How the Women to Women Programme helped Lesley Thomson sharpen the story, numbers and confidence behind Nudge Innovations
Building the infrastructure for reuse
When Lesley Thomson, Founder and CEO of Nudge Innovations, talks about single-use cup waste, she does not start with the cup.
She starts with behaviour.
“Nudge Innovations is a startup solving the problem of single-use cup waste,” she explains. “But we are solving it from the perspective of the problem with reusing.”
Reusable cups and bottles have been around for years. Reusable bottles have become part of everyday life for many people. Reusable cups, less so.
For Lesley, that gap was not about people failing to care.
It was about the system around reuse making it harder than it needed to be.
“We spent a lot of time understanding what is holding people back from routinely using reusable cups. The main barriers were not having somewhere to clean the cup and forgetting to bring it in the first place. But those things are related. If you cannot clean your cup when you are out and about, you take it home, clean it, and then forget to repack it.”
That insight became the starting point for Nudge Innovations.
“There needed to be a better way of enabling people to reuse when they are out and about.”
The idea began while Lesley was studying for a master’s in entrepreneurship at Strathclyde University. A module on circular economy sparked her interest in how businesses could operate in a more environmentally sustainable way while still being commercially viable.
“I found it fascinating,” she says. “Learning how you can run a business more sustainably, whilst being commercially viable, and giving you a competitive advantage by using circular practices.”
Seven years later, Nudge Innovations has developed reuse infrastructure that helps people clean cups and bottles hygienically and frequently when they are away from home.
That matters because the pressure on single-use products is only increasing.
“Single-use cups, whether they are compostable or paper, are difficult to recycle. They have a tax on them, and each year that tax increases. They are only going to become more expensive.”
With policy moving towards reuse across the UK and Europe, Lesley sees infrastructure as the missing piece.
“There has been discussion in Scotland around a cup charge, and one of the main points raised was that there is not really the infrastructure to support reuse. That is what we are building.”
Falling in love with the problem first
Many founders fall in love with a solution.
Lesley fell in love with understanding the problem.
“When I looked at how people had approached single-use cup waste, they were asking: how do we make something easier to recycle? How do we make people use a reusable? That often leads to cup deposit schemes.”
Her question was different.
“People already have reusable cups. What is stopping them from using them frequently?”
That approach shaped the product itself.
The system Nudge created had to accommodate a wide variety of cups, bottles and lids. It had to work repeatedly. It had to be hygienic.
“When you are developing technology, the hygiene element has to be repeatable, irrespective of what type of item you put into it. That led us to the specific design we have today.”
Commercial reality was just as important as sustainability.
Nudge worked with Zero Waste Scotland to build the evidence behind the product, looking at both carbon and cost.
“It was always important to us to demonstrate that the sustainability angle also has a commercial element. We needed to show the value our product brings to a customer, in terms of carbon and cost.”
A low point before W2W
Before joining the Women to Women Programme, Nudge Innovations was at an important turning point.
The business had applied to Scottish EDGE but had not been successful.
“We were obviously disappointed,” Lesley says. “At the same time, we were in discussions with our first commercial customer about our first order, which was really exciting.”
There were definitely moments where we questioned what the next step should be.
We’d been unsuccessful with Scottish EDGE and, when you’re building a hardware business, it’s expensive. We had to take a step back and think about where we went from there.
Then came AccelerateHER’s Big Connect event in London, which turned out to be a real turning point.
“I had some really honest conversations with founders and investors about NuWash. Those conversations made me realise there was a genuine opportunity to raise investment. Up until then, I wasn’t sure investment was the right path for the business, but those conversations gave me a different perspective. They made me realise we needed to better understand what investors were looking for and become more investment-ready. That’s what led me to apply for the Women to Women Programme.“
“It was those conversations that made me think there is a market here. There is potential for us to get investment. And Scottish EDGE is still possible in the future. We just needed to change the narrative a wee bit.”
That was the point she started to see investment as a genuine option for Nudge.
“Somebody at Scottish EDGE had mentioned that the Women to Women Programme would be a good move for me to develop my investor readiness, and to gain a network of potential investors.”
Asked where she was on a scale of one to ten for investor readiness before Women to Women, Lesley is clear.
“I was probably a four. I ended on an eight.”
Learning to see investment differently
Before W2W, Lesley had been cautious about pursuing investment.
Not because she lacked ambition. Because previous investor conversations had not landed.
“Whenever we pitched in the past, it didn’t land with the audience. In hindsight, we were pitching quite generically and often to the wrong audience.”
The story was not clear enough yet.
“I think my story has changed a lot about what we are actually doing. Over time, we have become better at communicating to investors what our business is all about.”
The trigger to apply for W2W came after the Big Connect, following conversations with AccelerateHER CEO, Elizabeth Pirrie, and an investor who told Lesley that investment was entirely possible for Nudge.
