Small Business, Big Network

Matthew Stafford is a Venture Capitalist and founder of the 9others network.

He didn’t follow a conventional path into VC. Growing up on a farm in Northumberland the world of investments and start-ups was miles away.

After school he got a job at John Lewis, then started his own t-shirt company and then moved into IT with RBS before moving to Bank of New York.

He went to university a bit later in life at 27, where he studied computer science at Durham, where he convinced the interviewer that he would work really hard despite only having two very poor A-levels. He felt out of place with the other students; almost 10 years younger and in his words, they were much cleverer. However he worked hard and by the time he graduated in 2006 it was the time of the tech startup, which inspired Matthew and he decided to work for smaller companies to have more of an impact.

His journey into VC came in his early 30s after his MBA at Imperial College and he has coined the phrase “pay-as-you-go investor” to describe his approach. He wants to show people that they don’t need millions in the bank, like a Dragon, to get into investing in start-ups and how to make money from it. To date, he has invested in 24 startups, most of which have been sourced from his 9others network and has achieved five exits. These include what3words, Seep, Desmond & Dempsey and exits include FanBytes and NoblyPOS which was acquired by Revolut. He has invested in and negotiated investment transactions from £15k to £50m.

His pay-as-you-go model works by saving up some of your own money, investing it across a number of startups, saves up some more, exits or re-invests in the same businesses or new ones to keep his portfolio diverse.

His pay as you go model means that he can work full time on this business as well as continuing to run 9others with Katie Lewis, an expert in innovative collaboration for startups.

They co-founded 9others, a 5,000+ strong global community of startup founders, in 2011 as a way to connect founders with each other and help to solve problems over a relaxed dinner.

It is always you and nine others and he’s protected the community from sponsorship in orderto keep the conversation real and authentic between founders and the problems about what keeps them up at night.

Matthew and Katie have written a book called Find Your 9others about their experiences and the 10 questions that every founder should ask themselves with lots of stories from businesses along the way.

[email protected]

www.9others.com

Read the 9others Substack here.

Kevin Harvey excels in helping ambitious professionals who need confidence to progress in life and business. By clearing deep blocks and fears, he enables them to speak out with impact, drawing on 30 years of experience that spans from warehouse to boardroom.

All of his courses are bespoke and 1-2-1 to help to awaken, aspire and achieve confidence, in interviews, meetings, and on stages.

www.kevinharvey.co.uk

Charlie Hunt is a Fractional CFO/COO with 15+ years of experience working in and with start-ups, scale-ups, and SMEs across digital marketing, recruitment, SaaS, and eCommerce. She specialises in building scalable financial & operational frameworks that drive profitability, streamline processes, and support data-led decision-making.

Charlie works closely with founders and their senior leadership teams to navigate the route to change & scale, aligning finance with strategy, building strong cross-functional foundations, and enabling sustainable growth. 

Her approach goes beyond the numbers: She focuses on how financial insight connects with people, products or services, and processes to solve real-world problems and drive meaningful outcomes.

www.originops.co

linkedin.com/in/charlie-hunt-54b7b89a

Jake Heenan has played professional rugby for over 13 years and started Burra, a café in Bristol, while still playing full-time. Burra has now grown to three sites, won a few awards, and reflects what he's learned about culture, performance, and the power of a strong network.

Jake is also currently developing a new business venture focused on helping athletes transition into the business world, an opportunity that came about through an instance of "forced networking" !

Burrabristol.co.uk

www.forgedinsport.com

At 14, Nick suffered a life-threatening snowboarding accident. His parents were told he probably wouldn't ever walk, talk

or eat on his own again. He did. In his talks, he shares the same system that helped him run out of the hospital. He teaches

the audience how they too can apply this same system to their lives to make it through any trauma, crisis or life challenge.

Nick is a 3x best-selling author and was named a top motivational speaker by Yahoo Finance. He's a speaker, founder and

CEO of Common Goal. Using the S.T.E.P. system he is able to lead clients through their trauma.

www.smartrealestatecoach.com/mastersclass

www.nickprefontaine.com/step

Since October 2020, Soumya Dinesh has been Managing Director and Co-Founder of Atula Technologies – a Buckinghamshire based business specialising in bespoke software solutions for SMEs.

