What’s your role?

I’m the Community Manager for Gather. My role is all about connecting and engaging with the community and the creative, digital, and tech ecosystem in the Liverpool City Region. Day to day that means lots of meetings, events, networking, and travelling to all corners of the six regions.

Ultimately, I want to be the most helpful person in the room! Connecting the dots for people, putting them in touch with others who can help them, building relationships and helping leaders access support from Gather.

I’m only a couple of months into the role but I’ve already met so many interesting people, everyone from the Race Equality Hub in Knowsley to creative agencies, the Women’s Organisation to local councillors, it’s such an exciting community to be involved in.

Where did life take you before you before you joined the Gather team?

I guess you’d say I’ve got a diverse background. I started as a chef, went to university a little later than some and that led to some time working in events, before going full-circle back to hospitality. I worked at Brewdog as an Assistant Manager for four years before starting my own business The Fermentation Station with my partner Amy during Covid. What started as a side project turned into a full-blown business, and while it’s taken resilience to weather some storms, we’ve loved the ride, were stocked all over the country, and havebeen nominated for awards.

Why Gather?

I really wanted to do a job that makes a difference and Gather does just that. When I was considering stepping away from The Fermentation Station, I thought about going back into operations or hospitality, but I wanted to do something that benefits the people around me.

Because I ran a business and I’ve worked in operations I can see the challenges from both sides of the coin. Sometimes as a business owner you just want someone to check in with you and ask, ‘are you ok?’ because business might be good, but your work-life balance or team might be struggling. I want people to see me as a listening ear and always ready to connect them with support.

What types of businesses are you looking to connect with?

I’d love to hear from any businesses in the region but I’m really keen to connect with people beyond the usual city centre hubs. There are amazing businesses across the LCR that sometimes fly under the radar.

Only the other day I heard about an incredible start-up based at Daresbury Science Park who have built an autonomous robot that can find and fix potholes. People innovating to solve challenges and make the world better, that’s the kind of business that really excites me.

What challenges do you think the community is facing?

The region has a high rate of start-ups but a low rate of scale-ups. So there’s a vast eco-system of businesses in the 2-10 headcount range but a bit of a bottleneck to take that next step. Lots of founders find it a challenge to focus strategically on growth and running the business and I think the key is to nurture the emerging leaders in your team. Investing in people you can trust to take the reins on the day to day gives you the time to take a step back – putting your confidence in your leadership team is also vital to retaining talent.

That's why we've developed the Emerging Leaders programme, to help future leaders get the skills and confidence to reach their potential. Anyone who is interested canapply on the website here.

What do you think is the key to building community?

I actually think there are parallels between fermentation and community. For me community is all about getting the culture right, that’s the kickstarter for growth – just like the yeast in beer or bread. When you’ve got a culture of trust, mutual support, and collaboration that’s when the magic happens.

At Fermentation Station we did lots of collaborations with local businesses, often born from casual conversations, and we see that happen in the Gather community all the time. There are so many great people doing great things in the region and we love to see them thriving together.

What keeps you busy outside of work?

Lots of home fermentation, sourdough, and I brew my own beer and we do lots of hiking with our German Wirehaired Pointer Coco. I gifted Amy a hike a month last Christmas and we’ve done some great walks – Catbells was a favourite, the scramble at the top is worth it when you’re taking in the views with a square of Kendal Mint Cake.

Any good book or podcast recommendations?

I’m part of a book club and thought Shuggie Bain was incredible. It’s a heart-wrenching story that’s so well written, and it really struck me that there are still plenty of parallels with poverty and political divisions in society today.

I thought Please Read This Leaflet Carefully was really powerful too. Stylistically it’s interesting as it’s written from the present backwards and it deals with everything from endometriosis and sexuality to competitive figure skating. It’s quite sobering to read it from a privileged male health perspective.

Podcast wise I love The Newsagents and the Blues and Soul Show is my go to for new music.

How can people connect with you or join the Gather community?

My emails are always open. Just drop me a line at: [email protected] or why not connect in with me on LinkedIn here and we can grab a coffee.