Trap of Luxury

Back in January, I wrote about how 2024 would be the year of democracy – with around half of the world’s adult population able to head to a ballot box. The US Presidential race was always going to be the most consequential election, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few days, you’ll know by now that it was Donald J. Trump who emerged victorious.

The Republican firebrand will take charge of the biggest economy on the face of the Earth and the cradle of much of the world’s innovation. Whether you love him or loathe him, how Trump governs will matter acutely for businesses both inside and outside of America’s borders.

Signature policies like his promise to apply a blanket 10% import tariff on goods – and more for products coming from countries like China and Mexico – would hit firms that sell to the US hard. Fears that this may trigger a retaliatory global trade war are already rippling through growth forecasts and share prices of trade exposed businesses. If things get really bad, be braced for inflation taking off again, and interest rates increasing to try to tame it.

As America is Britain’s single largest trading partner, we must be particularly prepared. More than 40,000 British businesses shipped wares to the States in 2023, worth over £60 billion in value and equivalent to a third of all goods exports that left our shores. Some of these firms might be able to shoulder a drop off in sales, but others will surely need to pivot or perish.  

One potential note of optimism on this front, however, is whether Trump’s return to the White House will revive the possibility of a UK-US trade deal being signed. In the final year of his first presidency, initial progress was made towards one – but talks collapsed after Joe Biden came to power, in part due to disagreements with the then Conservative Government’s approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Just this summer, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves hinted that she would be open to resuming negotiations. She emphatically should – and in the coming weeks we will be publishing a range of ideas for how the ‘Special Relationship’ can be made that bit more special for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

It would be dangerous, however, to think that our future economic success should be tied solely to the benevolence of our American counterparts. There is so much else that only we can, and must, do to fix the foundations of our own economy – from bringing down the costs of building new infrastructure, to improving our immigration system to attract more of the world’s brightest minds to help start and scale companies here in the UK rather than elsewhere. Our report Building Blocks offers a starter for ten for how to do that.

In Pieter Garicano’s excellent piece on ‘luxury rules’ he argues that many European countries have historically allowed themselves to make certain choices in recent decades on the assumption that other economies will always be there to bail them out – whether it’s the US supplying innovation like breakthrough technologies and security in the form of military guarantees, or countries such as Russia and China supplying commodities like cheap energy and manufactured goods. In today’s increasingly fragile world, marked by rising tensions or even outright war, the costs of these choices are coming home to roost. This isn’t to say the answer is to become economically insular – far from it – but rather that we need to be more discerning about the policies we adopt, and less complacent about the roots of economic growth.

A sober assessment of what sovereign capabilities we need and the steps required to build them is necessary now more than ever, as is thought about where collaboration with others can best support our national goals. (On this last point, I found James O’Malley’s latest blog particularly persuasive.)

If this sounds gloomy, that’s not my intention. Rather, it asserts that it’s on ourselves – nobody else – to turn things around. In a sense, that should give us hope. It doesn’t matter who occupies the White House or whatever else may be going on in other corners of the world. There are still plenty of problems to solve at home – problems which, if solved, would swiftly make our own economy a more dynamic, secure and prosperous place. But it’s on us to start making those choices.

Out of the Shadows
On Saturday, Kemi Badenoch became the new Leader of the Conservative Party, and with that of His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition too. Over the course of this week, she has been appointing a fresh Shadow Cabinet. Of particular note for Britain’s entrepreneurs will be Mel Stride, who was named as Shadow Chancellor, while Andrew Griffith takes up the mantle of Shadow Business and Trade Secretary. As a former Chair of the APPG for Entrepreneurship, of which we’re the Secretariat, we were delighted to see Alan Mak appointed as the Shadow Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary. You can find the full list of portfolios here; we look forward to constructively engaging with them all in months and years ahead.

Three Big Ideas #8

Three Big Ideas is our weekly roundup of ideas (and our takes on them) in entrepreneurship, innovation, science and technology, handpicked by the team.

In this week, Eamonn Ives urges a rethink to recent changes to Stamp Duty, Philip Salter discusses the importance of getting competition policy right, and Anastasia Bektimirova writes about the risk of losing sight of the scientists who drive progress.

Disposed to Relief

After weeks of speculation, on Wednesday the Budget was finally delivered. You’ll have to come to one of our events for my lukewarm takes on its impact on farms, private schools, social care, or whatever comes next – but given weeks of campaigning, it would be remiss if I didn’t round it off with our thoughts on Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR).

It was a busy few weeks for us. Topping out at over 1,000 responses, the letter that many of you signed and shared made headlines across the media, while behind the scenes we were connecting concerned founders with journalists hungry for to hear from those at the coalface.

Having spoken with lots of entrepreneurs following post-Budget, the general sentiment seems to be: could have been worse, should have been better. Whether you think it was necessary or not, given that the burden of taxation has increased for pretty much everyone across Britain, a collective “phew!” is understandable. It wasn’t just entrepreneurs though. According to Patrick Maguire (Paywall – The Times), in the focus groups of Tory-Labour switchers Downing Street conducted on Wednesday night the word that recurred was ‘relief’.

As I wrote in reaction: “Entrepreneurs will be somewhat relieved that the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rate wasn’t hiked as high as many feared. Similarly, there were rumours that Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) would be scrapped, so the worst-case scenario was avoided. Nevertheless, BADR will still be ratcheted up over the coming years, meaning Britain will become an increasingly unattractive place to both start and exit a company.

We know that many entrepreneurs are already looking to move their business from the UK – and this only makes that move more compelling. This is why 1,250 of the UK’s most ambitious entrepreneurs signed our letter against such changes.

It’s not just entrepreneurs who will be impacted. Many fledgling startups give employees stock options or shares as part of their compensation package as they cannot compete with the higher salaries offered by established big corporates. Today’s changes will reduce this incentive, making it even harder for startups to attract the talent they need to scale, while denying workers the chance to own a piece of Britain’s growing companies.

Instead of hiking BADR, the Treasury should have retargeted the relief at founders who are scaling businesses, and have made it unlimited to incentivise the world’s best entrepreneurs to start, scale and sell multiple businesses in Britain.”

Our letter – alongside others, of course – may have spooked the Government from going further on changes to BADR and CGT. I write ‘may’ because the scrapping of BADR and hikes to CGT were in part trailed in order to manage expectations. However, as has been the case for decades now, worst-case scenarios are also floated to test the public reaction. Politicians only know the limits if we’re vocal enough. This is clearly a suboptimal way to make policy – after all, there are plenty of vocal groups that the government shouldn’t listen to – but that only makes it more critical for us to play the game of politics when there is so much at stake.

In her speech, the Chancellor specifically said she was committed to creating a positive environment for entrepreneurship and wants to work with entrepreneurs to do this. This was a direct nod to all of you who’ve made so much noise over the last few weeks.

The hard work starts now. We need to build out the evidence base so we can make a proactive case to the Government, the opposition and civil servants on tax and growth. When it comes down to it, we all want the same thing: entrepreneurs making us all richer – both through the stuff they build and people they employ, but also through the taxes they pay as they scale and exit.

And while the Office for Budget Responsibility’s growth forecasts are depressing – remember, they don’t take into account important forthcoming policy changes such as planning reform and other areas we have been working on for over the last decade. As Rodolfo Rosini, entrepreneur and Adviser to The Entrepreneurs Network, argues: “Britain is a $2.3 trillion opportunity.”

If you want to help us make the world a better place, drop me an email now with details of how you want to lend a hand. We’re a small organisation, but as the last few weeks have shown, when we unite we can make ourselves heard when it really matters.

It’s not just CGT, of course. My colleagues Eamonn Ives and Anastasia Bektimirova responded on Employers’ National Insurance Contributions, Business Rates reform and R&D spending, and there will be plenty more to unpack over the coming weeks. If you want to join me for more Budget chat. I’ll be chairing an event at Home Grown on Tuesday morning (request a place here), or you can scroll down for a smaller roundtable we’re hosting with Evelyn Partners.

Paper Cut
Anastasia has teamed up with Alex Chalmers of Air Street Capital to write a cutting article on how to (not) do policy. Death by a thousand roundtables is a must-read taxonomy for anyone involved in trying to change policy. Anastasia would love to hear any feedback you have – as long as you don’t want to convene a conversation with stakeholders.

Invest in Women
We’re partnering with the Invest in Women taskforce on a report focusing on angel investment. While we tried to get to as many parts of the UK as possible in our recent roundtables, we appreciate that we couldn’t hit every postcode. That’s why we’re opening up the opportunity for you to feed into the report. You’ll have to be quick though – the Call for Evidence will close on Saturday 9 November. Please feel free to share among your networks or on social media. Everything you need to know is here.

Be Our Host
We’re busy planning a lot more breakfasts and dinners with Britain’s leading entrepreneurs – often featuring a senior politician. We have a number of organisations who regularly host us, but we’re looking for three more to join us as hosts for 2025. Get in touch if you would like to discuss how this works.

Autumn Budget 2024 – Our snap reaction

Today, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the Autumn Budget. In short, it entails more spending, more tax rises and more borrowing. Growth forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility, meanwhile, are anaemic. We issued the snap reaction to the Budget not long after she finished addressing the Commons, and we’ll be digging into things in more depth later in the week — so stay tuned by subscribing to our Friday newsletter if you aren’t already.

📊 What does today’s Budget mean for Britain’s startup community?

Here are our snap judgements on some of the key announcements for entrepreneurs across the country.

Thread below! 🧵👇 #Budget2024 pic.twitter.com/r3gGdOpgl9

— The Entrepreneurs Network (@TenThinkTank) October 30, 2024

Capital Gains Tax and Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR)

Philip Salter, Founder of The Entrepreneurs Network, said:

“Entrepreneurs will be somewhat relieved that the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) rate wasn’t hiked as high as many feared. Similarly, there were rumours that Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) would be scrapped, so the worst-case scenario was avoided. Nevertheless, BADR will still be ratcheted up over the coming years, meaning Britain will become an increasingly unattractive place to both start and exit a company.

We know that many entrepreneurs are already looking to move their business from the UK – and this only makes that move more compelling. This is why 1,250 of the UK’s most ambitious entrepreneurs signed our letter against such changes.

It’s not just entrepreneurs who will be impacted. Many fledgling startups give employees stock options or shares as part of their compensation package as they cannot compete with the higher salaries offered by established big corporates. Today’s changes will reduce this incentive, making it even harder for startups to attract the talent they need to scale, while denying workers the chance to own a piece of Britain’s growing companies.

Instead of hiking BADR, the Treasury should have retargeted the relief at founders who are scaling businesses, and have made it unlimited to incentivise the world’s best entrepreneurs to start, scale and sell multiple businesses in Britain.”

Employer National Insurance Contributions

Eamonn Ives, Research Director of The Entrepreneurs Network, said:

“In a move that is expected to raise around £25 billion a year, employer National Insurance Contributions will increase by 1.2 percentage points to a rate of 15% and the threshold at which they start paying it was cut from £9,100 to £5,000. 

The Chancellor might insist that this is not a tax on working people, but while it is true that it is employers who will bear the ‘legal incidence’ of the tax rise, economic evidence makes clear that increases like this are ultimately factored into lower wages for workers.

In short, and coupled with other measures such as the rise in the National Minimum Wage, it will become more expensive to take on staff, especially for those entrepreneurs employing people at the lower end of the earnings ladder. We shouldn’t be surprised if firms rethink hiring plans or water down pay rises.”   

Business Rates reform

Eamonn Ives, Research Director of The Entrepreneurs Network, said:

“The promise to transform Business Rates will be watched closely by Britain’s entrepreneurs, who recognise them as one of the biggest impediments to growth. Our current system punishes those who improve their premises and the infrequency of revaluations means that rates can become out of step with market conditions. 

Yet some of the measures announced today – such as a freeze for the small business multiplier and the introduction of a specific sectoral multiplier – only add further complexity to Business Rates. A proper overhaul, as we have called for in the past, would instead see the underlying land values taxed, and we encourage the Government to be bold as it develops its thinking on this policy.”

R&D spending

Anastasia Bektimirova, Researcher at The Entrepreneurs Network, said:

“At a time when the public finances are so stretched, the protection of funding for R&D spending and tax reliefs should be welcomed by Britain’s innovators. Only by bringing forward more innovation can we grow the economy in the long run and develop solutions to improving public services.

What starts as basic research can then spin out from universities as innovative companies. It is very important to protect that, so the £6.1 billion for core research is particularly positive, especially with little fiscal room on spending.

It would be a mistake to prematurely interpret the silence on any major AI-related announcements as a lack of ambition. The Budget has made it clear that the AI Opportunities Action Plan will be published soon, which will set out the Government’s plans – and should match the ambitions of the sector.”

On the new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund:

“The new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund is a welcome intervention into fundamentals that will help keep more life sciences innovation in the UK as it is scaling. Limited manufacturing infrastructure is often cited as a critical factor prompting innovators to relocate.”

On the new R&D Missions Programme:

“A new R&D Missions Programme shows that, as expected, the five missions will be an important framing for innovators trying to make a compelling case when engaging with the Government. It will be particularly interesting to see the details of how the growth mission will be framed here, as much of R&D work naturally fits it already.”

A Thousand Founders Fume

Over the last few weeks we’ve been stuck on repeat – making the case again and again for why the Chancellor must think twice about the impact that rumoured changes to CGT and BADR would have upon entrepreneurs and their employees (who are all too often overlooked in these debates). Over 1,200 entrepreneurs have now signed this letter. Here are the first 1,000!

The letter continues to get lots of press coverage – including in City A.M. this week – and we’re busy connecting entrepreneurs with journalists. One thing’s for sure: the Government can’t say that they weren’t warned.

I’m sure we’ll have more to say on this topic after the Budget, and a lot more work to do on this in the coming months and years, but today I want to write about the lessons from the last few weeks – not so much for the Government, but for us.

First, we need to be more vocal in explaining the policies that matter most to entrepreneurs. There is a lot that unites Britain’s most ambitious entrepreneurs and we need to be proactively making the case for what these things are.

Second, we need more evidence for why these things are important. For example, I’ve been pitching an idea for years to survey the foreign-born founders of Britain’s fastest-growing startups right as they begin their businesses. Foreign-born founders tell us later on that Entrepreneurs’ Relief was a critical issue when they started their business in the UK, but having data from those who are still just starting out would be invaluable.

Third, we shouldn’t go overboard on the doom mongering. Britain is still the best place in Europe to start and grow a business. We are rightly respected around the world for our fairness and the rule of law. We have an incredible history of innovation that hasn’t stopped – just consider Demis Hassabis’ Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his company’s revolutionary work on proteins.

To be clear, we agree with Matt Clifford when he says that the UK could go back to being pretty much the richest country in the world per capita – at least as rich as the US. Whether this Budget is a step towards that dream, or one away from it, we’ll keep working to make it a reality.

Taper Away
This week we invited Shivani H. Menon of Onward to contribute to our weekly Substack Three Big Ideas series. As we’ve explained in the past, Britain’s VAT registration threshold incentivises small businesses to stay small. This threshold instantly burdens any business that only just breaches it with a significant marginal cost. As a result, we see a bunching of businesses that turn over slightly less than the threshold, as many deliberately stop working when they approach it.

To get around this problem, Shivani suggests VAT is tapered: “The threshold could be reduced to £30,000 at a 1% VAT rate, increasing gradually until it reaches a rate of 20% for businesses turning over £140,000 or more.” It’s not a new idea, but one that deserves serious consideration. As I understand it, it would be technically feasible for HMRC to do this and it would be a good compromise between economists and the small business lobby groups.

Rights Ideas?
There is huge concern about the Employment Rights Bill. By the Government’s own analysis, it would cost businesses a whopping £5 billion a year to implement, and the FSB has come out fighting, calling the legislation a “rushed job, clumsy, chaotic and poorly planned.”

Now you’ll have the chance to have your say by submitting your views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee, which is going to consider this Bill. Naturally, we’re planning to respond, but our policymakers will be served all the better by also hearing directly from those who it will impact most. Find out more here.

