He talked about the Government’s plans to introduce new legislation to curb late payments, which includes setting maximum payment terms of 60 days, mandatory interest on late payments, and a 30-day deadline for the dispute of invoices. He said the drain in cash flow is “holding back the entire economy”.
Louise Hill, founder of GoHenry, later joined the stage and spoke about her journey being a female-led founder and scaling a female-led business from the ground up. She was joined by Ciaran Burke, Co-Founder of Swoop, Ian Merricks, Proposition Lead at VenturePath, Louise Doyle, CEO and Co-Founder of needi.co.uk and Richard Bearman, Chief Development Officer of British Business Bank who spoke about how founders can secure investment by delivering a compelling pitch that goes beyond a great idea.
Piers Linney MBE, Co-founder of Implement AI and Former Dragon on BBC’s Dragon’s Den spoke took to the stage to speak about the power of AI, the direction its going and how entrepreneurs can implement it in their business. AI expert Andrew Grill, Dave Birss, Co-Founder of The Gen AI Academy, Kunal Kaul, Managing Director of Small & Medium Business, Joe Seddon, Founder & CEO of Zero Gravity and Julie Holmes, AI Strategist and Founder of Smarter HQ, spoke about how AI is transforming the way businesses operate, compete and grow – and how its moving beyond experimentation and into execution.
Joseph Valente, the winner of the Apprentice and founder of Trade Mastermind, was joined by a thriving panel of five young entrepreneurs, including Vicky Owens, Founder of Socially Speaking Media, Nicola Gunby, Co-founder & CMO of CLIQ, Alfie Watts a travel expert and winner of Race Across The World, Kathryn Burn, The Apprentice finalist and owner ‘My Christmas Pyjamas’, and Fran Gresswell, Founder of Riviera Iced Tea. They spoke about the rise of social media, branding and how businesses can use online platforms to grow.
The third keynote speaker of the day was Simon Woodroffe OBE, founder of Yo! Sushi and Yotel, who spoke about how to be bold in the world of business – and the importance of building a courageous mindset. Later on, Rebecca Drew, Managing Director of Vistage UK, Dr Alka Patel, Longevity Coach & Corporate Wellness Expert, Jo Eckersley, award-winning founder of InnovateUK Monitoring Officer, Laura Fullerton, Founder of Monk and Teresa Bryson, Head of Workplace, change and engagement at Sage spoke about burn out and how to counteract that within your teams, to create thriving, high-performing employees.
The fourth keynote speaker for the day was Amy Knight, Director and Co-Founder of Must Have Ideas, who was later joined by a thriving panel with Arjun Sofat, Co-Founder & CEO of Free Soul, Daniel Rubin, Chairman of Dune Group, Jackie Naghten, Retail & Consumer Branding Expert and Mike Greene, Chairman, CEO of the Best Wealth Network & Director of Secret Millionaire spoke about the dying high street, the future of retail, shifting shoppers’ habits – and what it takes to thrive in a changing retail world.
Anthea Turner, broadcaster and founder of By Anthea Skincare, took to the stage for the final keynote of the day to speak about her journey to starting her own skincare brand and the struggles she faced early on in her journey before her flourishing success. Chloe Walsh, Founder Clomana, David Allerton, Founder of SE-LF: Spa & Self-care Products, Lucie Macleod, Founder & CEO of Hair Syrup and Ning Cheah, Founder & Director of The Beauty Crop spoke about the virality of new TikTok beauty brands, and how these businesses are scaling in one of the world’s most competitive markets.
And finally, Olympic Medallist and Javelin World Champion, Fatima Whitbread MBE, shared her experience of growing up in care and explained why every child deserves a safe and happy home.
