New Business Thinking.

Bristol. June 17-18 2026.

Delegate Passes

We connect, champion and inspire entrepreneurial thinkers from any discipline. The unexpected and remarkable occurs when new business thinkers share time and space. First speakers revealed: many more to follow...We connect, champion and inspire entrepreneurial thinkers from any discipline. The unexpected and remarkable occurs when new business thinkers share time and space. First speakers revealed: many more to follow...

Jun 17. 09:00 - 17:00

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09:00 - 09:30

EntreConversations...

Join us for the start of EntreConf. Registrations will be open from this point. Join us for networking and get ready for the day ahead!

09:30 - 09:40

Entrepreneurial thinking

Welcome to the conference and introductory remarks with EntreConf founder, Greg Ingham.

09:40 - 10:00

Provocation: time to think differently

Ric Hill • Ghyston

We’re all digital creators now: how AI changes the opportunities for entrepreneurs.

10:00 - 10:40

Keynote: They promised us jetpacks

Richard Browning • Gravity Industries

Sci-fi becomes reality: jaw-drop, fast-growth, well-funded Gravity Industries is pioneering jetpack travel. Please don’t miss founder Richard Browning’s EntreConf Keynote…

10:40 - 11:10

Funder’s story: Galvanising the tiger

Graham MacVoy • Wake The Tiger

Unravelling the complexities of the multi-million-pound funding which is powering the next phase of regional sensation, Wake The Tiger.

11:10 - 11:40

Coming soon...

11:40 - 12:00

EntreConversations...

Join us for more EntreConversations...

12:00 - 12:30

Do you know who will buy your business?

Iain Lownes • S&W

You probably know of them. But probably also don’t know that they’d be interested. What about the unknowns? How do you match your exit plans with the best buyer? Special session for entrepreneurs considering an exit with Content Partner S&W.

12:30 - 13:00

Entrepreneurs' Tales

A leading founder tells the story of their business: rationale, challenges, opportunities – and destiny…

13:00 - 14:00

Lunch

Join us for lunch provided by Eat a Pitta, plus more EntreConversations...

14:00 - 14:30

Keynote: How we created the UK’s fastest-growing coffee brand

Helena Hills • TrueStart Coffee

For clear vision, great values and just blow-away dynamism, come and hear co-founder Helena Hills’ remarkable, inspiring story…

14:30 - 15:15

Practical advice: How to incentivise your teams?

Claire Withers • Burges Salmon, Elena Visser Adams • Burges Salmon

Entrepreneurs need brilliant teams for the duration. How do you motivate, reward? How can you anticipate exit structures? All this and more vital insights with Burges Salmon…

15:15 - 13:35

Think differently: More than money – investors as advisors

Christian Samuel • Roots Allotments

Exploration of how investors such as Innocent founders’ fund JamJar and Tesco’s driving force Terry Leahy have added insight, experience, strategic vision and contacts.

15:35 - 16:00

EntreConversations...

Join us for more EntreConversations...

16:00 - 16:55

The EntreConf PitchCase

Real Companies, Real Insights: Watch companies pitch for investment and gain actionable advice from our expert panel.

Jun 18. 09:00 - 17:00

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09:00 - 09:30

EntreConversations...

Get ready for the start of EntreConf Day 2!

09:30 - 10:00

Keynote: From Kitchen table to multi-million pound brand

Maxine Laceby • Absolute Collagen

Absolute Collagen has become the market leader in a rapidly-growing sector. How? What’s next? Inspirational insights from life-force founder Maxine Laceby…

10:00 - 10:30

Owner’s legacy, Employee Ownership Trusts

Akshay Vaghela • Doyle Clayton, Garry Karch • Doyle Clayton

Exits don’t have to be trade sales or mean loss of destiny. Selling to your team rewards them, is tax-beneficial and helps secure your creation’s future. Valuable session with Content Partner Doyle Clayton on EOTs.

10:30 - 11:00

Panel Session

A trio of leading advisers discuss key issues for entrepreneurs

11:00 - 11:30

Keynote: to be announced shortly...

11:30 - 12:00

EntreConversations...

Join us for more EntreConversations...

12:00 - 12:30

Entrepreneurs’ Tales: The man taking on Rightmove (and he’s backed by Google)

Graham Paterson • Jitty

Entrepreneurs are bold, always. But creating a better property search business up against a global behemoth? Jitty founder Graham Paterson explains how…

12:30 - 13:00

Keynote: From one Bristol café-bar to massive national success

Alex Reilley • Loungers

Stunning insights for entrepreneurs. Loungers started with just £10k and a small place in Bris. Now has 300+ sites. How so? Driving force founder Alex Reilley reveals the secrets of this outstanding hospitality success.

