Where Are They Now: Jo Tutchener Sharp, Founder, Scamp & Dude

Since its launch in 2018, The LDC Top 50 Most Ambitious Business Leaders programme has celebrated hundreds of exceptional individuals. In this series, we reconnect with some of our alumni to discover where their growth journeys have taken them, the impact of being part of the programme, and what their ambitions look like today.  

Fashion brand Scamp & Dude turns 10 this year and founder Jo Tutchener Sharp OBE is more ambitious than ever. The former PR founded the purpose-led business following a brain haemorrhage. “Going into surgery not knowing if I would come out again was life-changing,” she explains. Tutchener Sharp donates a scarf to a woman going through chemotherapy for every one sold, and her range of superhero sleep buddy toys are donated to bereaved and terminally ill children. She featured in The LDC Top 50 in 2024 and won The Purpose Award the same year in recognition of her achievements. Since then, revenues have grown from £15 million to £20 million and the 100 people strong business will soon begin selling internationally. She says: “My passion for Scamp & Dude has never wavered.”

How important is purpose to you?

Purpose has been at the heart of the business since day one. We are a small business but in 10 years we have donated £4.5 million worth of products and cash. The letters we get from the people we have helped mean the world to me. We have given away 94,000 scarves so far, but 63,000 women start chemotherapy each year and I have become obsessed with reaching every single one. That’s why we have started collaborating with famous faces like Alison Hammond, Jodie Kidd and Davina McCall, who design a scarf and raise awareness.

How have you grown the business? 

We launched onto the Next marketplace and we have just quadrupled our forecasts because that is doing so well. We have also launched some collaborations like our Scamp & Dude/Gola trainers, which sold out straight away. We launched our pre-loved range – as a B Corp we want to support the circular economy – and introduced denim, jewellery and outerwear. It’s relentless! When we were starting out, we were growing 100 per cent a year, but as you get bigger it’s harder to grow. Given the current economic climate, we think 16.5 per cent year-on-year revenue growth is pretty good.

What’s next for Scamp & Dude?

This year is all about our tenth anniversary. Community has always been at the heart of what we do so we’re throwing a party for 400 of our customers – the Duders! – with a catwalk show. We’re launching with an international marketplace, which will be a good testbed for export sales, and we’re launching more jewellery and homewares. We’ll also open two new stores; 60 per cent of the people who shop in a physical store are new to the brand so it’s great for customer acquisition.