“When I looked online at what the W2W programme included, it felt like a step-by-step guide. It was preparing your business for somebody to look under the hood.”
That practical nature appealed immediately.
“It was a good opportunity for me to get my financials better organised, look at the business from a different point of view, challenge how I understood my target market, and build the story around the business.”
“Why have I never been exposed to this before?”
Thinking back to the Women to Women Programme, Lesley says the first surprise was how useful it was from the very first session.
“Honestly, it was everything.”
The opening session focused on finance and the different routes available to founders.
“I had never been in a training programme where somebody from each of these different financial institutions came and spoke to you about the type of finance they offer, the detail behind how you would go about it, and what the criteria is.”
For Lesley, seeing all the options side by side was powerful.
“It was seeing it holistically, then deep diving into each of them individually. I had been around the startup world for seven years and never had that before.”
She remembers thinking: why has nobody put this in front of me like this before?
“At this point, you might look at a startup loan. Then at another stage, a larger loan. Then the business bank. Or an investor. It was really well considered around the different paths you can take for investment.”
The timing mattered.
“In the first week, I thought, wow, this is actually really practical and really useful. It was the first time I had sat down and really understood it all holistically.”
A different kind of women’s space
The other surprise was the people.
Lesley admits she had hesitations before joining.
“I am not really a fan of women’s events sometimes. I can find them quite intimidating. Some events can feel cliquey.”
Women to Women felt different.
“It was honestly the most welcoming, open, friendly female environment I had ever been in. It was just a bunch of women who had each other’s backs.”
That support did not end when the sessions finished.
“The WhatsApp group after it demonstrates that. Everybody is still there, cheering each other on.”
For Lesley, the culture of the cohort was not accidental.
“A community is made up by all its members, but culture is set at the top. Elizabeth and Nicki did a really good job of setting a very open, welcoming, positive culture.”
That made the space feel safe, practical and human.
“It was very pro-women, all-women culture. No question is a stupid question. And let’s all have a laugh on this journey.”
A slow burn journey into the business
There was no single lightning bolt moment for Lesley during W2W.
Instead, the impact built slowly week by week.
“It was almost like a journey I went on. There was not one big aha moment. Each week, I was understanding my business a bit more.”
That gradual shift mattered.
“It was a slow burn five-week journey where every week I was learning more and understanding the business better.”
Some sessions revealed practical gaps she had not expected.
One conversation around data and business compliance stayed with her because it highlighted something simple but important that she had not previously been told.
“I had been going for seven years, and I had never heard anyone mention it. That stuck in my head.”
That mix of strategic and practical learning became one of the strengths of the programme.
It was not theory. It was what founders need to know when they are building, growing and preparing to raise.
Learning what investors really care about
A distinctive part of the Women to Women Programme is that it brings female founders and investor-curious women into the same room.
For Lesley, hearing directly from the investor perspective was hugely valuable.
“My perspective on what I thought was important to an investor was actually quite different from what investors said was important to them.”
The financials were a big shift.
“Financials are not my background, so it was probably the area I was least confident in. Then you hear it’s one of the top three things investors really care about, and you realise there’s an expectation that you really know your numbers.”
Since then, Lesley has spent much more time understanding the financial side of the business.
“I recognised that I really need to understand the financials more. I have had to eat that slimy frog.”
But the programme also helped her see that investor readiness is not only about the numbers.
It is also about the people behind the business.
“They invest in the people. I had heard that before, but you could see that it was really key to them in the way they described the questions they ask and the decisions they make.”
That has changed how Lesley talks about herself and her team.
“I now make it more of a priority early on to bring out my background and my co-founder’s background. I emphasise more the experience of the people on the team and the value they bring to the company.”
Previously, the team slide felt like an afterthought.
“Now it is part of the whole story.”
The pitch deck changed too.
“The investor-curious women talked about how important it is that the deck is a story, that your financials follow that story, and that there is consistency between the pitch and the financials. It has to be cohesive.”
From prototype to first commercial deployment
Since completing W2W, Nudge Innovations has achieved major milestones.
The business has launched Duet, deployed NuWash, secured its first commercial customers, achieved CE approval, pitched to investors, progressed onto AccelerateHER’s Ready to Raise Programme, and won £90,000 through Scottish EDGE.
Looking back, the milestone Lesley is most proud of is the first commercial deployment of NuWash.
When we were first approached by the distributor, the product was still being finalised and we were waiting for CE approval.
The customer wanted delivery in three months.
“We just said, you know what, we have to do everything we can to make it happen.”
What followed was intense.
“It was probably the most demanding three months we’ve had since we started the business.”
The team worked long days, solved technical problems as they appeared, and built additional water dispensers the client had requested.
“All four of us were working on these machines. It was 16-hour shifts every day for about a week and a half.
It was not perfect. There were teething problems. But it changed the business.
“We have learned so much from it. We would never have learned that, and we would not have accelerated the business to the stage we have, if we had not taken that order.”
