You won't see it if you don't lean in

Hi {{first_name}},

For those of us at the coalface we all know that entrepreneurship isn't all sunshine and rainbows (although it can look like it on Instagram!)

Over the last few years, like you i’m sure, I've had to make some tough decisions. There are things I don’t mind admitting that I haven't got the foggiest about and moments where I've genuinely had no idea what the right call is.

But that's where community has been special for me. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say it's saved me, from near misses, wrong turns and sometimes just keeping me sane and grounded.

I'm actually writing this from a train heading to London to spend the evening with three of the most successful entrepreneurs I know. They've built household names that you’ll absolutely know, and they’ve made their marks.

We met through this community. Now we're friends. Real ones.

The kind where when I need to talk through something at 11pm on a Tuesday, they pick up. Because they've been where I am. They've made the tough calls. They've also had moments where they haven't got the foggiest and they don’t pretend to me that they’ve always had it all figured out.

I keep hearing about other people forming these relationships too, and knowing this community was the spark for them will never get old. Over and over we hear that connections that start at one of our events or through an awards programme, turn into the person you call when you're trying to figure out if you should take the investment, make the hire, or walk away from the deal.

So I keep coming back to this because I truly believe it. The more great people you know, the easier everything is. More options. More perspectives. More people who've been there and actually get it.

That's what we've been building here for well over a decade.

Would you believe it, we're 1/12th of the way through 2026 already?!

January 31st. A full month gone. The year is moving whether we're ready or not.

You might know us as the awards people. Or maybe you know me as the woman who launched a festival style conference in a field during a pandemic (mad, I know), but if you stick around with us long enough you’ll see that we’re so much more.

The events are the shiny bit, but they're not the most special bit.

The special bit is what happens when you lean in. The connections. The support. The founder who got their first major client through someone they met in our community. The entrepreneur who found their co-founder at Ideas Fest. The business leader who called someone from the awards cohort when they were struggling, and that person picked up.

We've been pouring our heart and soul into this for years. We've been lucky enough to see huge successes and household names that started in our community.

But honestly every story is special. Every journey matters. From the startup that just hit their first £100K to the founder who finally hired their first employee and the business leader who figured out how to scale without burning out.

It takes grit and courage to launch something and we’re about connecting and recognising all those that do.

So, before I dive into the detail of what we’re doing right now, please remember that not everything in this month's round-up will be right for you. But do keep following and keep reading….

We're uncovering opportunities for founders and business leaders every single day, and this newsletter is how I'll let you know about them. Sometimes it's an award, investment intro or a huge media opportunity, sometimes it's an adventure across India in a tuk-tuk (yes, really!) But sometimes, it's just the reminder that you're not alone in this.

If you're running a UK business that's under 3 years old, this is for you.

And if that's not you, I bet you know someone building something great in their early stages. Someone who's working ridiculous hours and pouring everything into their new venture, please, send them our way.

We've been celebrating entrepreneurs for 15+ years now, and we still get the same buzz spotting the household names of the future when they're just getting started.

So many founders have told us the award was the catalyst for their hockey stick growth, not because of the trophy (though those are nice), but because of the credibility, the visibility, the doors it opened, the other founders they met through us.

There's something powerful about being recognised early, so if you're under 3 years of trading, or you know someone who is, the link to enter is below.

Link to enter: https://startupawards.uk/

Ideas Fest has become our main community event, our festival for entrepreneurs and business leaders and its happening in September. 6,000 people.

Two epic days. The thing we're probably now best known for.

In case you missed earlier announcements, if you grab your Ideas Fest ticket before midnight tonight, you get something special.

Ideas Fest Encore in March 2026: A bonus one-day-and-evening event in March in London. Completely free for anyone who has an Ideas Fest ticket before midnight tonight.

Why? Because we don't want you to wait 8 months to meet the epic people who'll be at Ideas Fest in September.

Someone described Ideas Fest as "the most welcoming room of ambitious and successful people you'll ever enter." That's what you're getting a ticket to, and Encore is your chance to experience it earlier, build momentum, start those conversations now.

Plus, you'll get first access to our new online platform we're launching, the place for networking and connection between the face-to-face moments.

This is also free for Ideas Fest ticket holders and those locked in before February will be the first cohort to get access.

After midnight, we won't be able to add anyone to the Encore list or give platform early access.

This is not a marketing gimmick, it's just logistics. We're finalising the guest list and planning the experience.

So if you've been thinking about Ideas Fest, today's the day:

If you’re ready to confirm your place, you can do so here: https://ideasfest.uk/2026-tickets/

Not quite ready but want to stay in the loop? One click subscribe below.

In four weeks, I'll once again be doing something completely mad.

I'm taking 35 entrepreneurs from Chennai to Goa which is 1,200 kilometers across India. In tuk-tuks. We're driving them ourselves.

Not metaphorically driving. Actually driving. Vehicles that max out at 40km/h, navigating Indian traffic, breakdowns, wrong turns, and whatever else the road throws at us.

It's the second time we're running Ideas Extreme: India, and it's one of the best things we've ever done.

There's something about shared adventure; real challenge, real uncertainty, real moments where you're in a broken-down tuk-tuk on the side of a highway figuring it out together that creates friendships for life.

We're not stopping at India.

In November 2026, we're heading to Morocco for a rally-style adventure across mountains, kasbahs, dunes and desert pistes.

There will be enough support to keep it safe but enough challenge to make it feel earned.

If you're the kind of person who reads this and thinks "yes, that sounds exactly like something I need to do" , get your name on the waitlist below.

You can join the waitlist here: https://morocco-ideasextreme.scoreapp.com/

Someone described Ideas Fest recently as "the most welcoming room field of ambitious and successful people you'll ever enter."

That really means something to me because they weren’t saying it was the most exclusive, nor the most elite, but the most welcoming.

That's what we've been building. A space where someone on day one of their journey can talk to someone who's exited for eight figures, and both feel like they belong and where success doesn't mean you've outgrown us but rather it means you have more to give back.

We've got 100,000 people in this community now. We process thousands of awards applications every year and we’re bringing 6,000 people together at Ideas Fest. Those numbers matter because yes they represent scale, but more importantly, they represent stories. Connections. Late-night phone calls. Introductions that changed everything.

Whether you're pre-revenue or post-exit, whether you're entering your first award or you've been around since the beginning, whether you're coming to Morocco or just reading these emails:

You belong here. But you won't see the special bit if you don't lean in.

The shiny stuff like the stages, the awards ad the photos, that's all real. But the magic is in the DMs, the conversations at the bar after the event ends, the founder who introduces you to their investor, the business leader who makes time for a coffee because you asked.

That only happens when you lean in.

We’ve eleven more months left in 2026 and I have a feeling it's going to move fast.

This community, these connections, these opportunities, these people who pick up when you call, that’s what makes the chaos of building something not just survivable, but actually enjoyable.

Keep following. Keep reading. We're uncovering opportunities every day, and some of them are going to be exactly what you need, exactly when you need them.

See you in the community,

Frankie
Founder, Ideas Community
Let's connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frangbea/

P.S. Seriously, if you know a great business under 3 years old, send them the UK Startup Awards link. We love spotting the next big thing before anyone else does. Decades in, and that buzz never gets old.

P.P.S. And if nothing else this month resonates, that's okay. Don't disappear. The thing you need might be in next month's email.