A business ‘SuperConnector’ who has helped thousands across the North East of England to start & grow their ventures is marking a decade staging some of the region’s most successful events.
However, for Paul Lancaster (Founder, Event Producer & Business Growth Consultant, PLATFORM | UK Startup & Scaleup Week | Stellar Business Events), the champagne is on ice – as he’s warned that the region has “gone backwards” in key areas despite a boom in entrepreneurial ambition.
Inspiring & connecting through events
Having enjoyed a varied career (including a spell as an international DJ & music producer) Paul moved into events with the inaugural Newcastle Startup Week festival in 2017.
The success of the five-day, multi-venue festival saw it become one of the North East’s flagship business events which repeated again in 2018 & 2019 along with the Newcastle Scaleup Summit & 20 x monthly Founders’ Friday events before the pandemic forced him to move everything online.
In January 2024, he returned to in-person events with the popular, monthly half-day PLATFORM events & last summer’s five-day UK Startup & Scaleup Week festival in Sunderland (see videos below).
Having run his 100th event in June this year, Paul says the biggest reward has been seeing others succeed.
“One of the greatest thrills you can have in my type of business is helping someone else bring their ideas to life & fulfil their potential” he said.
“I recently checked & can see that I’ve directly helped just under 4,000 different entrepreneurs, business owners & leaders through consultancy, coaching, mentoring, matchmaking, signposting & events over the past ten years & I’m proud to think I’ve played even a small part in their story.”
“Sometimes I won’t hear until months later that somebody secured funding, landed a major client, hired someone or found an investor because of a conversation started at one of our events or an introduction that I’ve made.”
His contribution to the region’s business community hasn’t gone unnoticed.
At the full-day PLATFORM Conference in Newcastle in April this year, Paul received a ‘High Sheriff’s Award for Meritorious Community Service’ to businesses across Tyne and Wear from the current High Sheriff of Tyne and Wear, Ammar Mirza CBE (see photo below).
The High Sheriff’s Award recognises years spent bringing founders, investors & organisations together.
Previously, Paul won ‘Collaborator of the Year’ at Dynamo North East’s Dynamites awards in 2016 & 2017, was runner up in 2018 & won the ‘PROFILE’ category in the North East Times ‘Impact Awards’ for the work he did to promote the local business community on a regional, national & international level in 2019
A 2019 ‘Impact Report’ produced with Newcastle University concluded that Newcastle Startup Week had positively influenced the region, with 80% of event attendees feeling more motivated & inspired & 75% saying they were more likely to think the North East of England was a good place to start & grow a business.
Opportunities & challenges for the North East of England
Despite many business successes over the past ten years, Paul believes the wider regional picture is mixed.
“In several key metrics, the North East of England hasn’t really improved over the last decade – poverty, job creation & opportunity gaps are still huge challenges for the region” he said.
“Where we have improved is in business startup & scaleup activity. There are more ambitious founders here now & more people speaking confidently about building companies of national & international significance.”
“But the North East can be too dependent on waiting for Government direction or grant funding & is still too public-sector led at times. The business ecosystems that succeed most in the UK & around the world are entrepreneur-led, with the public sector there to support rather than control.” (The video below explains this well).
Paul, who briefly returned to employment in tech recruitment after the COVID-19 pandemic before relaunching his events business full-time in 2024, says he remains optimistic about the future – provided the region backs its business owners & leaders.
“There is opportunity everywhere” he added “But entrepreneurs need to be trusted to unlock it with local & national government removing barriers, opening doors & playing a supporting role.”
Want to know more?
If you’re an ambitious business owner or leader in the North East of England, Teesside or Scotland, you should go to Paul’s monthly PLATFORM events! Find out more & book your FREE tickets at https://platformevents.ai
You may also want to Follow Paul on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/paullancasteruk where he posts insights on how businesses, leaders & founders can raise their profile & find relevant clients & customers through events & online content.