A Cast of Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs' Forum

Welcome back for another episode of A Cast of Entrepreneurs. Today, the cast is made up of another three fantastic entrepreneurs from the North East.

Hosts Elaine Stroud, Chief Executive of The Entrepreneurs’ Forum, and Sally Cowling, Head of Member Experience, are joined by:

Caroline Moody; Group Managing Director for Moody Logistics and Storage based in Cramlington, Northumberland. The family owned and operated transport and logistics company was established in 1947 by her grandfather. She won the Freight Award category of the prestigious 2020 Amazon everywoman in Transport & Logistics Award and in 2021 was announced as the winner of Northern Transport Woman of the Year. A passionate advocate for the logistics and transport industry, she takes every opportunity to highlight its contribution to the UK’s economy, the challenges it faces, as well as promoting the career opportunities available. In December 2023, Caroline set up the charity Core Foundations alongside her husband, Phil Crawford.

Alisdair Beveridge; Founder and Managing Director of The Build Directory - fast becoming possibly the first turnkey end to end supply and install provider for building and home improvements operating in both residential and commercial sectors. Alisdair is active in North East charities, being a proud patron and trustee of The Teeside Charity (formerly The Middlesbrough & Teesside Philanthropic Foundation) and advisor to the PFC Trust. Alisdair is the co-founder of the Walk Into the Light events aimed at raising awareness of mental health and suicide preventions. He has also recently been appointed chair of the new futures network for Holme House prison aimed at creating better outcomes and employment.

Andrew Skelton; Director of SOS Group which began its journey in 2002 within the office equipment sector. They use their knowledge and expertise to offer cost-effective hardware and software applications across the UK. Andrew started in the sector in 1989, so has a wealth of knowledge gained from 35 years experience in the industry. SOS has won multiple awards, gaining massive recognition for supporting individuals and groups in the local community, having donated £350,000.00 to date.

In this episode, the cast talk about how they give back to their communities. They share their stories about getting involved in charitable and community work and give tips and advice on how you can get involved too. They discuss how they first got involved in charitable work, and what they are still doing today alongside running their businesses.

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Get involved with The Entrepreneurs’ Forum: https://entrepreneursforum.net/
Connect with Caroline: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-crawford-8b5ba412/
Connect with Alisdair: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisdair-beveridge-1b3088a0/
Connect with Andrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewskelton1/

Welcome back for another episode of A Cast of Entrepreneurs. Today, the cast is made up of three fantastic entrepreneurs from the North East.

Hosts Elaine Stroud, Chief Executive of The Entrepreneurs’ Forum, and Sally Cowling, Head of Member Experience, are joined by:

Kimberley Cattin; Co-Founder of SB1 Group. SB1 Group, under Kimberley's leadership, focuses on providing full-service private label support and elevating and creating new brands in the cosmetic space. Kimberley also owns WBCo Clinic, a luxury aesthetics clinic in Durham offering a range of treatments to help clients on their journey with skin and ageing.

Sarah Pittendrigh; Multi Award Winning Founder, CEO & Franchisor of luxury linen hire company, Simply Bows & Chair Covers. From a struggling bankrupt single mum to a thriving serial business owner, Sarah has overcome challenges and come out stronger on the other side. She is the published author, mentor and speaker on “The I CAN Method™️”. Sarah is also a property entrepreneur and investor.

Matt Mavir; founder and Managing Director of Last Night of Freedom. Matt set up Last Night of Freedom p in 1999 whilst studying Business Studies. He now manages a team of 30+ staff with over 200 years industry experience between them. Matt and his team have arranged over 50,000 stag and hen weekends. Matt navigated the company through the pandemic, which left the Last Night of Freedom with a 50/50 chance of survival. Having made it through this difficult period, the company is stronger than ever and continues to go from strength to strength.

In this episode, the cast talk about times when they’ve had to be resilient in their business journeys. They share what kept them going through these tough times and share advice for any entrepreneurs who may be going through a similar struggle. They also touch on how they have made brilliant work cultures within their businesses.

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Get involved with The Entrepreneurs’ Forum: https://entrepreneursforum.net/
Connect with Kimberley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberley-cattin-188805a6/
Connect with Sarah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahpittendrigh/
Connect with Matt: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmavir/

Welcome back for another episode of A Cast of Entrepreneurs. Today, the cast is made up of three brilliant young founders from the North East.

Hosts Elaine Stroud, Chief Executive of The Entrepreneurs’ Forum, and Sally Cowling, Head of Member Experience, are joined by:

Ellen Hedley; Co-Founder of brand, marketing and digital transformation agency Vida Creative. An experienced marketer, Ellen established Vida with her partner Henry in 2016 after discovering her passion for working on varied marketing projects and blending digital and creative. Ellen is currently in the seventh cohort for the Entrepreneurs’ Forum Scale-up Leaders’ Academy.

Nick Gianfreda; CEO and Founder of Wriggle Marketing, a digital marketing agency setup 9 years ago after Nick graduated from Northumbria University. Wriggle is a full-service digital marketing agency which specialises in increasing leads and revenue for companies in the B2B sectors.

Hannah Brennan; Co-Founder and Chief Operations Officer at SeerBI Maritime Data Science Lab based within the Tees Valley. Within the business she has led global projects utilising AI and data science to improve systems and develop new technologies within the maritime sector. Hannah is now building on her expertise within Teesside Universities Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre (NZIIC) where she is a Senior Researcher in Artificial Intelligence, exploring use cases of AI in industrial applications for Net Zero, and also the sustainable use of AI.

