On Wednesday, 60 people made their way to Clockwise for the Leeds launch of Start-Up West Yorkshire, a new programme of practical hands-on support to help start-ups succeed.

It’s fair to say despite the ever so slightly cooler weather than Tuesday, the airy bright and cool café space where the event was held was a perfect venue, made complete with an airy rooftop terrace the delegates also made use of for networking.

The terrace also became the spot of choice for our aspiring entrepreneurs to take advantage of the offer of a free professional profile pic, taken by the brilliant Ryan Hunter, resident photographer at Clockwise.

The event began with a real buzz, as the delegates spent the first 30 minutes meeting each other over refreshments and making the most of the networking opportunity. Then, as the crowd settled into their seats, the main event began, starting with a warm welcome from our very own Start-Up Manager in Leeds, Peter Mackenzie-Shaw.

First to speak and to open the event was Cllr James Lewis, Leader of Leeds City Council, and Deputy Mayor for West Yorkshire.

Cllr Lewis emphasised the importance of supporting our businesses and highlighted how important innovation is in creating opportunities and economic growth. Particularly when looking at some of the environmental and social challenges faced.

He also talked about devolution, and how the devolution deal is crucial for us to fully realise our vision for West Yorkshire and meet our regional challenges.

Summarising, he discussed our role in supporting businesses in Leeds, and that is ensuring all people and communities have the opportunity, the tools, and the support. These opportunities will determine our future, with programmes like Start-Up West Yorkshire providing a new generation of businesses the helping hand they need to realise their own dreams and fulfil their potential.

Next up was Head of Funding Programmes & Business Support at Leeds City Council, Phil Cole.

Phil talked about the variety of support now available to businesses, particularly for start-ups, with a strong ladder of support on offer in West Yorkshire, ranging from pre-start and ideas stage, right through to hands on support for growing businesses already established.

Using the AD:VENTURE programme as an example of how collaboration between our partners can create opportunities, Phil explained how in 2016 we came together and with support and funding created a programme of support for start-ups that has helped thousands of businesses and individuals.

With funding from the European Union now coming to an end, he said we are really delighted to launch Start-Up West Yorkshire, and that we are able to offer a more tailored package to more people and businesses. A lot has happened over the past few years and confidence in starting a business can be up and down, but Phil also highlighted in the last month Leeds still have 416 new businesses, which is 17% of start-ups from the wider region, and this practical support will help those to survive and grow.

Peter then returned to the stage and talked about the impact of Covid, and how this made a made a lot of people reconsider their future. Support needs to be led by demand and we understand that although there had been support available for business trading with other businesses, there were gaps in practical support available for sectors such as hospitality, retail, and business to consumer enterprises.

He explained how Start-Up West Yorkshire will offer hands on support to these businesses. Much of what we do is help with confidence, encourage people to carry on, support them and give them that helping hand. Helping to get them connected to other groups, practical things like premise searches, and helping new business owners to manage the many challenges they will face.

Most of all – Ask us the questions, we’ll probably be able to answer or know someone that can!

We then heard from Liz Shaw, Contract Manager at PeoplePlus, who are delivery partners of the programme, which is funded by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

Liz talked about the huge range of support, webinars, and expert advice available through the team, who have worked with over 500,000 businesses since 2015.

The PeoplePlus team offer a dedicated business advisor, experienced in supporting start-ups to get going. This also includes access to 12 hours of webinar support. And these are interactive, live webinars on a huge range of essential business topics, like business planning, managing cash flow, bookkeeping, tax and self-assessment, LinkedIn, Facebook and confidence in business.

The team also provide up to 3 hours of one-to-one specialist support on specific challenges such as marketing, growth strategies, intellectual property, and legal advice.

Then came the business panel!

We were very excited to have 3 start-up business owners giving their precious time to share their start-up story with the audience, and to offer some advice to anyone thinking of making the leap into business ownership. They talked about the importance of asking for help, and taking advantage of any support that is available as the start up journey is rewarding, but can also be challenging without the right help.

Here is a run-down of each founder, the business, and the journey.

Ricky Talbot: Living Walls UK

Ricky has a passion for planting and a background in landscape design. The idea for Living Walls UK came to him while he was travelling in Dubai.

He thought – Why don’t we have this? Living walls are beautiful, good for the planet and good for people’s wellbeing, changing external and internal spaces for the better (and he emphasised a living wall is NOT a plant stuck on a wall……just in case you were wondering!)

He was so fascinated by the concept; he found a company in London who were doing this and volunteered to help so he could learn the trade.

This was his first step and after then starting his own company, Living Walls UK in the North of the UK, in good old Leeds, Ricky has continued to partner with the company he volunteered at in London.

Ricky’s particular passion is making living walls accessible for all – They have grown in popularity, and though initially very expensive, they are now becoming much more affordable, and Ricky is working with schools, colleges and businesses to make these a more common site in all building.

Listening to Ricky, you can’t help but be inspired! His enthusiasm is infectious, you can tell how much he cares about what he does and why he does it.

On the start-up journey, he explained how setting up has been an emotional roller coaster though, and it is important to be prepared for that.

