Technology companies attending masterclasses at FUEL Manchester 2024 last week came away armed with invaluable advice for scaling their businesses.
The event – sponsored by GM Business Growth Hub, Bruntwood SciTech and the University of Salford Business School – was held at No.1 Circle Square on Oxford Road in central Manchester and began with a business breakfast before around 30 startups and scaleups gained direct access to 12 experts in four round-robin pods. These ‘ask me anything’ sessions spanned funding, growth planning, people & performance and technology.
Growth planning
The experts on the growth planning masterclass were Dez Derry, exited founder of Blume, Andy Duckworth, co-founder of eComplete, and Adam Ward, founder and CEO at Airtime Rewards.
Martin Caton is CEO of Bolton-based Low Carbon Electric, founded in 2015, which enhances the efficiency and reliability of electricity lines and transformers to enable proactive fault management and an increase in network capacity.
He found the back stories of both Derry and Guy Remond – an expert in the funding masterclass – “inspirational”.
“Their experiences and advice on business funding and growth was excellent,” he added. “There was a high calibre of founders able to clearly articulate the challenges of growing a business and the strategies to overcome them. I particularly appreciated their practical advice on navigating the challenges of scaling up, and how to build advice networks with other CEOs.
“When you have been running a business for many years, good advice stands out a mile. There was plenty of it on offer at this excellent event.”
Lisa McCartney is co-founder of Manchester-based EdTech Plytime Learning, founded in Manchester in 2020, a primary school online maths learning platform backed by research.
“The growth masterclass was a really open conversation which generated some useful ideas,” she reflected. “Dez’s background was particularly interesting as we work with children in care via virtual schools and he could be a fantastic role model for them.
“Andy’s experience, his health and fitness background & being a fellow chartered accountant could be a fantastic fit. We’re currently seeking reward partners so Adam could have some great advice about how to reach them.
“Overall it was an excellent morning, well spent: the small group format worked really well and people were able to ask their questions in a safe environment. The most valuable piece of advice I took away was ‘set yourself a goal and work backwards to achieve it’.”
FUEL Manchester 2024 growth planning masterclass, left; and people & performance, right
Makeurmove founder Alexandra Morris is CEO of Manchester-based Habeo, a new platform which drives the adoption of renewable technologies in homes by connecting data, people, suppliers and industry stakeholders.
“The growth masterclass was especially relevant to us because we are launching into multiple markets with our data tool and I was keen to understand the learnings of the mentors on the potential pitfalls,” she said.
“The key piece of advice I took away was to be careful focusing on one corporate contract as it may consume too much time and effort and not come to pass. Survival isn’t a strategy!”
Blal Choudhry is CEO and founder at Manchester-based Flight Patrol, a platform for claiming compensation for delayed and cancelled flights.
“Founders that have exited proved useful and relatable: there was one, two or three of these in each expert group,” he said. “I learned to be selective about who you work with – and that it’s all about execution.”
Funding
Alongside EHE Ventures founder Remond on the funding pod were Charlotte Ashton, CEO of Implicit Advisory; and Frazer Durris, exited founder of Businesswise Solutions and founder of Trigpoint Ventures.
Chi-chi Armstrong is founder of Manchester-based Attendist, an intelligence platform created in 2021 that helps event organisers close leads faster and run sustainable events.
“The session on funding was very, very valuable,” she said. “I learnt as much from the other founders in the room as I did from the experts.
“Charlotte understood where we are in our fundraising journey the best, while Adam Ward was also very astute in articulating how to navigate fundraising and growth planning.
“I took this nugget of advice from Charlotte: ‘An investor does not have to have voting rights to influence how you spend your time. Choose wisely.’
“The event was fantastic, with so much great food for thought. It was lovely to meet Mehdi Kordi, Guy Remond, Dez Derry and Janine Smith and re-connect with Beckie Taylor and Anna Dick. The experts had so much rich, lived-in experience from being founders and business leaders that navigated tough decisions and tough circumstances all the way to successful exit – or Olympic Gold medals, in the case of Mehdi. The openness and willingness to share their experiences and help others was off the charts.”
FUEL Manchester 2024 funding masterclass
Dominic Appleby is MD at Poynton-based H2Origin Refills, which is aiming to improve the quality and convenience of refilling water bottles on the move.
“Investment and growth are our two priority areas at present,” he reflected. “We are already engaged with Guy’s wider team regarding the tech overlay for H2Origin, while Frazer’s advice to build a compelling story surrounding your business – which I’ve heard elsewhere before – put more context around the ‘why’.
“I liked the fact that the mentors were approachable.”
Ashton has advised hundreds of owner managers on the journey to exit over a 20+ year career in corporate finance and private equity. She founded Implicit Advisory in 2021 to “champion the founders who create the value off which the investment and corporate finance industry thrives”.
“It was good to see there was a range of traction [among the cohort businesses],” she said. “I was impressed by Habeo, Vivify, Fassion, Pimberly and Newtec.
“I advised the businesses to focus on building clear metrics that demonstrate traction and develop a three-year blue sky forecast: where are the gaps or areas you need more support to achieve that forecast? Could a knowledge-based investor support that, or could you deliver that without the distraction of fundraising?
“Raising funding isn’t a measure of success – it’s a function of growth for businesses with a clear strategic plan.”
People & performance
The people & performance pod featured experts Janine Smith, director, GM Business Growth Hub; Kordi, head of sprint performance for the Netherlands cycling team at Paris 2024; and Beckie Taylor, co-founder at Tech Returners.
Greg Tattersall is director at Icon Sports Group, a Rochdale business founded in 2015 which supplies bespoke teamwear and custom sports apparel across the UK and Europe. Its customers include sports clubs and business organisations ranging from grassroots to elite athletes and governing bodies.
“Where our business sits at the moment, the people and performance pod provided the most relevant information,” he said.
“I enjoyed Mehdi, who provided real-world advice, while Janine also had some very relevant experience.”
Pimberly is a fast-growing enterprise product information management platform, founded in Manchester in 2017. CFO Paul Cook singled out this masterclass in providing “good coverage of the current challenges facing businesses of all sizes and types”.
He added of the funding pod: “Charlotte appeared to be well-informed on Pimberly and could therefore offer a tailored insight during discussions… the viewpoint on whether to continue as a UK company and not switch to being a US-based one [was also useful].”
Technology
The technology masterclass featured experts Dr Richard Whittle, AI and dark patterns expert at the University of Salford Business School; Anna Dick, CTO at Capsule; and George Goudie, CTO of Dote.
Phil Gold is co-founder at Zapt, a Manchester startup founded last year which revolutionises how businesses create, deploy and manage custom generative AI applications.
“I connected with Richard Whittle at Salford and will hopefully be meeting him soon at the uni to discuss collaboration,” he said. “I also connected with Charlotte and Guy as I thought what they had to say about funding was very interesting.
“There was lots of valuable advice. I found all of the sessions really useful and interesting. I only wish they could all have gone on a bit longer.”
FUEL Manchester 2024 tech masterclass
Goudie, who also operates as a fractional CTO, is an IT consultant who helps startups and small businesses to deliver tech solutions. His clients include Liverpool University and Manchester City FC.
“A few of the cohort businesses were unsure how best to proceed with either low code or custom software solutions,” he said. “We discussed the pros and cons of both, but ultimately the aim is to validate the solution as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible.”