In this episode, the cast delves into their early entrepreneurial journeys, sharing insights into launching businesses at a young age. They talk about what motivates them to keep their businesses growing strong, sharing helpful tips for anyone looking to start their own venture, no matter their age.

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Get involved with The Entrepreneurs’ Forum: https://entrepreneursforum.net/
Connect with Ellen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellen-hedley/
Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-gianfreda-759b4b122/
Connect with Hannah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-brennan-9b218a1b2/

A Cast of Entrepreneurs is back with another exciting episode featuring three brilliant entrepreneurs from the North East. This week, the cast are discussing what makes a brilliant workplace culture.

Hosts Elaine Stroud, Chief Executive of The Entrepreneurs’ Forum, and Sally Cowling, Head of Member Experience, are joined by:

Kari Owers. Kari has been a creative communications consultant for over 25 years working with high profile consumer brands and entrepreneurial businesses around the world and is also on the board of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum. She founded O.agency in 2005 and as Chief Creative Officer she leads the client strategy team, who have worked with many top brand names including Dr.Martens, Parkdean Resorts, Fenwick, Flymo and IamProperty. Kari has won multiple awards which recognise her passion in creating a special agency culture, commitment to her people and youth talent and investment in the local community.

Brendon Hayward. Brendon co-founded Osbit with two fellow engineers in 2010 and has led a number of key projects for the offshore wind industry, including the development of Osbit’s asset software package and safety framework. Brendon is the Chair of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, Chairman of a local youth charity and is passionate about developing organisational cultures and people.

Jonny Grubin. Jonny is the founder & CEO of SoPost, the leading online product sampling platform. A serial entrepreneur, Jonny launched SoPost in 2012 with the goal of helping brands run powerful sampling campaigns online with a focus on relevance, data and analytics. Today, SoPost powers the online sampling for hundreds of brands and ships one order every two seconds to consumers around the world.

In this episode, the cast share their experiences of creating a winning workplace culture, the ins and outs of how they got there, as well as why they feel that a great culture is integral to their business.

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Get involved with The Entrepreneurs’ Forum: https://entrepreneursforum.net/
Connect with Kari: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kariowers/
Connect with Jonny: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgrubin/
Connect with Brendon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendon-hayward-5036b818/

We’re back with a new episode of A Cast of Entrepreneurs, and we have three brilliant entrepreneurs from the North East sharing their experiences of being based in this region.

Hosts Elaine Stroud, Chief Executive of The Entrepreneurs’ Forum, and Sally Cowling, Head of Marketing, are joined by:

Ammar Mirza, a multi-award-winning enterprise and innovation expert who has helped establish and scale several thousand businesses globally through the design, development and delivery of world leading accelerator and scale up programmes. With a portfolio of interests spanning across numerous sectors including property, edtech, health-tech and investment support Ammar is recognised as a leading authority on organisational growth.

Charlie Hoult, a serial entrepreneur, currently involved in 4 businesses with combined staff over 500 and target turnover above £75m in 2024: Opencast, Hyhubs, Futureheads, Cheviot Insured. His work has always involved teams and he rates collaboration partners as the essence of his success. He is a firm advocate for building businesses on strong ethical values.

Chloë Clover, the Co-Founder and CEO of the multi-award-winning agency Wander, a Personality First, Boundary Breaking Content Agency disrupting the way businesses market themselves online. Working with the biggest brands on the planet, crafting next level campaigns, and creating consistent and engaging content & social since 2018. Clover appeared in the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list, highlighting her as a trailblazer and new world entrepreneur. Clover was also awarded 'Emerging Talent' at the Entrepreneurs Forum Awards and ‘Businesswoman of the Year’ at the Tees Businesswoman Awards.

On this episode, the cast share their experiences of being entrepreneurs in the North East, whether they think location matters, their experiences of entrepreneurship in other locations, and how we can make our region a more inclusive space for businesses.

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Get involved with The Entrepreneurs’ Forum: https://entrepreneursforum.net/
Connect with Ammar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ammar-mirza-cbe-2132622/
Connect with Charlie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charliehoult/
Connect with Chloë: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloe-clover/

We’re back with another episode of A Cast of Entrepreneurs, joined by some more brilliant entrepreneurs from the North East. Today, we’re talking all about diverse leadership in the workplace and how this benefits your company.

Hosts Elaine Stroud, Chief Executive of The Entrepreneurs’ Forum, and Sally Cowling, Head of Member Experience are joined by:

Joanna Feeley, Founder and Chief Executive at TrendBible, a futures agency predicting the future of life at home. Joanna’s career as a trend forecaster spans more than two decades. She has advised retailers, brands, charities, investors and governments all over the world, and had insights published by The Independent and Financial Times.

Sarat Pediredla, Founder and CEO of Hedgehog Lab, a human-centred global tech consultancy. Sarat has led the company for over 16 years. He co-founded hedgehog lab in 2007 and transformed it from a small web development agency to a multi-million-pound company with over 100 employees and offices in the UK, US, and Bulgaria. As the CEO, Sarat is responsible for setting the company’s vision, strategy, and culture and overseeing operations, finances, and business development.

In this episode, the cast share how they actively create a more diverse workplace, why they think it’s so important to do so, and how you, as leaders, can incorporate this into your everyday lives.

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Get involved with The Entrepreneurs’ Forum: https://entrepreneursforum.net/
Connect with Joanna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-feeley-85919716/
Connect with Sarat: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saratpediredla/