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. Here's the current roster of our speakers, with 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. Here's the current roster of our speakers, with more to follow...

June 17. 09:00 - 17:00

Delegate Passes Delegate Passes

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: The man who learned to fly

Richard Browning • Gravity Industries

Taking on gravity. As big as that. 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: “Lessons in innovation.”

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

Equity vs debt: which is right for you?

Richard Spilsbury • Link Stone Advisory, Catherine Bedford • Dashel Helmets, Jennifer Wagner • LAYBL, Marina Traversari • Chilled Squirrels

Special panel of entrepreneurs discuss the pros and cons of funding routes. Session led by Link Stone Advisory

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

Rethinking business for growth

Dan Daly • University of Bath School of Management, Milly Wilson • Canned Wine Group, Rose Sellman-Leava • Inclusive Futures, Lucy Collins • Web Usability

Discover how entrepreneurs have changed how they think about their businesses: valuable exploration in panel session with the University of Bath School of Management

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 - 15:35

Provocation: AI – time to think responsibly

Nathan Baranowski, Digital Wonderlab • Digital Wonderlab

Remarkable new video to prompt thinking. Just because we can doesn’t mean we should…

15:35 - 16:00

EntreConversations...

Join us for more EntreConversations...

16:00 - 16:30

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.

16:30 - 16:50

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.

June 18. 09:00 - 17:00

Delegate Passes Delegate Passes

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 - 10:55

Female founded, female purpose: scaling fast

Amber Probyn • Peequal

Entrepreneurial ideas abound, if you just look at the world differently. Hear the founders’ tale of women’s urinal company Peequal, which has raised £1.4m and been used 1.25m+ so far.

10:55 - 11:40

Keynote: Visionary entrepreneur, Riverford

Guy Singh-Watson • Riverford

Guy Singh-Watson is a pioneer: created one of earliest organic food businesses and B Corps, then sold it to his team. An EntreConf deepdive into values and vision of Riverford.

11:40 - 12:05

EntreConversations...

Join us for more EntreConversations...

12:05 - 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: Building My Own Seat at the Table.

Bianca Jones • EDP Training

Bianca Jones is the Founder and Managing Director of EDP Training, an award-winning Bristol social enterprise. A Black single mother and entrepreneur, she built the business from scratch after experiencing postnatal depression, securing major clients including Airbus and developing innovative programmes that have supported hundreds of Organisations across the UK.

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 - 15:30

Entrepreneurs’ Tales: A clear sense of purpose

Chloë Luxton • Bramley

Chloe Luxton has created a purpose-led brand in Bramley and has pioneered sustainability in the retail and hospitality sectors. Discover how she has retained values as scale has built

15:30 - 15:35

EntreConf Awards 2026 Launch

Join us as we unveil plans for October’s EntreConf Awards.

15:35 - 16:00

EntreConversations...

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

2026 Speakers

Guy Singh-Watson

Founder • Riverford

Organic farming pioneer Guy Singh-Watson founded Riverford more than 30 years ago, growing it from a wheelbarrow of homegrown veg into a national organic box scheme serving 60,000 customers a week. A passionate advocate for ethical, sustainable food production, Guy is known for his candid newsletters, viral video rants and commitment to making organic food accessible to all. Twice named BBC Radio 4 Farmer of the Year, he has championed fairness for growers, staff, customers and the planet. In 2018 and 2023, Guy transferred ownership of Riverford to its employees, cementing his belief that business can be a force for good.

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.

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.

Alex Reilley

Executive Chairman • Loungers

Alex Reilley is Executive Chairman of Loungers plc, a business he co-founded in Bristol in 2002 with 2 long term friends Jake Bishop and Dave Reid. Loungers operates the ‘Lounge’ neighbourhood café/bar brand, The Cosy Club which is a bar/restaurant brand, and Brightside, which is a roadside restaurant brand. Following private equity investment, first from Piper Private Equity in 2012 and then from Lion Capital in 2016, Loungers listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 2019. In February 2025 the business was taken private in a deal, backed by founders and management, led by Fortress Investment Group. Loungers currently have 310+ sites across the UK and are opening a new site roughly every 10 days. The company recently posted record turnover of £454.5m for the year ending April 19th 2026.

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.

Chloë Luxton

Founder & Creative Director • Bramley

Bramley was first created when founder, Chloë, was looking for bath and body products to enhance the experience of guests staying at the family’s inn in rural Wiltshire. Fifteen years later, the range has grown beyond bath and body products, and recently opened its first shop in Bath.

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…

Amber Probyn

Co-Founder • Peequal

Amber is Co-Founder of PEEQUAL, the UK’s first squat-and-go women’s urinal, redesigning public space for gender equity. With a background in anthropology, innovation and global design consultancy, she leads product innovation and manufacturing development, driven by the belief that better design creates more opportunities for women and girls.

Bianca Jones

Managing Director • EDP Training

Catherine Bedford

Founder • Dashel Helmets

Catherine Bedford is the founder of Dashel - safe, stylish cycle helmets which are all manufactured in the UK. She has funded its growth through her own savings, a Virgin Start-Up loan then successive SEIS/EIS rounds with angel investment. She has built a B Corp business which operates the world's first cycle helmet take-back and recycling scheme. Dashel's Ocean Edition adult and kids helmets incorporate ghost fishing net recovered from the oceans by Sea Shepherd. Catherine was named an Industry Mogul in Cycling UK's 2024 - Women in Cycling.

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.

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.

