- About
- Join
- Mentoring
- Events
- Media
- Scale-up
- Conference
Supported by Kinnery, our Emerging Talent award is presented each year to an entrepreneur who is building a business of outstanding potential, who has been trading for six years or less (as of Friday 29th September).
Gareth, founder of Superior Recruitment Group, is a seasoned executive with extensive global P&L experience and international management background. Specialising in project manpower and executive search, he has a proven track record of successful leadership in multinational corporations.
Gareth's 25 years of industry expertise has established fast-growing international project solutions for companies across sectors like Oil & Gas, Renewable Energy, Engineering, Manufacturing, Chemicals, Technology, Commercial, Corporate & Boardroom, and HR & Recruitment.
Superior Recruitment Group, the preferred partner of choice for international clients in diverse specialist sectors, has successfully placed candidates in seven states and expanded into 18 countries. Leveraging Gareth's industry connections, the company aims to foster lasting relationships, matching talented individuals with exceptional companies and supporting global success.
Neil is the co-founder and managing director of Mother Mercy, a group of premium table service cocktail bars in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Despite opening in November 2019, four months before the beginning of COVID-19, the business has delivered impressive growth with two additional sites, instore at Fenwick and at Gateshead's By The River Brew Co. and two further sites opening in 2023.
Alongside this. Mother Mercy boasts a number of prestigious local and national awards, most notably The Chronicles Best Bar and a spot in the prestigious UK Top 50 Cocktail Bars.
Following a career as a senior finance professional with over 20 years’ experience in finance, accountancy and operational roles, Matthew co-founded Atom Financial with his business partner, Matt Herrell, in June 2021.
Having realised the potential they had to create their own space as a provider of finance managed services to SME businesses, Atom Financial provide a wide range of financial consultancy services to help SME businesses grow, offering a flexible, highly experienced alternative to in-house recruitment.
Atom Financial then expanded its service offering to provide HR consultancy and Payroll services to support SME businesses further.
Matthew is hugely passionate about business in the North East, supporting entrepreneurs, business owners and management teams to overcome their challenges and achieve their growth plans.
Gary Giles is a trained accountant having worked across a number of industries during his career, latterly at director level, had an idea for a flood defence on 4th February 2015 at 3.45pm (yes that precise!).
This idea was to then evolve into the building system that is OGEL.
OGEL is a construction technology that builds walls, floors and roofs from waste plastic
It now has patents in the UK, USA, China and most of mainland Europe.
It is North East based with sites in Gateshead and Stockton on Tees and currently uses its technology to build structures such as garden rooms and offices alongside other specialist buildings as well as its origin idea as a flood defence system.
OGEL were ‘winners’ in the 2021 series of Dragons Den having been offered investment from a number of the Dragons , and have been heavily featured in BBC2’s home improvement program ‘Your Home Made Perfect’ in its 2023 series.
Sophia Gowland is the Founder & Director of Petite Agency, an award-winning marketing agency specialising in Social Media and Personal Brand Management.
With her innovative approach, Sophia quickly made a name for herself on the Teesside business scene back in 2020 when she launched a campaign named "Supporting Teesside in crisis" across social media platforms, reaching over 250,000 people & signing her first few clients in the process.
Petite Agency was quickly established as a go-to marketing agency. Currently comprising a dynamic team of four members, the agency's growth trajectory shows no signs of slowing down.
Sophia's ability to connect with audiences and create authentic brand experiences has not only earned her the trust of her clients but has also positioned her as a respected thought leader in the marketing community.
Founder of My Healthcare Recruit, Sarah created an international healthcare recruitment agency, fuelled by new technology and a mission to deliver outstanding customer service.
My Healthcare Recruit currently employs 16 team members and provides recruitment services to NHS Trusts, large national Private Healthcare chains and also Nursing Homes. The business works hard to maintain their 5-star Trust Pilot rating from international candidates they have deployed to the UK; and in order to offer their clients an end-to-end solution, have successfully diversified their relocation services such as accommodation sourcing, clinical training and immigration advice.