Our Newest Adviser
Blick Rothenberg has joined us as a Corporate Partner. Malli Kini, who leads their entrepreneurs practice will become our latest Adviser.

Before joining Blick Rothenberg as a Partner in March 2024, Malli spent over 15 years in the Big 4 (PwC and EY) within their London private client teams. Prior to that, he had an entirely different career as an orthopaedic surgeon in the NHS which he says was much like carpentry – lots of hammers, screws and nails!
Find out how you or your company could join us here.

Dear Chancellor – The First One-Thousand

On Friday 11 October, we issued an open letter to the Chancellor, following reports that changes to Capital Gains Tax will be enacted at the forthcoming Autumn Budget. Below are the names of the first 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners to sign it. You can still read the letter, and add your name, by clicking here.

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Philip Salter – Founder, The Entrepreneurs Network; Martin Frost CBE – Co-Founder, CMR Surgical; Giles Andrews OBE – Co-Founder, Zopa; Rishi Khosla – Co-Founder & CEO, OakNorth Bank; Oana Jinga – Co-Founder, Dexory; Richard Davies – CEO, Allica Bank; Stephen Phillips – Founder, Zappi; Saasha Celestial-One – Co-Founder, Olio; Justin Basini – Co-Founder & CEO, The ClearScore Group; Emilie Vanpoperinghe – Co-Founder & CEO, Oddbox; Victor Riparbelli Rasmussen – Co-Founder & CEO, Synthesia; Matthew Hare OBE – Founder & CEO, Zzoomm; Adrian Negoita – Co-Founder & CTO, Dexory; Nazim Valimahomed – Founder & CPO, Kroo Bank; Miguel Martinez – Co-Founder, Signal AI; David Benigson – Founder & CEO, Signal AI; Aleksandra Wlodek – CEO, Constructive Bio; Jordan Brompton – Founder, myenergi; Christoph Rieche – Co-Founder & CEO, iwoca; Robin Tombs – Co-Founder & CEO, Yoti; Tim Chong – Co-Founder & CEO, Yonder; Thesokkumar Jivajirajah – Co-Founder, Yonder; David Jarvis – Founder & CEO, Griffin Bank; Jamie Beaumont – Founder, Playter; Oliver Tonkin – Co-Founder & CEO, BCB Group; Brad Goodall – Founder & CEO, Banked; Alexander Mifsud – Co-Founder & CEO, Weavr.io; Benjamina Bollag – Founder & CEO, Uncommon Bio; Jeff Lynn – Co-Founder, Republic Europe; Sara Murray OBE – Founder & CEO, Big Technologies; Nicholas New – Founder & CEO, Optalysys; Eddie Harrison – Co-Founder, Navro; Melissa Morris – Founder & CEO, Lantum; James Dean – Founder & CEO, Sensat; Nigel Purves – Co-Founder & CEO, Wayhome; Darren Jobling – Co-Founder & CEO, ZeroLight; John Goodall – Founder & CEO, Landbay; Richard Mabey – Founder & CEO, Juro; Bundeep Singh Rangar – Founder & President, PremFina; Phelim Bradley – Co-Founder & CEO, Prolific; Simon Jones – Founder, Baanx; Robert Griffin – Co-Founder & CEO, MIRACL; Whitney Hawkings – Founder & CEO, FLOWERBX; Andrew Yates – Co-Founder & CEO, FullCircl; Justin Fitzpatrick – Co-Founder, FullCircl; Michael Nabarro – Co-Founder & CEO, Spektrix; Ali Afshar – Co-Founder & CEO, Mytos; Matthew Dreaper – Co-Founder, Oxford Space Systems; Charlotte Guzzo – Founder & COO, Sano Genetics; Will Stewart – Co-Founder & CEO, Northflank; Iain Griffin – Founder & CEO, Seatfrog; Carsten Schaltz – Co-Founder, Stotles; JP Doumeng – Co-Founder & CEO, Napo Pet Insurance; Steve Coulson – Founder & CEO, Kitt Technology; Will Goodwin – Co-Founder, Tumelo; Ross Harper – CEO, Limbic; Dev Amratia – Co-Founder & CEO, nPlan; Alan Mosca – Co-Founder & CTO, nPlan; Chris McCullough – Co-Founder & CEO, Rota Geek; Asi Sharabi – Co-Founder & CEO, Wonderbly; Aldo Monteforte – Founder & CEO, The Floow; Anton Derlyatka – Co-Founder & CEO, Sweatcoin; Anthony Eskinazi – Founder & CEO, JustPark; Chris Edson – Co-Founder & CEO, Second Nature; Nick Jones – Co-Founder & CEO, Zumo; Louise Birritteri – Founder & CEO, Pikl; Alex Depledge MBE – Founder & CEO, Resi; Richard Moross – Founder & CEO, moo.com; George Graham – Co-Founder & CEO, Wolf & Badger; Deepak Ravindran – Co-Founder, Oddbox; Ashutosh Bhatt – Founder & CEO, Pillar; Laurence Kemball-Cook – Founder & CEO, Pavegen; Sarah McVittie – Co-Founder, Dressipi; Naimish Gohil – Founder & CEO, Satchel; Tara Chandra – Co-Founder, Here We Flo; Timothy Brownstone – Founder & CEO, KYMIRA; Anna Maxwell – Founder & CEO, Maxwellia; David Greenberg – Founder, Eave; Sabrina Del Prete – Founder & CEO, Kore Labs; Tim Antos – Founder & CEO, Kokoon Technology; Ann Kramer – Founder & CEO, The Electrospinning Company; Mats Stigzelius – Founder & Chair, Takumi; Jack Hylands – Founder, FourthRev; Huw Davies – Co-Founder & CEO, Ozone API; Freddie Green – Co-Founder, Minimum; Jonathan Summerfield – Founder & CEO, Xiatech; Liam Chennells – Co-Founder & CEO, Detected; David Newton – Founder & COO, Akrivia Health; Amon Ghaiumy – Co-Founder & CEO, Ophelos; Nicola Piercy – Co-Founder & Director, Stripe & Stare; Katie Lopes – Founder, Stripe & Stare; Mark McDermott – Co-Founder & CEO, ScreenCloud; Ellie Webb – Founder & CEO, Caleño Drinks; Merilee Karr – Founder & CEO, UnderTheDoormat Group; Kelly McCabe – Founder, Perci Health; Alexander Lempka – Co-Founder & CEO, Connect Earth; Jon Walsh – Co-Founder & CEO, Bio&Me; Will Mason – Founder & CEO, Infact Systems; Nick Perrett – Founder & CEO, Prosper; Pip Murray – Founder & CEO, Pip & Nut; Toby Austin – Founder & CEO, Beauhurst; Johannes Solzbach – Co-Founder & CEO, Clustermarket; Zoe Watkiss – Founder, SunGod; Laura Towart – Founder & CEO, My Personal Therapeutics; Imogen Wethered – Founder, Qudini; Eliot Brooks – Founder & CEO, CocoonCarbon; Fraser Smeaton – Founder & CEO, MorphCostumes; Tamzin Lent – Founder & CEO, Where You At; Llewellyn Kinch – Founder & CEO, Switchd; Anthony Rose – Co-Founder & CEO, SeedLegals; Rikke Rosenlund – CEO, BorrowMyDoggy; Lyz Swanton – Co-Founder & COO, Qured; Alex Templeton – Co-Founder & CEO, Qured; Karl Deady – Founder, Cinos; Dr Bruce Bratley – Founder & CEO, First Mile; Lisa Robinson – Founder & CEO, companiions; Stephen Crosher – Co-Founder & CEO, RheEnergise; Graham Cook – Co-Founder & CFO, RheEnergise; Duncan Cheatle – Founder & CEO, Learn Amp; Constantine Karampatsos – Founder & CEO, Good Life Sorted; Jing Ouyang – Co-Founder, Patchwork Health; Tim Maughan – Founder, Add to Event; Wayne Lloyd – Founder & CEO, Smarter Contracts; Brian Harrison – Co-Founder & CEO, Swoon Editions; Raj Meghani – Co-Founder, BLOCKAPT; Varun Bhanot – Co-Founder & CEO, MAGIC AI; Raphael Chow – Founder, WeVat; Lyndsey Simpson – Founder & CEO, 55/Redefined; Pip Wilson – Co-Founder & CEO, Amicable; Hon Lung Keith Tsui – Co-Founder & CEO, Medwise AI; Matthew McNeill Love – Founder, Thursday Dating; Matt Jonns – Founder, Founder + Lightning; Simon Banks – Founder & Director, CSL Group; Botty Dimanov – Co-Founder & CEO, Tenyks; Maleakhi Wijaya – Co-Founder & CEO, Tenyks; David Boon – Founder & CEO, Dijuno; Claire Harrison – Founder & CEO, GetSetGo Group; Ben Prouty – Co-Founder & CEO, PonchoPay; Gabriele Musella – Co-Founder & CEO, Coinrule; Oleg Giberstein – Co-Founder & COO, Coinrule; Sarah Bolt – Co-Founder & CEO, Humankind Ventures; Terry Canning – Co-Founder & CEO, CattleEye; Beth Michael – Co-Founder, Streeva; Johnny Paterson – Co-Founder, Dr.PAWPAW; Ioannis Agiomyrgiannakis – Founder & CEO, Altered; Pauline Paterson – Founder & CEO, Dr.PAWPAW; Caroline Goodman – Founder & CEO, Institutional Protection Services; Amanda Thomson – Founder & CEO, Thomson & Scott; Benedikt von Thüngen – Founder, Sanome; Harriet Hastings – Founder, Biscuiteers; Dr Diana Hodgins MBE – Founder & CEO, Dynamic Metrics; Charlotte Pearce – Founder & CEO, Inkpact; Sahil Sethi – Co-Founder & CEO, Maji; Gary Jones – Co-Founder & CEO, MediMusic; Rupert Schneider – Founder & CEO, Gardenia Technologies; Dominic Hall – Co-Founder & CTO, Biographica; Emma Beresford – Founder & CEO, International Energy Products; Anam Rahman – Founder & CEO, Kavida AI; Jinesh Vohra – Founder & CEO, Sprive; Glen Calvert – Co-Founder & CEO, Kaizan; Lucinda O'Connor – Founder & CEO, Clothes Doctor; Katerina Pljaskovova – Founder & CEO, Fair HQ; Daniel Howitt – Co-Founder & CEO, Recap; Richard Turnbull – Founder & CTO, Officely; Tina Warner-Keogh – Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Warner’s Distillery; Matt Milligan – Co-Founder, Uhubs; Josie Baum – Co-Founder, ARC Club; Daniel Gill – Founder & CEO, Augnet; Erika Brodnock MBE – Co-Founder & CEO, Kinhub; Jacob Herandi – Co-Founder & COO, Kinhub; Lucy Read – Founder, LA Personal Products; Gus Tugendhat – Founder, Tussell; Jay Orlean-Taub – Co-Founder & CEO, Sipgood; Rushina Shah – Founder, Insane Grain; Neil Taub – Co-Founder, ZoomDoc; Jenny James – Co-Founder, Findr; Cindy van Niekerk – Founder & CEO, Umazi; Irene McAleese – Co-Founder & CSO, See.Sense; Tariq Attia – CEO, IW Capital; Sarah Montgomery – Co-Founder & CEO, Infyos; Richard Bertin – Founder & CEO, All in Place Group; Lara Mott – Co-Founder & CEO, ImproveWell; Areeb Siddiqui – Founder & CEO, Kestrl; Dr Cristian Gherhes – Founder & CEO, Lexverify; Dr Fozia Saleem – CEO, Magnitude Biosciences; Wai Foong Ng – Founder, Matchable; Aaron Thomas – Founder, Yum Bug; Janthana Kaenprakhamroy – Founder & CEO, Tapoly; Jonny Philp – Co-Founder & Director, Nursem Skincare; Kate Jillings – Co-Founder, ToucanTech; Dr Paul Reynolds – Founder & CEO, FSD Active; Ann O'Neill – Co-Founder & CEO, Adora Digital Health; Tom Barltrop – Co-Founder, SuperFi; Chris Jackson – Co-Founder, OptAxe; Nadia Simonds – Founder, Lune & Wild; Philip Callow – Founder & CEO, Rosetta Risk Management; Alex Fisher – CEO, Saturn Bioponics; Leo Kellgren-Parker – Founder & CEO, LIVR; Mark Hindmarsh – Co-Founder, 2B Enterprising; Sarah Dowzell – Co-Founder, Natural HR; Jason Dowzell – Founder & CEO, Natural HR; Ben Maughan – Co-Founder, Add to Event; Jason Mohr – Founder & CEO, LoveJunk; Tamsin Dewhurst – Founder & CEO, Uptree; Seb Wallace – Co-Founder, Further; Olivier Scaramucci – Founder & CEO, Boutique Brands; Rachael Grimaldi – Co-Founder & CEO, CardMedic; Alistair Sergeant – Founder & CEO, Niico; Anant Prakash – Founder & CEO, Odysse; Edward Hall – Founder & CEO, Qualification Check; Alex Freeman – Co-Founder & CEO, Stance Fitness; Steve Monk – Founder, Good Guys Bakehouse; Oliver Noakes – Founder, Boulders; Sam Peters – Co-Founder & CEO, Vyde; Akber Tahir – Founder & CEO, Pharmovo AI; Priya Guliani – Co-Founder & CEO, EarthID; Alla Ouvarova – Founder & CEO, Two Chicks; Chloe Sweden – Founder & CEO, Lowr; Dino Bertolis – Founder, Breez Technology; Hugh Von Andree – Founder, weServed; Rowan Jackson – Co-Founder, Promising Outcomes; Barbara Gottardi – Co-Founder & CEO, Finbridge Global; Andrew Philipson – Founder, JOBBA; Edwin Bartlett – Founder, Kostüme Apparel; Betty Bonnardel-Azzarelli MBE – Founder & CEO, Farmer Charlie; Mark Taylor – Co-Founder, BizNest; Gary Hunter – Founder & CEO, Redu Group; Lyall Cresswell – Founder & CEO, Transport Exchange Group; Lucas Johnston – Founder, Umber; Kuntal Fisher – Founder & CEO, FIECON; Paddy Willis – Co-Founder, Mission Ventures; Edward Bussey – CEO, Oxford Science Enterprises; Andrew Pullman – CEO, People Risk Solutions; David Parker – CEO, Polymath Consulting; Tom O’Hagan – CEO, PXC; Charles Skinner – CEO, Restore; James Mallinson – CEO, Servo Private Wealth; Stuart Green – CEO, SetldPay; Brian Kelly – CEO, Strandcourt; Selina Donald – CEO, The Bulb; Emma Mirrington – CEO, The Talent Labs; Aaron Ross – CEO, Vix Technology; Georgi Rollings – Co-CEO, Starfish Accounting; Saudenh Doctzan – Co-Director, May Sum Restaurant Nottingham; Kerry Burn – Co-Founder & CEO, 848 Group; Ben Putley – Co-Founder & CEO, Alkimi; Dermot O’Grady – Co-Founder & CEO, Ardent Tide; Hannes Verschueren – Co-Founder & CEO, atomic; Ken Hendricks – Co-Founder & CEO, Basepilot; Ulises Chesini – Co-Founder & CEO, BITGENIA; Dominic Ponniah – Co-Founder & CEO, Cleanology; Frederick Mark Tughan – Co-Founder & CEO, Comic Enterprises; Lorna MacLean – Co-Founder & CEO, Demetria; Charles Groome – Co-Founder & CEO, Everna; Mat Westergreen-Thorne – Co-Founder & CEO, Grantify; Meral Griffith – Co-Founder & CEO, Hello Nova; Rupert Patrick – Co-Founder & CEO, James Eadie; Adam Kene – Co-Founder & CEO, Kene Partners; Emily Gill – Co-Founder & CEO, LEVRA; Sam Soares – Co-Founder & CEO, MPWR-365; David Hunter – Co-Founder & CEO, Orbital Cards; Joseph Burns – Co-Founder & CEO, Reformed IT; Natasha Guerra – Co-Founder & CEO, Runway East; Paddy Stobbs – Co-Founder & CEO, Stackfix; Christian Edwards – Co-Founder & CEO, This is Tommy; Adam Thomas Orme – Co-Founder & CEO, Trinity Space Technologies; Ami Daniel – Co-Founder & CEO, Windward; Carlo Keenan Ross – Co-Founder & COO, Bridge; Jake Wells – Co-Founder & COO, Meshed; Tom Love – Co-Founder & Director, Trinity Space Technologies; Marc Swarbrick – Co-Founder, Abstrakt Creative; Alex Street – Co-Founder, Alpha Base; Jill Willis – Co-Founder, Attract & Engage; David Turney – Co-Founder, Avery Law; Tom Griffiths – Co-Founder, BitCompli; Jag Singh – Co-Founder, Bricktrade; Darpan Jain – Co-Founder, CleverSpend; Piers Mummery – Co-Founder, Crunch Technologies International; Robert Craig – Co-Founder, Cube Capital; Clara Latham – Co-Founder, Deeply Foods; Harrison Thomas – Co-Founder, Elephants; Marco Botticelli – Co-Founder, embryōnic studio; Rune Sovndahl – Co-Founder, Fantastic Services; Dec McLaughlin – Co-Founder, Foras; Hetesh Pal – Co-Founder, GiroStor; Sunjit Saroya – Co-Founder, GiroStor; Sophie Eden – Co-Founder, Gordon & Eden; Sam Waterfall – Co-Founder, Greenwood Foods; Carla Petra Ottersen – Co-Founder, Hot Shoe Media; Edward Wijnen – Co-Founder, Intuicon.ai; Paul Billingham – Co-Founder, Knight Corporate Finance; Marcus Love – Co-Founder, Love Ventures; Ash Dey – Co-Founder, Lyfe; Wil Benton – Co-Founder, Metta; Will Taylor – Co-Founder, Old House Labs; Tim Simpson – Co-Founder, Pinchful; Bridie Cunningham – Co-Founder, Portman Scott; Georgijus Kocegarovas – Co-Founder, PSP Lab; Robert Irvin – Co-Founder, RMS Partners; Willem Wellinghoff – Co-Founder, Shieldpay; Ruth Simmonds – Co-Founder, TACaccess; Colin Weston – Co-Founder, TidyChoice; Andrew Dougan – Co-Founder, Viital; Guy Pengelley – Co-Founder, Viresco Group; Dr Nikhit Anilbhai – Co-Founder, Your Cue; Sonakshi Senthil – Co-Founder, Your Cue; Charlotte Pegg – Co-Founder, ZEN8; Hao Chit Fu – Director, Bluetoner; Samuel Davies – Director, Cowgills; Steven Brough – Director, Dramanon; Sarah-Jane Butler – Director, Farringford Legal; Jeffrey Bartlett – Director, Nurture Ventures; Matt Dangell – Director, Rise Group; Daniel Merrington – Director, SubWorx; Rudy Parengal – Founder & CEO, Abjak; James Gozney – Founder & CEO, Aslan; Julian Daniel – Founder & CEO, BSB Construction; Spencer Gallagher – Founder & CEO, Cactus; Alan Smith – Founder & CEO, Capital Asset Management; Becks Armstrong – Founder & CEO, Clarity; Ahana Banerjee – Founder & CEO, Clear; Suzy Ferreira – Founder & CEO, Dinie; Kevin Withane – Founder & CEO, Diversity X; Emma O'Brien – Founder & CEO, Embridge Consulting; Emma Shipley – Founder & CEO, Emma J Shipley; Matt Norbury – Founder & CEO, Epoints Rewards; Gary Mead – Founder & CEO, euroloos; Simon Francis – Founder & CEO, Flock Associates; Grace Castillo – Founder & CEO, Gifftid; Lucy Johnson – Founder & CEO, Green Salon; Carlo Centonze – Founder & CEO, HeiQ; Chris Twigg – Founder & CEO, Inner Circle Consulting; Vijay Muralidharan – Founder & CEO, Insight Delivered; Conlan Ainsworth – Founder & CEO, iReceet; Simon Barry – Founder & CEO, Knowbotics AI; Richard Oastler – Founder & CEO, KPI Tree; Rob Reeve – Founder & CEO, LexTego; Claire Mason – Founder & CEO, Man Bites Dog; Johnny Manning – Founder & CEO, Manning's Tutors; Nimrita