite the complexity of these topics, every student was fully engaged and truly thinking like entrepreneurs.

It was so rewarding, not only seeing the model I have spent months designing, testing, and refining actually work… But also seeing kids as little as 9 years old, imagining how current innovations can be leveraged to solve problems, and backing their ideas with confidence.

Listening to their so many brilliant ideas made me think how kids are often the best candidates for entrepreneurs, as they naturally think laterally and without limit. But this is not capitalised on to the extent it should be. Whilst we need the integral knowledge school provides, we also need a better transition to using it effectively in the fast changing world.

AI has sharpened this need. What happens to kids when AI can answer every question faster and better than they can?

It's no longer about choosing between being an “intellectual” or an “entrepreneur”. The future demands both. It demands people who can think laterally — and then act on it. This is the gap I want to fill.

I took a microphone, a speaker, and two members of my team to Leicester Square to get members of the public engaged in Gridless.

Here is an unfiltered view of what this looked like:

Performing and public speaking since a young age, I thought, 'this will be a piece of cake!' But I was not quite prepared for what busking actually feels like. There were crowds of people and I was standing in the middle of them talking about something I have poured everything into.

I soon realised I was not on a stage. There was no audience who had chosen to be there. We spent the better part of the morning adjusting, trialing different approaches, and attempting to retain hope. Until at Leicester Square, when a group of teenagers stopped and played the Gridless investing game.

I cannot fully explain what happened in that moment except to say that I found my groove again. We started pulling in more groups: 10 year olds, adults, tourists passing through. And every single time, without exception, once someone actually played the game, they were in. Fully engaged, asking questions, and not wanting to leave.

I am proud to say that a day meant only for brand awareness and content, turned into me walking home with new clients. I am a student founder. I do not have a large corporate team or a large budget. What I have is a programme I believe in.

Days like this remind me that Gridless works, revolutionises the outdated, and is in major demand.

On Thursday, I officially launched Gridless.

For the past few months, I have been quietly working on building Gridless from the ground up. It started with an idea that I truly believe in. A concept I am confident that is innovative, scalable, and necessary for our AI powered generation. But what followed, is the realisation that a good idea only goes so far.

I have had to learn how to build websites, manage accounts, cover insurance and DBS, negotiate, gather a team, market myself, and countless other skills.

I have also had to manage rejection, no replies, the imposter syndrome of persuading people to buy into a 19 year old, days where I felt deflated and others where everything worked out at the last second of uncertainty. It is harder than imagined to stay resilient through the inevitable ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

On the day, I took a risk I almost didn't go through with. I hosted a Gridless investing game for 28 adults and kids, compressing what should have been a 3.5-hour session into 20 minutes. I thought this could authentically demonstrate how powerful Gridless is.

In hindsight, I am proud to have trusted myself because it was a major success, with 86% of families committing to Gridless, and all expressing further interest. I suppose THIS is where a good idea can take you — a place of inner confidence to make bold decisions.