Real decisions, moved forward.
The pattern repeats across the network: a founder, a leader or a team brings a live decision, and an hour with someone who has already faced it changes the week. Here are some of them.
Tech & securitySix hours that helped a SaaS go to market with confidence.
Marka — a Newcastle-based sustainability ratings platform — needed senior cybersecurity, data protection and policy expertise that is impossible to hire for at their stage. Six hours with Dave Sharp delivered exactly that.
Rob BoweyCo-founder · We Are Marka, We Are Marka
Hospitality scale-upHow do you take a regional hospitality brand national — without losing what makes it work?
Deep North built a beloved artisan doughnut and coffee brand in the North East. Mentoring is helping them turn that local loyalty into a scalable business beyond the region.
Deep NorthArtisan doughnuts & coffee · Newcastle, Deep North
Seed funding & business modelA running club became a brand activation platform — with mentoring on both sides of the round.
James, George and Mitchel built DashPoint around the way running communities really gather. Mentoring helped them shape the platform business behind it — and close the initial seed round to back it.
James, George & MitchelCo-founders · DashPoint, DashPoint
Founder accountabilityThree board advisors helped Scott Smith look at his own business through a client's eyes.
Five years in and ready to scale, Scott Smith needed people who would hold him accountable. Three mentors and six on-call advisors later, the next strategy was already taking shape.
Scott SmithFounder · People Spark Solutions, People Spark Solutions
First-time foundersA pandemic side project, a trivia game, and three mentors who'd already scaled and sold a business.
Gillian Hauxwell and Simon Evans built Strong Point during lockdown. Reaching mentors who had scaled and sold companies gave them the focus to expand beyond Amazon and John Lewis pop-ups.
Gillian HauxwellCo-founder · Strong Point Games, Strong Point Games
Scaling a people business“The biggest blocker in any organisation is the leader themselves.”
Dan Fenwick and Kimberley Leech built Venture Ten on the belief that recruitment could be done differently. As demand outstripped their own ability to flex, they reached for mentors with 20+ years inside the HR engine.
Dan FenwickCo-founder · Venture Ten, Venture Ten
Creative scale-upTwo mentors helped a Newcastle production studio land a Stack contract and a shipping client in China.
Mark Calvert's immersive events studio was winning B2B work fast. Mentors who knew the tech kit and the detail behind it turned momentum into something they could repeat.
Mark CalvertCo-founder · Tiny Dragon Productions, Tiny Dragon Productions
Succession & scaleChris and Suzanne Guy wanted time out of the business. Mentoring turned cover into a long-term scale plan.
After 25 years building Power Tool World, the founders needed senior help so they could travel. The pair who arrived to cover ended up unlocking the next decade of growth.
Andrew PickersgillManaging Director · Power Tool World, Power Tool World
Merger mentoringTwo photo labs wanted to merge. Neither had done one before. A mentor mapped the unmapped.
Jill Roe and Mike Brydon met on a flight home from Tilburg. Three years later they were ready to merge — without a clue how. A mentor who had done it before turned fear into a 35-person business.
Jill RoeFounder · Digitalab, Digitalab
Climate techJohnson Fernandes had proof his app worked. He needed mentors who knew what came next.
equiwatt rewards households for cutting peak-time energy use. With seed funding done and Series A in sight, three mentors helped Johnson pick the right next bet.
Johnson FernandesFounder & CEO · equiwatt, equiwatt
Workplace mental healthTwin brothers were both made redundant in the pandemic. The business they built needed mentors before it could scale.
Duncan and Guy Robertson founded Dittolo to give employers real visibility on workplace mental health. Three mentors helped phase one go live with discipline.
Duncan RobertsonCo-founder · Dittolo, Dittolo
Relevant experience, unlocked at the moment it matters.
Start with a brief. Meet the people who have done this before. Move the decision forward this week.
Or write to hello@unlockedexpertise.com