Singh – Founder & CEO, Marketing Essentials Lab; Diane Banks – Founder & CEO, Northbank Talent Management; Jon Dobinson – Founder & CEO, other group; Serena Fordham – Founder & CEO, ProspHER; Rosie Hewat – Founder & CEO, Rosie’s People; Flynn Robinson – Founder & CEO, scOS; Sean Ramsden MBE – Founder & CEO, Sean Ramsden International; Dom Hawes – Founder & CEO, Selbey Anderson; Tom Perry – Founder & CEO, Sherpa; Zac Hancox – Founder & CEO, StraightIn; Zoe Robson – Founder & CEO, Strateva Group; Cathy Moseley – Founder & CEO, Supernatural Food; Amanda Coulson – Founder & CEO, SVC Solutions; Alan Wing-King – Founder & CEO, Syntegra Group; Simon Fordham – Founder & CEO, The Institute of Business Support Professionals; Leonard Evans – Founder & CEO, The Profs; Gregory Mccallum – Founder & CEO, ThinkWork; Shain Khoja – Founder & CEO, Thriving Ai; Amy Hopper – Founder & CEO, TOA Group; Angela Fagan – Founder & CEO, Trust My Pet Sitter International; Ollie Scott – Founder & CEO, UNKNOWN; Victoria Johnson – Founder & CEO, VetCT; Amanda Nicholson – Founder & Director, Nicholson Jones Sutton Solicitors; Pippa Watmough – Founder & Director, PE Consulting; Tomasz Letniowski – Founder & Director, Traductio; Lauren Swarbrick – Founder & Managing Director, Abstrakt Creative; Mike Spicer – Founder & Managing Director, PolicyDepartment; Sean Cook – Founder & Managing Director, Urban & Regional; Tom Bohills – Founder & Principal, Founders Law; David Horne – Founder, Add then Multiply; Lucy Walker – Founder, AM Insights; Ben Gwatkin – Founder, Aprez; Kerrie Dorman – Founder, Association of Business Mentors; Robert Hurst – Founder, Bengeho; Dr Jo Carlile – Founder, Carlile Psychology; Dima Kats – Founder, Clear Junction; Jodie Cook – Founder, Coachvox; Dinesh Dhamija – Founder, Copper Beech Group; Harry Cruickshank – Founder, Cruickshank Associates; Michael Blakeley – Founder, Entrepreneurs Collective; Alina Eden Cornea – Founder, eZpZe; Carla Forder – Founder, Fandango Digital; Ed Hill – Founder, Fiddlie Technology; Jenna Dominique – Founder, First Class Comms; Illai Gescheit – Founder, Gescheit & Partners; Simon Bloomfield – Founder, Glenmill Partners; Harriet Green – Founder, HSG Advisory & Basis Capital; Koroush de Werra-Milani – Founder, Ibex Recruitment; Adrian Parsons – Founder, Integrity Software Group; Thomas Borwick – Founder, Kanto Systems; Julian Dowling – Founder, Launch Club Capital; Mark Kingsley-Williams – Founder, LawPanel; Olaf Hofmann – Founder, Maivin Consulting; Peter Cartwright – Founder, Momentum Taxation and Accountancy; Paul Gillings – Founder, Monatrix; Nathalie Oestmann – Founder, Notting Ventures; Sam Tidswell-Norrish – Founder, OPUS; Jessica Wilkinson – Founder, Petal & Co.; Steven Matthew Hyde – Founder, Push Group; Cain Ullah – Founder, Red Badger; Howard Mearsw – Founder, Rise Ventures; Ben Beavers – Founder, SmartyPlants; Hasan Toprakkaya – Founder, Sociality.io; Anton Kooll – Founder, StartUp to ScaleUP Club; Shelley Stuart – Founder, Stuart Consulting; Jonathan Rose – Founder, The Story Club; Chrissie Rucker OBE – Founder, The White Company; Lawrence Pammen – Founder, Third Square; Liza Levy – Founder, Unravel Health; Caroline Marshall – Founder, Upsource Support; Kelly Sinclair – Founder, Vero Tech Sales; Thomas Green – Founder, Verticode; Darren Mercer – Founder, We Clear Junk; Stephen Hoffman – Founding Director, Stephen Hoffman Consulting; Roxane Sanguinetti – Founding Partner, Alma Angels; Alison Jackson – Group Managing Director, Nineteen Group; Mark Hardman – Managing Director, Hardman Associates; Hayden Jones – Managing Director, Merchant Marketing Group; Alex Fink – Partner, Empirical Ventures; Roderick G Banner – CEO, 3LA.com; Rasmus Bech – CEO, Airfinity; Chris Wigley – CEO, Aneira Health; Romanie Thomas – CEO, Chatsie; Daniel Van Binsbergen – CEO, DraftPilot; Alessandro Mele – CEO, EthicalFin; Roberta MacDonald – CEO, Exceptional Alien; Charles Hassall – CEO, Falcon Contract Flooring Sales; Kathy Heath – CEO, Healthy Minds Club; Jason Yeomans – CEO, Iglu Tech Group; Karl Griffin – CEO, JammJar; Jeremy Nicholds – CEO, Judopay; Kizito Muokebe – CEO, Kayndrexsphere Group; John Warringon – CEO, Krafty Entertainment; Simon Rand – CEO, Kuul Tech; Andy Macdonald – CEO, Lisou; Xavier Bellekens – CEO, Lupovis; Edmund May – CEO, Microsec; Stuart Rex – CEO, Omni Money; Camille Rougie – CEO, Plural AI; James O'Sullivan – CEO, Project One Consulting; Sebastien Goldenberg – CEO, QDEX AI; Ross Linnett – CEO, Recite Me; Venetia Archer – CEO, ruuby; Insiya Jafferjee – CEO, Shellworks; Jamie McNaught – CEO, Solidi Crypto Currency Exchange; George Lewin-Smith – CEO, Testudo; Thomas Pascoe-Williams – CEO, The Heracles Project; James Rix – CEO, The On Street Agency; Ieuan Leigh – CEO, Validient; John McLaren-Stewart – CEO, Venture Risks Group; Lesley Williams – CEO, Welsh Innovation Centre for Enterprise (ICE); Sten Saar – CEO, Zego; William Jones – Chairman, Global Village; Andrew Rogoff – Co-CEO, Resource Guru; Emma Lawrence – Co-CEO, Starfish Accounting; Ben Mercer – Co-Founder & CCO, Personify xP; Adam Ward – Co-Founder & CEO, Airtime Rewards; Jeremy Sosabowski – Co-Founder & CEO, AlgoDyamix; Sherden Timmins – Co-Founder & CEO, Camallergy; Paul de Gruchy Gaudin – Co-Founder & CEO, CareRooms; Vanessa Jacobs – Co-Founder & CEO, Circulo Technology; Josh Harris – Co-Founder & CEO, Doc2; Greg Watts – Co-Founder & CEO, Findr; Richard Hollingsworth – Co-Founder & CEO, Fyxer.ai; Dimitri Masin – Co-Founder & CEO, Gradient Labs; Elliot Street – Co-Founder & CEO, Inovus Medical; Karoli Hindriks – Co-Founder & CEO, Jobbatical; Allan Cannon – Co-Founder & CEO, Krucial; Lucas London – Co-Founder & CEO, Lick; Haydn Rees – Co-Founder & CEO, MacDonald and Rees; Tarig Hilal – Co-Founder & CEO, Moja; Alex Gordon-Furse – Co-Founder & CEO, Playmaker; Ben Corrigan – Co-Founder & COO, London Reporting House; Enrique Munoz de Cote – Co-Founder & CTO, Mutable Tactics; Vytautas Savickas – Co-Founder & CTO, Science Card; Neil Harvie – Co-Founder & Director, Sempre analytics; Mubasher Ahmed – Co-Founder, Hi.ERD; Michael Tinmouth – Co-Founder, ACUA Ocean; Shubh Malde – Co-Founder, Arda; Elliot Metcalfe-Smith – Co-Founder, Caruso Languages; Richard Bell – Co-Founder, Chapter 4; Leonel Richard – Co-Founder, Coszus; Sarah Quist – Co-Founder, Creative Awakenings; Derek Bishop – Co-Founder, Culture Consultancy; Joseph Jones – Co-Founder, CurveBlock; James Burch – Co-Founder, Decently; James Chapman – Co-Founder, Decently; Jeannie Arthur – Co-Founder, Destiny Automate; Dean Hills – Co-Founder, EDR Technology; Dominic Day – Co-Founder, fourfive; Derek Baker – Co-Founder, Fynlo AI; Sam Gordon – Co-Founder, Gordon & Eden; Jen Bayford – Co-Founder, Growth Animals; Aidan Bocci – Co-Founder, Growzz; Nigel Walker – Co-Founder, HeadData; Omer Ozener – Co-Founder, Hello Klean; Edward Poland – Co-Founder, Hire Space; Amy Moring – Co-Founder, Hunter & Gather; Hannah Feldman – Co-Founder, Kidadl; Ian Walker – Co-Founder, LaundryRepublic; Gus Bartholomew – Co-Founder, Leafr; Jojo Regan – Co-Founder, MANORS Golf; Gemma Young – Co-Founder, Moverly; Steve Johnson – Co-Founder, My Secret Stylist; Michael Greenhough – Co-Founder, MyCarbon; James Grant – Co-Founder, MyTutor; Nikki Guest – Co-Founder, NGC Networks Group; Greg Lawton – Co-Founder, Nodes & Links; Edward Page – Co-Founder, Paace; Adam Lewis – Co-Founder, Pillar; Elliot Godfrey – Co-Founder, Pitch London; Bogdan Oprea – Co-Founder, Progressio.ai; Rohan Radhakrishnan – Co-Founder, Quarter Proof; Olivia Grant – Co-Founder, Renue; Percy Stilwell – Co-Founder, Resource Guru; Rebecca Denyer – Co-Founder, Sebring Works; Blair Spowart – Co-Founder, Seedling; Helen Bankole – Co-Founder, Smartshifts; Oliver Fisher – Co-Founder, Springpod; Adelle Martin – Co-Founder, Stronger Together Through Cancer CIC; Dmitry Kazhdan – Co-Founder, Tenyks; Daniel Dyulgerski – Co-Founder, Terrapin; Justin Smith – Co-Founder, The Educational App Store; Richard Mackie – Co-Founder, The Knowledge Room; Lee O’Sullivan – Co-Founder, Think FM solutions; Nick Telson-Sillett – Co-Founder, trumpet; James Pope – Co-Founder, Turner Pope investments; Graeme Everitt – Co-Founder, TVI; Kimeshan Naidoo – Co-Founder, Unibuddy; Lara Mead – Co-Founder, Varley; Joshua Moreton – Co-Founder, Walk Through Walls; Visar Statovci – Co-Founder, Waste Creative; Jonny Plein – Co-Founder, YASO; Andrew Foyle – Co-Founder, Zixty; Andrew Campling – Director, 419 Consulting; Nicola Wilkes – Director, A Noble Gift; Nikki Taylor – Director, Abstrakt Creative; Michael Borrelli – Director, AI & Partners; Ryan Timoney – Director, Ascendeo; John Barber – Director, Barber Consulting; Bradley Rogers – Director, Brad Rogers Group; Robert Bridgman – Director, Bridgman; Carolyn Barraclough – Director, C&C Search; Neil Baldock – Director, Charles David Casson; Christopher Morgan – Director, Club Sport NI; Matt Coates – Director, Coates Electronics; Julie Watling – Director, Communications Solutions UK; Katharine Hayman – Director, Conscious Living Coaches; William O'Brien – Director, Corporate Development; Andrew Charles Ford – Director, CustomerGig; Umran Khan – Director, CVC Components; Pamina Bou – Director, Dream Reality Interactive; Matthew Rogers-Draycott – Director, EEUK; Russell Worricker – Director, Elements Outdoor Living; Jack Pearson – Director, Eltham Court; Rachel Emmett – Director, Emmett PR & Communications; Mark Jones – Director, Ennew Jones; Stamati Lagoudis – Director, Euler Functions; Rufus Salter – Director, Firma Energy; Alex Rosengren – Director, Fortice; Alan Smith – Director, Forward Together; Henry Harvey – Director, Garage Style; Nick Roach – Director, Geminus Innovation; Sofia Docwra – Director, Gloss Enterprises Kent; Wayne Whitford – Director, High Court Writ Recovery; Nash Kumar Sareen – Director, Higher Elevation; Jamie Revell – Director, JR Revell; Scott Jay – Director, Keystones Property; Vikki Lindop – Director, Lindop Developments; Christina Kebbell – Director, LINK Smoke Control; Ollie Hart – Director, Peak Health Coaching; David Reed – Director, Pecs; James Bridge – Director, Poolman Leisure Group; Joe Buckman – Director, Psych Health; Ben Barnaby – Director, Psych Health; Maria Inmaculada Martinez-Rubio – Director, Right Brain Future; Eddie Edmonstone – Director, Rose Project Management; Andrew Stephen Brode – Director, RWS Holdings; Lucy Regan – Director, Sew Essential; Carl Davies – Director, Shuffles Events; Steve Chambers – Director, SJULTRA UK; Lorraine Bridden – Director, South Devon Roasters; Jonathan Barns – Director, Sprint Integration; Peter Stirling – Director, STL Tech; Dhruv Krishnaraj – Director, Student Circus; Mark McCormack – Director, Talking Tables; Craig Hubert – Director, The Hair and Beauty Supermarket; Chris Simmance – Director, The OMG Center; Coralie Watson – Director, Theme Creative; Ian Thomson – Director, Thomson & Scott; Tom O'Brien FRSA – Director, Tom Wrote It; Frankie Clark – Director, Total Line Marking; Andy Coyle – Director, West Peak; Darren Cairns – Director, Your CMO; Malcolm Little – Executive Chairman, Advanced Dynamics; Nick Johnson – Founder & CEO, AppsAnywhere; Melinda Nicci – Founder & CEO, Baby2Body; Adrian Faure – Founder & CEO, BCA; Nick Taylor – Founder & CEO, Building Atlas; Sai Lakshmi – Founder & CEO, Caura; Barney Hussey-Yeo – Founder & CEO, Cleo AI; Ankur Mehta – Founder & CEO, ComplyLens; Tom Thirlwall – Founder & CEO, COPA90; Darren Fell – Founder & CEO, Crunch.co.uk; Moises Barbera Ramos – Founder & CEO, Drill Surgeries; Shalini Khemka CBE – Founder & CEO, E2Exchange; Phil Warren – Founder & CEO, Energy & Technical Services; Jacyn Heavens – Founder & CEO, Epos Now; Joe Lewin – Founder & CEO, Foundy.com; Sam Green – Founder & CEO, Foxe and Fable; Jonny Matthews – Founder & CEO, gocertify; Mirjana Prokic – Founder & CEO, hangAIR Global; Toby Harper – Founder & CEO, Harper James Solicitors; Firaas Rashid – Founder & CEO, Hook Technology; John Ward – Founder & CEO, Hussle; Laura Stembridge – Founder & CEO, InsideOut; Rajeeb Dey MBE – Founder & CEO, Learnerbly; Tobias Crosbie – Founder & CEO, Making Moves London; Karen Sharpe – Founder & CEO, Mergent Technologies; Matthew Mawdwsley – Founder & CEO, Morpheus Lending; Charlie Stein-Cohen – Founder & CEO, Net2work; Will Pearce – Founder & CEO, Orbital Witness; Liz Ashall-Payne – Founder & CEO, ORCHA; Sonia Ponzo – Founder & CEO, Outset Wellness; Hannah Sore – Founder & CEO, PharmEnable Therapeutics; Dave Hindle – Founder & CEO, Propensio Finance; Matt Escott – Founder & CEO, Protolaunch; Amin Hamzianpour – Founder & CEO, Qube; Baris Ozaydinli – Founder & CEO, Scooch; Pascal de Mul – Founder & CEO, Setmixer; Chris Parsonson – Founder & CEO, Solve Intelligence; Darren Scott-Healey – Founder & CEO, Tailor Made Technologies; Emmanuel Cohen – Founder & CEO, The Armadillo Group; Kate Bright – Founder & CEO, UMBRA International Group; Francis Toye – Founder & CEO, Unilink Software; Damian McLaughlin – Founder & CEO, Urban Phoenix; Warren Davies – Founder & CEO, Utilize; Phillip Carter – Founder & CEO, Xpert360; Joe Seddon – Founder & CEO, Zero Gravity; Xavier De Pauw – Founder & CFO, Kennek; Bev Shah – Founder & Co-CEO, City Hive; Dave Tucker – Founder & Co-CEO, Glean; Felix Mitchell – Founder & Co-CEO, Instant Impact; Rene Moshi Macdonald – Founder & Creative Director, Lisou; Jonathan Falkingham MBE – Founder & Creative Director, Urban Splash; Adam Fudakowski – Founder & Director, Switchee; Thomas Schilling – Founder & Director, Tugela People; Nicholas R. Morgan – Founder & Group CEO, We Group; Stephen Britt – Founder & Managing Director, Anchor Storage; Paul Theile – Founder & Managing Director, MEL (Holdings); Patricia Ypma – Founder & Managing Director, Spark Legal and Policy Consulting; Will Linay – Founder & Managing Director, Stratstone Developments; Jarmila Halovsky-Yu – Founder & Managing Director, YUnique Marketing; Daniel Philip Astaire – Founder & Managing Partner, Grosvenor Law; Alison Mcmurtrie – Founder & Principle, Idunn Consulting; Ian Merricks – Founder & Proposition Lead, VenturePath; Karli Büchling – Founder, Yoni Health; Kevin Coles – Founder, A&N Consultancy; Darcy Laceby – Founder, absolute collagen; Nadine Campbell – Founder, ACE Entrepreneurs; Will Mitting – Founder, Acuiti Management Intelligence; Alison Shadrack – Founder, Adia PR; George Buckley – Founder, AIIR; Jenny Bowden – Founder, Aivilo; Edward Keeling – Founder, Albion Airspace; Alfie Whattam – Founder, Alfa AI; Alison Cork – Founder, Alison at Home; Linda Hayes De Garcia – Founder, Alluxi Consulting; Christopher Robinson – Founder, Ampsahead; Sarah Turner – Founder, Angel Academe; Sarah J. Wadham – Founder, Aphrodite Angels; Lydia Carrick – Founder, Apputee; Denis Kaminskiy – Founder, Arcus Global; Jason Living – Founder, Argyle Square Property Group; Joanne Charlick – Founder, Aroona Consulting; Rachel Hayward – Founder, Ask the Chameleon; Connie Nam – Founder, Astrid & Miyu; Peadar Coyle – Founder, AudioStack; Nayan Kalnad – Founder, Avegen Health; Joe Andrews – Founder, Aztec Network; Lilijan Sulejmanovic – Founder, Bardo Ventures; Peter Lovering – Founder, Beemcar Transport for All; Thomas Power – Founder, BIP100 Club; Leke Sholuade – Founder, Black Valley; Vanita Parti – Founder, Blink Brow Bar; Ed Stanbury – Founder, BLOK London; Stefano Di Gregorio – Founder, Boogi; Jess Jeetley MBE – Founder, Bot-Theory; Rachel Roots – Founder, Brains for Hire; Sahar Hashemi OBE – Founder, Buy Women Built; Dominika Minarovic – Founder, BYBI Beauty; Lucy Chamberlain – Founder, C&C Search; David Luck – Founder, Capital