EPISODE · Oct 6, 2025 · 1H 34M
7 Years. 1 Idea. | The Helmet They Said Couldn’t Be Made - Dominic Cotton
from Ride To Success · host Pedro Couto Lopes
What happens when you leave a high-profile media career to chase an idea everyone says is impossible?In this episode of Ride to Success, we sit down with Dom Cotton, former BBC journalist and co-founder of Newlane, the cycling startup behind a foldable commuter helmet that took seven years to build — and nearly didn’t happen.At age 50, Dom took a leap into unfamiliar territory: hardware innovation. No engineering background. No product design experience. Just one goal — to create a helmet that made cycling safer, simpler, and more accessible for everyday riders.Dom shares:• How he handled years of rejection from investors and manufacturers• What kept him going when the helmet “couldn’t be made”• How a personal problem turned into a Red Dot Award-winning product• What cycling taught him about purpose, resilience, and reinvention• Why you don’t need all the answers to start something meaningfulThis is a story about starting over, building with purpose, and proving the doubters wrong — one ride at a time.🔗 Listen now and get inspired to ride your own path.Social Links to Ride to Success:Follow Pedro Couto Lopes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-couto-lopes/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_ridetosuccess/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ridetosuccess/-Thanks for listening#RideToSuccess
What this episode covers
What happens when you leave a high-profile media career to chase an idea everyone says is impossible?In this episode of Ride to Success, we sit down with Dom Cotton, former BBC journalist and co-founder of Newlane, the cycling startup behind a foldable commuter helmet that took seven years to build — and nearly didn’t happen.At age 50, Dom took a leap into unfamiliar territory: hardware innovation. No engineering background. No product design experience. Just one goal — to create a helmet that made cycling safer, simpler, and more accessible for everyday riders.Dom shares:• How he handled years of rejection from investors and manufacturers• What kept him going when the helmet “couldn’t be made”• How a personal problem turned into a Red Dot Award-winning product• What cycling taught him about purpose, resilience, and reinvention• Why you don’t need all the answers to start something meaningfulThis is a story about starting over, building with purpose, and proving the doubters wrong — one ride at a time.🔗 Listen now and get inspired to ride your own path.Social Links to Ride to Success:Follow Pedro Couto Lopes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pedro-couto-lopes/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_ridetosuccess/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ridetosuccess/-Thanks for listening#RideToSuccess
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7 Years. 1 Idea. | The Helmet They Said Couldn’t Be Made - Dominic Cotton
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