On Tuesday 15 October, we launched our first-ever groundbreaking, new festival for female founders, The Athena Festival, a festival of investment, inclusion and innovation. The Athena Festival which took place at Nexus Leeds is the first of its kind outside of London – built to celebrate and empower female entrepreneurship across the regions.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of our speakers, panellists and workshop hosts, along with thanking our event sponsors, Leeds City Council, Nexus, Gordons, Q5, Mills and Reeve, NatWest, The Biskery and Amity Brew Co.
Athena is the goddess of wisdom, courage and resourcefulness and we were blown away by our guest speakers, panellists, exhibitors, mentors and female founders who all played a role in delivering bucket loads of all three throughout the day.
Here are some of the highlights from the day:
The Day
We kicked off with co-founders Jordan Dargue and Helen Oldham, sharing Lifted Ventures’ mission to boost regional investment in female-led businesses, followed by a video address from MP Tulip Siddiq, Economic Secretary to the Treasury Minister.
Keynote speaker, futurist and cyber shaman Adah Parris explored how we can shape an inclusive future. Next, a panel discussion on “Be Brave and Be Your Own Hero” featured exited founders and successful business women Clare Hayward, Sharon Jandu OBE, Nicola Hurley, and Rachel Hannan.
Breakout sessions included lightning pitches from female founders, a marketing workshop led by Jane Slimming, and investment tips for scaling ventures. Networking was led by The Vibrancy Hub, followed by insights on female entrepreneurship from Lifted Project’s Zandra Moore and Debra Leeves.
Four female founders walked on glass during the session led by Lisa Clifford inspiring courage. Mills & Reeves shared ESG success strategies, and sponsors Q5 wrapped up with advice on scaling up through the power of saying no.
The festival concluded with an award ceremony, showcasing the winner of the Lightning Pitches; Kate Hawker from Adventuro! A huge well done to Kate.
This great day ended – as all great days should – with beer and disco music, kindly supplied by Amity Brew Co and Ruth Cherry of SmartWorks.
Why are events like The Athena Festival; a Festival of Innovation, Investment and Inclusion important?
💛 Women-led founders when venture-backed generate 12% higher revenue than start-ups run by men.
💛 Businesses founded by women deliver higher revenue, more than 2x as much per pound invested.
💛 Almost 45% of England’s female-led high-growth enterprises are located in London. Considering that only 13% of the UK’s population resides in London, this represents a clear regional imbalance of female founding high-growth activity.
💛 £250 billion of new value could be added to the British economy if women in the UK started and scaled new businesses at the same rate as men do.
💛 Female founders can boost regional businesses and industries, promoting a ripple effect of economic activity within their area.
💛 Female founders who establish and grow successful businesses can inspire the creation of regional business hubs or innovation centres that support other entrepreneurs, helping nurture more startups in their region.