on Tap; Nadia Crandall – Founder, Capshore Partners; Carmel Saulbrey – Founder, Carmel Jane Photography; Shernaz Engineer – Founder, Cerity Appointments; Lana Tahirly Abdullayeva – Founder, Chez FinTech; Hannah mccollum – Founder, ChicP; Camilla Collins – Founder, CJC Hair & Makeup; Bear Ashton Johnson – Founder, Clic; Niklas Friedberg – Founder, Clustermarket; Stephen Wheatley – Founder, Company of Entrepreneurs; Ian Jarvis – Founder, Composability; Sid Pourfalah – Founder, Concrete4Change; Nick Smith – Founder, Cordel; Daniel Szor – Founder, Cotswolds Distillery; Louisa Jackson – Founder, Craic; Martine Abboud – Founder, Creo Incubator; Kirsty Wilson – Founder, Cross Section Equestrian; Douglas Emslie – Founder, Cuil Bay Capital; Akansha Pandey – Founder, Cureline Pvt; Dan Martin – Founder, Dan Martin Content & Events; Catherine Bedford – Founder, Dashel; Hani Armstrong – Founder, Dengi Media; Joshua Hunt – Founder, Digital Media Partner; Paul Angeli – Founder, digitalPACT; Vivek Awasthi – Founder, Director in various startups; Emma Downer – Founder, DIY With Emma; David Forsyth – Founder, Document Data Group; Toinette Vicars – Founder, Dot-Connectors; Kathryn Bricken – Founder, Doughlicious; James Stirrat – Founder, Dougie AI; Louis Collin – Founder, Drink Local; Christian Nentwich – Founder, Duco; Alasdair Pettigrew – Founder, Eddyline Ventures; Oli Cook – Founder, Ekko; Simon Toller – Founder, Ekko; Maria Ward – Founder, Elegance Lashes; Laura Sofie – Founder, Elevate Personal Finance; Keith Ellis – Founder, Ellis International Associates; Marcus Williamson – Founder, Empower Aid Technologies; Emma Jones CBE – Founder, Enterprise Nation; Hephzi Pemberton – Founder, Equality Group; Emily Westwood – Founder, EVE; Umberto Grand – Founder, GRAYE; Sean Kiernan – Founder, Greengage; Joe Devereux-Kelly – Founder, GrowGrows; Kajal Sanghrajka – Founder, Growth Hub Global; Martin Leuw – Founder, Growth4Good; Dan Robinson – Founder, Hackford Data; Daniel Murray – Founder, Heights; Jemel Richards – Founder, HERO FILMS; Deirdre O'Neill – Founder, Hertility Health; Stuart Barr – Founder, Hey Maestro; Thomas Wilson – Founder, Home Appliance Guard; Tim Keaveney – Founder, Homethings; Mark Huxley – Founder, Huxley Advisory; Adam Amos – Founder, Iceberg Ventures; Natalie Montagnani – Founder, IGNITE Women in Business; Sarah Natasha Mortimer – Founder, Imagineerium; Matt Mawdesley – Founder, Incipient Consultancy; Simon Thethi – Founder, Indicium Ventures; Tony Matharu – Founder, Integrity International Group; Peter Nixey – Founder, Intentional.io; Caitlin Rozario – Founder, interlude; Roxana Nasoi – Founder, IP3 Studio; Royden Greaves – Founder, Jarvis Pension; David Tucker – Founder, Jasper Equity; Jamie Darkin – Founder, JD Enterprises; Kevin Bath – Founder, JimJams Spreads; Kate Macdonald – Founder, Kadence Consultancy; Kieran Fisher – Founder, KBF Enterprises; Benoit Machefer – Founder, Keel; Matt Williams – Founder, Keep Communications; Z. Ali Shah – Founder, Kew Data Consultants; Klara Goldy – Founder, KGI Design Studio; Ailsa Kiely – Founder, Kiely Transformative Growth; Mark O’Neil – Founder, Kinetic Business Advice; Shaun Traynor – Founder, Kip; Lucy Minton – Founder, Kitt Offices; Stephen Lynch – Founder, KPL Knowledge Solutions; Fraser Ferguson – Founder, Kubenet; Matthew Jack – Founder, Kythera AI; Abigail Langridge – Founder, Langridge Consulting; Jude Jennison – Founder, Leaders by Nature; Ashish K. Gupta – Founder, Leap@Forward; Richard Carter – Founder, Lopay; Gail Laser – Founder, Love Barnet; Lucas Jones – Founder, Lowicks; Ryan Eric Gralia – Founder, Lucius; Gary Stewart – Founder, Lyfeguard; Sara Carty – Founder, Marketbound; Philip Bacon – Founder, Marketing Managed; Charlie Bradshaw – Founder, Matrix APA (UK); Max Beech – Founder, Maxed Labs; Mairi Bannon – Founder, MBB Consulting; Miriam Dervan – Founder, MDE Services; Douglas Orr – Founder, Message Matrix; Clare Shaw – Founder, Mini Mozart; Jenny Garbis – Founder, Mission Good; Freddie Elborne – Founder, MONC; Stuart Macgregor – Founder, Motion Dynamics; Ana Gomes – Founder, mPixl Technologies; Jacob Beckett – Founder, Multivitamin Studio; Cristina Holm – Founder, My Secret Stylist; Shane Mullis – Founder, MyProskill.Expert; Georgina Bowman – Founder, MYSHOOTS®️; Navin Jaitly – Founder, Navin Jaitly Coaching; Eren Kocyigit – Founder, NBT; Nick Dinsdale – Founder, NCD Equipment; Linda Jiang – Founder, Neurowave; Pragati Kumar Dhingra – Founder, NI Bricks; Karen Houghton – Founder, Nimbus Legal; Kieran South – Founder, North Star; Tom Lymn – Founder, Northern Shoal consulting; Keir Carnie – Founder, Nuud; Dhruvin Patel – Founder, Ocushield; Edwin Simonds – Founder, Offload; Samir Patel – Founder, Omnia Housing; Natasha Zone – Founder, onezone; Kerry Morgan – Founder, Outsource Financial Solutions; Ben Armstrong – Founder, Pall Mall Investments International; Toby Willcocks – Founder, Pallery; Catrin MacDonnell – Founder, Papadeli Foods; Emma Walford – Founder, Perigon Partners; George Phillips – Founder, Phillips Hobbies; Timothy Chater – Founder, Phoenix Ventures; Sathya Smith – Founder, Piper Technology; Stefan Husanu – Founder, Pith & Stem; Julie Wong – Founder, PJL; Mark Hawes – Founder, Potential HR; Nazanin Nankali – Founder, Powertutors; Rachael Twumasi-Corson – Founder, PPTCS; Ian Stephens – Founder, Principia Brand Consultants; Tony Harrison – Founder, Printercare; Amrit Lotay – Founder, Product Sphere; Anthony Gale – Founder, PromoLens; Edmond Ibrahimi – Founder, Propertalis; James Hadley – Founder, Property from Pensions; Matthew Pearce – Founder, PuriFire Labs; Rachel Vosper – Founder, Rachel Vosper; Nigel Verdon – Founder, Railsr; Raishma Islam – Founder, Raishma Ready to Wear; Rebecca Wray – Founder, Rebecca Wray Coaching Consultancy; Simon Newell – Founder, Renewell Water UK; Deborah Harris – Founder, Restoring Health; Cameron Johnson – Founder, Revenue Consultancy and Econx; Ed Lewis-Pratt – Founder, Roarsome; Kevin Brittain – Founder, Runpreneur; Catherine K. Jolly – Founder, Rutherford Glen Global; Ben Martin – Founder, Safe4 Information Management; Jack McMahon – Founder, Saint Group; Paul Rider – Founder, SALT; Charlie Kenny – Founder, Salve; Sam Ward – Founder, Sam Ward Creative; James Digva – Founder, Sauce Shop; Lara Morgan – Founder, Scentered; Taha Dar – Founder, SearchSmartly; Laura Harnett – Founder, Seep; Cecile Reinaud – Founder, Seraphine Maternity; James Farnfield – Founder, Shake Content; Oliver Ashness – Founder, SimplyCook; Paul Naha-Biswas – Founder, Sixley; Sarah Graham – Founder, Skills4Stem Group; James Mishreki – Founder, Skin + Me; Greg Gormley – Founder, SkootEco Group; Hussain Hilli – Founder, Skrap; Natasha Grossman – Founder, Slip Technology; Damien Gray – Founder, SOAK’d OATS; Nazia Anwar – Founder, Social Blox; Gareth Deakin – Founder, Sonorous Consulting; David Herbada – Founder, Spectroma; Neal Gandhi – Founder, Spin Energy; Jo Saxby – Founder, Spruce; Laura Oliphant – Founder, Stand; Mauricio Banados-Cornejo – Founder, stash-up; Melwin Mehta – Founder, Sterling Investments; Tom Greenwood – Founder, Strategic Launch; Craig Jamieson – Founder, Straw Innovations; Joanne Bekis – Founder, Summit Consultancy; Ben Lakey – Founder, Syndi Health; Rayan Bannai – Founder, Table for Ten; Bevan Thomas – Founder, Tahu Capital; Gabrielle Mendes Salisbury – Founder, Talk Twenties; Sophie Taylor – Founder, Taylor Made Media TV; Stephanie Henson – Founder, techtimeout; Rakhitha Lakshman Dias – Founder, Terias Consulting; Georgina Cotton – Founder, The Accounts Shop; Jordan Walker – Founder, The Bitcoin Collective; Manya Klempner – Founder, The Boxing House; Barnaby Wynter – Founder, The Brand Bucket Company; Diane Young – Founder, The Drum; Suzie Campbell – Founder, The Friendly CFO; Alana Macfarlane Kempner – Founder, The Gut Stuff; Shona Motherwell – Founder, The Independent Buying Group; Shreneve Singh – Founder, The Live Now App; Jane Middleton – Founder, The Middleton Partnership; Marie-Louise Annan – Founder, The Mishkan Group; Matthew Freeman – Founder, The Numbers Studio; Torie Blythe-Richards – Founder, The Partnership Collection; Tony Craddock – Founder, The Payments Association; Teresa Dupay – Founder, The Pebble Rebels; Harry Turpin – Founder, The Savourists; Leah Brown – Founder, The WayFinders Group; Michelle de Klerk – Founder, The Women's Chapter; Alexander Cavadias – Founder, TheCart; Boris Boychev – Founder, TheWatergateGroups; Amelia Rope – Founder, Third Time Lucky; Terry Walby – Founder, Thoughtonomy; Kieran O'Neill – Founder, Thread; Dan Amos – Founder, Tools for Schools; Claire Trachet – Founder, Trachet Advisory; Christopher Tucker – Founder, Tucker & Partners; Harry Bremner – Founder, Tuggs; Gabriel Isserlis – Founder, Tutti & SuperScout; Dr David Webster – Founder, r10ventures; Adrian Wong – Founder, Ultraviolet Venture Community; Sarah Orecchia – Founder, Unbeelievable health; Rachael Richards – Founder, Uniform7; William Saville – Founder, Unily; Bev Fawdington – Founder, Uvamed; TJ Lee – Founder, Vagabond Digital; George Oliver Wilson – Founder, Veritas Loyalty Consulting; Jake Wilmot-Sitwell – Founder, VR Entertainment; Alex Davies – Founder, Wealth Club; Simon Hague – Founder, Wheresmylunch; Charles Instone – Founder, Wild Dose; Will Polston – Founder, Will Polston Coaching and Training; Paul Field – Founder, Wire Free Protection; Jonathan Quin – Founder, World First; Sricharan Sanakkayala – Founder, Wrapped Carbon Initiative; Phillip Watts – Founder, Xelix; Octavia Hamilton – Founder, XENA; Simon Woodroffe OBE – Founder, YO! Sushi and YOTEL; Victor Jarland – Founder, ZEN8 Sports; Edward Goodchild – Founder, Zendht; Richard Jordan – Founder, Zenion; James Basden – Founder, Zenobe; Giles Tollworthy – Founding Director, FW2; Adam Spence – Founding Partner, Edition Capital; Eric Liaw – General Partner, IVP; Julian Rowe – General Partner, Latitude; Valentin Menedetter – General Partner, Vektor Partners; Logan Naidu – Group CEO, Kernel Global; Mark Fraser – Managing Director, Aero Astro Arts; Joseph Dilsaver – Managing Director, Aztex Solutions; Rita Sharma – Managing Director, BestAtTravel.co.uk; Nicolas Marquez Arnedo – Managing Director, Bocking Homes; Nicola Barden – Managing Director, BSF Solid Surfaces; Daniel Holloway – Managing Director, Budget Waste Management; Thomas Adrian Burkill – Managing Director, Chemanglia; Alexander Low – Managing Director, DCM insights; Stuart Wade – Managing Director, Empire Manufacturing; Steve Mummery – Managing Director, Fruition Systems; Catherine Barratt – Managing Director, Furnitubes; Jamie Willsdon – Managing Director, Future Group; Amy Mooney – Managing Director, Gas Angel; Alina Cooper – Managing Director, GetSetGo; Carlton Brailey – Managing Director, Granite Consulting; Jeff Barnett – Managing Director, Industrial Door Systems; Mark Brackley – Managing Director, InfiniSki; Kalpa Shah – Managing Director, Jane Lewis Fashion; Stephen Burke – Managing Director, John Burke Associates; Steve Burges – Managing Director, Kerv; Mark Worsfold – Managing Director, MWM Consultancy; Scot William Gardiner – Managing Director, New Waverley Partners; Dan Mitchell – Managing Director, Oakheart Property; Ian Banks – Managing Director, One to One Personnel; Samuel Bowen – Managing Director, Opal Black Insurance Services; Peter Bowles – Managing Director, Original BTC; Ian Davis – Managing Director, Packaged Pumps Systems; Kieron Garlic – Managing Director, Present Communications; Edward Freeman – Managing Director, Rare Origins; Ces Terranova – Managing Director, Red Earth Studio; Jamie Vaughan – Managing Director, Signifly; Chris Duckworth – Managing Director, SIP Build UK; Clive Bonny – Managing Director, Strategic Management Partners; Matthew Shanahan – Managing Director, Stream Networks; James Hook – Managing Director, SubVision Surveys & SkyVision Surveys; Terry Upham – Managing Director, Tau Advisory; Angela Prentner-Smith – Managing Director, This is Milk; Jaysri Thangam Ananthapadmanabhan – Managing Director, TrillionDollars; Richard Pemberton – Managing Director, Trumpington Farm Company; Nicola C. Wise – Managing Director, Wise Training & Development; Mike Turns – Managing Partner, 4CAST Investment Group; Charles Cameron – Managing Partner, Cameron Barney Herbst Hilgenfeldt; Kevin Tan – Managing Partner, Upsilon Family; Irina Pafomova – Managing Partner, Zestic AI; James Killigrew – Owner, Associated Glass; James Martin – Owner, Baddow Park House; Sue Hainsby – Owner, Carlean Property Management; Lance Forman – Owner, H. Forman & Son; Anthony Murphy – Owner, Making Moves London; Scott Kemp – Owner, Web Farm Media; Edward Boddington – Partner, BCA; David Gilgur – Partner, Blue Lake Solution; Edward Higgin – Partner, Harrington Cooper; Philip Hare – Partner, Philip Hare & Associates; Jeremie Danicourt – Partner, Planet First; Toby Orr – Partner, Shearwater Global; David Dumeresque – Partner, Tyzack Partners; Sian Conway-Wood – Senior Managing Partner, 181st Street Communications; Mark Sweeny – Founder & CEO, de Novo Solutions; Anthony Guy Hillier – Founder, Opagio; Judy Leung – Founder, Sweqlink; Richard Heggie – Co-Founder, Enginuity; Oli Bates – Founder & CEO, 4WALLS; Martin Banbury – Founder, Streetify.com; Felicia Meyerowitz Singh – Co-Founder, Engage Smarter AI; Robert Sims – CEO, Sum Vivas; Adam Green – Co-Founder, Happiest; Steven South – Founder & CEO, Hydra EVC; Justine Roberts – Founder & CEO, Mumsnet; Lily Elsner – Co-Founder & CEO, Jack Fertility; Mercurius Saad – Co-Founder & CEO, Tutorbloc; Adam Allen-Rogers – Co-Founder, AI Fit; Saideep Gogineni – Founder & CEO, Novocuris; Dr Ben Miles – Founder & CEO, Spin Up Science; Julia Kemp – Founder, Pawpass; Barbara Spurrier – Founder, CFPro; Jaikiran Keerthi – Founder, Voxmind; Michael Venner – CEO, Auva Certification; Bridget Skelton – CEO, Bridget Skelton; Christian Coetzee – CEO, Crunch Technologies International; Stephen Findlay – CEO, Growth CFO; Neil Davidson – CEO, HeyHuman; Dominic Wheatley – CEO, Interactive Partners; Dr Frazer Thompson – CEO, Invicta Tweed; David Whittaker – CEO, Keystone Property Finance; Dips Patel – CEO, KitKing; Matt McDonnell – CEO, Medicare EMS Group UK; Jason Pearson – CEO, On Chain International; Rushab Shah – CEO, OneHive; Amanda Cook – Founder, Excellent Gourmet Trading; Emma Little – Founder, ExecSpace; Jo Haigh – Founder, fds; James Van Den Heule – Founder, Fenton Whelan; Cordelia Meacher – Founder, FieldHouse Associates; Shaun Ng – Founder, Fifth Row Technologies; Sam Smith – Founder, finnCap; Guy Tolhurst – Founder, Fintel; Russell Stinson – Founder, Fireheart Coffee; Adam Clark – Founder, First Light Leads; Robert Van Den Bergh – Founder, Fluent; Matteo Dessi – Founder, FN1X; Valeria Vahorovska – Founder, Fondy; Hamish Gill – Founder, Fore!; Phil Blows – Founder, Forge Software Services; Dr. Jason Zheng Jiang – Founder, FOSTER Technology; Stacey Foster – Founder, Fosters Accountants and Consultants; Daniel Christey – Founder, Founder + Lightning; Pawel Kaminski – Founder, Founder + Lightning; Daniel Wardle – Founder, Founder Sales Club; Christina Richardson – Founder, Foundology; Nicky Westbrook – Founder, Fresh Communication; Ashley Read – Founder, Frontcourt Studio; Danny Hall – Founder, FSE Online; Nigel Farren – Founder, Fundability; Ingrid Murray – Founder, Fundfast; Sebastiaan Debrouwere – Founder, Genie.io; Steve Marsh – Founder, GeoSpock; Sarah Lloyd-Hughes – Founder, Ginger Training & Coaching; Maggie Chen – Founder, Girls in Charge Initiative; Russ Shaw CBE – Founder, Global Tech Advocates.

