Restart Festival

Restart Festival

Our RESTART virtual business festival took place in September 2020.

Session recordings are available below. Please note that these sessions were recorded in September 2020 so may refer to Coronavirus restrictions or business support schemes which are no longer in place.

Thank you to our Speakers

Tom Haczewski

INSPIRE stage, 3:15, Weds 30

The User Story

During the lockdown, The User Story noticed that the whole team seemed happy to work from home, but wanted to spend their time together collaborating and socialising. So, together with St George’s Works, a new concept was formed. nook is a brand new flexible office concept for remote teams, to support the way that many companies are now working. Tom has 15 years experience in design, development and usability, for both client- and agency-side backgrounds. Over his career he has worked with Virgin Money, ASDA, HMV, Arco, Econsultancy, BBC and RAC before starting UX agency The User Story. He designs products and platforms for startups and multinational companies, has spoken at international conferences and events, and has a guest lecturing position for BSc User Experience and Interaction Design courses at Norwich University of the Arts, inspiring young people into a career in user centered design.

Emma Cotton - polkadotfrog — Emma Cotton
INSPIRE stage, 2:00, Weds 30

Polkadotfrog

Join Emma to explore your personal brand and how to present yourself to prospective employers to showcase what you can offer them. Find out how to let people see who YOU are and what you have done before. We will also touch on how to ensure you are contestant across the board and how to display your expertise to its best advantage and how to be ‘discoverable’ to people looking to hire. Emma has worked in recruitment for over 20 years and has seen the market change into something unrecognizable where your social media presence and being active online can be the key to finding your dream job and helping employers find you.

Jordan Holder 2 (1) — Jordan Holder
INSPIRE stage, 2:15, Tues 29

Enterprise Adviser Network

Jordan is responsible for supporting schools and colleges with their careers and enterprise activities and to engage with the world of work in the delivering of consistent, comprehensive and high-quality career guidance for students through established local networks with employers, businesses and higher and further education providers.

Jordan-Sharman-Cropped (1) — Jordan Sharman
INSPIRE stage, 12:30, Tues 29

Hethel Innovation

Lean Startup - turning a great idea into a business

Jordan works with early stage startups and SMEs to take their ideas and turn them into a reality. Following the principles of the Lean Startup, adapted to suit the diverse needs and lifestyles of established and aspiring business owners, Jordan takes a practical approach making theory easily understandable to everyone. Jordan is involved in two early stage businesses: an oriental vegan burger producer, as well as creating football memorabilia.

Linn Clabburn SMALL — Linn Clabburn
FLOURISH stage, 11:30, Tues 29

Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor

Talent sharing – maximising skills for engineering and manufacturing businesses

Linn is responsible for the development and management of the Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor project. The Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor is a partnership between councils, New Anglia LEP and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to drive and support economic growth in a number of key sectors.

mark lapping — Mark Lapping
INSPIRE stage, 09:15, Tues 29

Aquapak Polymers

Mark will be welcoming festival attendees. He is one of the founding entrepreneurs behind the Norfolk Enterprise Festival.

Richard Glinn - Credit Jamie Bird — Richard Glinn
INSPIRE stage, 10:15, Tues 29

New Anglia Growth Hub Manager

Grants and funding – getting the money you need to grow your business

Richard manages the New Anglia Growth Hub, which provides free support to businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk. He will be talking about available business grants, explaining the process involved in applying for funding and giving ideas of the types of projects which can be supported.

IMG_0643clair bryant.jpg — Clair Bryant
INSPIRE stage, 1:00, Weds 30

The Handy Marketing Company

10 key reasons your business should be using social media

Clair Bryant is the founder of The Handy Marketing Company, an independent consultancy based in East Anglia. She prides herself on providing dynamic, creative, and forward-thinking marketing solutions with a jargon free and transparent approach to all projects.

Huw Sayer

INSPIRE stage, 1:30, Weds 30

Business Writers Limited

Business writing for real people

Huw is a marketing professional and business writer with 25+ years’ experience, client and agency side. He runs his own communications consultancy, working with multinationals, government agencies and SMEs in various sectors. His purpose is to help clients create communications that inspire people, build brands and drive change.

