Last Meeting
Our last meeting was held in June 2026 at Marks & Clerk
You will find that our patent and trade mark attorneys together with our associated firm of solicitors offer a comprehensive range of intellectual property services - covering patents, trade marks, designs and copyright. This includes obtaining protection worldwide, portfolio management, strategic and commercial advice, licensing, enforcement, due diligence and litigation.
Guest Speaker - Gavin Samwell
From Startup to a Healthy Eight-Figure Exit.
How He Did It, and What's Next?
After eleven years transforming FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 organisations through change management, Gavin started Parts In Motion in 2013 with a simple golden triangle: best pricing, best product range, and exceptional service.
Over a decade, he grew it into Europe's fastest growing online-only vehicle components business, hitting £30m turnover. Parts In Motion became one of eBay's strategic sellers with direct relationships at the eBay global c-suite level, while also building a thriving independent website. In early 2024, he sold the business to one of the worlds largest vehicle component distributors, Genuine Parts Company (GPC) for a healthy eight-figure sum.
Building that required obsessing over the details. A smart pricing algorithm that kept margins tight while staying competitive. Order logic that caught problems before they became expensive customer headaches. And a relentless focus on building a clean business from day one, one that excited potential acquirers during due diligence because they saw strength at every turn.
Now he's diving into AI powered business operating models. We heard how he did it, what the secrets are to building and selling a business, and what he's doing next.
Business Pitches
Mailiable's mission is to revolutionise email by upturning the way people use it. People primarily read email on their phone but use a computer to do "real" email work. Mailiable is changing that. By making a series of mobile-first smart agents they are removing every pain point one app at a time. Email is a treasure trove of personal and business information which is why Mailiable's first app, Cloak, adds a layer of protection to existing email accounts. Traditional services like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo offer limited privacy options whilst privacy-centric services like ProtonMail require the user to upend their email life and move service. Cloak works by disguising emails in an authentic AI-generated decoy that stops hackers and unwanted agents from viewing the true content. Business Email Compromise and hacking is on the rise amid increasing concern about who can demand access to accounts. This is a multi Bn $ opportunity.
Mailiable has multiple email products in the pipeline and is raising £250,000 in an SEIS-friendly vehicle to move from proof-of-concept to launch. The founder and CEO, Andrew Eades, previously founded and sold the highly successful Relentless Software, was CTO of Flick Games and Sprung Studios.
Centre for Foresight Intelligence
Businesses face Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous environments due to rapid technological change, geopolitical instability, and shifting consumer behaviour. Traditional forecasting methods are proving inadequate for fast-moving markets & societal changes. 'All that was 'normal has now evaporated - we have entered post normal times; the in-between period where old orthodoxies are dying, new ones have not yet emerged, and nothing really makes sense'. The foresight market is not only real but expanding rapidly. It's becoming a critical capability for organisations seeking to thrive amid uncertainty. Demand spans corporate strategy, public policy, innovation, and risk management. Companies that excel at strategic foresight and trend scanning achieve up to 2.4× higher revenue growth and are 33% more likely to outperform financially. [stratejos.ai] Less than 1% of organisations can afford in-house intelligence teams to inform their place in the marketplace.
The Centre for Foresight Intelligence will combine academic research, practical teaching, and community engagement to empower decision-makers; support leaders to anticipate and navigate complex future challenges with confidence and clarity by creating a collaborative environment fostering innovation, thought leadership, and strategic foresight practitioners. CFI aims to become a global leader transforming foresight into a mainstream strategic discipline.
Round Retail is a London-based social enterprise rethinking second-hand fashion through curated retail and social impact. Through pop-ups and online retail, Round Retail partners with charities to resell high-quality donated and consigned clothing, with proceeds supporting grassroots causes and community organisations.
Blending premium resale with design-led retail experiences, Round Retail is helping challenge outdated perceptions of second-hand shopping while extending the life of garments and reducing fashion waste. The business is currently operating a pop-up store in Borough Yards as it works towards launching a permanent "green flagship" store.
Round Retail accepts a curated mix of contemporary, high street and mid-luxury fashion, with a focus on quality, longevity and wearability. To date, the business has rehomed thousands of garments with a 98% sell-through rate on accepted stock.
Round Retail has been featured in The Guardian, BBC, FashionNetwork.com, TheIndustry.fashion and City A.M.
** Round Retail was voted the best business pitch by the attendees
