Our people
Juliet Hope
Chief Executive
T: 07918 680 011E: jhope@startupnow.org.uk
Juliet was responsible for setting up Startup as a pilot project under the Royal London Society. Juliet’s career had been in investment banking, working for NM Rothschild as a fund manager in Asian Equities based in Hong Kong, Japan and later in London’s Emerging Markets team. Juliet as CEO and Head of Governance has overall responsibility for the management and strategic development of Startup as well as developing sustainable income streams.
Mari Simpson
Mentor Director
T: 01730 818 337E: msimpson@startupnow.org.uk
Mari also joined Startup in its early days while still under the auspices of the Royal London Society. Her career had been in International Human Resource consulting for PricewaterhouseCoopers where she ran the International Assignment Policy team. Mari has the key role of developing and managing the Startup mentoring network to support new clients in setting up and running their businesses.
Christopher Hope
Business Director
T: 07918 680 011E: chope@startupnow.org.uk
Christopher has been involved with Startup since its inception. His career started as an engineer with Costain. He then was involved in corporate communications until he formed his own company which specialised in training, employee communications and multimedia consulting. He is responsible for a team of Business Advisers working with clients in prison and on their release.
Ellie Jones
Mentor Coordinator
T: 01730 818 337E: ejones@startupnow.org.uk
Ellie joined Startup in January 2008 as a client coordinator and administrator. She previously coordinated the running of a small family building firm and gained valuable experience in the setting up of a new business and the obstacles that must be overcome. In September 2010 Ellie changed jobs within Startup and is now supporting Mari to grow and consolidate the mentoring network.
Gill Ryan
Client Administrator
T: 01844 279005
E: gryan@startupnow.org.uk
Gill joined Startup in September 2010 as the Client Administrator based in the Oxford office. She has spent many years in a sales environment and has vast experience supporting clients/customers on all levels. These roles have given Gill the valuable experience and skills to provide a strong administrative support for the Startup team.
Gill is the point of contact for both current and prospective clients.
Business Advisers
We have Business Advisers based in Derby, covering the Midlands and North, and in the South East covering the Woman’s Estates.
Startup is fortunate to also have wide range of experienced pro bono business advisers from a variety of backgrounds. They offer their expertise to individual clients when needed.
Startup holds an Approval Committee on a regular basis to assess business proposals from potential clients. The attached business plan template is used in initial assessment by Startup Business Advisers.
Anyone interested in putting forward their business idea can send this completed form to Gill Ryan or contact her directly on 01844 279005 or email gryan@startupnow.org.uk.