Three Big Ideas #7

Three Big Ideas is our weekly roundup of ideas (and our takes on them) in entrepreneurship, innovation, science and technology, handpicked by the team.

In this week, a guest entry from Shivani H Menon suggests how to make VAT less damaging to growth, Eamonn Ives shoots down a proposal to tax frequent flyers, and Anastasia Bektrimirova discusses what role the United Kingdom can play in taking progress studies from rhetoric to reality.

Bigger Than Brexit

Last week we called on entrepreneurs to sign our letter on reported changes to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) which are expected in the fast-approaching Budget. More than 1,000 signatories later, plus coverage in Sifted, CapX, City A.M. and Yahoo Finance, this is – without a shadow of doubt – the issue that’s got Britain’s entrepreneurs riled up more than any other in recent years. For many, it’s even bigger than Brexit.

Our letter has been signed by founders who have collectively raised close to £7 billion (thanks to Beauhurst’s Henry Whorwood for crunching the numbers). We have 150 founders eager to speak with any journalist who wants to know what the big deal is.

We’re not the only ones working on it. Fintech Founders – a network of the UK’s leading fintech founders – has written its own letter to the Chancellor. Meanwhile, other groups are working behind the scenes and mobilising. As I wrote last week: the more, the mightier.

There are credible reports that Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) will be scrapped. This would be doubly brutal for entrepreneurs. Not just for them personally, but for the devastating impact on their employees who are incentivised under the scheme through stock options or shares. This is what makes people gamble on a plucky British startup rather than work for a US tech titan. Instead of scrapping BADR, the Chancellor should target it solely at entrepreneurs and their teams building companies, while increasing the limits from its diminished £1 million.

It’s important to note that this isn’t just a problem for the tech industry. Also signing the letter are Whitney Hawkings, the visionary behind FLOWERBX which brings blooms to your door; Pip Murray, whose flavour-packed nut butters have spread across the nation; Matthew McNeill Love, the brains behind Thursday, shaking up the dating game; and Alla Ouvarova of Two Chicks, which has revolutionised the way we enjoy eggs (and, for me, cocktails). I could go on, and on, and on (there are over 1,000, after all).

These are the thousand entrepreneurs who’ve poured their blood, sweat and tears into making all our lives a little better. While governments are there to set the rules, it’s the innovators and entrepreneurs – alongside those who back them and work for them – who really change the world.

If CGT is hiked for entrepreneurs as many fear, two things will happen. First, some entrepreneurs will leave the country. According to a survey by Evelyn Partners, 48% of business owners would consider moving their businesses abroad if taxes are increased. Similarly, the Fintech Founders letter claims 43% of founders are considering relocating out of the country.

Of course, no matter what happens on 30 October, we all know that half the country’s wealth creators aren’t going to suddenly up sticks and leave. But some will – potentially quite a lot, based on conversations I’ve been having with them. We don’t need to compete with jurisdictions that don’t charge any CGT – Britain is better than that – but we do need to be competitive with the continent and the US. We also need to show some humility before ripping up the policies that have made us the best place in Europe to start and grow a business.

Second, much more pernicious – and what won’t be so easy to see – will be the people who decide not to start a business in the first place. Why try to build a company to challenge a US tech giant when you can work for one? Why start a new bank when you can just work for one that’s already there? And if you are spinning your company out of a British university, why build it in the UK?

We all know personal wealth isn’t the only thing that drives entrepreneurs. But we all respond to incentives – or, as it may be, disincentives.

Three Big Ideas #6

Three Big Ideas is our weekly roundup of ideas (and our takes on them) in entrepreneurship, innovation, science and technology, handpicked by the team.

In this week, Eamonn Ives wonders why air conditioning gets such a bad wrap, Anastasia Bektimirova discusses how much ‘white space’ science and technology R&D should get in an industrial strategy, and Philip Salter writes about how society could change once we get truly powerful artificial intelligence.

Dear Chancellor – The First 500

On Friday we launched an open letter to the Chancellor on reported changes to CGT. Over 500 entrepreneurs have already signed it. Here are the first 500. You can read and sign the letter here.

