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Founder of Ideas Forums | Creator of Ideas Fest – the ‘Glastonbury for Business’ | Building Communities & Celebrating Entrepreneurs Shaping the Future
Happy New Year All! 🎉 With so many new faces here, I thought I’d take a moment to reintroduce myself and share what I’m all about. I’m Francesca, co-founder of Ideas Forums with Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE , where we create spaces to celebrate, support, and connect entrepreneurs and ambitious businesses. Here’s what keeps us busy: ✨ The Great British Entrepreneur Awards & Community – often called “the Grammys of entrepreneurship”. More than just an awards programme, it’s a platform to champion and connect entrepreneurs. Over the past 13 years, we’ve celebrated thousands of entrepreneurs making an incredible impact in their industries and communities. ✨ The UK StartUp Awards – Recognising businesses in their first three years, we spotlight many businesses that we're sure will become tomorrows household names. ✨ The UK Fast Growth Index Established in Wales in 1999 and now a UK wide programme, The UK Fast Growth Index highlights the fastest-growing businesses across seven regions, showcasing the incredible contributions of scale-ups to the UK economy. ✨ The Great British Industry Awards (new!) – Celebrating mid sized businesses with £10 million to £200 million turnover - often the unsung heroes! ✨ Ideas Fest – Born out of Covid when indoor events seemed unlikely to return as we once knew them, we imagined what a community focused outdoor event might look like. Think talks in tents, food stalls and festival fun. Luckily our community loved it and "Glastonbury for Business" is swiftly turning into a must attend event for entrepreneurs. 🪩 🎪 💃 On a personal note, I’ll also be kicking off 2025 with a 🛺 rickshaw race across India in March (yes, really!) alongside a group of extraordinary women, because why not start the year with a challenge? 💪 What’s next? In 2025, we’re doubling down on building our community. More on that soon! If you’re a founder, entrepreneur, or someone dreaming big, I'm thrilled to be connected and look forward to following your journey on here!