Chris Donnelly never planned to go viral. He was too busy building while at uni and with a chipped laptop.
He launched Verb Brands with just £400 and no backup plan. He had no team, no clients and just a bet on himself. It took time to get going, but eventually, the wins started stacking up. Verb ended up leading digital campaigns for brands like Bugatti and Claridge’s. By 2021, he’d grown it to the point of a private equity exit.
That could’ve been the end of the story, but for Chris, it felt more like a reset.
Because what came next wasn’t just business.
In the middle of trying to find care for their grandmother, Chris and his brother Will saw what so many families experience: a system built for institutions, not people. Faced with long wait times, confusing choices, and little transparency, they built what they wished existed.
That became Lottie. A care platform designed to make it easier to find, compare, and book high-quality eldercare.
The idea was grounded in family. The result? A company now worth nine figures and one of the UK’s fastest-growing startups.
But Chris wasn’t finished.