Online MBA alumnus Micah Leitch started his career as a Cardiac Physiologist in a London NHS hospital, dealing with cardiac diagnostics to pacemaker implants and emergency angioplasty. It was only after a stint of redesigning the patient pathway for a community diagnostics centre that he realised how much he enjoyed making operational improvements, so he decided to join a consumer tech startup as their first hire, working as an associate.

Later, Micah ran PwC's accelerator programmes, built an angel investor community, and eventually moved into venture capital. The Durham MBA sat right at the hinge of that transition from clinician to operator and investor. Micah's business, Donup, has been a constant focus throughout that journey and continues to see regular improvements today.

What inspired you to start Donup? 
When I began my Online MBA at Durham, I didn't expect to leave with a start-up. Like many people, I arrived looking to develop new skills, broaden my perspective, and explore what might come next. What I didn't anticipate was how much the experience would shape my thinking and ultimately lead to Donup.

Donup is a platform designed to make multi-charity giving easier to manage over a lifetime and more transparent for individuals and businesses alike. Charitable giving today is often fragmented and dominated by the organisations with the largest marketing budgets. I wanted to bring giving into one place: a personal dashboard that helps donors stay connected to the causes they care about, while discovering smaller, overlooked projects doing incredible work. At its core, Donup is about making giving more powerful when it happens collectively. We also work with businesses to help them move beyond box-ticking social responsibility toward projects that create genuine, measurable impact.

How do you think your MBA has helped you on your career path?
Some of the most valuable parts of the MBA were the ones I didn't expect. The teaching was excellent, but the real transformation came from applying ideas in the real world and building connections.

Donup began during the New Venture Creation module in San Francisco, where we were challenged to build and pitch business ideas to mock, and sometimes real, investors. That experience pushed me to turn ideas into action. It introduced me to mentors and networks that still shape my journey today, including Professor Joanna Berry and the Durham Venture Lab. The environment gave me space to test ideas, make mistakes, and refine my thinking, something incredibly valuable when starting a business.

What milestones have stood out in your journey so far?
Donup was recently named Highly Commended at the AMBA & BGA Awards. It's encouraging to see our mission and early progress resonate with others, even if there's still a long way to go on a challenge as large as effective giving.

One of the most rewarding aspects has been speaking with younger generations, who will soon become the largest group of donors. Those conversations consistently reinforce that people want a better, more transparent way to give. The recognition also comes at an important time, as we begin working more closely with local authorities and public-sector partners to develop the platform's impact.

What would you say to someone considering an MBA today?
If I were advising someone considering an Online MBA, I'd encourage them to think beyond the classroom. Explore what you could gain academically, personally, and professionally.

An MBA is a rare chance to experiment, to try new ideas, take risks, and learn from mistakes. Saying yes to unfamiliar opportunities can make a real difference to your confidence and direction. For anyone interested in entrepreneurship, social impact, or scaling products, the real value lies in how actively you apply what you learn and engage with the wider MBA ecosystem.

What are your plans for the future?
Right now, my focus is on building Donup into a sustainable "impact flywheel"
learning from early adopters, iterating the product, and building strong local
partnerships. We're about to launch a new collective giving initiative to fund bite-sized projects. Longer term, the ambition is to create a more meaningful approach to
social impact across the country, particularly for the next generation of donors.
There's still a long road ahead, but it's one worth travelling.