I am building the thing I wish existed for me, something that meets women where they are - Lesley Sackey, Pillow

Lesley Sackey is a leader in women’s boxing and a social impact tech founder, driven by a personal journey of overcoming abuse to empower other women to reclaim their strength and voice. She is the first British woman to win gold at the EU Boxing Championships in 2008 on first entry, and has represented England and Great Britain internationally. 

Lesley is a serial entrepreneur. She co-founded Webox in 2016, applying lessons from the ring and the boardroom to help employees act and feel like champions; founded Fight Forward in 2023, a community interest company using boxing as a trauma-informed empowerment tool; and launched Pillow in 2024 - a tech platform creating safe spaces for survivors of domestic abuse, with an ambitious mission to help 100,000 women “fight forward.”

Beyond sport and entrepreneurship, Lesley has co-produced a BBC Sport documentary on female boxers in Ghana, appeared on major UK television as a trainer and athlete, and delivers powerful talks on resilience, empowerment, and transformation.

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The idea for Pillow came from Lesley’s own lived experience and her realisation that too many women are navigating trauma alone.

“When I left an abusive relationship, I had strength, resilience and a boxing background… but I still had no roadmap. No one central place that made sense of the emotional rollercoaster, the practical chaos, and the rebuilding phase.

So I am building the thing I wish existed for me — something that meets women where they are, understands their story, and connects them to the right support instantly. 

Pillow is both personal and universal. It’s my story, but it belongs to every woman who’s ever had to start again.”

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Lesley’s career transition from the boxing ring to the tech world was just a continuation of the same mission. Boxing is also one of the anchors that keeps her grounded in emotionally heavy spaces. Alongside it, building a strong community of brilliant women, setting clear boundaries, and remembering that her story didn’t break her are the other critical elements that help keep her anchored.

“Boxing taught me discipline, resilience, and how to step into the ring even when you’re scared. Those same traits power me as a founder. 

When you’ve fought elite-level athletes and survived domestic abuse, building a tech startup doesn’t intimidate you.

But I didn’t “plan” to go into tech. I followed the problem. The more I spoke to women, charities, employers — the more I saw that the gap was too big for workshops or community work alone. Tech was the only way to scale impact to millions. So I put the gloves down and picked up the laptop.”

Pillow is a SaaS B2B product, designed to be used either by women directly or the organisations that support or employ them. Lesley explains how it works:

“At its core, Pillow is an AI-powered, trauma-informed recovery companion. You share your story in your own words, and the AI picks up emotional cues, stage of recovery, and what you need right now. It then connects you to tailored emotional support, practical resources, community, and next steps.

On the B2B side, we offer a SaaS platform for:

• employers
• charities and helplines
• councils and housing providers
• wellbeing and safety teams

They get anonymised insights, resource-matching, reduced call times, better triage accuracy, and a way to support survivors before crisis hits.

So yes, Pillow is for organisations as much as it is for individuals.”

For someone using Pillow, success looks like clarity, like feeling seen and having a path forward when everything feels overwhelming, Lesley explains.

“Practically, it looks like:

• getting the right support without having to repeat their story 20 times
• moving through crisis into stability, and then into growth
• feeling emotionally held and practically supported
• rebuilding identity, confidence, and independence

If Pillow helps a woman move one step closer to thriving, we’ve done our job. If it helps millions, we’ve changed the world.”

Pillow was launched last year in June, and the startup has received strong validation: they have run user pilots, partnered with UX for Change, have secured interest from charities, employers, and councils, completed Antler and the Good Tech Accelerator and will soon open their first investment round.

“GoodTech Ventures gave me space to think about impact, systems change, and sustainable growth. It’s where mission meets rigour.

Antler gave me speed, pressure, and clarity — the ability to articulate the problem, refine the solution, test brutally, and build with conviction.

Together, they shaped me as both a founder and a leader.

I’d recommend them because:

• they challenge your thinking
• they expose you to world-class mentors
• they force you to validate, not fantasise
• they build resilience, momentum, and community

They’re accelerators that actually accelerate you.”

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In the following years, Lesley envisions Pillow as the “global digital ecosystem for women’s recovery and thriving.

In ten years, I see:

• Pillow supporting 100 million+ women worldwide
• a universal triage tool used by governments, charities, and corporates
• a community where survivors become thrivers and leaders
• data-driven insights shaping policy and workplace culture
• a world where no woman has to guess her way through healing

Ultimately, Pillow becomes the go-to platform for women navigating emotional, financial, or relational turbulence — a safety net, a guide, and a catalyst for transformation.”

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Finally, we wanted to know what Lesley thinks the impact-startup ecosystem needs more of in order to grow and thrive:

“Three things:

1. Braver capital — investors who understand that social impact is a scalable opportunity.
2. Lived-experience leadership — the people closest to the problem must be at the table.
3. Cross-sector collaboration — tech, government, corporates, and charities working together, not in silos.

Impact isn’t a side project anymore. It’s the future of business — and the ecosystem needs to invest like it.”

Thank you, Lesley Sackey!