Twelve months ago, we started with a single, driving question to business leaders: “What are you doing to develop your future business leaders and successors?”
The answers we received were polarising.
Business leaders with clear strategies became contributors to our solution, those with no plan became our first pilot group.
Then we went deeper;
- Do they prefer face to face or live online delivery?
- How much time did they have available?
- What considerations are given to the cost?
- What content did they want to shape their future business leaders?
Themes such as the lack of time, the high cost of traditional programmes, the “fluff” of theoretical courses, and time away from work started to develop. We took this feedback along with listening to successful business leaders tell us what shaped their own success and built a response to a specific, underserved market, SME businesses.
A Year On: Proof in the Numbers
Reflecting on our first full year, the momentum has been humbling. We didn’t want to just launch another leadership ”course”, there are plenty of those already; we set to create a programme only for future SME business leaders that accelerates their development.
- Retention: Nearly 80% of our learners were still with us at the end of 2025.
- With a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 88, we are seeing engagement levels that rival global brands like Apple and exceed many traditional business schools.
- High-Frequency Engagement: We didn’t just provide content; we provided a community. Over the past year, we have hosted 23 workshops and collaboration sessions, ensuring that our learners are constantly applying new concepts in real-time.
- Momentum: We successfully ran two cohorts, launched eight core modules, and hosted two intensive SME leader interviews.
- Growth: Our internal team has grown to six people, and we have signed ten industry experts to lead our workshops, ensuring our “learn from those who have done it” rule remains ironclad.
Why We Started:
It’s seemingly a straightforward challenge, small and medium businesses need competent business leadership the most to scale, yet they are the least equipped to lose their best people to weeks of off-site training or rigid, “one-size-fits-all” corporate programmes.
We fundamentally believe that building a business leader isn’t a weekend event; it requires continuous, practical application compounded over time. However, we also recognise that for many owners, investing in long-term learning feels like a risk. There is a fear of “buying a box” of content that sits on a shelf or paying upfront for a course that doesn’t deliver immediate return.
To address this, we intentionally moved away from the traditional “one-off” certificate model toward a subscription to growth model. We deliberately installed a no-commitment monthly subscription (our learners can cancel with 30-days’ notice no extra costs), effectively lowering the barrier to entry and shifted the risk onto ourselves. It forced us to ensure that every single module delivers immediate ROI to the business. In doing so, we challenged ourselves to make every month count for our learners—if they don’t see the value in their day-to-day job, they are free to stop. The fact that 80% have stayed tells us this “accountability model” is working.
Looking Ahead to 2026: Addressing the UK SME Business Leadership Gap
As we look toward the rest of 2026, the landscape for UK SMEs remains challenging. Recent data from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) suggests that up to 82% of managers are “accidental managers”. Those promoted for technical skill rather than leadership ability—continue to be a significant drag on UK productivity. Furthermore, the Warwick Business School research confirms that poor management skills are the single greatest ceiling on SME growth.”
But for SMEs, if people end up running the business without the right capability it could spell disaster.
In response we continuously evolve our programme to provide SME business with a solution shaped directly by their input and have spent the last quarter preparing for what’s next:
- 11 New Modules: Distilled learning for maximum impact in minimum time.
- Scaling Human Connection: While we are “online,” our focus remains on live, high-engagement interaction. We are proving that you can scale learning without losing the intimacy of a peer-to-peer network.
We haven’t ”cracked it”, yet. The hardest battle in the SME world is always winning the battle for a leader’s time. But as we look at the cohorts moving into their second year, the evidence is clear: there was indeed a gap in the market, and we are filling it, one future business leader at a time.
Written by
Ben Pike
