Hurr founder Victoria Prew appoints Lauren Roberts as chief executive officer

In a strategic shift for the UK-based peer-to-peer wardrobe rental platform Hurr, founder Victoria Prew has announced the appointment of Lauren Roberts as chief executive officer. Prew, who established the business at the age of 25, will transition away from the day-to-day leadership of the company to focus on a new venture.

The leadership transition follows a period of significant scaling for the platform. Roberts, who joined Hurr in 2021, previously served as the chief operating officer for nearly three years. Her professional background includes senior roles at the Selfridges Group, where she served as group strategy director, and a tenure at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Strategic rationale for leadership change

The decision to appoint a professional CEO aligns with wider industry research regarding founder-led startups. Prew cited a Harvard University study of 212 startups which found that less than 25 percent of founder-CEOs led their companies to an initial public offering (IPO). The research suggests that founders who introduce professional leadership often build more valuable enterprises by navigating the ‘rich versus king’ trade-off, prioritising growth over individual control.

“Replacing myself was always the plan,” Prew stated via a professional update on LinkedIn. “My goal from day one: start a business, hit a revenue milestone that proves the model works, and hire someone 10 times better than me to scale it.”

Growth trajectory and market position

Since its inception, Hurr has secured its position as a leader in the circular fashion economy. To date, the company has raised 10 million dollars in venture capital (VC) funding. This achievement is notable within the industry, as Prew highlighted that she remains among the two percent of female founders who successfully secure VC investment.

The platform has established high-profile partnerships with major retailers and over 130 premium brands, including John Lewis, Net-a-Porter and Selfridges.

Roberts assumed the CEO role in June 2024, according to updated professional records from March 2026. Her promotion from COO is intended to leverage her experience in strategy and online trading to guide Hurr through its next phase of expansion.

Following the handover to Roberts, Prew has moved into a new phase of her career. After being recognised by Forbes 30 Under 30 and managing the platform through its peak growth periods, the founder is currently developing a second company in stealth mode. Prew noted that the transition allows her to apply the lessons learned from building the UK’s first major peer-to-peer rental platform to a new entrepreneurial project.