What does starting over look like when you have already built a business across five continents?
John McLoughlin founded J2 in South Africa in 2006, working from a shared desk in a Honeydew warehouse. The company now serves more than 800 customers. But when John moved to London in December 2022, breaking into the UK market felt like building a start-up all over again. He says it was “a hundred times harder” than he expected.
In this episode of Winning the Away Game, John joins Justinus Adriaanse and Flip van der Merwe to share the personal story behind that business journey. He speaks openly about losing his infant son, undergoing cancer treatment while working to establish J2, and the support his wife Natalie gave him through those years.
We also discuss adapting South African directness for a different market, the emotional toll of moving abroad, and why John has built giving back into the way J2 does business.
For founders and South Africans abroad, this conversation offers an honest account of what it takes to keep building through difficult circumstances.
Subscribe for more conversations with South Africans building businesses and lives around the world. Which part of John’s story stayed with you? Tell us in the comments.
Winning the Away Game is produced in collaboration with The Lekker Network, connecting South Africans around the world to support one another, do business and create lasting impact.
https://thelekkernetwork.com/
Listen on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/26fB2unP9Ih6IA3QkjnGQF
Listen on Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/za/podcast/winning-the-away-game/id1853818584
Website
https://wtagpodcast.com/
Chapters
00:00 You’re not dead yet so fix it
00:27 Meet John McLoughlin
01:46 John’s favourite Springbok memories
04:12 Growing up and learning to adapt
09:42 From a spinning studio to software
13:39 Losing his son and facing cancer
17:00 Starting J2 and the return of cancer
20:28 Natalie’s support through treatment
24:15 Living with the loss of a child
29:16 Resilience and finding a fresh start
32:34 Accepting the past and taking the business leap
35:03 The financial crisis and personal debt
37:15 Why London made sense
38:17 Starting over in the UK market
40:02 The difficulty and emotional cost of moving abroad
42:15 A turning point in a Johannesburg hotel room
45:12 Recognising progress and giving back
47:12 Creating opportunities in South Africa
49:23 How J2’s impact fund works
52:42 The lessons John takes forward
Justinus Adriaanse: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinusadriaanse/
Flip van der Merwe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/flipvandermerwe/
Produced by Jonathan Warncke at Ping Productions: https://www.pingproductions.net/