Soumya grew up in the cantonment city of Bengaluru, India and excelled academically. She originally wanted to become a pilot but did not pursue this, instead opting to go to Pondicherry University where she got a master’s degree in finance. This enabled Soumya to go on to work with one of the biggest accounting firms in the world.

Despite an enjoyable and enriching stint there, she learnt it was not what she wanted to do, surprising many by taking the reins of an at-home flower delivery company based around her parent’s flower shop when she was in her early 20s. It was here that Soumya got her first taste of e-commerce, which would later become the foundations of Atula Technologies.  

“It led to tremendous growth for the florist shop, which was once a single unit on one high street. We were the most well-known florist in India for several years after that because we could deliver across the country with our branding.” 

The florist business was later sold, Soumya married Dinesh and moved to the UK. She then retrained in IT and worked for Lloyd’s TSB and SONY Corporation. At the same time, Soumya decided to start creating her own chocolates, which gradually spiralled into her own business. Her company Cherish Chocolates earned several Great Taste awards and was sold up and down the country but was eventually wound down after 10 years when she decided to focus on family.

Several years later, Soumya launched Atula Technologies with Dinesh, bringing their IT knowledge and experience together. Now in its fourth year, Soumya says it is “onward and upward” with plans for growth and success for herself and her clients. “I have a lot to offer and so much to give back.” 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/soumyadinesh/

www.atulatech.com

Kate Llewellyn is Head Clubber for The Content Club, her online membership that helps overwhelmed small business owners to plan with purpose and create content with confidence. She is also an expert copywriter, specialising in optimised written content for websites and blogs. Kate launched her business, The Content Consultancy in 2017, following a career in lexicography and academic publishing.

Website: https://thecontentconsultancy.com

The Content Club specifically: https://thecontentconsultancy.com/the-content-club

Mailing list/freebie: https://thecontentconsultancy.com/content-confidence-audio

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katellewellyn/

Sarah Mills was a marketing consultant in London for 15 years working

with blue chip clients launching new brands.

She is now first and foremost a passionate brand ambassador with one of the world’s

leading B Corporations, and businesses for good - Arbonne, showing people how to create

the lifestyle they want through meaningful work, healthy living, and a powerful sense of

belief in what’s possible.

She’s also an award winning entrepreneur, the founder of The Art of Winning and co-founder

of WOW - Women on Winning, a global, fun, and feisty community empowering women to

collaborate with confidence.

A natural mentor, Sarah brings positivity, possibility, and purpose to everything she does,

helping others lead with courage, clarity, and deep belief in themselves.

Whether she’s mentoring individuals, sparking connections, or building thriving teams,

Sarah’s all about helping people show up, shine bright, and win on their own terms, with

confidence and conviction.

A far cry from natural introvert Sarah and the shyest little girl in the classroom.

Sarah is an experienced mindset mentor, keynote, healthy living coach and vegan

advocate.

Rocket Launcher Mentor with Launch It Charity - Inspiring Young Entrepreneurs to

Grow.

https://linktr.ee/theartofwinning

https://www.arbonne.com/gb/en/arb/sarahmills

Dr. Jeremy Weisz has founded multiple businesses, from a health supplement business to a Chiropractic & Massage business, to now running a successful digital agency helping companies create life changing relationships.

Jeremy has been featuring top entrepreneurs with video interviews since 2008 that include founders/CEO’s of Pixar, P90X, Atari, Einstein Bagels, Mattel, Kettle Chips, RX Bars, Big League Chew, the Orlando Magic, and many more on www.InspiredInsider.com   

He is also the co-founder of Rise25, where they help B2B businesses connect to their ‘Dream 200’ clients, referral partners and get ROI, using a podcast. They eliminate 99% of the work and are an easy button for a company to launch and run your podcast.

Learn more at: www.Rise25.com/about/

Tracey Miller is the co-founder and driving force behind Bigger Brighter Bolder (BBB), a B2B membership organisation that helps service-based business owners achieve consistent, measurable growth via three Success Groups; Launch, Build, and Scale.

Passionate about demystifying sales, Tracey has guided countless entrepreneurs to hit £100k and beyond. Her ‘no-fluff’ approach and willingness to speak openly about her own journey and challenges as an ambitious female entrepreneur empowers business owners to build confidence, master the sales process, and take control of their business.

Download Tracey's 5 day course here: https://qx253.isrefer.com/go/5DAYCOURSE/PR/

Bigger Brighter Bolder website:

https://biggerbrighterbolder.co.uk/