Entrepreneurship- How to Scale up!

Scaling a start-up can be hard! How do you find the right talent? Connect the right investors? Maintain a culture?

Maybe you've recently started your next steps for growth, are about to take the step, or are just interested to find out how others have got on.

Due to popular demand, we have decided to revisit this tried and tested Brekkie with our good friends at Entrepreneurial Spark (https://www.entrepreneurial-spark.com/). It's the perfect opportunity for you to take a peek into the minds of three amazing Bristol-based businesses

Find out how they managed to grow successfully, found the right support and funding and what advice they have for others thinking on the same journey!

Guest Speakers-

Panel Host – Briony Phillips, Scale Up Enabler, South West:

Briony Phillips is the Scale-Up Enabler for the West of England, a role funded by the Local Enterprise Partnership, Business West, the University of Bristol and Engine Shed. Her role includes mapping the current state of the ecosystem, identifying businesses across the West of England that need scale-up support, signposting existing activities and designing new ones to help them grow. Briony started her career as a science teacher in London and after spending the first half of her career in the education sector, has most recently worked as a freelance Open Innovation Consultant, designing innovation activities for organisations around the world, including the GODAN Open Data Challenge in New York and South Africa’s Responsive Cities Challenge. She also designed and ran the national Open Data Challenge for the Open Data Institute in partnership with Nesta.

Lisa Matthews, Co-founder / CEO, HellyHolly:

Lisa spent ten years in consulting where she worked within large corporates founding and growing new businesses, before co-founding HellyHolly in 2016.

Inspired by their own experiences as working parents, HellyHolly’s mission is to use tech to make life easier for busy families. The co-founders knew what pains they wanted to target, but when they started HellyHolly they had no idea what the solution was. Ten months later the team has grown and their MVP is in development.

Lisa will talk about HellyHolly’s journey from pre-idea to problem-solution fit and how what they’ve learnt over the past year is steering where HellyHolly is going.

David Maher-Roberts, Global Managing Director, Dialect Inc:

David is an experienced digital media executive, angel investor and advisor. He is the founder and chairman of TechSPARK, a not-for-profit organisation designed to support and develop the tech ecosystem in the SouthWest of England.

He is currently Global Managing Director of Dialect Inc a fast growing content agency and platform, Previously David has been Managing Director of Immediate Media's Sports Group, CEO of personalisation engine, The Filter and was on the Board of Future Publishing where he was responsible for the company's digital properties (launching GamesRadar, TechRadar and MyFavouriteMagazines.co.uk).

Rob Lowe, Director of Digital, Mr B & Friends

As Director of Digital at Mr B & Friends Rob is responsible for leading and nurturing the Digital team to ensure the very highest levels of execution and client servicing. Keeping abreast of all new digital developments and able to assess their application for client solutions. Building the commercialisation and profitability of thier digital offer. To help identify and convert new business opportunities and to have ultimate responsibility for the success and viability of the Digital team.

Richard Godfrey, CEO, RocketMakers

Richard is the co-founder and CEO of Rocketmakers which is a Bath-based micro-incubator for high growth potential software startups. Working with startup founders, Rocketmakers provides web, cloud and mobile technical implementations for new ideas as well as mentoring and business development advice.

Previously Richard spent nearly 9 years at Microsoft leading the Software Architecture team in the UK and he spent 8 years before that as a consultant with Deloitte Consulting where his biggest claim to fame was as the Architect and lead developer of the UK's first DNA database.