FOCUS ON FOUNDERS LIVE 2026
Most business events, you walk in and hope you bump into the right person.
We've taken the hoping out of it.
You tell us what you're stuck on (when you book your ticket). We put you in front of the people who can help.
When you book, we ask what you want to get out of the night. Answer it properly, because we actually do something with it.
Whatever you put down, we group you with the people who can help with that specifically. Before the event, at the break, and after.
Struggling to close deals? You'll meet someone whose close rate is the reason people hire them. About to make your first hire? You'll meet someone who has done it three times and got it wrong twice. Sitting on a cashflow problem, or a co-founder conversation you keep putting off? Same.
That is the difference between this and a room full of business cards.
What the night is
Focus on Founders LIVE 2026 is our first live event. One night, one room, and everything we do the rest of the year in one place.
A live founder panel. Business owners talking honestly about building, scaling and surviving. Not the version they put on LinkedIn.
The podcast, recorded live. A full 1-2-1 in front of the room.
Open Q&A. Your questions, put to the room. No script, no plants.
An afterparty. Where most of the good conversations will actually happen.
We go beyond the highlight reel and find out what it is really like to build a business. That is the whole point of Focus on Founders, and this is that night.
On stage
Dr Poonam Gupta OBE - PG Paper Company. Built a global paper trading business from a kitchen table into 60+ countries. On scaling through supply chain chaos, and making decisions when you do not have a perfect plan.
Steven Pettigrew - High Value Business / Arkan Suisse Capital. Over 20 acquisitions completed since 2018. On building a business that could be sold, even if you never sell it.
James Newton - Newton First / Unalome.
Lynne Darcey Quigley - Darcey Quigley / Know-it.
Evelyn McDonald - Scottish EDGE.
More still to come.
Who this is for
This is for business owners. Founders, SME owners, people a few years in and carrying more than they let on.
It is not for you if you are coming to sell. That is not the room this is, and you will have a bad night.
Tickets
£25 Standard, until 31 August. £30 Final Release, from 31 August. £10 for Focus on Founders members.
This should be a £100 ticket. We priced it so the right people get through the door, not so it makes money.
The Practical Bits
Wednesday 30 September 2026
The Social Hub, Glasgow
Doors 5.30pm, starts 6.30pm, afterparty until late
Registration is approved individually, so tell us a bit about what you are building when you book. It is also how we work out who to introduce you to.