Boardwave

Looking to supercharge your growth journey in 2025? At the heart of our new Boardwave Accelerate Programme, Boardwave Breakout Groups uniquely support your personalised scaling journey, by bringing together a small group of 6-8 like-minded founders, CEOs, and leaders from across the software sector to share insights, solve challenges, and accelerate their businesses - together. Groups are thoughtfully curated based on growth stage, location (including a virtual pan-European cohort), and focus sectors or interests, ensuring you connect with peers who truly understand your challenges and goals. Each cohort is assigned a Coach or Moderator, who will conduct sessions in the local language, and who will be with you throughout your group's development journey. We also match groups with one of our Patrons or Nextwavers, who are some of the industry's most successful leaders. And when you need external professional help, for tricky problems you can't solve together, you have access to a panel of Boardwave Experts for additional guidance and support. Hear some of our members and moderators speak about the transformative impact of being part of a Breakout Group. From valuable connections to practical support, find out why it’s been essential for their growth. Ready to take your business to the next level? Apply now to be part of our next induction in January: https://lnkd.in/egvVbebc #Boardwave #MakingWaves

Every time our female leaders come together at a Boardwave event, we are overwhelmed with the sense of community and openness, and last night was no exception! Hosted by our partner Richard Goold at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s offices, our female leaders joined us for an inspiring afternoon of networking, and exploring the investment strategies available to them for lasting success. The event was home to two incredible panels. The first, led by Liza Tullidge, Founder of NETĀ, was a frank conversation about different investment profiles and which would be a fit for your business. The panel brought together the views of Private Equity with Hg’s Julia Garcia, Angel Investment from Elisabeth Ling, and Venture Capital from Frog Capital’s Mike Reid. The key takeaways: 1️⃣ Keep sight of the most important thing throughout your fundraising journey: your product. 2️⃣ Be selective with your time, and ensure you get to know the investor as much as they know you. 3️⃣ Humanise your capital, and build relationships even before you are seeking the investment. The second panel discussion, led by powerhouse Vin Murria OBE DBA, gave our female leaders insights into how to scale your business for long term success. Our amazing panellists Anastasia Leng, Jo-Jo Hubbard and Joanna Montgomery touched on sustainable growth strategies, avoiding founder burn out, and building a resilient culture. Their pieces of advice: 1️⃣ If you get an exit under your belt, it will boost your confidence, provide lessons learned that you can apply to your next business and give you the headspace to plan your future. 2️⃣ If circumstances permits it, it’s advantageous to look for capital when it is a want, rather than as a final resource. 3️⃣ Have the confidence to understand how incredible your business is, and ensure those around you agree, to make sure you don’t give away too much, too early. We’d like to give a heartfelt thanks to our remarkable panellists, and our wider female community, for continuing to embody the values we strive for here at Boardwave. We can’t wait to see you all again in the new year! #Boardwave #MakingWaves

The UK has long lagged behind the US in producing global software leaders, hindered by fragmented markets, cultural barriers, and limited collaboration. Phill Robinson, our co-founder and CEO, recently sat down with Entrepreneur UK to shed light on the challenges software leaders in the UK face, and how fostering collaboration across Europe could be the key to building global tech giants. Read this interesting article here: https://lnkd.in/eFp4JT4z #Boardwave #MakingWaves

We are proud to announce our co-founder and CEO Phill Robinson will be speaking at the launch of 'A mountain to scale', The Future Governance Forum (FGF)'s report, authored by Charlotte Holloway, which sets out how Government can unlock greater investment and transform start-up potential into scale-up success - driving growth across the whole economy. This online event, which takes place on Thursday 12 December, will see Phill speak alongside Kanishka Narayan, Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan; Michael Moore, Chief Executive, British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA); and Anna Gross, Political correspondent, Financial Times. To reserve your place, and to join the discussion, click here: https://lnkd.in/eM5UfcQm to join the discussion. #Boardwave #MakingWaves

If you missed it the first time around, you can catch The Startup Sensations Podcast featuring our Co-Founder and CEO, Phill Robinson, through the link below. In this episode, Phill offers valuable insights into the importance of building a community of software leaders across Europe. He explores how peer support, knowledge sharing, and collaboration can accelerate business growth and empower founders to scale effectively. #Boardwave #MakingWaves

What makes an effective board? At Boardwave Live, we had the privilege of hearing from WeTransfer’s Chair, Martha Lane Fox, and CEO, Alexandar Vassilev: two leaders who have steered their company through challenging times, including a pulled IPO and a successful acquisition just a few years later. Their session, Effective Boards: Building the Right Engine for Success, highlighted key lessons for founders, CEOs, and board members alike: 1️⃣ Support during tough times: A board’s role isn’t to criticise from the sidelines. As Lane Fox put it, "Pick the CEO, back them, or replace them. Undermining is corrosive." 2️⃣ Long-term stability: Boards must balance shareholder interests with the company’s future relevance, ensuring leadership stays focused on the bigger picture. 3️⃣ Deep bonds and shared goals: Building strong relationships between board members and management is critical, especially in moments of transition or crisis. WeTransfer’s story shows how a symbiotic Chair and CEO pairing can transform a company, providing resilience and clarity even in turbulent times. Catch the insights from their full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/ez5ZbmMH #Boardwave #MakingWaves

Last week, our CEO and co-founder Phill Robinson sat down with Miguel Alava, EMEA ISV General Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS), to explore how European software companies can overcome market fragmentation, leverage cloud and generative AI, and adopt global strategies to scale competitively. To listen to this interesting podcast, click here: https://lnkd.in/eUCy8y9u #Boardwave #MakingWaves

We’re excited to welcome UBS to the Boardwave community! As a leading and truly global wealth manager, complemented by its global investment banking capabilities, UBS is perfectly positioned to support Boardwave's software leaders as they scale their businesses across the UK and Europe.   We look forward to working together to help our members navigate scaling opportunities, tackle challenges, and drive growth in the European software sector. Welcome onboard, UBS! #Boardwave #MakingWaves

For our penultimate event of 2024, we had the pleasure of gathering with some of our incredible members at the stunning offices of Rothschild & Co for a very special dinner. We were privileged to hear from Chris Bayne, CEO of The Access Group and a valued Boardwave patron, as he shared his inspiring journey - from a fresh university graduate to leading one of the largest software companies in the UK. An impressive story, told with humility, humour and authenticity, Chris offered insights into what he has learnt along the way and his non-negotiables when it comes to people and culture. A huge thank you to Chris and to Anton Black for hosting such a brilliant fireside, which we knew would not disappoint! We’d also like to extend our thanks to Rothschild & Co Wealth Management UK for sponsoring the event. Without the support of our partners, none of what we do would be possible. #Boardwave #MakingWaves

A big welcome to H.I. Executive Consulting (H.I.E.C) as our latest Boardwave partner. Finding the right leadership team is one of the toughest - and most critical - challenges for scaling software companies. With their expertise in identifying and hiring transformational leaders across boards, CEOs, and senior executives, H.I.E.C will be an invaluable resource for our members.   We’re looking forward to seeing how their insight and expertise help our community build the leadership teams needed to drive growth and long-term success. Welcome to the Boardwave family, H.I.E.C! #Boardwave #MakingWaves