In her youth, 53-year-old Jo Spolton from Dorset raced yachts as a professional sailor. And, as well as whisking her away to exotic places, this thrilling career brought an unexpected discovery.
Jo says, “I saw acres of rubbish floating in the ocean and washed up on remote beaches. Once, we were sailing through the Sunda Strait on the edge of the Indian Ocean, and I thought, how is this here? There are no people for hundreds of miles.”
Until this point, Jo hadn’t had a particular interest in the climate crisis. But, after witnessing the extent of our sea plastic issue, she was deeply affected – leading her to co-found Rumage, a search engine for secondhand items, in 2020.
Inspired by her story, we wanted to know more about Jo’s entrepreneurial journey and what it’s like to launch a business later in life.
“I took part in two around-the-world races and was on the British match racing team”
Jo originally trained as a fine artist at Central St. Martin’s in London. However, after freelancing for a few years, she decided to fully commit to sailing, something she’d done ever since she was a child.
She says, “In my 10 years as a professional sailor, I took part in two around-the-world races and was on the British match racing team. We were even going to Sydney for the 2000 Olympics until the IOC (International Olympic Committee) changed their minds and dropped the event from the competition.”
After retiring from sailing, Jo reignited her passion for art by making sculptures from her home studio and putting on exhibitions.
“But then I had children and realised you can’t weld with two kids under two around. They don’t make welding goggles for babies.” Jo laughs. “So I decided to park the art and focus on the kids.”
“You want [your children] to be responsible for their choices and understand that every action has consequences”
But Jo hadn’t forgotten about the sea plastic she’d seen on her sailing adventures. It led her to think more about the importance of reusing, repairing, and recycling – especially as a young mother.
“When you have children, you look at the world through a different lens,” she explains. “You want them to be responsible for their choices and understand that every action has consequences.”
Jo was also becoming aware of how expensive having children was, so she came up with an idea for a website called Outgrownit.
Outgrownit aimed to connect families from different socioeconomic backgrounds so they could exchange hand-me-downs. This not only helped to reduce waste but also enabled low-income families to access quality items without worrying about the cost. However, while she was developing the project, another idea began to take hold.
Jo explains, “We set up an alert service for Outgrownit, and I thought, wouldn’t it be great if you could have one that worked across all the secondhand websites? So, if someone doesn’t find what they want, we can keep looking and email them once we’ve found it. That would be genuinely useful. I did some research and discovered that no one else was doing it!”
So, Jo teamed up with her marketeer friend Sam Turner and began developing the idea.
“We had a minimal viable product built by somebody technical and then went out to raise our first round of investment,” she says.
Since then, Jo has shut down Outgrownit, but Rumage has really taken off. Today, shoppers can search 50 million pre-loved items across various secondhand websites – from big names like eBay and Depop to local websites you might not have heard of.
“When you find something you’re passionate about, your fears and personal restraints seem to disappear”
Before developing Outgrownit, Jo had no experience with starting a tech platform, so the learning curve was steep. “Every skill I needed, I had to learn from scratch,” she tells us.
But rather than worrying about her lack of knowledge, Jo embraced a hands-on learning approach. For example, she got to grips with spreadsheets by tinkering with them – addressing challenges as they arose and searching for solutions online. She also had to push herself out of her comfort zone constantly.
“As an artist,” she explains. “I used to find it terrifying to have an exhibition.
“It’s very exposing to be the centre of everyone’s attention. But, as a founder, your job is to go out there and pitch, present ideas, and make videos, so I found that very difficult. However, when you find something you’re passionate about, your fears and personal restraints seem to disappear.”
And while Jo initially saw her lack of experience as a hindrance, she’s now realised that it’s been an asset in many ways.
“If you have no prior experience in something, it’s actually quite refreshing for everyone involved. I didn’t have any rules I felt like I needed to follow. So, if I didn’t like something, I’d say, ‘Let’s change it!’ I think you can be more agile if you don’t have any preconceptions.”
“Your people skills are typically better by the time you’re older”
But to say that Jo had no valuable expertise she could bring to starting a business would be unfair. Like many later-life career changers, her previous careers equipped her with various transferable skills that have proven helpful as a co-founder and CEO.
Jo says, “When you’re sailing, you have to work as a team. You’re all cogs in a machine; if one breaks, the rest break. You also need an awful lot of mental grit to maintain focus and solve problems.
“As for being an artist, because it’s an occupation you generally do alone, you learn to be self-critical and self-analytical. You must also be highly organised because you’re running the whole thing yourself. You’re creating the work, reaching out to clients, and organising exhibitions – effectively running a small business.”
Some skills, however, Jo says she’s acquired through general life experience…
“Your people skills are typically better by the time you’re older, which ultimately makes starting a business possible. In later life, you might have more courage, care less about what other people think, and have a better feel for what’s right and wrong.”
“I’m 53, and there’s an awful lot I can still do!”
Jo is eager to share the benefits of launching a business in later life, yet she’s also aware of some of the hurdles.
She says, “As somebody with teenage children, I’m still running a house and time management is tricky. I could burn the candle at both ends when I was younger and still function brilliantly. But when you’re slightly older, it can be harder. You need to be more efficient in managing and prioritising your time.”
Like many other entrepreneurs who embark on business ventures later in life, Jo has, sadly, also had to contend with ageist attitudes from others on her journey. Remembering one example, she says…
“When I was originally pitching my idea, I was invited to a business school in London to speak to some students and do some audience research. I gave a talk, and it was well-received. The students were great, and there were lots of good questions.
“But afterwards, I asked the lecturer if he had any advice. He said, ‘Quite frankly, I don’t think you have the energy to see this through.’
“At the time, it stung. But it stayed with me and made me really decide to make this happen. I’m 53, and there’s an awful lot I can still do!”
“If you’ve got any ideas burning at the back of your mind, just do it!”
The truth is Jo shows no signs of slowing down. “The goal is to take Rumage worldwide as a platform,” she says.
“We want to make it the first port of call for everyone, whether they’re looking to buy something secondhand or find out what else is going on in the world of sustainability. So it’s not just a search tool; it’s a place to come for information.”
As for anyone looking to launch a business in later life, Jo has this to say…
“If you’ve got any ideas burning at the back of your mind, just do it! You only live once, and nothing’s as insurmountable as you might think.
“To take a sailing analogy: when the wind is absolutely howling on the beach, and the boat can barely stay on its trailer, it seems terrifying. But when you launch it and get on board, it’s exhilarating and never as bad as you envisaged.”
Are you inspired by Jo’s story? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.