Validation, pressure and the first sale
The distributor paying upfront for the first order was both a commercial and emotional turning point.
Lesley remembers feeling torn.
“I thought, right, now I do not have an excuse. We have to go ahead and make them.”
But the payment also gave the team something they had been working towards for years: validation.
“When the customer said they would pay upfront, it was validation that they believed in the product.”
It was stressful, but it was also exciting.
“It was our first sale. And it was a big order. It was not just one unit; it was four units.”
That moment helped change the conversation internally too.
“It was actually a relief. If we had not continued, I think I would have had a lot of regret about the what ifs.”
The customer order gave them the chance to make that decision for themselves.
“When they paid upfront, it was exciting. We thought, actually, we can make a business out of this. We can try and raise investment. We can try for Scottish EDGE again. We will be in a different place in six months.”
That became a mindset.
“We always say, it might feel a bit shit right now, but we will be in a different place in six months.”
From W2W to Ready to Raise
After Women to Women, Lesley was selected for AccelerateHER’s Ready to Raise Programme.
For her, it felt like the natural next step.
“Women to Women helps you understand what you need to do for investor readiness. Ready to Raise is about getting out there, preparing to pitch, doing the pitch and getting feedback.”
The difference is the level of personalisation.
“Women to Women was really practical. Ready to Raise is personalised and practical. It is very specific to my business and what my objectives are for the six months.”
Through one-to-one mentoring from a variety of experienced mentors, Lesley has received direct advice on what the business needs at its current stage.
“It is really direct advice on how to do things in my business, what the next stage is, preparing for pitching, getting feedback on what works and what does not work.”
Having investors look at the financials has been especially valuable.
“It has been really useful to get an investor to look at the financials and say, right, does this make sense? What do some of these financials actually mean?”
Ready to Raise has also helped Lesley think more about how she presents herself to the investor community.
“It has renewed my focus on how I pitch myself, as well as the business.”
The mentoring support has gone beyond pitch decks and spreadsheets.
“There have been times when I’ve gone onto a call with a mentor after a particularly tough week, and they have given me candid advice and feedback. Business challenges, personal challenges. Having somebody who has been there before and can give you sound advice has been really helpful.”
Knowing that support is there matters.
“Everybody says, if there is anything you need, just pick up the phone. That has been really helpful.”
Bring a bigger notepad
If Lesley could go back and speak to herself on the first morning of Women to Women, her advice would be simple.
“Bring a bigger notepad.”
She laughs, but she means it.
“I did not expect to learn that much. I wish I had taken notes on everything I learned, because I learned a lot.”
For another female founder thinking about applying, her advice is direct.
“Go for it. Do not hesitate.”
Part of the value is realising how much there still is to learn.
“You will find that there is so much you think you know that you do not know.”
The network matters just as much as the content.
“It can be really lonely being in a startup. Having a support network of other female founders at different stages is so valuable. People call it a tribe. For me, it is just a lovely community.”
She also encourages founders not to let past experiences of women’s spaces put them off.
“Be open-minded. Not every group of women is the same.”
What success looks like next for Nudge Innovations
The next 12 months for Nudge Innovations are focused and ambitious.
“We will have raised investment,” Lesley says. “We will have ordered our second, maybe even third batch of Duets. We will have sold several NuWash units and have a solid pipeline of customers in the UK.”
Securing a servicing partner is also a key priority.
“That is a big one for us.”
Her definition of success has not changed dramatically since starting the business.
For Lesley, success has always come back to the customer.
“Success is customers using your product, liking your product, and recommending your product to other people. That is still a big barometer of success for me.”
If people like the product, she says, you know you are doing a good job.
And when asked what “women backing women” means to her, Lesley brings it back to practical support.
“It is women supporting women. Helping each other out, giving each other a wee lift up, being excited by other people’s success and sharing that success.”
That backing can take many forms.
“It might be backing them financially, or backing them by supporting them on the journey to get there. I think that is so important.”
Interested in joining the Women to Women Programme?
The Women to Women Programme is designed for female founders preparing for investment, and for women who are curious about angel investing and want to understand how they can play a role in backing ambitious businesses.
For founders, it offers practical support, investor insight, financial understanding, peer connection and the confidence to tell a stronger investment story.
For investor-curious women, it offers a clear, supportive way to learn about early-stage investing and meet the founders building Scotland’s next wave of innovative businesses.
If you are a female founder thinking about raising investment, or a woman exploring angel investing for the first time, this could be your next step.
Register your interest in future programmes
Because more women investing means more women getting funded.
There are only 20 places available, and the aim is to create a balanced cohort of 50% founders and 50% investor-curious women.
The programme is free to participants, thanks to support from the Scottish Government, Scottish National Investment Bank, Burness Paull LLP and Johnston Carmichael.
Key Dates:
- Applications open: 24th June 2026
- Applications close: 5 pm, 27th July 2026
- Successful applicants informed: Monday, 10th August 2026