Prof Fiona Lettice — Prof. Fiona Lettice
FLOURISH stage, 10:30, Weds 30

Pro-Vice Chancellor

University of East Anglia

Hear from some of East Anglia’s most disruptive tech firms about their response to the Covid-19 Coronavirus Professor Fiona Lettice, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia, brings together a panel of experts from companies featured in the video series, The Disruptors, to hear what they have been doing differently during the Coronavirus lockdown. Find out how they’ve adapted and how what they’ve learned can help your business adjust to the new reality. Supported by the Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor.

David Hewitt head shots HIGH RES-1 — David Hewitt
FLOURISH stage, 10:30, Weds 30

Lotus

David Hewitt was appointed Executive Director of Operations in November 2011. David and his team oversee manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, production planning and facilities across all of Lotus’ UK sites. Delivering the operational elements of the company’s Vision80 strategy, the priority is to increase the manufacturing footprint and the skills of the workforce. This will allow the business to create more efficient and technically advanced facilities in which to build a new range of Lotus performance cars. Having graduated in Aeronautical Engineering, David began his career in the oil and gas industry before joining Volvo in 1995 as a Fleet Operations Analyst. He held senior business improvement positions there and was one of its first Six Sigma ‘Black Belts’. Taking time away from the automotive arena, David joined Vodafone in 2005 to support its fledgling business improvement department. He eventually took the position of Head of Business Improvement, before becoming Senior Manager for Customer Operations.

Ian Hacon

INSPIRE stage, 9:30, Weds 30

Energise.me

New World, New You. Staying energised in challenging times

Ian is Founder and Chief Energy Offer at Energise.me. Over a decade ago, he went on a journey that transformed his life. He discovered that investing in himself both physically and mentally had a significant positive impact both personally and professionally. This took him from couch potato to a Team GB Ironman triathlete. It took the company he was CEO of from Good to Great. He now describes himself as an Energy Coach and energises other business leaders and their businesses. His mission is to energise 10 million people.

Nathan Lomax
FLOURISH stage, 10:00, Weds 30

Quickfire Digital

Getting started with digital transformation

Nathan Lomax is co-founder of Quickfire Digital. An e-commerce focused digital transformation agency. He along with his team specialise in helping businesses of all shapes and sizes unlock the power of technology. Focusing on maximising efficiency, scalability and profitability Quickfire Digital now consult with businesses on how and why the opportunity to embrace digital can not be missed before implementing a digital roadmap and agreed deliverables.

john clarke menta — John Clarke
INSPIRE stage, 11:45, Tues 29

MENTA

5 Top Tips to Start a Business – turning your dream into a reality

John is a professional, highly-experienced trainer, with 25 years’ experience in commercial banking. His relaxed presentation style proves popular with clients who regularly comment on his wide-ranging knowledge. John can walk clients through everything they need to know about researching a business plan through to complex financial forecasting and marketing techniques. Nothing ever phases John, and no question is a wrong question. John regularly receives satisfaction ratings of over 95% which is quite phenomenal in his line of work!

pauline prockter — Pauline Prockter
INSPIRE stage, 11:45, Tues 29

MENTA

5 Top Tips to Start a Business – turning your dream into a reality

Pauline is an accomplished Mentor, Coach and Business Adviser delivering support to High Growth and Start-Up Businesses for over 20 years. Her focus is on the business planning stage, cashflow forecasting, funding for innovation, access to finance, and the R&D tax credit system. She has helped businesses grow and achieve their ambitions with clarity and realism acting as a critical friend who will challenge assumptions and support with decision-making processes. Pauline helps her clients to see situations in a realistic light as opposed to the “heart ruling head” which can be very useful at any stage of business planning.

Andy Narayn-Barrow

FLOURISH stage, 3:00, Weds 30

Hethel Innovation

Communicating in a more Agile way

Pauline is an accomplished Mentor, Coach and Andy is a Certified Scrum Master and has been enabling the Business Development Team at Hethel Innovation to implement Agile methodologies and improve their productivity. He also delivers Hethel’s Agile course, providing a great introduction to the method and works with businesses 1 to 1 on making changes to improve productivity. Andy’s background is in business development, and has ran two of his own businesses in the past.

Paul_Sullivan_approved_-_large — Paul Sullivan
INSPIRE stage, 11:15, Tues 29

British Business Bank

Paul will be giving an update on Access to Finance, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loans and alternative sources of bank finance.