Demand in the sector continues to grow, driven by an ageing population, ageing workforce, and a severe shortage of healthcare staff.
Katherine and Matt are Co-founders of Adopter, a marketing company helping emerging green-tech innovation get early adopters.
Two years ago, they realised that scientists and engineers inventing green technologies often need help with communicating their climate change solutions to customers, investors and potential employees.
Since then, Katherine, Matt, and their growing team have supported global clients creating the world's first solutions in such emerging fields as biodiversity data, cultivated meat, green fintech, and sustainability-linked sovereign debt.
Sam Spoors is an award winning and passionate Founder and Director with over 20 years in the Talent Acquisition industry.
After a successful corporate career, Sam established Talentheads in the pandemic to be the internal Recruitment team for growing businesses. Always working as the brand of the business they are recruiting for – Talentheads balances finding the right individuals with the right values with strategic initiatives, processes and practices for long term sustainable recruitment, employee engagement, and team retention.
As an active member of the Entrepreneurial Business Community, Sam embodies the company values of Brave, Community and Legacy and proactively supports Community Groups such as Morpeth Girls Junior Football teams and Northumberland based junior swimmers representing England at the upcoming Rio World School Games.
Beginning his career as a civil engineer, in 2018 Chris Thompson saw a gap in the market for a full service creative agency that focuses on creating high-quality content for businesses of all types.
Since then, Media Borne has gone on to become one of the most trusted creative agencies in the North East with a nationwide client base.
With ambitions to grow into the entertainment sector in the coming years, Chris and Media Borne’s growth shows no signs of slowing down any time soon
Daniel is the Founder and Director of Wade Construction Management Consultants. From their offices on Teesside, Daniel has managed the meteoric rise of Wade since 2018 to the impressive organisation it is today.
Wade offers a unique approach to construction and project management for the Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences sectors. Working nationally Daniel and his team are incredibly proud to work on projects to accelerate the delivery of medicine using his tailored, agile and effective approach to Construction.
Wade have experienced a 410% increase in company growth, have invested nearly £800k into their staff and currently employ more than 30 people. Daniel’s passion for creating more transparency in the Construction industry is felt throughout the team and is the driving force behind the impressive growth over the last 5 years.
Meet Jay, the founder and Managing Director of Jaccountancy, a tech-savvy data-enabled accounting firm that trades around a purpose. Jay’s unconventional route into accounting began at the age of 23. Self-studying and qualifying as an accountant at 25 while still working full-time in Customer Services and part-time in the Hospitality sector.
As a self-funded start-up, Jay launched his business from home and now has a team of seven, with headquarters at Hoult’s Yard in Newcastle.
In 2019, AAT, the professional membership and qualification awarding body, recognised Jay as Member of the Year. He has also been featured in a series of high-profile media adverts for the organisation.
Supported by RTC North our Scale-up award is presented each year to an entrepreneur who is leading a scaling company achieving 20%+ annualised growth in either turnover, profit or employee numbers for any (but ideally all) of the past three years.
Imran Anwar is the founder and CEO of Alt Labs, He has left an indelible mark on the global innovation and software development field. Starting as a daring solo venture, Imran has cultivated Alt Labs into a formidable force of 16 technology virtuosos, landing substantial contracts with renowned entities such as the London North Eastern Railway, Transport for Wales, Go-Ahead Group and UCL
With more than a decade of in-depth experience in Transport, Banking, Fintech, Retail, E-commerce and FMCG, Imran's strategic leadership has transformed Alt Labs into the go-to provider for startups to FTSE 100 companies. His extensive expertise encompasses Growth Hacking, Digital Transformation, Mobile Apps, SaaS, Big Data, and Web development, demonstrating his ability to fuse pioneering strategies with practical solutions which have been featured by Microsoft and the BBC.
He has also become an integral pillar of the global tech startup community. His mentorship has nurtured the growth of over 180 startups, guiding them in refining their technologies and securing over £23 million in contract and VC funding.
