Review your strategic options alongside experts from SoundingBoard – the East Midlands’ no-cost growth panel.
Review your strategic options alongside experts from SoundingBoard – East Midlands’ no-cost growth panel.
SoundingBoard is a unique business forum. It’s aimed at ambitious SMEs that want to grow their business and the teams around them.
We put our guests in front of panels of senior-level industry professionals. It provides you with a uniquely focussed way of talking through your opportunities and challenges.
SoundingBoard arranges confidential, two-hour sessions for you to talk through specific barriers to strategic growth – then explores innovative ways that you might overcome them.
“SoundingBoard gave us new avenues to explore and a renewed impetus to stretch ourselves and grow as a business. It was a highly valuable session.”
Loughborough
“This is a rare opportunity for a business owner or entrepreneur to take a good look at their business and aspirations with professionals who can help give you a better perspective.”
Leicester
Loughborough
SoundingBoard began meeting businesses in 2021 during the dark days of the Pandemic. We incorporated as nCourage (Midlands) CIC in late 2024.
Each month, our panel meets a different scale-up, social enterprise or local charity to talk through ways to overcome a specific problem or unlock a potential opportunity.
Our panellists have decades of senior business experience across a range of disciplines. By focussing the panel’s collective attention on one business at a time, SoundingBoard injects a intensive dose of strategic thinking into regional SMEs.
This benefits time-poor East Midlands businesses – all while working to support regional economic development.
SoundingBoard offers a unique space to explore your organisation’s growth challenges with experienced professionals.
Our sessions are confidential, collaborative and focused on generating practical, actionable ideas – no sales pitch, just genuine support.
Ian is a Chartered Accountant and former KPMG East Midlands Senior Partner.
He has more than 35 years’ experience of working with businesses on strategy, sale preparation, and succession. He now runs Borley Consulting Limited.
Our panellists represent a diverse range of expertise across industries, offering valuable insights to businesses and charities.
Among them are the three founders of SoundingBoard, whose vision and leadership have shaped the direction of our work.
Andy is strategic advisor at SajeImpact and chair of numerous public-private boards, bringing 30+ years of expertise in government, sport, and economic development.
Sue ran her own business before leading the Business Gateway Growth Hub and chairing of Leicestershire Business Voice, specialising in SME growth and innovation.
Sonia is an accountant, licensed insolvency practitioner, and director of Assist Business Consulting Ltd with 20+ years spent guiding SMEs through growth and restructure.
Ben is co-founder of UltimateWeb and founder of Leicester Startups CIC, specialising in coding for equity partnerships and building businesses through mentoring and accelerators.
Douglas built a national award-winning optometry business focussed on customer service, a core skillset he is now using to build values-led a residential property development business.
Gillian is co-founder of mō’zē poets, is a visionary business strategist with 20+ years of expertise in branding, strategic communications, and connecting transformative ideas.
John is an IP Partner at JMW, and is a dual-qualified solicitor and trade mark attorney specialising in protecting, commercialising and enforcing IP rights for businesses.
Rajinder is Innovation and Acceleration Associate at Loughborough University, bringing 20+ years of expertise in driving entrepreneurship through strategic programmes and support.
Pippa is IT Director at Freeman Clarke with 20+ years of expertise in IT leadership, specialising in programme management, process improvement, and digital transformation.
Amy is a Chartered PR Practitioner and Account Director at 1284 Communications, specialising in media relations, stakeholder engagement and strategic communications.
Leanne is an entrepreneur and NED with 35+ years of experience specialising in digital transformation, strategic leadership, and governance that drives impactful business growth.
Volunteer as a panellist or register interest in your organisation attending a session. Guests must be:
Express your interest in sharing your expertise with others.
