Another new service to support Bristol firms wanting to scale up has been launched. Inspire Elite promises to help businesses find their way through the maze of support programmes available in and around the city.
More than 100 business owners and directors attended the launch at UWE. Inspire director Mandy Paterson said: “There is a myriad of support programmes and events available to businesses in the city. However the difficulty for many business owners – who are busy running their companies – is to work out which are useful to them at any given time.
“It was apparent there is a real need for an impartial service to direct them quickly and easily to the most appropriate support to meet their needs.
“We provide a dedicated relationship manager to work with them on their strategy and link them up to relevant support and opportunities to fulfil that need.”
The launch also gave attendees the chance to meet recently appointed Bristol Elite head Nick Welsh.
He said: “Having recently joined the organisation, it was fantastic to see the hard work of my colleagues’ come to fruition and deliver such a positive and productive event.
“It was refreshing to meet leaders of ambitious, growing businesses and talk to them about Elite Bristol. Our programme will deliver direction and much needed support across Bristol and the wider community.”
The launch was also an opportunity for some of those business owners, directors or decision makers to apply for the prestigious Goldman Sachs “10,000 Small Businesses UK” programme.
The programme provides a high-quality practical education tailored to the needs of business leaders. It offers over 100 hours of teaching designed by leading experts and delivered by Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Aston University and the University of Leeds. For those who qualify the course is fully funded by the Goldman Sachs Foundation.
Inspire is a not-for-profit business organisation which has been providing support to the SME business community through their highly experienced team of business advisors for more than 20 years.
The next Bristol Elite strategy day is being planned. To find out more phone 0117 203 4288 or email elite@inspirebiz.co.uk
Pictured, from left: Head of Bristol Elite, Nick Welsh, Inspire Elite director, Henrietta Brown, Inspire business development director Mandy Paterson and Inspire chief executive officer Rob Perks