His visionary leadership has been recognised at a national level with Alt Labs being honored as the FSB's 'Largest Small Business of the Year 2023' as well as the 'Tech for Good' award and Imran himself named 'Tees Valley BME Leader of the Year 2021'.
Jonny is the co-founder and Managing Director of iPac Packaging Innovations (iPac), a sustainable thermoformed packaging company. Jonny is a Chartered Accountant and trained at Deloitte LLP, London, where he spent 8 years in audit and corporate finance before returning to the North-East to set iPac up in 2017. Within 6 years in operation, iPac has grown to an annualised turnover of over £20m and currently employs over 70 people.
Jonny is passionate about ensuring that sustainability remains at the forefront of everything that iPac does. Through innovative design, iPac’s products have helped customers remove approximately 450 tonnes of packaging per year from their supply chains, whilst also removing difficult to recycle materials. iPac’s recycled PET products prevent over ½ million plastic bottles per day from going to landfill, incineration or into the environment.
Melissa is an accomplished professional with over 17 years of experience in the field of recruitment. Her journey began with one of the UK's top recruitment firms, where she honed her skills and gained valuable insights into the industry.
In 2018 and fuelled by her desire to prioritise client requirements and streamline operational delivery, she made the bold decision to establish her own recruitment company, Recruitrite.
At Recruitrite, Melissa has successfully cultivated a culture that places client satisfaction at the forefront of all operations. Her unwavering commitment to meeting and exceeding client expectations has resulted in the development of a stable and loyal client base. Melissa's expertise, combined with her passion for fostering strong client relationships, has propelled Recruitrite to new heights of success.
Melissa's extensive experience in recruitment, coupled with her ability to build lasting connections, makes her invaluable. Her dedication to client-centricity and operational excellence continues to drive her professional journey.
Luis McCarthy is the Managing Director of JMAC Group, a leading independent specialist access and industries services provider based in Teesside.
With a team of over 175 dedicated professionals working from the JMAC HQ in Stockton-on-Tees, Luis has taken this once humble family-run scaffolding business and transformed it into a trailblazing industry leader, boasting an impressive £13 million turnover.
Under Luis’s visionary leadership, JMAC Group has experienced remarkable growth and diversification over the past Five years, expanding to four distinct brands that seamlessly provide a comprehensive range of industry leading services. From sales, rentals, and contracting services of their patented health & safety equipment to specialised scaffolding, and multi-disciplinary industrial solutions, JMAC Group excels in delivering excellence across various sectors and has partnered with some of the biggest industry names along the way.
Peter Moore is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of T3 Security. Peter and business partner Richard have taken T3 from a start up to one of the largest privately owned security companies in the North of England employing over 400 members of staff across a wide range of sites for well-known clients such as the NHS, Savills, Fenwick, the Stonegate pub company and JD Wetherspoon.
Peter who had little or no previous business experience initially co-founded T3 after being made redundant from his job as a door supervisor in 2011. The company has seen increased profits and has scaled year on year, holding a wide range of industry accreditations.
Working most of his life within the security industry Peter is extremely passionate about delivering the best possible standards to clients and raising the bar of the reputation of the security industry.
Joe is the owner of The Qualis Collection, a company he founded in 2021.
The Qualis Collection is an online company which specialises in solid brass knurled handles and knobs, along with a vast range of kitchen and basin taps. Since then, Joe has directed the growth of the business, with profits growing over 50% year on year.
With its impressive growth Joe strives to maintain momentum by introducing new ranges. He has an ambitious vision for the future, keeping a firm focus on the highest quality products and ensuring an exceptional customer experience.
Joe is passionate about expanding the mission of Qualis: transforming people’s homes with affordable luxury.
Amusing though it is to those who know him, Sarat was once set to become a brain surgeon. Then he found computers – and discovered his true passion.
After moving from India to the UK to study software engineering, he worked as a developer for several years before setting up his own company, hedgehog lab, with fellow developer Mark Forster. hedgehog lab is a human-centred global tech consultancy. Our experts in UXR, UI/UX, engineering, AI, cloud, & data science partner to deliver custom app development and digital transformation services.
