At the start of 2025, I told myself I wanted this year to be about building with intention and “grow, grow, grow”.
Not just scaling Carmoola faster.
Not just hitting milestones.
But building something meaningful, with the right people, in the right way.
Looking back now, 2025 feels like one of those years you only truly appreciate in hindsight.
A year of momentum, yes, but more importantly a year of connection, learning and belief.
From the outside, 2025 probably looks like a year of big moments for Carmoola.
We started the year by completing our £15.4m Series A extension. Shortly after, Carmoola was back on TV with our biggest advertising push yet, including a moment I still smile about: my oldest friends spotting one of our ads while watching football.
By April, and our third birthday, we crossed two milestones that felt deeply symbolic:
Those numbers matter, but what mattered more to me was how we got there.
Throughout the year, we kept putting customers first. We launched PCP. We introduced car search directly into the app. We partnered with ITV to take our brand to a wider audience. We secured a £300m ABS facility with NatWest and Chenavari. We welcomed new partners and built deeper relationships with existing ones.
Each step was another brick laid carefully on the same foundation: making car finance easier, fairer and more transparent.
And yes, we celebrated along the way. Christmas together as a team felt like a moment to pause, look around the room and quietly think: this is something special.
But here’s the truth.
The most important thing that happened in 2025 wasn’t a funding round, a launch or a headline.
It was the people.
We welcomed an incredible group of new people across every part of the business, from credit, engineering, product, customer experience, marketing and finance. Every new joiner didn’t just add capacity; they raised the bar.
At the same time, the people who were already here stepped up again and again. Taking ownership. Supporting each other. Caring deeply about customers. Showing resilience when things were hard and humility when things went well.
As a founder and CEO, you don’t really build a company.
You build the conditions, and then people do the rest.
2025 reminded me of that over and over again.
On a personal level, this year changed me more than I expected.
Running a fast-growing company has a way of convincing you that speed is everything.
Decisions. Execution. Results. Always moving forward.
This year taught me something different.
I learned the importance of slowing down to connect, really connect, with the people around me. Listening more. Asking better questions. Being present, not just available.
I learned that leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating trust, safety and clarity so others can do their best work.
And maybe most importantly, I learned that success without connection feels empty, but progress shared with people you respect and care about feels incredibly rich.
Some of the most meaningful moments this year didn’t happen in the boardroom or on Slack. They happened in conversations, check-ins, celebrating wins. Supporting each other through setbacks.
That’s what sticks.
I’m deeply grateful to our customers who trust us, to our partners who back us, and to the Carmoola team who show up every day with care and ambition.
I’m grateful for the lessons, even the uncomfortable ones. Especially those.
And I’m grateful that we’re building something that isn’t just growing, but growing well.
2026 will be bigger. Faster. More ambitious.
But if 2025 taught me anything, it’s this:
Growth matters.
Technology matters.
Capital matters.
But people matter most.
That’s what I’m carrying forward into the next chapter of Carmoola, and into my own journey as a founder, leader and human.
Thank you for being part of it.
Aidan