Being a Dyslexic Black Solo Founder: The Truth About the Journey
Building a startup is hard.
Bootstrapping a startup is even harder.
Bootstrapping a startup as a dyslexic, Black, solo founder, that’s a reality most people don’t talk about.
When I started Loujo, it wasn’t because I saw a commercial gap. It was because I saw a child I loved freeze with fear when asked to read aloud. My six year old niece, bright and curious, but silenced by words on a page. I recognised that fear. I felt it in my own childhood. And again during university, when I was finally diagnosed with dyslexia while studying neuroscience.
So, I built Loujo for her. For me. For every child who has the potential, but not yet the tools.
But this journey has been far from easy. As a solo founder, you wear every hat. As a bootstrapped founder, you make every penny stretch. And as a dyslexic founder, you’re constantly adapting your brain to a world not designed for it, pitch decks, grant applications, data rooms. Add to that being a Black founder in an ecosystem where representation is still scarce, and the loneliness becomes palpable.
What’s kept me going is community.
Real people who saw what I was trying to build and stepped in to lift it.
I’m especially grateful to The Sheila Ferrari Dyslexia Centre, whose team welcomed Loujo with open minds and hearts, giving us access to children, feedback, and the space to trial our early ideas. Their commitment to dyslexic learners shaped the Loujo platform more than any whiteboard ever could.
And to Manor Wood Primary School, a partner that believed in our vision before we had all the answers. Their Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo) became a champion, opening doors and offering real classroom insight that helped shape the platform into something practical, inclusive, and joyful.
They reminded me that while the founder journey may be lonely, the mission never is.
To every educator, investor, and supporter who values innovation from the margins, thank you.
Because when we build from lived experience, we don’t just create solutions.
We create change.