Tom-Oxley-300x300 — Tom Oxley
INSPIRE stage, 11:00, Weds 30

Bamboo Mental Health

Tom Oxley is a workplace mental health expert and TEDx speaker. He reviews organisations providing evidence-based plans. He trains leaders, managers and frontline staff.
National clients include ExxonMobil, Cadbury, Simply Health and Cambridge Assessment.
Locally, he has worked with Larking Gowen, Birketts, Big Dog, Norwich School, Indigo Swan and East Anglian Air Ambulance.
He believes any employer can support any employee – and that work should be part of the Corona cultural recovery process. He is based in Norfolk and can often be found listening to the cricket or swimming in the sea.

Ned Harrison

FLOURISH stage, 1:15, Weds 30

Bee Anglia

Ned will be talking about Five Ways to Reduce your Carbon Footprint – Setting Your Business for a Greener Restart.

Business Energy Efficiency (BEE) Anglia (www.beeanglia.org) is an ERDF funded project supporting businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and cut costs. Grants, impartial advice and sustainability accreditations are all part of the offer to eligible SMEs.

Ned Harrison is Project Manager of BEE Anglia, and has worked on sustainability issues at Suffolk County Council for 10 years. Ned has a Masters degree in Environmental Science from UEA, and extensive experience on business sustainability measures. This includes establishing the Carbon Charter – one of the first sustainability accreditations for SMEs in the country.

DSCF3434 — Emma Taylor
FLOURISH stage, 12:00, Tues 29

New Anglia LEP

Emma’s role is to lead on the identification of new funding opportunities for the LEP, acting as a resource for the LEP and local partners in identifying and securing external funding. Emma oversees the delivery of European funding across Norfolk and Suffolk.

john burroughes — John Burroughes
INSPIRE stage, 9:20, Tues 29

Bite The Cherry

Ever since his significant family business failed he has been on a mission to make a serious dent in the number of great small businesses that just don’t make it well enough. The journey started by being a successful specialist turnround consultant, then accomplished business advisor and trainer to the self-employed, then sought-after business coach. In the last six years he has invested in and discovered a new dynamic solution to fulfil his mission.

jo pearson — Jo Pearson
INSPIRE stage, 11:45, Weds 30

Pearsons Capital Projects

Jo is one of the judges for the RESTART Angel’s Den

Rob Davison 48 trimmed to portrait — Rob Davison
INSPIRE stage, 11:45, Weds 30

Red Roof Consulting

Rob is one of the judges for the RESTART Angel’s Den

Louise Birritteri
INSPIRE stage, 11:45, Weds 30

Pikl

Louise is one of the judges for the RESTART Angel’s Den

Chris Pont Ijyi (1) — Chris Pont
FLOURISH stage, 9:30, Weds 30

IJYI

Digital transformation is about integrating new technology into your business to fundamentally change how you operate. It engenders change across the entire organisation from business processes and customer experience through to organisational culture. The Global Centre for Digital Business Transformation defines it as “organisational change through the use of digital technologies and business models to improve performance.”
As the COVID-19 crisis took effect, businesses rushed to deploy technology that would help their teams work remotely and continue to be effective.
In this presentation we look at real world examples of Digital Transformation projects and share findings from our recent Technology Challenges During Lockdown survey.

Leszek Wysocki

INSPIRE stage, 2:30, Weds 30

International Trade Adviser

Department for International Trade

Leszek will join our trade panel to talk about getting started on your exporting journey. If you want to know more about exporting your product or service, watch this session to find out more about the tools and resources which can help you on your way.

Leszek Wysocki has worked with companies trading worldwide for over 30 years. He has broad international business experience. Having run his own business he can fully appreciate the hurdles and the opportunities that companies face. His work with the Department for International Trade has brought him into contact with a diverse range of businesses and international challenges.

Liz Davis-Smith - UEA — Liz Davis Smith
INSPIRE stage, 1:45, Tues 29

Gateway to Growth Team

University of East Anglia
Liz is the Opportunities Programme Manager for the Gateway to Growth Project; her role provides the overarching operational steer for its three deliverable strands. This includes managing OfS communications, liaison with external and internal steering groups, employer and partnership development alongside, leading on its Internship Hub resource. Liz also works in national business engagement at UEA. Liz has over 20 years’ experience within the FMCG, energy and higher education sectors at a senior level; a commercial background which is key to building relationships with SMEs and supporting project partners.

