We're saving entrepreneurs a million hours a year, here's how ⤵️
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This week we announced an exciting partnership with NatWest that'll make a real, practical difference to entrepreneurs looking for support – quicker access to funding and support, and fewer duplicated applications, saving a million hours a year. And that's just for starters.
Our combined support means we've got you covered, and our members can now access NatWest's 12 brilliant Accelerators and local networks across the UK. Are you in? You can read more about the partnership here.
Also in this edition, we're looking at entrepreneurship from every angle. We dug into the story of our new small business minister, Lord Sonny Leong CBE, who co-founded a publishing company, built it into a market leader, and sold it – a proper start-to-exit journey, and we're here for it.
At the other end of that journey, we spoke to our new Next Generation Ambassador, Shimron Walters – a remarkable young man who's already networked, tested, failed and pivoted his way to digital success under the age of 30. While Lord Leong is putting decades of founder experience to work at the highest level, Shimron's just getting started on his own. We talked to him about entrepreneurship, resilience, and why isolation is the enemy of success.
And in between the two – when it comes to the crunch, not every entrepreneur wants a big exit at all. Some want a gentler kind of success, one that plays out over decades without the stress of building an empire. We spoke to Salty Dog co-founder Dave Willis about why staying steady is its own kind of business bliss.
From making mobile games at 16 to building an AI consultancy: Shimron Walters on finding his own path
Meet the new small business minister – a man who has started, grown and sold a business
Big tech, small business: How do we actually close the gap?
Enterprise Nation and NatWest partnership to reach 80,000 more businesses
Are you charging enough to make your business work?
No chip on his shoulder – how staying small kept Salty Dog crunching
Join NatWest Accelerator for free access to a nationwide founder community, co-working hubs and events – plus expert support when you need it.
🤖 Take our AI survey to help us shape relevant learning experiences for our community and be in with the chance to win a £50 Amazon voucher
💰 Last chance to apply for a £5,000 grant to invest in a greener future
📜 Check out our new policy page to discover how we champion small businesses
🤝 Join conversations with like-minded members in Groups
🏆 Share your latest wins with us and we’ll feature you on our social channels
Fixed, variable or something new
How to choose the right energy tariff
🗓 Thursday 3 September | Online
That’s all for this week!
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