The business, which has raised £6.3m of investment from Private Equity investors, was ranked #9 in GP Bullhound Fastest Growing Northern Tech businesses and in the Inc 5000 list of fastest-growing European businesses. It was also named one of the Best Workplaces in the UK by Great Place to Work® UK and one of the Most Flexible Companies to work for in 2023 by Flexa.
Sarat, who remains passionate about all things digital, is clear on his ambition: to make hedgehog lab one of the world’s biggest and best digital product consultancy.
Dale Smith is a successful property entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in residential, commercial, and holiday home property investment, property development, and property management.
Dale is the CEO of The SDDE Smith Group, which he founded in March 2017 with just one holiday home. Four years later he has grown the business to include 14 customer-facing brands with over 300 employees and a projected revenue of over £30 million for 2023.
Dale’s unique approach to property management has been a key factor in his success. Instead of focusing on just one property management area, he continuously creates different customer-facing brands to meet his clients’ varied needs. The brands include Host & Stay, WOODSmith Construction, Styled Interior Design, Grey-Smith Legal and many more.
Dale’s end-to-end property solution allows him to increase customer lifetime value, compete on price without sacrificing profit margins or service quality, and expand his portfolio to include well over 850 investment properties.
Supported by Ward Hadaway our Entrepreneur of the Year award is presented to an experienced entrepreneur who has shown incredible resilience and strength, particularly this past year, to lead their business to outstanding success through innovation, teamwork and leadership skills.
Paul Blake is the owner of Newcastle Eagles Basketball Club and chairman of Eagles Community Foundation.
Paul took ownership of Newcastle Eagles Basketball Club in 1999 and has spearheaded what has become the most successful basketball team in British history, winning 27 trophies in the last two decades. During this period, he also acted as chair of the British Basketball League, assisting in development of media contracts, the sport’s first All Parties Parliamentary lobbying group, the British Basketball Foundation and GB Basketball’s appearance at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The club formed the Eagles Community Foundation in 2006, delivering basketball to the North East community, including in over 150 schools per year, a junior club programme with over 2,000 members, educational partners across Tyne and Wear and an academy programme supporting talented players in the professional game.
In 2022 Paul was presented with an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Northumbria for services to sport in the region.
Ben and Jamie co-founded iamproperty together in 2009 with a vision to modernise the property market by pioneering the Modern Method of Auction (MMoA). Addressing a gap in the market to offer consumers more choice within their property sales, and growing iamproperty to be the UK’s largest residential auctioneer through its auction service iamsold, with an online auction market share of over 60%. Today, iamproperty offers an ecosystem of digital solutions which modernise the property market, empowering forward-thinking Estate Agents to succeed.
As Co-Founder and MD of iamproperty, Ben has overseen our group's expansion from a primarily-auction focused business into new markets, such as Conveyancing, Compliance and CRM. Ben’s main role and passion is to explore innovation and new opportunities to develop the businesses digital strategy, investing in and developing solutions that allow property professionals to enhance their proposition and profitability.
As Co-Founder and MD of iamsold, Jamie has overseen iamproperty's expansion into new markets whilst maintaining iamsold's position as the market leading auctions provider. Jamie’s main role is the day-to-day operations of iamsold, the UKs largest and fastest growing auction provider, and Jamie oversees continuous innovation to ensure iamproperty’s auction services continue to lead the way.
The winner of both the Mentor of the Year and Lifetime Achievement award is decided by the Entrepreneurs' Forum board and kept a closely guarded secret until the night!
The Mentor of the Year award, supported by the Malhotra Group is presented to an entrepreneur who has been selected for their outstanding contribution over the last twelve months to altruistically supporting fellow entrepreneurs and the growth of their businesses.
Whereas the Lifetime Achievement award, which is this year supported by LDC, is awarded to a business leader who has shown huge commitment over a significant period of time and made a major impact to the regional economy.
