Virgin StartUp has opened applications for the second round of Momentum, its free eight-week accelerator program designed specifically to help dyslexic entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
Momentum 2.0, which runs from May 26 to July 14, 2026, returns after Virgin StartUp’s most applied program in its history. The first cohort supported 30 founders last year, with nine out of 10 participants saying they viewed their dyslexic thinking as a strength in the end. The program is supported by Virgin Unite and delivered 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-on-one mentoring and practical resources tailored to the natural way dyslexic thinkers work. Virgin StartUp has also created a dedicated Dyslexic Thinking section for business founders in its online community, extending the reach of the program beyond the cohort itself.
The commercial case for supporting dyslexic entrepreneurs is well documented. Analysis by Made By Dyslexia suggests that dyslexics contribute at least £4.6 billion to the UK’s GDP annually and support more than 60,000 jobs. The charity estimates that one in three entrepreneurs is dyslexic, a statistic that highlights how closely the entrepreneurial instinct is linked to 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 the program demonstrated what happens when business support is designed around different mindsets rather than against them.
Graduates from the first Momentum cohort include Alex Molokwu, founder of Loujo, an initiative that uses educational songs to help dyslexic children learn to read and write. Molokwu credited his mentor with helping him transform instinctive thinking into a structured strategy. Aylin Abdullah, founder of Fractionals Match, an AI-powered marketplace for scaling businesses, said the program gave her the space to articulate and lean into her mindset, rather than seeing it as something to be dealt with.
Griggs, herself a dyslexic social entrepreneur, framed the initiative in a broader economic context, arguing that the UK has never needed more dyslexic thinking if it is to support growth and innovation.
Momentum is part of a wider Virgin Group initiative to support neurodivergent talent, inspired in large part by Richard Branson’s own experience with dyslexia. The ambition goes beyond the cohort: by supporting dyslexic founders to scale, the program aims to drive job creation and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
The application deadline for Momentum 2.0 is May 8, 2026. For detailed information, visit virginstartup.org/momentum.