Andrew Hunt

INSPIRE stage, 1:45, Tues 29

Gateway to Growth Team

University of East Anglia

Andrew is the Employer Support Officer at UEA CareerCentral and works closely with employers to connect them with UEA talent. This includes managing UEA’s free vacancy service and leading on the SME Recruitment Support stream of the Gateway to Growth Project. Andrew is a qualified Careers Adviser and prior to joining UEA spent over 15 years managing and delivering support services for young people and employers across Norfolk. Having also been a small business owner himself, Andrew has valuable insight and experience in the SME sector.

James Kindred

INSPIRE stage, 3:15, Weds 30

Big Drop Brew

James Kindred, Co-founder of Big Drop, spent almost twenty years as a designer running agencies and creative teams before starting TravelTech firm Inn Style in 2013. During lockdown, James has driven a pivot into new direct-to-consumer channels (including running a 100,000 viewer virtual pub quiz from a cabin in his garden).

Kevin LV shipping (1) — Kevin Walsh
INSPIRE stage, 2:30, Weds 30

UK Sales Director

LV Shipping & Transport

Since starting operations in 1921, LV Shipping & Transport has grown into a company that offers logistics solutions through their global network. Now a strategic partner of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, Kevin will join our trade panel to talk about shipping and logistics for SMEs starting their exporting journey.

michelle pollard crop — Michelle Pollard
INSPIRE stage, 1:30, Tues 29

Spider

The Four Rs of 2020

Michelle will be talking about the 4 R’s in the Post COVID Economy and what that means for companies looking to hire in the coming months. Michelle is passionate about all things 'recruitment' and has a background within the high street recruitment marketplace and also enjoyed many years in the online recruitment space. Bringing strategic online recruitment to several key organisations across the region and nationally, Michelle was considered part of the online recruitment revolution being one of the earliest online recruitment advisors. She is the proud owner of Spider, a multi award winning online recruitment advertising & recruitment service provider that offers companies a cost-effective alternative to other methods. In March 2020 Spider also bought the assets to polkadotfrog Ltd supporting companies across the region with specialist recruitment consultancy support. She is avid about supporting the local economy and am proud to be the Chair of Suffolk Business Woman, a board member of Ipswich Chamber of Commerce, and an Inward Investment Ambassador for Suffolk. Michelle Pollard was also named as the Institute of Directors, SME Director of the Year 2018, representing the East of England. Michelle was also a finalist in the National SME Director of the Year Awards.

tom vince — Tom Vince
INSPIRE stage, 1:15, Weds 30

Archant Community Media

Tom is Creative Director for Archant Community Media Ltd, one of the UK’s largest local publishing groups. He and his team are responsible for forming and executing creative strategies for thousands of businesses across the UK. He also oversees Archant’s in-house video marketing dividing, a team specialising in working with businesses to produce powerful, performance-driven digital video content.
Tom’s session will give an overview of how businesses and brands can and should best utilise video as a part of their marketing and communications. It will cover the relevance of video across different platforms and how it should be crafted for different audiences as well as how to create an effective piece of video content.

sam greenhalgh — Sam Greenhalgh
INSPIRE stage, 10, Weds 30

Birketts LLP

Sam qualified as a Solicitor in September 2010 and since then has specialised exclusively in employment law. Sam is based in the Norwich office and advises on contentious and non-contentious matters having particular expertise in complex large scale employment litigation and family friendly rights. Sam also has experience of advising on TUPE and collective consultation exercises.
Sam advises a broad range of clients including large companies, public sector organisations, charities, senior executives and individuals. This broad client base experience allows Sam to appreciate how other parties may approach a given situation which gives added value to the clear legal advice he gives to clients which is timely, considered and based on commercial realities.

rebecca white — Rebecca White
FLOURISH stage, 1:45, Weds 30

Your Own Place

Rebecca White is the CEO and Founder of Your Own Place. As a social entrepreneur, ex-local authority commissioner for social services and qualified secondary school teacher, Rebecca has years of experience working with people in a variety of settings. Rebecca exemplifies the successful combination of business minded, policy-lead strategic and third sector experience.