1. Philip Salter – Founder, The Entrepreneurs Network

2. Melissa Morris – Founder & CEO, Lantum

3. Martin Frost CBE – Co-Founder, CMR Surgical

4. Giles Andrews OBE – Co-Founder, Zopa

5. Rishi Khosla – Co-Founder & CEO, OakNorth Bank

6. Emma Jones CBE – Founder, Enterprise Nation

7. Justin Basini – Co-Founder & CEO, The ClearScore Group

8. Victor Riparbelli Rasmussen – Co-Founder & CEO, Synthesia

9. Erika Brodnock MBE – Co-Founer & CEO, Kinhub

10. Whitney Hawkings – Founder & CEO, FLOWERBX

11. Matthew Hare OBE – Founder & CEO, Zzoomm

12. David Benigson – Founder & CEO, Signal AI

13. Christoph Rieche – Co-Founder & CEO, iwoca

14. Robin Tombs – Co-founder & CEO, Yoti

15. Anna Maxwell – Founder & CEO, Maxwellia

16. Sabrina Del Prete – Founder & CEO, Kore Labs

17. Ann Kramer – Founder & CEO, The Electrospinning Company

18. Tim Chong – Co-founder & CEO, Yonder

19. Thesokkumar Jivajirajah – Co-Founder, Yonder

20. David Jarvis – Founder & CEO, Griffin Bank

21. Sarah McVittie – Co-Founder, Dressipi

22. Brad Goodall – Founder & CEO, Banked

23. Alexander Mifsud – Co-Founder & CEO, Weavr.io

24. Jeff Lynn – Co-Founder & Chairman, Republic Europe

25. Eddie Harrison – Co-Founder, Navro

26. James Dean – Founder & CEO, Sensat

27. Nigel Purves – Co-Founder & CEO, Wayhome

28. Darren Jobling – Co-Founder & CEO, ZeroLight

29. John Goodall – Founder & CEO, Landbay

30. Richard Mabey – Founder & CEO, Juro

31. Phelim Bradley – Co-Founder & CEO, Prolific

32. Robert Griffin – Co-Founder & CEO, MIRACL

33. Andrew Yates – Co-Founder & CEO, FullCircl

34. Michael Nabarro – Co-Founder & CEO, Spektrix

35. Ali Afshar – Co-Founder & CEO, Mytos

36. Matthew Dreaper – Co-Founder, Oxford Space Systems, KEIT, Fusion Energy Partners

37. Will Stewart – Co-Founder & CEO, Northflank

38. Iain Griffin – Founder & CEO, Seatfrog

39. Steve Coulson – Founder & CEO, Kitt Technology

40. JP Doumeng – Co-Founder & CEO, Napo Pet Insurance

41. Will Goodwin – Co-founder, Tumelo

42. Dev Amratia – Co-Founder & CEO, nPlan

43. Alan Mosca – Co-Founder & CTO, nPlan

44. Aldo Monteforte – Founder & CEO, The Floow

45. Asi Sharabi – Co-Founder & CEO, Wonderbly

46. Anthony Eskinazi – Founder & CEO, JustPark

47. Chris Edson – Co-Founder & CEO, Second Nature

48. Nick Jones – Co-Founder & CEO, Zumo

49. Louise Birritteri – Founder & CEO, Pikl

50. Alex Depledge MBE – Founder & CEO, Resi

51. Richard Moross – Founder & CEO, moo.com

52. George Graham – Co-Founder & CEO, Wolf & Badger

53. Deepak Ravindran – Co-Founder, Oddbox

54. Ashutosh Bhatt – Founder & CEO, Pillar

55. Naimish Gohil – Founder & CEO, Satchel

56. Timothy Brownstone – Founder & CEO, KYMIRA

57. Freddie Green – Co-Founder, Minimum

58. Amon Ghaiumy – Co-Founder & CEO, Ophelos

59. Mark McDermott – Co-Founder & CEO, ScreenCloud

60. Ellie Webb – Founder & CEO, Caleño Drinks

61. Alexander Lempka – Co-Founder & CEO, Connect Earth

62. Will Mason – Founder & CEO, Infact Systems

63. Nick Perrett – Founder & CEO, Prosper

64. Pip Murray – Founder & CEO, Pip & Nut

65. Toby Austin – Founder & CEO, Beauhurst

66. Johannes Solzbach – Co-Founder & CEO, Clustermarket

67. Laura Towart – Founder & CEO, My Personal Therapeutics

68. Fraser Smeaton – Founder & CEO, MorphCostumes

69. Tamzin Lent – Founder & CEO, Where You At

70. Llewellyn Kinch – Founder & CEO, Switchd

71. Anthony Rose – Co-founder & CEO, SeedLegals

72. Miguel Martinez – Co-Founder, Signal AI

73. Karl Deady – Founder, Cinos

74. Lisa Robinson – Founder & CEO, companiions

75. Stephen Crosher – Co-Founder & CEO, RheEnergise

76. Justin Fitzpatrick – Co-Founder, FullCircl

77. Duncan Cheatle – Founder & CEO, Learn Amp

78. Constantine Karampatsos – Founder & CEO, Good Life Sorted

79. Jing Ouyang – Co-Founder, Patchwork Health

80. Wayne Lloyd – Founder & CEO, Smarter Contracts

81. Brian Harrison – Co-Founder & CEO, Swoon Editions

82. Raj Meghani – Co-Founder, BLOCKAPT

83. Lyndsey Simpson – Founder & CEO, 55/Redefined

84. Pip Wilson – Co-Founder & CEO, Amicable

85. Hon Lung Keith Tsui – Co-Founder & CEO, Medwise AI

86. Simon Banks – Founder CSL Group

87. David Boon – Founder & CEO, Dijuno

88. Claire Harrison – Founder & CEO, GetSetGo Group

89. Ben Prouty – Co-Founder & CEO, PonchoPay

90. Sarah Bolt – Co-Founder & CEO, Humankind Ventures

91. Terry Canning – Co-Founder & CEO. CattleEye

92. Beth Michael – Co-Founder, Streeva

93. Pauline Paterson – Founder & CEO, Dr.PAWPAW

94. Caroline Goodman – Founder & CEO, Institutional Protection Services

95. Dr Diana Hodgins MBE – Founder & CEO, Dynamic Metrics

96. Gary Jones – Co-Founder & CEO, MediMusic

97. Rupert Schneider – Founder & CEO, Gardenia Technologies

98. Dominic Hall – Co-Founder & CTO, Biographica

99. Glen Calvert – Co-Founder & CEO, Kaizan

100. Lucinda O'Connor – Founder & CEO, Clothes Doctor

101. Katerina Pljaskovova – Founder & CEO, Fair HQ

102. Daniel Howitt – Co-Founder & CEO, Recap

103. Richard Turnbull – Founder & CTO, Officely

104. Tina Warner-Keogh – Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Warner’s Distillery

105. Matt Milligan – Co-Founder, Uhubs

106. Daniel Gill – Founder & CEO, Augnet

107. Graham Cook – Co-Founder & CFO, RheEnergise

108. Jay Orlean-Taub – Co-Founder & CEO, Sipgood

109. Neil Taub – Co-Founder, ZoomDoc

110. Cindy van Niekerk – Founder & CEO, Umazi

111. Irene McAleese – Co-Founder & CSO, See.Sense

112. Tariq Attia – CEO, IW Capital

113. Sarah Montgomery – Co-Founder & CEO, Infyos

114. Lara Mott – Co-Founder & CEO, ImproveWell

115. Areeb Siddiqui – Founder & CEO, Kestrl

116. Dr Cristian Gherhes – Founder & CEO, Lexverify

117. Janthana Kaenprakhamroy – Founder & CEO, Tapoly

118. Jonny Philp – Co-Founder & Director, Nursem Skincare

119. Kate Jillings – Co-Founder, ToucanTech

120. Dr Paul Reynolds – Founder & CEO, FSD Active

121. Tom Barltrop – Co-Founder, SuperFi

122. Chris Jackson – Co-Founder, OptAxe

123. Nadia Simonds – Founder, Lune & Wild

124. Philip Callow – Founder & CEO, Rosetta Risk Management

125. Leo Kellgren-Parker – Founder & CEO, LIVR

126. Sarah Dowzell – Co-Founder, Natural HR

127. Ben Maughan – Co-Founder, Add to Event

128. Jason Mohr – Founder & CEO, LoveJunk

129. Tamsin Dewhurst – Founder & CEO, Uptree

130. Seb Wallace – Co-Founder, Further

131. Johnny Paterson – Co-Founder Dr.PAWPAW

132. Olivier Scaramucci – Founder & CEO, Boutique Brands

133. Rachael Grimaldi – Co-Founder & CEO, CardMedic

134. Alistair Sergeant – Founder &. CEO, Niico

135. Edward Hall – Founder & CEO, Qualification Check

136. Alex Freeman – Co-Founer & CEO, Stance Fitness

137. Steve Monk – Founder, Good Guys Bakehouse

138. Sam Peters – Co-Founder & CEO, Vyde

139. Jason Dowzell – Founder & CEO, Natural HR

140. Akber Tahir – Founder & CEO, Pharmovo AI

141. Chloe Sweden – Founder & CEO, Lowr

142. Rowan Jackson – Co-Founder & Executive Chair, Promising Outomes

143. Barbara Gottardi – Co-Founder & CEO, Finbridge Global

144. Betty Bonnardel-Azzarelli MBE – Founder & CEO, Farmer Charlie

145. Mark Taylor – Co-Founder, BizNest

146. Gary Hunter – Founder & CEO, Redu Group

147. Kuntal Fisher – Founder & CEO, FIECON

148. Paddy Willis – Co-Founder, Mission Ventures

149. Richard Heggie – Co-Founder, Enginuity

150. Oli Bates – Founder & CEO, 4WALLS

151. Felicia Meyerowitz Singh – Co-Founder, Engage Smarter AI

152. Robert Sims – CEO, Sum Vivas

153. Steven South – Founder & CEO, Hydra EVC

154. Lily Elsner – Co-Founder & CEO, Jack Fertility

155. Mercurius Saad – Co-Founder & CEO, Tutorbloc

156. Adam Allen-Rogers – Co-Founder, AI Fit

157. Saideep Gogineni – Founder & CEO, Novocuris

158. Julia Kemp – Founder, Pawpass

159. Ken Hendricks – Co-Founder & CEO, Basepilot

160. Dominic Ponniah – Co-Founder & CEO, Cleanology

161. Sam Soares – Co-Founder & CEO, MPWR-365

162. Joseph Burns – Co-Founder & CEO, Reformed IT

163. Frederick Mark Tughan – Co-Founder & CEO, Comic Enterprises

164. Lorna MacLean – Co-Founder & CEO, Demetria

165. Kevin Withane – Founder & CEO, Diversity X

166. Jon Dobinson – Founder & CEO, other group

167. Dom Hawes – Founder & CEO, Selbey Anderson

168. Amanda Coulson – Founder & CEO, SVC Solutions

169. Ollie Scott – Founder & CEO, UNKNOWN

170. Kerry Burn – Co-Founder & CEO, 848 Group

171. Ben Putley – Co-Founder & CEO, Alkimi

172. Dermot O’Grady – Co-Founder & CEO, Ardent Tide

173. Michael Venner – CEO, Auva Certification

174. Julian Daniel – Founder & CEO, BSB Construction

175. Alan Smith – Founder & CEO, Capital Asset Management

176. Charles Groome – Co-Founder & CEO, Everna

177. Simon Francis – Founder & CEO, Flock Associates

178. Stephen Findlay – CEO, Growth CFO

179. Neil Davidson – CEO, HeyHuman

180. Dominic Wheatley – CEO, Interactive Partners

181. Dr Frazer Thompson – CEO, Invicta Tweed plc

182. David Whittaker – CEO, Keystone Property Finance

183. Dips Patel – CEO, KitKing

184. Simon Barry – Founder & CEO, Knowbotics AI

185. Matt McDonnell – CEO, Medicare EMS Group UK

186. Jason Pearson – CEO, On Chain International

187. Edward Bussey – CEO, Oxford Science Enterprises

188. Andrew Pullman – CEO, People Risk Solutions

189. Tom O’Hagan – CEO, PXC

190. Charles Skinner – CEO, Restore plc

191. Natasha Guerra – Co-Founder & CEO, Runway East

192. Tom Perry – Founder & CEO, Sherpa

193. Alan Wing-King – Founder & CEO, Syntegra Group

194. Leonard Evans – Founder & CEO, The Profs

195. Emma Mirrington – CEO, The Talent Labs

196. Christian Edwards – Co-Founder & CEO, This is Tommy

197. Shain Khoja – Founder & CEO, Thriving Ai

198. Amy Hopper – Founder & CEO, TOA Group

199. Aaron Ross – CEO, Vix Technology

200. Dinesh Dhamija – Founder & Chairman, Copper Beech Group

201. Joe Nelson – Chief Strategy Officer, Heartfelt Technologies

202. Georgi Rollings – Co-CEO, Starfish Accounting

203. Saudenh Doctzan – Co-Director, May Sum Restaurant Nottingham

204. Hannes Verschueren – Co-Founder & CEO, atomic

205. Rupert Patrick – Co-Founder & CEO, James Eadie

206. Emily Gill – Co-Founder & CEO, LEVRA

207. Paddy Stobbs – Co-Founder & CEO, Stackfix

208. Adam Thomas Orme – Co-Founder & CEO, Trinity Space Technologies

209. Ami Daniel – Co-Founder & CEO, Windward

210. Carlo Keenan Ross – Co-Founder & COO, Bridge

211. Jake Wells – Co-Founder & COO, Meshed

212. Wil Benton – Co-Founder & Director, Metta. VP, Aerospace Xelerated

213. Clara Latham – Co-Founder & Managing Director, Deeply Foods

214. Jill Willis – Co-Founder, Attract & Engage

215. David Turney – Co-Founder, Avery Law

216. Tom Griffiths – Co-Founder, BitCompli

217. Jag Singh – Co-Founder, Bricktrade

218. Harrison Thomas – Co-Founder, Elephants

219. Rune Sovndahl – Co-Founder, Fantastic Services

220. Sunjit Saroya – Co-Founder, GiroStor

221. Hetesh Pal – Co-Founder, GiroStor

222. Sophie Eden – Co-Founder, Gordon & Eden

223. Sam Waterfall – Co-Founder, Greenwood Foods

224. Edward Wijnen – Co-Founder, Intuicon.ai

225. Paul Billingham – Co-Founder, Knight Corporate Finance

226. Ash Dey – Co-Founder, Lyfe

227. Will Taylor – Co-founder, Old House Labs

228. Fabricio Chavarro – Co-Founder, Otravista Consulting LLP

229. Tim Simpson – Co-Founder, Pinchful

230. Bridie Cunningham – Co-Founder, Portman Scott

231. Robert Irvin – Co-Founder, RMS Partners

232. Colin Weston – Co-Founder, TidyChoice

233. Andrew Dougan – Co-Founder, Viital

234. Guy Pengelley – Co-Founder, Viresco Group

235. Dr Nikhit Anilbhai – Co-Founder, Your Cue

236. Sonakshi Senthil – Co-Founder, Your Cue

237. Charlotte Pegg – Co-Founder, ZEN8

238. Andrew Stephen Brode – Director & Former Chair, RWS Holdings PLC

239. Cain Ullah – Founder & Board Director, Red Badger

240. Zoe Robson – Founder & CEO, Strateva Group

241. Rudy Parengal – Founder & CEO, Abjak

242. James Gozney – Founder & CEO, Aslan

243. Spencer Gallagher – Founder & CEO, Cactus

244. Becks Armstrong – Founder & CEO, Clarity

245. Ahana Banerjee – Founder & CEO, Clear

246. Suzy Ferreira – Founder & CEO, Dinie

247. Emma Shipley – Founder & CEO, Emma J Shipley

248. Matt Norbury – Founder & CEO, Epoints Rewards

249. Gary Mead – Founder & CEO, euroloos

250. Matt Jonns – Founder & CEO, Founder + Lightning

251. Grace Castillo – Founder & CEO, Gifftid

252. Chris Twigg – Founder & CEO, Inner Circle Consulting

253. Richard Oastler – Founder & CEO, KPI Tree

254. Rob Reeve – Founder & CEO, LexTego

255. Claire Mason – Founder & CEO, Man Bites Dog

256. Johnny Manning – Founder & CEO, Manning's Tutors

257. Diane Banks – Founder & CEO, Northbank Talent Management

258. Serena Fordham – Founder & CEO, ProspHER

259. Rosie Hewat – Founder & CEO, Rosie’s People

260. Sean Ramsden MBE – Founder & CEO, Sean Ramsden International

261. Cathy Moseley – Founder & CEO, Supernatural Food

262. Emmanuel Cohen – Founder & CEO, The Armadillo Group

263. Amanda Thomson – Founder & CEO, Thomson & Scott

264. Alla Ouvarova – Founder & CEO, Two Chicks

265. Kate Bright – Founder & CEO, UMBRA International Group

266. Merilee Karr – Founder & CEO, UnderTheDoormat Group

267. Francis Toye – Founder & CEO, Unilink Software

268. Damian McLaughlin – Founder & CEO, Urban Phoenix

269. Warren Davies – Founder & CEO, Utilize

270. Jonathan Summerfield – Founder & CEO, Xiatech

271. Joe Seddon – Founder & CEO, Zero Gravity

272. Mats Stigzelius – Founder & Chair, Takumi

273. Mark Sweeny – Founder & CEO, de Novo Solutions

274. Bev Shah – Founder & Co-CEO, City Hive

275. Felix Mitchell – Founder & Co-CEO, Instant Impact

276. Charlotte Guzzo – Founder & COO, Sano Genetics

277. Nazim Valimahomed – Founder & CPO, Kroo Bank

278. Jonathan Falkingham MBE – Founder & Creative Director, Urban Splash

279. Thomas Schilling – Founder & Director, Tugela People

280. Tony Craddock – Founder & Director, General of The Payments Association

