Business leaders unite to champion female founders

A North East business initiative has brought together leading entrepreneurs and industry experts to help women-led companies overcome barriers to growth and unlock their potential.

Hays Travel and The Whole Point joined forces to host Four Rooms: Four Ways to Grow Your Business at the travel company’s Sunderland headquarters, offering practical advice, networking opportunities and specialist guidance to ambitious female business leaders.

The event, held today (Friday, October 23), featured 18 volunteer panellists who shared their expertise across four areas considered essential to business growth: finance and funding; people and culture; operations; and marketing, business development and sales.

Rather than following a traditional conference format, attendees moved between four rooms, each hosting discussions focused on the challenges facing growing businesses.

Participants were invited to submit questions in advance, allowing sessions to address issues ranging from securing investment and developing sales pipelines to recruitment decisions and managing sustainable expansion.

Hays Travel supported the initiative by providing the venue and catering, with chair Dame Irene Hays opening proceedings by reflecting on the company’s growth journey and the importance of maintaining strong values and culture.

Dame Irene said: “It was our pleasure to host The Whole Point event at our Sunderland head office.

“We were delighted to offer our venue and support to the organisers, who curated an excellent line-up of speakers, who shared their insight and practical advice on how to grow a business.

“I’m sure the women attending relished the opportunity to learn from experts and to network with fellow ambitious business leaders.”

The event was organised by The Whole Point, a UK-wide, government-aligned initiative working to increase investment in high-growth, women-led businesses.

Supported by Lloyds and data partner The Data City, the organisation aims to address longstanding inequalities in business funding while strengthening the networks and support available to female entrepreneurs.

Its work is underpinned by research identifying women-led businesses as a potential £310 billion economic opportunity for the UK, despite female leadership teams continuing to receive a disproportionately small share of investment.

Organisers say tackling the imbalance requires more than improving access to finance, with mentoring, professional networks and opportunities to learn from experienced business leaders also playing an important role.

The Sunderland event was designed to put that approach into practice, bringing together entrepreneurs and specialists willing to share practical advice and first-hand experiences of building successful businesses.

Debra Leeves, chair of The Whole Point’s Newcastle board, said: “A huge thank you to all the women business leaders who joined us for our four workshops, and to our fantastic panel of experts who generously shared their knowledge, insights, and experience, answering questions and offering valuable guidance to help women take their businesses to the next level.”

The collaboration reflects The Whole Point’s emphasis on collective action, bringing established businesses, financial institutions and industry specialists together to create a more supportive environment for women-led enterprises.

Its approach focuses on using data to identify barriers to growth, strengthening regional business networks and encouraging organisations to take practical steps towards improving opportunities for female founders and leadership teams.

The importance of this wider support was also highlighted in a recent article by Amanda Murphy, chief executive of business and commercial banking at Lloyds Banking Group, who emphasised the role of networks, mentors and growth ecosystems in helping women entrepreneurs achieve their ambitions.

By structuring the event around four key areas of business growth, organisers aimed to provide attendees with advice they could apply directly to their own companies, while creating opportunities to build relationships with fellow entrepreneurs.

Debra added: “None of this would have been possible without the generous support of Dame Irene Hays and her team, who were exceptional hosts.

“We are hugely grateful for their support, hospitality, and commitment to helping women business leaders across the North East realise their ambitions.”

To find out more about The Whole Point visit www.thewholepoint.co.uk or follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram.

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