Events like ClimbUK, the UK’s festival of innovation, industry and investment, aim to demystify the process of growing a business, bringing together industry experts with representatives from the startup and scaleup community to share insights, knowledge and experience. In this article, Gordon Bateman, founder of Investor Ladder and Climb24, shares three key learnings from this year’s conference and how they could help you take your SME to the next level.

Resilience is key

 The topic of resilience featured heavily throughout Climb24, with many of the 2,000 attendees agreeing that this was vital in weathering the startup landscape. Dominic McGregor, founder of Fearless Adventures, shared his journey as one of the event’s keynote speakers. McGregor is an entrepreneur who co-founded the agency Social Chain just a few hundred metres from the site of Climb24 and talked about managing its explosive growth, as well as the impact this had on his own wellbeing. His talk referenced a period of alcohol dependency and subsequent sobriety, and how resilience helped him to navigate his personal challenges and create a thriving business.

Similarly, Andrew Jenkins, a motivational speaker who found fame last year when appearing on BBC1 hit show The Traitors discussed how to find the positives in life changing events. Andrew shared his experience of suffering a catastrophic car accident when he was 21 and the toll this took on his mental health long after recovering from the physical impact. He went on to create a career in motivational talks and coaching and founded Strength In You, helping to break the stigma around mental health.

Speaking after Climb24, he said: “My aim is to help others feel comfortable talking about their feelings – to be brave and show courage. Many founders find themselves in similar positions, suffering mental burnout and not asking for help. There are lots of synergies between my story and theirs and I hope I have been able to demonstrate that, by talking, you are not alone.”

Make meaningful connections

One of the key themes from this year’s event was the power of relationships and creating meaningful connections. Zandra Moore, CEO of Panintelligence and Anna Sutton, co-founder and CEO of The Data Refinery joined to share their stories. Despite growing up on the same estate in Leeds they didn’t meet until 2018 when a mutual connection introduced them at a professional event. Each of them experienced very different business journeys and shared their learnings since starting out, as well as shining a light on the importance of connecting with like-minded individuals and the impact this can have.

This collaborative approach also applies to securing investment, and encouraging greater collaboration. When we collaborate and work more closely together, we can redress the balance, empower startups to become more attractive nationally and internationally, and create opportunities across the whole of the UK.

Looking beyond your existing network 

Securing investment is essential for organisations looking to accelerate their growth, but all too often, founders find themselves looking locally, within their existing network. One of the main reasons Climb24 exists is to showcase the many opportunities for investment beyond the Golden Triangle of London, Oxford and Cambridge and to facilitate introductions between investors and founders who may not otherwise connect.

That’s not to say that regional opportunities shouldn’t still be explored and there are some fantastic grants, resources and funds available that can help propel scale-ups to the next level. For example, the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund brings together a range of resources and has provided more than £540 million of investment for SMEs in the North. It’s also important to remember that your next round of funding doesn’t have to come from a single source. Manchester-based GigPig is a great example of a business that has successfully raised more than £1 million by looking to a combination of angel investors and venture capitals based in London, Liverpool, Lincoln and beyond.

While the landscape remains challenging for SMEs, there is still opportunity and potential. Making local connections, adopting a resilient mindset, sharing personal stories and looking at regional resources are all excellent first steps in achieving the next level of growth.