13:00 - 14:00

Lunch

Join us for lunch provided by Eat a Pitta, plus more EntreConversations...

14:00 - 14:30

Entrepreneurs’ Tales: A rum do…

Ed Jackson • Vapoura Rum, Olly Barkley • Vapoura Rum

Imagine creating new rum brand. Why? How? What are the barriers? How do you differentiate, scale? Founders Olly Barkley and Ed Jackson tell the story of Vapoura.

14:30 - 15:00

Practical advice: How to scale your company

Chris Lewis • Albert Goodman

Entrepreneurial businesses need advice and help when scaling. Gain practical benefits to help your business from Content Partner Albert Goodman plus insights from a leading Bristol scale-up.

15:00 - 15:05

EntreConf Awards Finalists revealed

Leading entrepreneurs and advisers unveiled for October’s EntreConf Awards.

15:00 - 15:30

EntreConversations...

Join us for more EntreConversations and to reflect on a fantastic two days of inspirational insights.

15:30 - 16:00

Coming soon...

16:00 - 16:30

Coming soon...

16:30 - 17:00

Coming soon...

2026 Speakers

Richard Browning

Founder, CEO and Chief Test Pilot • Gravity Industries

Richard Browning is Founder, CEO and Chief Test Pilot of Gravity Industries, creator of the world’s first human Jet Suit. He has built the business into an $80m+ venture transforming mobility for military and emergency services. A former BP trader, Browning is also a TED speaker, STEM advocate, and author of Taking On Gravity.

Maxine Laceby

Co-founder • Absolute Collagen

Maxine co-founded Absolute Collagen with her daughter Darcy in 2017, turning a kitchen-table idea into an award-winning supplement within a year. A pioneer of the liquid collagen category, the brand became one of the UK’s fastest-growing D2C companies and ranked 4th in The Times Top 100. Despite no prior business experience, Maxine secured £15 million investment, growing the company into a £30 million success. She has won major awards including the NatWest Everywoman and Great British Entrepreneur awards. Passionate about confidence and wellbeing, she champions purpose-driven entrepreneurship and inspires women worldwide.

Alex Reilley

Executive Chairman • Loungers

Loungers started with just £10k and a small place in Bris. Now has 300+ sites. How so? Driving force founder Alex Reilley reveals the secret of this hospitality success.

Helena Hills

CEO and Co-Founder • TrueStart Coffee

Helena Hills is the CEO and co-founder of TrueStart Coffee, a proudly family-run and independent challenger brand. For over a decade, their delicious, healthier coffee has been making a splash across the UK. Now recognised as the UK’s fastest-growing coffee brand, TrueStart proves that business can be used as a force for good whilst building a brand people genuinely love.

Christian Samuel

Founder and CEO • Roots Allotments

Christian Samuel is a British serial entrepreneur focused on building at the intersection of community, infrastructure, and scalable growth. By 22, he had already built and scaled a national events agency, later transforming Together Events into Wales’ largest events company. He went on to found Resooma, an energy platform simplifying household utilities, which was acquired by Tru Energy. He is now founder and CEO of Roots Allotments, a fast-growing platform expanding access to land and food-growing communities across the UK. His work focuses on long-term infrastructure challenges, including soil health and sustainable water systems, with a mission to reach 250,000 people globally by 2033.

Graham MacVoy

Founding Managing Director • Wake The Tiger

Graham MacVoy is Founding Managing Director of Wake The Tiger, the world’s first Amazement Park® and the UK’s largest immersive art experience. He transformed a Bristol warehouse into a global attraction, welcoming 500,000+ visitors. Previously part of Boomtown Fair’s growth, he now leads major expansion projects, including an 80,000 sq ft Westfield London site, blending storytelling, sustainability, and commercial innovation.

Graham Paterson

Co-Founder and CEO • Jitty

Entrepreneurs are bold, always. But creating a better property search business up against a global behemoth? Jitty founder Graham Paterson explains how…

Ric Hill

Founder • Ghyston

Ric founded and runs Ghyston, a Bristol-based software development company, with his wife Emily. Ghyston has been going since 2012 and has built software for organisations ranging from start-ups to blue chips like BMW and Société Générale. Ric is a techie by background, and his career has taken him through roles from Developer through Agile Project Manager, Product Owner and Technical Consultant to CTO and CEO. As well as Ghyston, Ric has CTOd for several companies from start-ups to mid-corporates on a fraction and full-time basis. Aside from his family, his biggest passion outside work is triathlon and he races as an age group athlete for Team GB.