281. Adam Fudakowski – Founder & Executive Director, Switchee

282. Nicholas R Morgan – Founder & Group CEO, We Group

283. Patricia Ypma – Founder & Managing Director, Spark Legal and Policy Consulting

284. Stephen Britt – Founder & Managing Director, Anchor Storage

285. Paul Theile – Founder & Managing Director, MEL (Holdings)

286. Will Linay – Founder & Managing Director, Stratstone Developments

287. Daniel Philip Astaire – Founder & Managing Partner, Grosvenor Law

288. Jarmila Halovsky-Yu – Founder & MD, YUnique Marketing

289. Bundeep Singh Rangar – Founder & President, PremFina

290. Tom Bohills – Founder & Principal, Founders Law

291. Pascal de Mul – Founder & CEO, Setmixer

292. Nadine Campbell – Founder, ACE Entrepreneurs

293. David Horne – Founder, Add then Multiply

294. Alison Shadrack – Founder, Adia PR

295. Alison Cork – Founder, Alison at Home

296. Christopher Robinson – Founder, Ampsahead

297. Sarah Turner – Founder, Angel Academe

298. Jason Mohr – Founder, Anyjunk

299. Jason Living – Founder, Argyle Square Property Group

300. Rachel Hayward – Founder, Ask the Chameleon

301. Peadar Coyle – Founder, AudioStack

302. Simon Jones – Founder, Baanx

303. Robert Hurst – Founder, Bengeho

304. Harriet Hastings – Founder, Biscuiteers

305. Stefano Di Gregorio – Founder, Boogi

306. Oliver Noakes – Founder, Boulders

307. Dominika Minarovic – Founder, BYBI Beauty

308. Lucy Chamberlain – Founder, C&C Search

309. Nadia Crandall – Founder, Capshore Partners

310. Shernaz Engineer – Founder, Cerity Appointments

311. Guy Tolhurst – Founder, Fintel

312. Niklas Friedberg – Founder, Clustermarket

313. Sid Pourfalah – Founder, Concrete4Change

314. Nick Smith – Founder, Cordel PLC

315. Daniel Szor – Founder, Cotswolds Distillery

316. Louisa Jackson – Founder, Craic

317. Martine Abboud – Founder, Creo Incubator

318. Pawel Kaminski – Founder & CTO, Founder + Lightning

319. Douglas Emslie – Founder, Cuil Bay Capital

320. Akansha Pandey – Founder, Cureline Pvt

321. Dan Martin – Founder, Dan Martin Content & Events

322. Catherine Bedford – Founder, Dashel

323. Hani Armstrong – Founder, Dengi Media

324. Paul Angeli – Founder, digitalPACT

325. David Forsyth – Founder, Document Data Group

326. Christian Nentwich – Founder, Duco

327. David Greenberg – Founder, Eave

328. Laura Sofie – Founder, Elevate Personal Finance

329. Amanda Cook – Founder, Excellent Gourmet Trading

330. Emma Little – Founder, ExecSpace

331. James Van Den Heule – Founder, Fenton Whelan

332. Ed Hill – Founder, Fiddlie Technology

333. Cordelia Meacher – Founder, FieldHouse Associates

334. Shaun Ng – Founder, Fifth Row Technologies

335. Sam Smith – Founder, finnCap

336. Russell Stinson – Founder, Fireheart Coffee

337. Robert Van Den Bergh – Founder, Fluent

338. Valeria Vahorovska – Founder, Fondy

339. Dr Jason Zheng Jiang – Founder, FOSTER Technology

340. Daniel Wardle – Founder, Founder Sales Club

341. Christina Richardson – Founder, Foundology

342. Danny Hall – Founder, FSE Online

343. Nigel Farren – Founder, Fundability

344. Ingrid Murray – Founder, Fundfast

345. Sarah Lloyd-Hughes – Founder, Ginger Training & Coaching

346. Maggie Chen – Founder, Girls in Charge Initiative

347. Russ Shaw CBE – Founder, Global Tech Advocates

348. Sean Kiernan – Founder, Greengage

349. Joe Devereux-Kelly – Founder, GrowGrows

350. Kajal Sanghrajka – Founder, Growth Hub Global

351. Martin Leuw – Founder, Growth4Good

352. Stuart Barr – Founder, Hey Maestro

353. Tim Keaveney – Founder, Homethings

354. Adam Amos – Founder, Iceberg Ventures

355. Simon Thethi – Founder, Indicium Ventures

356. Rushina Shah – Founder, Insane Grain

357. Caitlin Rozario – Founder, interlude

358. Jamie Darkin – Founder, JD Enterprises

359. Kevin Bath – Founder, JimJams Spreads

360. Kate Macdonald – Founder, Kadence Consultancy

361. Ailsa Kiely – Founder, Kiely Transformative Growth

362. Mark O’Neil – Founder, Kinetic Business Advice

363. Lucy Minton – Founder, Kitt Offices

364. Matthew Jack – Founder, Kythera AI

365. Lucy Read – Founder, LA Personal Products

366. Mark Kingsley-Williams – Founder, LawPanel

367. Jude Jennison – Founder, Leaders by Nature

368. Richard Carter – Founder, Lopay

369. Gail Laser – Founder, Love Barnet

370. Gary Stewart – Founder, Lyfeguard

371. Charlie Bradshaw – Founder, Matrix APA (UK)

372. Max Beech – Founder, Maxed Labs

373. Miriam Dervan – Founder, MDE Services

374. Douglas Orr – Founder, Message Matrix

375. Clare Shaw – Founder, Mini Mozart

376. Georgina Bowman – Founder, MYSHOOTS®️

377. Eren Kocyigit – Founder, NBT

378. Kieran South – Founder, North Star

379. Keir Carnie – Founder, Nuud

380. Lydia Carrick – Founder, Apputee

381. Samir Patel – Founder, Omnia Housing

382. Kerry Morgan – Founder, Outsource financial Solutions

383. Catrin MacDonnell – Founder, Papadeli Foods

384. Kelly McCabe – Founder, Perci Health

385. Emma Walford – Founder, Perigon Partners

386. George Phillips – Founder, Phillips Hobbies

387. Sathya Smith – Founder, Piper Technology

388. Stefan Husanu – Founder, Pith & Stem

389. Jamie Beaumont – Founder, Playter

390. Mark Hawes – Founder, Potential HR

391. Nazanin nankali – Founder, Powertutors

392. Rachael Twumasi-Corson – Founder, PPTCS

393. Tony Harrison – Founder, Printercare

394. Amrit Lotay – Founder, Product Sphere

395. Anthony Gale – Founder, PromoLens

396. Edmond Ibrahimi – Founder, Propertalis

397. James Hadley – Founder, Property from Pensions

398. Matthew Pearce – Founder, PuriFire Labs

399. Steven Matthew Hyde – Founder, Push Group

400. Imogen Wethered – Founder, Qudini

401. Rachel Vosper – Founder, Rachel Vosper

402. Simon Newell – Founder, Renewell Water UK

403. Kevin Brittain – Founder, Runpreneur

404. Catherine K Jolly – Founder, Rutherford Glen Global

405. Jack McMahon – Founder, Saint Group

406. Charlie Kenny – Founder, Salve

407. Benedikt von – Founder, Sanome

408. James Digva – Founder, Sauce Shop

409. Laura Harnett – Founder, Seep

410. Cecile Reinaud – Founder, Seraphine Maternity

411. Oliver ashness – Founder, SimplyCook

412. Pallav (Paul) Naha-Biswas – Founder, Sixley & Knowledgemotion

413. Sarah Graham – Founder, Skills4Stem Group

414. Hussain Hilli – Founder, Skrap

415. Damien Gray – Founder, SOAK’d OATS

416. Gareth Deakin – Founder, Sonorous Consulting

417. David Herbada – Founder, Spectroma

418. Melwin mehta – Founder, Sterling Investments

419. Craig Jamieson – Founder, Straw Innovations

420. Martin Banbury – Founder, Streetify.com

421. Katie Lopes – Founder, Stripe & Stare

422. Ben Lakey – Founder, Syndi Health

423. Rayan Bannai – Founder, Table for Ten

424. Bevan Thomas – Founder, Tahu Capital

425. Rakhitha Lakshman Dias – Founder, Terias Consulting

426. Georgina Cotton – Founder, The Accounts Shop

427. Manya Klempner – Founder, The Boxing House

428. Diane Young – Founder, The Drum

429. Matthew Freeman – Founder, The Numbers Studio

430. Torie Blythe-Richards – Founder, The Partnership Collection

431. Harry Turpin – Founder, The Savourists

432. Leah Brown – Founder, The WayFinders Group

433. Amelia Rope – Founder, Third Time Lucky

434. Dan Amos – Founder, Tools for Schools

435. Claire Trachet – Founder, Trachet Advisory

436. Harry Bremner – Founder, Tuggs

437. Gus Tugendhat – Founder, Tussell

438. Dr David Webster – Founder, UK/Romania Business

439. Adrian Wong – Founder, Ultraviolet Venture Community

440. Lucas Johnston – Founder, Umber

441. TJ Lee – Founder, Vagabond Digital

442. Alex Davies – Founder, Wealth Club

443. Simon Hague – Founder, Wheresmylunch

444. Will Polston – Founder, Will Polston Coaching and Training

445. Simon Woodroffe OBE – Founder, YO! Sushi and YOTEL

446. Stephen Phillips – Founder, Zappi

447. Victor Jarland – Founder, ZEN8 Sports

448. Edward Goodchild – Founder, Zendht

449. James Basden – Founder, Zenobe

450. Chris Parsonson – Founder & CEO, Solve Intelligence

451. Adam Spence – Founding Partner, Edition Capital

452. Logan Naidu – Group CEO, Kernel Global

453. Jason Yeomans – CEO, Iglu Tech Group

454. Nicolas Marquez Arnedo – Managing Director, Bocking Homes

455. Nicola Barden – Managing Director, BSF Solid Surfaces

456. Daniel Holloway – Managing Director, Budget Waste Management

457. Alexander Low – Managing Director, DCM insights

458. Stuart Wade – Managing Director, Empire Manufacturing

459. Jamie Willsdon – Managing Director, Future Group

460. Alina Cooper – Managing Director, GetSetGo

461. Jeff Barnett – Managing Director, Industrial Door Systems

462. Mark Brackley – Managing Director, InfiniSki

463. Stephen Burke – Managing Director, John Burke Associates

464. Scot William Gardiner – Managing Director, New Waverley Partners

465. Dan Mitchell – Managing Director, Oakheart Property

466. Ian Banks – Managing Director, One to One Personnel

467. Samuel Bowen – Managing Director, Opal Black Insurance Services

468. Peter Bowles – Managing Director, Original BTC

469. Ian Davis – Managing Director, Packaged Pumps Systems

470. Edward Freeman – Managing Director, Rare Origins

471. Ces Terranova – Managing Director, Red Earth Studio

472. Clive Bonny – Managing Director, Strategic Management Partners

473. Matthew Shanahan – Managing Director, Stream Networks

474. James Hook – Managing Director, SubVision Surveys & SkyVision Surveys

475. Terry Upham – Managing Director, Tau Advisory

476. Angela Prentner-Smith – Managing Director, This is Milk

477. Jaysri Thangam Ananthapadmanabhan – Managing Director, TrillionDollars

478. Charles Cameron – Managing Partner, Cameron Barney Herbst Hilgenfeldt

479. Kevin Tan – Managing Partner, Upsilon Family

480. Irina Pafomova – Managing Partner, Zestic AI

481. Anton Derlyatka – Co-Founder & CEO, Sweatcoin

482. Victoria Johnson – Founder & CEO, VetCT

483. Lucy Walker – Founder, AM Insights

484. Flynn Robinson – Founder & CEO, scOS

485. Michael Blakeley – Founder, Entrepreneurs Collective

486. Harry Cruickshank – Founder, Cruickshank Associates

487. Ruth Simmonds – Co-Founder, TACaccess

488. Kelly Sinclair – Founder, Vero Tech Sales

489. Piers Mummery – Co-Founder, Crunch Technologies International

490. Marcus Love – Co-Founder, Love Ventures

491. Jeffrey Bartlett – Director, Nurture Ventures

492. Sean Cook – Founder & Managing Director, Urban & Regional

493. Steve Monk – Founder, Good Guys Bakehouse

494. Liza Levy – Founder, Unravel Health

495. Hasan Toprakkaya – Founder, Sociality.io

496. Sam Gordon – Co-Founder Gordon & Eden

497. Lilijan Sulejmanovic – Founder, Bardo Ventures

498. Toinette Vicars – Founder, Dot-Connectors

499. Gabriel Isserlis – Founder,Tutti & SuperScout

500. Dean Hills – Co-Founder, EDR Technology

"It Is Serious"

The role of any good think tank or business group is to speak frankly to whoever is in Government. As many of you will already know, we’re asking entrepreneurs to sign a letter to the Chancellor following reports that she is considering hiking Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and further restricting Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) in the forthcoming Budget.

If you are a founder, you can read and sign our letter here. Whoever you are, please share it far and wide: email, WhatsApp or Slack groups, social media, carrier pigeon etc. The more, the mightier.

In essence, it argues that restricting BADR or hiking CGT rates would jeopardise the success of Britain’s startup ecosystem by enormously weakening the incentive individuals have to start and build businesses. It would also reduce the incentive for startups to offer employee stock options or shares, making it even harder for startups to attract the talent they need to scale.

Any revenue it might raise in the short term would be more than offset by the damage it does to long-run productivity by stifling the growth of future startups.

Below is the letter in full so you can circulate it among your own networks. Previous letters we have coordinated have garnered a lot of support and made a real difference to policy (see here, here, here, here, here, and here). This one has already been signed by over 200 entrepreneurs, including more than a few household names, but we’d like to get even more signatures.

The stakes are high. According to Evelyn Partners, one in three business owners are fast-tracking sales as capital gains raid looms. This is a response (included anonymously with permission) from a foreign-born founder in our network who started his deep tech business in the UK and has raised millions: "Not gonna lie, in my circles people are not signing letters, they are already moving country. Even *discussing* increasing CGT was enough. I know founders who have left the UK only for this reason since the election. I don’t go on record on this but it is serious."

I respectfully disagree that it’s not worth signing letters. We have shifted policy in the past with your help. But I regretfully agree that it is serious.

If you didn’t get my email about this letter, sign up here. Any journalists who want to get in touch about this should drop me email.

The Letter
Dear Chancellor,

Entrepreneurs represent a uniquely important segment of any country’s economy – but especially our own. Britain can rightly claim to be one of the best countries in the world to start and scale a business, and that reputation has been carefully earned over recent decades.

The risks entrepreneurs take in striking out and starting new and innovative companies are essential to moving the economy forward. From startups developing solutions to the climate crisis to those working to revolutionise healthcare, entrepreneurs not only create businesses that provide good, high-paid jobs, they also generate taxes to pay for public services and help tackle pressing social issues too.