RESTART - Speaker Session form Alex Pond (2) — Alexander Pond
FLOURISH stage, 1:00, Weds 30

AG

Join Alexander, Architect of Ideas at AG, as we go on a journey of discovery and exploration to examine what drives the hearts and minds of the innovators who are consciously rethinking institutions to better meet the challenges of today. Alexander will be sharing stories behind the high growth businesses and global changemakers that are embracing sustainable development. Showcasing some of the most exciting and inspiring stories from founders, executives and entrepreneurs. We invite you to join our conversation around the deep craft of sustainable innovation and what it means to dream big and build environmentally and socially proactive brands.

Natasha Waller - Skills Manager at New Anglia LEP — Natasha Waller
INSPIRE stage, 2:15, Tues 29

Skills Manager

New Anglia LEP

Natasha’s role is to lead the continuous development and implementation of the LEP’s work around skills, working closely with the New Anglia Skills Advisory Panel and the Local Authority skills teams. Her work includes managing the LEP’s Enterprise Adviser Network contract, supporting the development and implementation of Skills Deals and projects for the Capital Growth programme, coordinating the implementation of sector skills plans and engaging with stakeholders on a regional and national basis.

L Jopling Aug 2020 pic — Dr Louise Jopling
FLOURISH stage, 3:45, Weds 30

Eastern Academic Health Science Network

Louise is one of our sector leaders for our panel on Tuesday 29th September. She is an immunologist who has worked across a variety of disciplines including virology, allergy and inflammatory diseases over the past 25 years. She has successfully worked across the spectrum of research & development and commercialization of therapeutics, including product launch and life-cycle management. She has gained this experience within academia, biotech, medium and large pharma. She has developed a significant scientific, technical and investment network internationally and is passionate about bringing the right people together to develop novel technologies to accelerate the impact of new products or practices to healthcare systems.

Alison Ward

INSPIRE stage, 2:15, Tues 29

Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Coordinator

New Anglia LEP

Alison's role at New Anglia LEP is to support the governments initiative to increase the use of apprenticeship levy share and open opportunities within Norfolk and Suffolk to support small employers to access the funds available and increase the number of apprentices across both counties.

Stefanie-Thorne_0 — Stefanie Thorne
INSPIRE stage, 2:15, Tues 29

University of Suffolk

Stefanie leads the the Directorate of Business Engagement and Entrepreneurship and Ipswich Waterfront Innovation Centre at the University of Suffolk. I manage a number of key activities including Degree Apprenticeships, a business incubation centre, Knowledge exchange with business, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), the Games Hub and Alumni. The University of Suffolk is working hard with our regional Universities to deliver flexible virtual internships to support SME recovery and student employment. The graduating cohort of 2020 faces a challenging labour market and are a considerable skills asset for the region. As part of our ‘Together with Business’ programme we are seeking to mobilise that talent to the frontline of SME recovery – providing additional capacity and capability at a crucial time. Stef will give an overview of the benefits of internships and the funding opportunities available to support.

TechEast-Tim-Robinson-1 — Tim Robinson
FLOURISH stage, 11:30, Weds 30

Tech East

Tim Robinson is Chief Operating Officer of TechEast and will lead our Tech East 100 session, introducing how the Tech East 100 is highlighting flagship tech businesses in the region. With his passion for innovation Tim has spent his career in technology and media product businesses prior to joining Tech East. He has successfully grown companies and been responsible for the strategic marketing, business development and product leadership (at Thomson, Informa and RICS), as well as co-founding three startups and served as a Non-Executive Director for 9 years on the board of the Publishing Training Centre. Tim is an alumnus of London Business School and Newcastle University. Now leading the team and operations of TechEast, an organisation that is aims to make the East of England the next global tech cluster, Tim is committed to bringing the experience he has gained to benefit the region’s high potential digital economy.

Jon Neal

INSPIRE stage, 11:30, Weds 30

Suffolk Mind

Jon joined Suffolk Mind in 2016 and has helped design an approach to workplace wellbeing that starts with creating a culture to prevent mental ill health from occurring in the first place. When your workplace is an environment that enables people to meet emotional needs, teams perform better, add more value, and make a bigger difference to the bottom line…beyond reduced sickness absence. He will introduce the concept of emotional needs and look at how workplaces can help prevent mental ill health and improve performance at the same time.