Ed Jackson

Co-Founder • Vapoura Rum

Ed Jackson is a former professional rugby player, adaptive adventurer, bestselling author, broadcaster and co-founder of Vapoura Rum. After a decade-long rugby career across Bath, Wasps, London Welsh and Newport Gwent Dragons, Ed’s life changed in 2017 when a diving accident left him paralysed — and within a year, through extraordinary determination, he was not only walking but climbing mountains. That journey inspired him to co-found the Millimetres 2 Mountains Foundation with his wife Lois and Olly Barkley, and in 2025 he became the first climber with a disability to make a first recorded ascent of an unclimbed peak in Kyrgyzstan’s Tien Shan mountains. Ed is also a Sunday Times bestselling author, Channel 4 presenter and keynote speaker, and he brought that same restless energy to co-founding Vapoura in 2024 — overseeing the brand’s sales direction, trade partnerships and advocacy programme, and channelling a belief that resilience, craft and curiosity belong as much in a bottle as they do on a mountain.

Olly Barkley

Co-Founder • Vapoura Rum

Claire Withers

Senior Associate, Incentives • Burges Salmon

Claire Withers is a Senior Associate in the Incentives team at Burges Salmon, advising on the legal and tax aspects of equity and cash-based reward arrangements. She works with businesses at all stages of growth on a wide range of incentive structures, supporting founders, management teams and investors to ensure incentives are commercially aligned, clearly communicated and tax efficient. She also advises on the incentives aspects of corporate transactions, including exits and growth investments. Claire is recognised for providing clear, pragmatic advice and for her engaging, relationship led approach.

Elena Visser Adams

Senior Associate, Incentives • Burges Salmon

Elena Visser Adams is a Senior Associate in Burges Salmon’s Incentives team where she advises companies and management teams on a broad range of incentive matters, with particular expertise in employee share plans, international share plans and on the design and implementation of equity based rewards. Elena works with clients across a range of sectors, including technology and fintech, and regularly advises on the incentives aspects of mergers and acquisitions and growth transactions.

Chris Lewis

Business Services Partner • Albert Goodman

Chris offers a complete accounts and taxation service to personal and corporate clients who range from fledgling start-ups to larger owner-managed companies, and groups of companies. In addition to general accounts, Chris is an experienced valuer with more than 30 Court-appointed single joint expert appointments to his name, valuing private companies for divorce purposes. Chris also undertakes valuation work for shareholder disputes and tax-based valuations, such as probate and 10-year Trust charges. Chris has been in general-practice for more than 20 years providing the day-to-day support clients require, whilst also having specialist experience in areas such as; owner-managed businesses, valuing private limited companies, the leisure sector, research and development claims, company reorganisations and producing investment prospectuses and business plans. Chris has been with Albert Goodman since 2015, he was then appointed as a Partner in 2019.

Akshay Vaghela

EOT Services Director • Doyle Clayton

Akshay is known for his practical, honest approach to complex structural, financial and strategic decisions. Specialising in Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs), he advises on transaction design, pre-sale restructuring and post-transition support. A qualified tax specialist, he helps businesses implement share schemes and achieve smooth ownership transitions. His work spans multiple sectors, earning recognition in Accountancy Age’s 35 Under 35 (2025).

Garry Karch

Head of EOT Services • Doyle Clayton

Garry Karch leads the EOT practice at Doyle Clayton, advising business owners on employee ownership transitions. With over 35 years’ experience, he has completed more than 175 transactions across the UK and US, valued at nearly £1 billion. He supports clients throughout the full EOT lifecycle, delivering commercially focused solutions that ensure business continuity, employee protection and fair outcomes for exiting shareholders.

Iain Lownes

Partner – Corporate Finance • S&W

Iain has over 25 years of experience in leading corporate finance transactions for clients. Providing innovative solutions to the business finance sector, Iain has worked within a range of sectors on diverse projects delivering strategic advice on mergers, acquisitions, management buyouts, finance-raising and disposals. In the last 12 months Iain has led the sale of Sunrise Eggs, a family owned eggs producer, the MBO of Panthera Biopartners ( a clinical trials business), the sale of Coverworld a building products business, and the sale of Outsource Management Solutions a human capital management software business. Ongoing projects are in software, Tech enabled marketing services, Branded Food and Logistics.

Richard Spilsbury

Founder & CEO • Link Stone Advisory

Richard founded Link Stone Advisory to deliver integrated corporate development to support growth and value creation. The practice now has a multidisciplinary team of experts who collaborate to deliver more impactful solutions for clients. Richard previously worked for Future Plc, PlaySports Group and PwC.

View previous speakers

New Business Thinking.

Bristol. June 17-18 2026.

Delegate Passes

2026 Speakers

EntreConf Partners

Headline Partners

Content Partners

Panel Partners

Associate Partners