About this episode

Louise Doyle discusses her journey in scaling Needi, a corporate gifting platform, and the psychology behind gifting.

Description: In this episode of the Trading Up podcast, host Jim Fitzpatrick sits down with Louise Doyle, co-founder of Needi, a corporate gifting concierge platform that went from a standing start to turning over millions. Discover the deep psychology behind why we give gifts and how Needi is disrupting the generic corporate merchandise market with hyper-personalised experiences that support local businesses. Louise shares her incredibly inspiring personal journey—from overcoming childhood tragedy and bootstrapping her startup, to securing £2.4 million in VC funding as a first-time female founder. Learn how leading brands like DPD use bespoke gifting to boost employee retention, how AI can scale human connection rather than replace it, and the reality of navigating the "seesaw" of a demanding CEO role alongside motherhood. Whether you are an entrepreneur seeking investment tips or a business leader wanting to maximize your team's motivation, this episode delivers invaluable insights. Brought to you in association with EY. The views and opinions expressed by guests on this podcast are their own and do not reflect the views or positions of EY or its other member Firms. EY proudly…

People in this episode

Host: Jim Fitzpatrick

Guest: Louise Doyle

Topics covered

• corporate gifting
• entrepreneurship
• female founders
• AI in business
• employee retention
• personal journey

Keywords

• corporate gifting
• Needi
• Louise Doyle
• entrepreneurship
• VC funding
• employee motivation
• AI
• personalized experiences

Sponsors

EY

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Needi, DPD, Queen’s Business School

Places: Queen’s University

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