At the last general election, many entrepreneurs put their faith in what they recognised was a changed Labour Party – heartened by statements you made about being the party of wealth creation and your promise to give investors the certainty they need to fuel growth. Reporting in the lead up to the Autumn Budget, however, has given many in Britain’s thriving entrepreneurial community pause for thought.

Chief among our concerns are the rumoured restrictions to Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) and rise in the rate of Capital Gains Tax (CGT). According to The Guardian, your officials have modelled the impact of increasing CGT as high as 33% to 39%. Higher CGT or any restrictions on BADR would make this relief less competitive at a time when the rest of the world is making their reliefs more competitive. It would mean the UK has the second-highest CGT rate in Europe, and jeopardise the success of our country’s startup ecosystem by enormously weakening the incentive individuals have to build businesses. Reporting by The Telegraph gives us some hope that the 39% figure may not be on the table – but businesses need clear and definitive reassurances right now.

This applies as much to British entrepreneurs as it does to founders from abroad who currently view Britain as an attractive destination in which to base their company – previous research from The Entrepreneurs Network revealed that four out of ten of Britain’s fastest-growing companies had a foreign-born founder or co-founder.

Many fledgling startups offer employees stock options or shares as part of their compensation package as they cannot compete with the higher salaries of established big corporates. Further restrictions to BADR would reduce this incentive, making it even harder for startups to attract the talent they need to scale while denying workers the chance to own a piece of Britain's growing companies.

Policymakers should also understand that entrepreneurship is an engine for further economic growth. By discouraging entrepreneurs from starting and growing their businesses, HM Treasury could well end up lowering the tax take overall. Indeed, this is what its own previous modelling suggests. Leading economists are also much more likely to agree than disagree that taxing capital income at a permanently lower rate than labour income would result in higher average long-term prosperity.

Given the straitened public finances it is understandable to leave no stone unturned when looking to balance the books. However, any temptation to rapidly and radically hike CGT should be resisted. Any revenue it might raise in the short term would likely be more than offset by the damage it does to long-run productivity by stifling the growth of future startups.

Our hard-fought reputation as a place where entrepreneurs can successfully build a business has been one of Britain’s economic saving graces. We, the undersigned, urge you to ensure our CGT regime remains competitive and encouraging for founders wanting to get Britain growing again.

You can sign it here.

Lunch & Learn
Our good friends at Enterprise Nation have secured the Small Business Minister, Gareth Thomas MP, for their highly recommended Lunch and Learn series. The session will take place online on 13th November from 1pm to 1.30pm. To register for the free event, please click here.

Education, Education, Recommendations
Our other good friends at Youth Business International (YBI) and Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) have launched a comprehensive Youth Entrepreneurship Framework. The framework brings a fresh perspective on harnessing the opportunity of youth entrepreneurship. It includes 50 actionable recommendations, with each recommendation tied to a case study in GEN’s Atlas – the world’s largest compendium of entrepreneurship policies.

Three Big Ideas #5

Three Big Ideas is our weekly roundup of ideas (and our takes on them) in entrepreneurship, innovation, science and technology, handpicked by the team.

In this week, Anastasia Bektimirova writes about thinking boldly, Eamonn Ives looks at the productivity of British ports, and Philip Salter discusses what defines a great founder.

A Nobel Truth

On Wednesday, Keir Starmer will have his first meeting as Prime Minister with Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission. Top of the President’s agenda is negotiating a youth mobility scheme between the UK and EU. It’s top, not necessarily because it’s the most important thing, but because it’s an obvious win-win and a test to prod Starmer on his commitment to building a closer relationship.

Immigration has been top of my own mind over the last few weeks too. I spoke on the topic at both the Labour and Conservatives Party Conferences.

As well as my familiar schtick about immigrants being behind 39% of the UK’s fastest-growing businesses and our suite of policy recommendations, I argued that while immigration and upskilling the domestic workforce are two sides of the same coin, they require very different policy levers to get right.

On skills, while the Government is more or less on the correct track in announcing an expert-led review of curriculum and assessment and it’s commitment to replace the apprenticeship levy with a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy (with the caveat that there will be a higher potential for deadweight costs), its reliance on trying to plug skills gaps from the centre through the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and Skills England is destined to fail.

The data simply isn’t there to make accurate decisions, nor are any of the functions of the state anywhere near quick enough to respond. This is Hayek’s local knowledge problem writ large, and it’s why free movement – even if limited to the young – beats central planning.

It was Margaret Thatcher who famously grabbed her copy of Hayek’s Constitution of Liberty from her handbag, slammed it down on the table and declared, “This is what we believe.” Those on the other side of politics can learn a thing or two from the Nobel Prize winner without subscribing to everything he believed. After all, Hayek literally wrote a paper called Why I Am Not a Conservative.

It was only four years ago that Keir Starmer said: “We welcome migrants, we don’t scapegoat them. Low wages, poor housing, poor public services, are not the fault of people who come here: they’re political failure. So we have to make the case for the benefits of migration; for the benefits of free movement.”

While times change, economic truths don’t.

SHAPE of Things
Over on our Substack, Anastasia has written up a fascinating interview with ARC Accelerator Co-Founder and Director Chris Fellingham on the commercialisation potential of social sciences, arts and humanities – or what The British Academy calls SHAPE (Social sciences, Humanities and Arts for People and the Economy).

ARC was founded in 2020 and now supports over 45 universities in an ICURe-like commercialisation programme specifically for researchers in social science, arts and humanities. There are lots of great examples cited, but as someone who studied history I’ll point you towards HistoryCity, which was founded by historians from the University of Exeter. They offer immersive trails in European cities and have partnered with organisations like the National Trust and museums to bring the past very much into the present.

For those interested, I would recommend reading the article in full, or at least skimming Anastasia’s X thread. As she says: “Social scientists have deep insights and answers to many pressing issues. If that can’t be translated into solutions, something must be broken or underbuilt.”

Also, in case you missed it, we put out another issue of our weekly Three Big Ideas roundup – on the demise of coal, priorities for growth, and letting a thousand Beatles bloom.

Join Us
As you’ll see, we have a lot coming up. While a fair amount of it is open to anyone – e.g. if you’re an angel investor in Scotland you’ll be accepted onto next week’s Edinburgh roundtable, others will be filled by those who go above and beyond in their support for us.

The more support we get, the more we are able to help entrepreneurs in the UK – including more events that are open for everyone. Now is the time to get on board. Sign up here or book a call with me to find out more.

Interview: SHAPE Shifters

For our latest interview, Anastasia Bektimirova sat down with Chris Fellingham, Co-Founder of ARC Accelerator, to chat about the commercialisation potential of research by academics in social sciences, arts and humanities.

They discussed:

• How ARC Accelerator came about and what gaps in research commercialisation landscape it fills

• Challenges of telling the impact story of SHAPE-based ventures

• The differences between STEM and SHAPE commercialisation

• SHAPE-based company archetypes, business models, and success stories

• Commercialisation potential of pure versus computational social science and digital humanities

• What it would take for SHAPE ventures to become VC-backable, and what high-risk high-reward work looks like in this space

• How we can get more SHAPE commercialisation, and with greater impact

Three Big Ideas #4

Three Big Ideas is our weekly roundup of ideas (and our takes on them) in entrepreneurship, innovation, science and technology, handpicked by the team.

In this week, Eamonn Ives explains how coal-fired power was phased out in Britain, Philip Salter writes about the importance of empowering youth entrepreneurship, and guest contributor David Lawrence discusses the results of a survey on priorities for economic growth run by UK Day One.

Angels Advocate

This week I’m opening with a request. If you’re an angel investor who backs female founders, or you’re actively interested in becoming an angel investor, or a female entrepreneur backed by angels, we have a unique opportunity for you to feed into the Government’s Invest in Women Taskforce, co-chaired by multi-exit entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow and Barclays’ Business CEO Hannah Bernard, and backed by the Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Over the next few weeks, we’re hosting roundtables with Barclays in Newcastle, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Belfast and London. This really is a chance to have your say on policy, get quoted in the report or feature as a case study (or input off-the-record if you prefer), as well as meet like-minded people in your area.

We want to share this opportunity far and wide so we get the very best and diverse insights. Therefore, before you read any further, sign up for an event or forward this email to anyone in your network who might be interested – the more the merrier. Additionally, you can reshare my LinkedIn post, our tweet, or get it out to the great and good through your channels.

We take this topic very seriously. We were the first organisation in Britain to reveal the equity funding gap; we helped launch the Rose Review; and alongside Barclays have been campaigning for policies to support female entrepreneurship through the Female Founders Forum for over a decade.  

We’re also scoping out doing something in Wales (either in person or virtually), so if you’re interested in that or have any questions about these events, drop us an email.

Pepper Questions
Another week, another three big ideas landed on our Substack. While Eamonn wrote about the lessons of US overregulation of Sichuan Pepper and Anastasia opined on the UN’s AI governance efforts, I pointed people towards what might well be this year’s most influential essay on British politics: Foundations.

It’s worth amplifying the alarm raised in the essay that by making it so hard to build, Britain is sabotaging its leadership in the technologies of the new industrial revolution (sorry, despite claims to the contrary, this will be the second not fourth).

But it’s not just AI and biotech. As Foundations states: “Britain’s strongest industries are creative and intangible, and yet we blocked a £750 million film studio by a dual carriageway, right by the UK’s strongest film cluster. Britain is the most advanced country, per capita, in artificial intelligence, but we blocked a £2.5 billion ‘super hub’ data centre site by the M25. Top talent from around the world flocks to work in biotech in Cambridge, yet we have starved the sector of lab space – under one percent of Cambridge lab space is vacant. Prime city centre office space and labs there are renting for even more than residential property.”

RIO ROI
Adviser to the network Ben Greenstone has co-written an excellent report on how regulation is suffocating startups. Igniting Innovation makes for brutal reading. As Ben’s thread on X explains, the Food Standards Agency has approved just 14% of requests since 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority hit just two-thirds of its targets, while the Civil Aviation Authority has yet to authorise out-of-sight drone flights, even though the US and Japan did so two years ago.

There is a great deal of ruin in our regulatory state: Space Forge, the British aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Cardiff, had to consult eleven different regulators to launch, while an AI legal startup must navigate at least six different regulators to get approval.

The new Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) might help with some of the regulatory burden. We’re certainly keeping an eye on it. The report recommends it should be given powers to compel regulators to coordinate on emerging technologies, which would certainly be a step in the right direction. I’d be minded to go a step further, and follow John Fingleton’s suggestion to create an N+1 regulator that could give licences to disruptive entrants across the entire economy.

Well Spent
Labour done. Just the Conservative Party conference to go. If you’re there on Monday, I’ll be on a panel with Karim Fatehi MBE (London Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Shuyeb Muquit (Fragomen), Jonathan Thomas (Social Market Foundation) and Heather Rolfe (British Future). We’ll be chatting about the UK’s current immigration system. I’ll be drawing on much of our recent work, including Eamonn’s latest article on the case for increasing youth mobility.

The kids are alright

To conclude our three part series digging into our recent report on Britain’s foreign-born founders, our Research Director Eamonn Ives makes the case for increasing global youth mobility, and how to go about it.

Three Big Ideas #3

Three Big Ideas is our weekly roundup of ideas (and our takes on them) in entrepreneurship, innovation, science and technology, handpicked by the team.

In this week, Eamonn Ives writes about Sichuan peppercorns and how regulations can shape our economic possibilities in quite unexpected ways, Anastasia Bektimirova discusses the UN’s approach to AI safety, and Philip Salter examines the essay on economic growth that everyone’s talking about.

Join us for a Female Angel Investor Roundtable in your city

Together with Barclays, we are currently undertaking research for our next Female Founders Forum report. In this year’s report, we are exploring the opportunities and challenges for female angel investors in the UK. The report and its policy recommendations will contribute to the Government-backed Invest in Women Taskforce.

This research will be informed by a series of roundtables across the UK. There will be opportunities for attendees to be quoted in the report and featured as a case study.

We’ll cover:

• Regional challenges in angel investing

• The impact of angel syndicates, groups, and co-investment funds in supporting female entrepreneurs and investors across different regions.

• Strategies to increase women's participation in angel investing through improved support programs and policy changes

• Bridging the gap between entrepreneurs and investors

The roundtables are open to both male and female angel investors, female entrepreneurs who have been backed by angels, and those actively interested in becoming angel investors.

You are invited to join us, and feel free to share with your network!

Newcastle
Monday, 7 October 2024
1.30pm to 3.30pm
Maybrook House, Newcastle upon Tyne
Request a place

Edinburgh
Tuesday, 8 October 2024
1.30pm to 3.30pm
CodeBase, Edinburgh
Request a place

Birmingham
Tuesday, 15 October 2024
1.30pm to 3.30pm
6 Brindley Pl, Birmingham
Request a place

London
Tuesday, 22 October 2024
1.30pm to 3.30pm
1 Churchill Place, London
Request a place

Belfast
Tuesday, 29 October 2024
1.30pm to 3.30pm
Ormeau Baths, Belfast
Request a place

Up and Atom

Ensuring the UK has cheap, clean energy is critical for any entrepreneur looking to build – or power – anything. When energy prices soar, businesses suffer or go bust. That’s why, in Small Wonders, we argue that Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) – developers of which include a host of innovative startups – should play a role in meeting this challenge.

For those unfamiliar with SMRs, these reactors have capacities of around 300 megawatts or less and are modular by design, meaning they are manufactured off-site and then assembled at their intended location. “The potential of SMRs is huge,” explains Will Murray in CapX. “Their modular nature allows for iterative learning and improvement, which means less risk of cost overruns. There is also export potential for SMRs made in the UK.”

As I discussed on Substack, energy is the cornerstone of progress: “Artificial intelligence will demand vast amounts of energy. The International Energy Agency forecasts that by 2026, electricity consumption will exceed 1,000 TWh. Just this week it was announced that Oracle is scoping out using three small nuclear reactors to power a new 1 GW AI data centre. That’s why our report advocates for the co-location of data centres with SMRs, aligning with two of the new Government’s core missions: stimulating economic growth and positioning Britain as a clean energy leader.”

The report, kindly supported by Bradshaw Advisory, is written by our Research Director Eamonn Ives, an expert on energy and environment matters, and who was a Special Adviser to a Cabinet Minister on energy and climate policy prior to joining us. Among other things, we call for the Government to open up more sites for SMR development, allow local authorities approving new nuclear power stations to retain a greater share of the business rates developers would pay, and for Britain to recognise the work of nuclear regulators in allied countries. Eamonn has a cracking thread on X that explains this better than I can.

Some people reading this might have concerns about the mere mention of the word “nuclear.” I won’t waste your time busting every myth about it, but I will point you in the direction of the remarkable work of Dr Hannah Ritchie – specifically this article on Our World in Data, but also more broadly her Sustainability by Numbers Substack.

Mission Possible
This week, my colleague Anastasia Bektimirova interviewed former DSIT policy adviser Ben Johnson on how bridging government and innovation networks can enhance the UK’s competitive edge in science and technology. The interview has made waves across Westminster and is a must-read for anyone invested in these areas. You can read it here.

Reach for the Stars
With party conference season in full swing, if you’re in Liverpool for Labour’s, head to the Main ACC, Auditorium 1C at 9am on Tuesday to hear my thoughts on how Labour should think about aligning policies for work with its skills agenda.

I’ll be speaking alongside a stellar panel, including Seema Malhotra MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at Home Office, as well as representatives from British Future, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the National Federation of Builders, and the Social Market Foundation.

If you’re based in or near London and can’t wait until Tuesday, feel free to attend our event on Monday morning.

Time to Join
On 24 October Rathbones is hosting us for a private dinner for our Patrons and Advisers. This will be a valuable opportunity to learn about our policy initiatives and to share your thoughts on the issues entrepreneurs face in relation to government policy. If you’re interested in becoming an Adviser, don’t hesitate to get in touch.