There is so much to manage, your own wellbeing, your cash flow, work life balance – It’s a lot to do, but there is a need to sacrifice. If you have a passion for your business, these sacrifices are worth it down the line if you are doing something you love and enjoy.

Ricky’s main piece of advice for anyone considering starting up: Do something you love you'll always succeed!

Tracy Cleminson: Arctic Bee

Tracy started her story telling us about the name of her business, and why she called her digital marketing agency Arctic bee. Surviving in the arctic, as its name suggests, the artic bumble bee certainly has some obstacles, but its resilience and survival techniques have proven successful!

And Tracy’s is a story of survival against the odds, that both inspired the audience, and for many of us, also moved us to tears.

Following several huge personal challenges, including the loss of her parents. This resulted in Tracy being particularly unwell and struggling with her mental health. One particularly poignant thing she shared, was when her doctor said she had done well that day, because she had changed her cardigan. Small steps this may seem, but a huge step towards recovery.

And then came lockdown. Tracy said for her, this was a positive thing, as she no longer felt as isolated, knowing other people were in the same position. She started to think about things she enjoyed, as she knew she could not go back into the world where she worked previously.

She told us, she had always built websites, and had done some big sites in the past but saw it as more of a hobby than a career. Deciding to have a go, as it would give her something to focus on, she built her website, and she started contacting friends, family, reaching out to old contacts and asking if they would be interested.

Pretty soon, people were reaching out to her, wanting to work with her. Fast forward to now, and she has just over 130 clients and the business is growing in Yorkshire, a rapidly expanding team (two who were kick-starters she took on in the early days and are still with her in full time roles!)

The business works with a wide range of clients, offering small affordable website creation, hosting and social packages for early-stage and small businesses, right up to full-service delivery for larger enterprises.

What an incredible journey!!

Tracy summarised by giving her top 3 tips to the audience.

1. Pool on every resource you've got! This doesn’t have to be a formal business setting. Ask for help. Be cheeky! People love helping people!

2. Don't give up. You will have days where you are down. I still have some days where I say I can't do it. Put into context a bad day is just that, one bad day. One client loss for example, can lead to another gain, with a better client. So, hang in there.

3. Be kind to yourself. Take time out. Look after yourself. Remember, without you, your business would not be there at all.

Myles Garstang: RuneFable Ltd

Next on the panel to share his story, was Myles Garstang, who makes artisan dice for tabletop games and board games.

Myles explained how his story began. And it was also one of challenge and resilience. Pre-covid, he was as a researcher in genetics and biology. Already a stressful environment, this was made worse through the pandemic, and combined with the isolation the lockdowns brought, he was suffering from mental health issues.

Having spent a few months out of work, Myles shared how he decided he wanted to put his efforts into something that made him happy, and other people.

Myles got in touch with Start Up West Yorkshire in December and started working with PeoplePlus expert advisor Jelani Ghulam.

He pitched idea to Jelani who said it sounds great, I have never seen anything like that before! Go for it.

Myles said the support he’s had has been absolutely wonderful. Covering financial and legal aspects he had no clue about. The help also got him on top of things, made sure he was keeping on track. Jelani was great, helping with storyboards for the website, looking at the marketing, helping Myles understand who he was targeting and how. Even advice on how to get the product to people.

Once he had set up his website and started selling, he was soon approached by another UK games company who wanted custom dice for their Kickstarter.

This is when he started branching out into other areas and can see growth in the business by creating more collaborations with other businesses, as well as selling his own custom range, which he adds to regularly, to the public.

Myles passion and enthusiasm is infectious. He told us storytelling is something humans have always done, and it always bring joy! Reading a book or playing a game. These things bring people together and that’s where Myles passion lies.

Myles advice. Pursue your passion, and don’t give up. I’m still in the very early days, only starting in February and I still have a way to go, but I am making money, and I am covering my costs which I am told is great at this early stage!!

Start-Up West Yorkshire, Leeds, is a new initiative, led by the Mayor of West Yorkshire and supported by Leeds City Council, offering resources to help new businesses succeed, from workshops and seminars to one-to-one support.

It’s designed to help those with an idea for a new business or support growth for existing businesses under three years old.

What did our delegates say about the event? "Thank you so much for a fantastic event. It was great to learn more and to hear the inspiring presentations. I’d love to set up a meeting"

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire said about the initiative:

“Small businesses are the life blood of any community.

“I’m delighted that as your Mayor, I have launched Enterprise West Yorkshire and the support it unlocks for the brilliant people and businesses in West Yorkshire.

“Our region is a brilliant place to live, learn and set up a business and I can’t wait to hear about the fantastic new businesses that will call West Yorkshire home.”

Start-Up West Yorkshire is delivered by the West Yorkshire Local Authorities through Start Up Manager support, and webinars and one to one specialist support delivered by People Plus on behalf of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

For more information about the initiative, visit the Start-Up West Yorkshire website

Start-Up West Yorkshire is part of the Mayor’s £6m region-wide Enterprise West Yorkshire programme, delivered by West Yorkshire Combined Authority. The programme encourages entrepreneurship and helps people get the support that they need to build successful businesses. Entrepreneurs will drive West Yorkshire’s economic recovery and Enterprise West Yorkshire has been developed to make this happen. It covers Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield, with similar launch events taking place in each of these areas.