Scaleup programmes
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Business Vitality (formerly INSPIRE ELITE) (2023)
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In the past year Inspire Elite – now known as Business Vitality – has supported 70 scaleup leaders to develop three to five year growth strategies. The programme offers peer-to-peer networking and Meet the Expert webinars, along with annual growth reviews and quarterly one-to-one guidance with carefully matched NED mentors.
Now delivered in Bristol and the Heart of the South West, Business Vitality was originally launched by provider Inspire in Swindon and Wiltshire after directors attended the ScaleUp Institute’s first Driving Local Economic Growth through Scaleup Ecosystems course in 2016. Inspire had identified that local business leaders were still struggling to define their strategy in writing and that this could be an inhibiting factor for attracting funding.
Subsequently to further expand upon the support available, Inspire launched its Knowledge Accelerator in 2021 combining two interactive workshops with one-to-one follow up support designed to support business leaders to create clear strategies for growth or for attracting investment.
In 2023, Inspire’s primary focus has been on operating at a deeper level with business leaders to uncover and unleash their leadership potential. It does this through one-to-one meetings and online and face to face peer events. Participating scaling businesses can also access a NED mentoring programme – Inspired Board – and an initial cohort of 19 have now extended their placements for a second year. New placements have more than doubled Inspired Board programme reach to 54 scaling businesses. Participating scaleups report greater resilience and a more strategic approach.
More than 70 per cent (71%) of the participants have increased turnover and are working to a strategic plan that includes developing their leadership knowledge and skills. Over half of last year’s participants are using the Inspired Board service which is set to grow in size over the next year.
2023 sees Inspire launch its Business Transformation proposition to support highly ambitious businesses to scale faster by combining expert business support and an Inspire Account Manager to project manage the transformation. Support is focused on the following five key strands: Becoming investment ready, including strategy development, pitch training and introductions to investors; Building a management team for rapid scaling, entailing leadership coaching on building teams effectively, skills development and recruitment; Reviewing markets and advising on ways to reach more customers, by building marketing and brand strategy; and Becoming an employer of choice and building a performance culture coupled with high standards of care for employees. The first two strands of this new project are already underway, offered to Goldman Sachs 10KSB UK alumni participants.
