This edition has a lot to celebrate. We are leading today's newsletter with a brand new founder story — Adam Raymond, who arrived in the UK in 2021 with a successful exit behind him and a vision for something completely different: a designer toy brand built on exclusive artist partnerships, impeccable craftsmanship, and a deliberate bet on the UK's collector market.

Three years on, he holds Indefinite Leave to Remain, and his story is one of the most honest and practical accounts of this journey we have published. It covers the pivot he had to make, the parts nobody talks about, and exactly what he would do differently.

Adam's business that earned the right to stay

Adam Raymond knew that the British collector market was underserved, that craftsmanship and exclusivity command a real premium here, and that a business built on exclusive artist IP and rigorous quality control could become genuinely difficult to replicate. However, the road to proving it involved a market crash, a significant pivot away from digital collectibles, and years of painstaking prototype approvals where a single millimetre in a sculpture's expression could send a production run back to the drawing board.

What makes Adam's story particularly useful for founders on this route is how methodically he documented it. His ILR application was built on three years of honest evidence, and his advice to those approaching that stage is simple: keep everything, from your milestone reviews onwards, and don't wait until the end to get organised. The business is the application. Read the full story here:

Adam’s Business That Earned the Right to Stay
How Adam Raymond built a designer toy brand from a creative vision, navigated a market crash, and earned the right to call the UK home permanently. Adam arrived in the UK in 2021 with a track record most founders can only dream of: a successful exit under his belt, stints
Innovator PulseHarriet Fuller

... and more founders secured ILR in May and June

We wish to congratulate our other founders and innovators on receiving confirmation on their settlement after years of hard work. Another great story covers the journey of Manoj Narayanan and Ryderoo.

We will be catching up with Manoj soon to capture his story, but for now do catch up with our other Founder Stories, including Sean's - where he was also able to achieve ILR in just three years:

Sean’s Journey to ILR
How Sean Zhu built Hyper EV from a vision into a settled UK reality, and what his journey proves is possible for every founder on this route. Sean Zhu arrived in the UK in March 2023. Three years later, he holds Indefinite Leave to Remain, granted by the Home Office
Innovator PulseHarriet Fuller

The posts are still coming for our event

It's been a very busy few months packed with both online and in person events, especially our Building Your Business in Britain get together at 1 Triton Square in London last month.

We are so grateful to each and every one of you that not only took the time to attend, network, catch up with each other and enjoy what was on offer but to then share your own experiences through social media afterward. We are still busy resharing your posts, especially on LinkedIn!

Innovator International | LinkedIn
Innovator International | 2,644 followers on LinkedIn. Join our community of International Entrepreneurs (Home Office approved endorsing body for Innovator Visas) | Innovator International is an UK based community of innovative entrepreneurs from around the world. The community is managed by Geminus Innovation who are an Endorsing Body for Start Up and Innovator Visas.
LinkedInInnovator International

If you missed our recap article on the big day you can read all about it here, in the meantime we have also shared a few photo edits including a few favourites from Harriet:

Building Your Business in Britain 2026: A Day to Remember
This Tuesday, we brought our community together for Building Your Business in Britain 2026 — our largest live event to date — held at the stunning 1 Triton Square, London, in partnership with Venture Café London. It was a sell out, with 400 tickets booked, and the energy in the room told
Innovator PulseInnovator International

And if you are still thinking about whether events are worth the time and effort, we published a piece on exactly that earlier this month. Spoiler: we think they are.

Are Business Events Worth Attending?
Somewhere in the calendar of almost every founder building a business in the UK, there is an event they are not sure whether to attend. The ticket costs money. The travel costs more. The day itself costs time that could have been spent on the actual business. And then there
Innovator PulseInnovator International

What is Innovation? Part 2

Yesterday morning we ran our Part 2 session on What is Innovation? — and it was a great conversation. Thank you to everyone who joined us live. The session investigates where innovation can be found, and the most successful ways to innovate. There is a particular focus on whether the best innovations to push an idea into the marketplace, or pull development as a result of identifying a specific consumer need.

RECAP || 17 June 2026: What is Innovation Pt II
This session is a follow on to the original session on what is innovation (link below): The session investigates where innovation can be found, and the most successful ways to innovate. There is a particular focus on whether the best innovations to push an idea into the marketplace, or pull
Innovator PulseInnovator International

If you missed Part 1, you can catch up with the recap here:

Recap Part 1 here:

RECAP || 21 Apr 2026: What is Innovation?
Innovation is one of the most discussed — and often misunderstood — parts of the Innovator Founder visa route. Many applicants assume it only applies to advanced technology, AI platforms or inventions that have never existed before. In reality, innovation is often broader than that. It can be a new way of
Innovator PulseInnovator International

Coming up: ILR open webinar Thursday 25th June

With ILR very much on everyone's minds this week, it feels like the right moment to remind you that our next open webinar is coming up very soon.

On Thursday 25th June at 11:00am (UK time) we are running a Q&A session focused on ILR. The session is free, open to current visa holders only, and registration is required via Zoom. Places are limited, so we would encourage you to sign up as soon as you can. Please note this session is not recorded, and we are not able to answer questions that relate specifically to a single application, but we can absolutely help point you in the right direction.

Register here:

Applying For Your Next Endorsement (ILR or Same Business) || 25th June @ 11am
Date: Thursday 25th June Time: 11:00 - 12:00 (UK Time) Subject: Applying For Your Next Endorsement (ILR or Same Business) Attendees: This sessions is open to current visa holders only, registration required via Zoom. If your visa is coming up for renewal, we’ve got another free 30-minute
Innovator PulseInnovator International

Something is coming in August...

You asked, we deliver.

We are thrilled to share that we are working on something special for August — an in-person evening event, co-hosted with our friends at Venture Café and Tech Nation. The event will be taking place on the evening of Thursday, the 13th of August at the same venue we held our annual event – One Triton Square in London. We are currently working on the agenda with Tech Nation and look forward to sharing it with you soon – but please save this date!

In the meantime, we know that many of you live closer to each other than you might think — and we would love to see you taking that into your own hands. Whether it's a coffee, a co-working afternoon, or just a catch-up with a fellow founder, we would be delighted to hear about it. You don't need to wait for us to plan it. The community is yours to use.

That's everything for this week. See you next time!