a chance to catch up!

I know life is busy, especially when you’re running a business.

Missed one of my webinars? Got FOMO? I’ll load all publicly released ones here so that you can indulge at any time, all I ask is that you complete the feedback survey at the end of each episode. Pinky promise?

An Audience With

Jo Tutchener - Sharp, Founder of Scamp & Dude

Founded by entrepreneur Jo Tutchener Sharp, Scamp & Dude is a purpose led fashion brand with the power to change the way you feel. Jo launched Scamp & Dude in 2016 after being separated from her children during a lengthy stay in hospital undergoing life-saving brain surgery. It was this brush with death and missing her children, that made Jo determined to give back, and create a brand that helps children and adults feel more secure during the toughest of times.

With womenswear now at the forefront of the brand, Scamp & Dude’s mission continues to be to bring joy to wardrobes through mood-boosting colours, vibrant prints and flattering fits that make the wearer feel as well as look good, with community and giving back at its very heart. When one of the Charity Super Scarves is bought, Scamp & Dude donate another to a woman with cancer, through their #SuperScarfMission, or the mother of a child with cancer. Likewise, for each Superhero Sleep Buddy sold, another is donated to a child who has lost a parent or is seriously ill themselves.

So far, the brand has donated almost a million pounds worth of products to people having a really hard time, including over 15,000 Super Scarves and 5,500 Super Sleep Buddies.

Join me, Debbie Lewis, Regional EcoSystem Manager at Natwest Enterprise, as I take a look back with Jo over her journey from hospital bed to purpose led superbrand, the challenges, successes, navigating stockists, the decision to open her first bricks and mortar store post pandemic at a time when ‘the high streets are in decline’. The pressures of international trade, the decision to keep charitable giving at the heart of her company and the logistics of exponential growth for a ‘direct to consumer’ giant.

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An Audience With

Gaz Booth, Co-Founder of Holy Moly

In 2016 Tom Walker and Gaz Booth founded a kitchen startup, with no previous food manufacturing experience because of a chance conversation about whether coriander should be included in a good guacamole recipe and the consensus that shop bought dips were nothing like homemade alternatives. When the duo joined the Milton Keynes Entrepreneur Accelerator in 2018 they had just made the bold move to leave their full time jobs and go ‘all in’; Booth was head of strategy at Openreach while Walker worked in marketing at Utility Warehouse. Fast forward to 2019 Holy Moly Dips was already selling £2.2 million worth of the premium, authentic and 100% natural guacamole each year as a nation-wide brand across major retailers including Waitrose, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, and Amazon Fresh. Committed to ethical, environmentally sustainable sourcing they have partnered with a four-generation family owned avocado orchard in Mexico to source their principal ingredient. Together, the partners worked to keep the carbon footprint of their supply chain as low as possible and use recyclable packaging. They initially raised £130,000 to produce their first large-scale batch and have since received large-scale investment from respected retail industry figures and an industry leading FMCG incubator. Holy Moly Dips has doubled in size and grown profitably every year since launch; such impressive, enduring growth has helped them rise up the Startups 100 index from position 47 in 2020 to position 14 in 2021. Holy Moly Dips also boast wins as the Start-up Entrepreneur of The Year 2018 & Food Entrepreneur of The Year 2019 at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards (Midlands). We will be joined on our virtual sofa by Gaz Booth to hear his account of the last 5 years; the highs and lows, the investments and the maxed out credit cards, the press coverage and the sleepless nights of entrepreneurial despair and wonder- we’ll find out which supermarket giant they walked away from (first time round!) and whether, in the end, coriander should be included in the best guacamole recipes 😉

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Exit Strategies for Business

With Jodie Cook, Lesley Jones & Lee Cotton

A rarely covered but important topic. How do you escape your business when you've had enough?

Join our panel of experts to explore the various ways in which you might exit or be acquired.

With TED X speaker and Author Jodie Cook sharing top tips and considerations for that all important exit planning and strategy.

We will be joined by a commercial business sales agent who will tell you all you need to know about getting the best valuation for your business and how to pitch to potential vendors.

We will even be covering the scary subject of bankruptcy and liquidation with insolvency practitioners at Robert Day; Robert Day and Company celebrates 20 years of providing practical, realistic and effective advice to both individuals and companies this Autumn. Specialising in the solvent and insolvent liquidation of limited companies the team has amassed over 65 years’ worth of combined experience making them one of the most experienced firms in the area. They believe in being able to provide a clear way forward whatever the challenges faced and always strive to bring about a positive outcome for all stakeholders.

As always an informative and candid conversation with an opportunity for you to ask your burning questions at the end of the session.

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