Rose Sellman-Leava

Managing Director and Co-Founder • Inclusive Futures

Rose Sellman-Leava is a Leadership Coach, Managing Director and co-founder of Inclusive Futures CIC, working to advance social mobility and bridge the gap between leaders and the next generation workforce. Drawing on experience across Social Care, Education, EdTech and Product Management, she helps organisations build inclusive cultures where people feel they belong and can thrive. Through her work, she supports leaders to embed inclusive practices and unlock potential. Since 2020, Inclusive Futures has supported over 10,000 young people from low socioeconomic backgrounds to build confidence, resilience and hope for the future.

Jennifer Wagner

Founder & CEO • LAYBL

Jen has spent two decades in tech and e-commerce, helping make buying quick and digital for brands like Dyson. She became fascinated by what happens after the purchase: why we have perfect records of what we buy, but almost nothing of what we actually own. That question led her to build LAYBL, which turns everyday photos and receipts into time-stamped proof of ownership. She self-funded the early development, raised a friends-and-family round, and piloted with retail partners before pivoting into insurance, where the need is even sharper. Jen is now raising £750k in EIS funding, focused first on insurance, with a vision to become the ownership layer for everything we own.

Lucy Collins

Director and Owner • Web Usability

Lucy Collins is Director and Owner of Web Usability, a user research agency that helps organisations make fast, confident and inclusive digital decisions through research with real people. She is also Co-Founder of CollectivAlly, an inclusive user testing platform combining lived experience and AI-powered personas to identify accessibility barriers. As the second generation of the Collins family to lead Web Usability, Lucy continues the vision established over 25 years ago: using evidence and human insight to create a more equitable online world. Outside work, she is a mum of two young daughters and has a Golden Retriever, named Zola.

Marina Traversari

Founder & CEO • Chilled Squirrels

Marina Traversari is the Founder and CEO of Chilled Squirrels Ltd and BIOS, a nature-tech venture building data infrastructure for biodiversity, land restoration and nature-related decision-making. She brings senior commercial and technology leadership experience from Oracle and Meta, and has supported two exits at C-suite level to FTSE 100 companies. Marina’s work focuses on making biodiversity measurable, manageable and valuable, helping landowners, developers, investors and institutions understand nature-related risk, resilience and opportunity. She is particularly interested in the intersection of technology, sustainability, finance and systems change.

Milly Wilson

Business Development Manager • Canned Wine Group

Milly is Business Development Manager at Canned Wine Group. Milly joined in 2021 as a placement student during her second year studying BSc Business at the University of Bath and never left. After graduating in 2024, Milly remained in the sales team and progressed into a full-time role, where she now helps grow listings across hospitality and the wider drinks trade. Her focus on driving new business and revenue growth for Canned Wine Co. and The Copper Crew across on-trade and off-trade channels, expanding its canned wine distribution while also developing its growing keg range, and building strong relationships across wholesalers and trade partners.

Nathan Baranowski, Digital Wonderlab

CEO & Founder • Digital Wonderlab

Nathan Baranowski is Co-CEO and Founder of Digital Wonderlab, a relentlessly curious digital partner helping ambitious organisations turn technology into a powerful positive force. A serial entrepreneur with more than two decades’ experience across startups, enterprises and not-for-profits, Nathan works at the intersection of creativity, technology and commercial growth. He is passionate about making complex ideas simple, cutting through the noise around AI, and helping organisations use digital tools with purpose, confidence and imagination. At Digital Wonderlab, Nathan leads a team bringing together strategy, design, technology and AI to create digital products, platforms and ecosystems that work beautifully and deliver real impact. His focus is on responsible innovation: using AI not to replace human creativity, but to unlock it — freeing people to think bigger, move faster and create work that matters.

Olly Barkley

Co-Founder • Vapoura Rum

Olly Barkley is a former England international rugby player turned entrepreneur and co-founder of Vapoura Rum. Born in Hammersmith and raised in Cornwall, Olly played over 200 first-class games for Bath Rugby and represented England more than thirty times before moving into business, building a portfolio across property development and investment. He co-founded Vapoura in 2024 with close friend Ed Jackson, driven by a shared love of rum, craft and a belief that the super-premium space was missing a modern English voice. At Vapoura, Olly runs the day-to-day operations, steers the brand and creative direction alongside Creative Director Ross Stirling, and brings the same discipline and curiosity to building a spirits brand as he did to professional sport. Outside of Vapoura, he is a co-founder and trustee of the Millimetres 2 Mountains Foundation, a charity using outdoor adventure to support people recovering from trauma and adversity.

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).

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.

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.

Dan Daly

Associate Professor & Entrepreneur • University of Bath School of Management

Dan Daly is an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience running small businesses before taking the leap into academia in 2018. Now an Associate Professor and Director of Studies, he brings real world insight into his teaching and is passionate about entrepreneurship. Dan focuses on equipping students with practical skills, creative confidence, and the mindset needed to turn their business ideas into viable ventures. His teaching draws on the lessons learned from navigating the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurial life.

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.

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.

Olly Reid

Co-Founder • HUM4NS

Olly Reid is a multi-award-winning coach, facilitator and co-founder of HUM4NS, a leadership development company helping founders and teams grow without losing themselves. A 2025 EntreConf Award winner, he supports leaders to step out of survival mode and build clarity, confidence and healthier cultures through coaching, workshops and team development.

Jennifer Wagner

Founder & CEO • LAYBL

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.

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New Business Thinking.

Bristol. June 17-18 2026.

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2026 Speakers

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