Who We Are
Entrepreneurial Spark is a purpose-led accelerator for entrepreneurs. There are enormous challenges for humans to tackle over the next ten years. What we do in that time will determine what our planet looks like for the next hundred years. Climate change, inequality and poor health are things that can make or break our success as a species.
Entrepreneurs are the vital catalyst needed to meet this challenge, and we exist to ensure more of them succeed.
Vision
We build great people who build great businesses to drive growth that benefits everybody.
Mission
To drive up the success rate of entrepreneurs, by establishing a new type of accelerator that provides action-led, on-demand access to excellent growth support.
Values
Integrity
We do the right thing and say the things that need to be said. We ask the hard questions of ourselves and others.
Action
Entrepreneuring® is a verb for a reason, it has to be executed rather than studied. We believe in striving for excellence, not perfection.
Human
We focus on enabling the whole individual. Sometimes people need rest, fun, inspiration & motivation as well as challenge and support.
Exploration
Breaking new ground, pushing boundaries, doing things differently. We aim to create new paradigms and disrupt outdated business models.
Collaboration
Everything is better when people help each other.
Meet the Team
CEO & Director
I am a restless optimist, with a deeply held belief in the power of creativity and curiosity to change the world, hence my love of working with entrepreneurs. I love to see the limitless possibilities in people and businesses and am always working on something new. My love of fantasy and eternal optimism drive an infectious imagination and a constant desire to do better.
I have led Entrepreneurial Spark since 2018. The best part of my role is creating new partnerships that allow people to thrive in my team, our partner organisations and the communities we serve.
Mike Stephens
Lucy-Rose Walker
Chair
A natural people developer, I believe that leading in any organisation requires you to bring your true authentic self. My perspective on life is that we’re all a work in progress so I’m always trying to work on balancing feeling guilty if I’m not always on the go, with taking time to be kind to myself.
With a degree in psychology and a history of working with business start-ups, I co-founded Entrepreneurial Spark in 2012, growing it to 12 accelerator Hubs across the UK. I took on the role of Chair in 2018.
Subsequently I co-founded Misadventures in Entrepreneuring, and produced a series of podcasts and a development book showcasing relatable role model entrepreneurs. Currently l am the COO of School of Code on a mission to get more and different people into tech.
Jeremy Ambrose
Director
I joined ESpark after 12 years working in fast-paced leisure and hospitality management. I worked at Operations level and gained huge experience of building, nurturing and engaging both large teams and businesses. Within ESpark I owned and led the delivery of our enablement programme for over 500 entrepreneurs per year across 12 locations in the UK as Head of Enablement. More recently I have launched adjacent propositions in new markets globally and delivered programmes of Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship to both SME leaders and FTSE 500 companies.
Marketing & Community Manager
Denislav joined Entrepreneurial Spark in October 2021 to support the South Yorkshire-located accelerator ‘Transform SY’.
His role encapsulates recruiting startups on the programme, building the brand of the accelerator in the region and also initiating the community-building activities for the cohort.
Denislav is passionate about the development of South Yorkshire’s startup ecosystem as a whole and is in particular interested in increasing the connectedness between founders and other stakeholders like investors and policy makers.
Denislav Ivanov
Ria Tucker
Director
Ria Joined Entrepreneurial Spark in 2015 and was responsible for supporting our Enablers, Hubs and Entrepreneurs in the South of England as Excellence Engineer. Before moving to Entrepreneurial Spark Ria built up an extensive 15 years experience in Retail, specifically in Operations – both UK and International. Throughout this time Ria also took on the role of Country Manager across Europe and South America, meaning Ria has led teams both in the U.K. and globally. Ria’s 9 years International experience brings with it a strong insight into trading in different markets and cultures and under various business models.
Gayle Mann
Non-Exec Director
Gayle is a marketing strategist to trade and has spent the last 17 years working with start-ups across the UK, Europe, The Middle East and Latin America. Gayle also has a strong consultancy background operating on projects for both the European Union and the World Bank.
Gayle joined Entrepreneurial Spark in 2012 and has been responsible for the ongoing development of our proprietary enablement system for the last 3 years. Gayle has headed up the enablement team across the UK and India. She became Chief Operating Officer in March 2017.