StartUp Disruptors - UK Startup & Entrepreneurial Business Community

09/05/2026

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard!

Esther Bongo, Tabasum Rozi

08/03/2026

Today is International Women’s Day.
Which means our feeds will be full of posts celebrating brilliant women. And that’s great. But if we’re honest, supporting women once a year with a purple graphic and a hashtag isn’t quite the revolution we’re hoping for.
Real support for women in business happens on the 364 other days.
The reality is still sobering: globally, women receive less than 2% of venture capital funding, often run smaller businesses, earn less for the same work, and carry a disproportionate share of caring responsibilities alongside building companies and careers.
So if we genuinely want to support women in business, here are a few simple ways to do it:
• Buy from women-owned businesses
• Pay women what they’re worth (no “exposure” deals please)
• Recommend and refer them when opportunities arise
• Promote their work and amplify their voices
• Invite women into opportunities — panels, projects, partnerships
• Support the messy middle of building a business
To the women building businesses, leading teams, launching side hustles and juggling a hundred responsibilities along the way — I see you.
So yes, celebrate today.
But the real work starts tomorrow when we decide who we hire, who we recommend, who we pay properly, and whose voices we amplify.
✨ Challenge: Tag a brilliant woman below whose work deserves more visibility — and share one of her posts this week to help bring her work to the forefront.
Because lifting women up shouldn’t be performative.
It should be how we do business.
🙋🏼💪🏻💃🏽💞💌✍️🎶

09/02/2026

🚀 Starting a business or side hustle from home? You don’t have to do it alone.

Building something of your own is exciting… but it can also feel lonely, confusing and overwhelming when you’re figuring it out by yourself.

That’s exactly why StartUp Disruptors exists. 💥

For just £19.99 per month (cancel anytime), our online coaching & mentoring community gives you:

✨ Real support, not just motivation

Coaching and mentoring from people who get the startup journey

Practical guidance you can actually apply, not fluffy advice

🤝 A community that understands

Connect with others building businesses and side hustles from home

Share wins, ask questions, and get unstuck together

No judgement, no competition – just support

🧭 Clear signposting to help & resources

Know where to go for funding, marketing, tech, wellbeing and more

Save time, money and stress by being pointed in the right direction

🧠 Confidence & momentum

Stay accountable

Build belief in yourself and your idea

Keep going when self-doubt kicks in

💛 Because loneliness shouldn’t be part of the price of entrepreneurship.

If you’re:

✔️ Starting a business

✔️ Running a side hustle alongside work or family life

✔️ Working from home and craving connection

✔️ Tired of trying to Google everything alone
Then StartUp Disruptors is for you.

👉 Join today for £19.99pcm – cancel anytime
👉 Invest in you, your idea, and your future

Drop a 💬 below or click the link to join us.

Let’s disrupt the lonely startup journey — together. 🚀

https://www.startupdisruptors.co.uk/packages/get-started-package/

fans

Thinking Of Starting A Business Or Need More Support For Your Small Business?

31/12/2025

Hello 2026 ✨

New year. New energy. Same values.

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and hopeful year ahead 🥂

#2026

16/12/2025

What does the future of innovation and AI look like?

Thank you to James Pepper and Digital Edge Magazine for this feature about my work in innnovation and tech over the last decade starting the largest online SME community on the south coast of the UK at StartUp Disruptors™️ - Online Entrepreneurship Education and now highlighting our work on helping them by building the first personalised learning and leadership development platform to assist them to start and scale at Desk2Educate Ltd

Particular thanks goes to Sane Seven for her wonderful photograph as part of our work at Women in Data® with Roisin McCarthy Fiona Sweeney and Henrietta Sauleek and the amazing team that showcased my work as part of their 'Twenty in Data and Tech' awards in London at the 02 in March this year. To be recognised as an innovator and changemaker informing policy and also re-defining the start-up eco-system nationally has been a career highlight for me.

To Marionete for their sponsorship of this article, having never met me in person, that our story and mission reached out to their hearts and minds leaves me forever grateful that there are great people, in business and AI in the world that we have yet to meet, but who show quiet allyship to helping and supporting me on my journey is immense thank you to Angel and the team for this. It means more to me than you will ever know.

To my team - what a great gift we have in this Desk2Educate Ltd before Christmas! I could not publish this without Chris Mason Dan Lodge Blake GT Hopley and all of our sponsors and advocates at Desk2Educate who have helped us on the early stage journey so far; including the books and knowledge of Richard Blundell Chris Tottman Gary Vaynerchuk and the man who always helps us from NYC the brilliant connector James Orsini and The Sasha Group. Your mentoring during COVID helped to shape my mindset and offering for the community and continues to drive me to be a better human in order to help more women and neurodivergent people to start and scale-up and gain access to personalised education tailored to them through our tech for the first time.

To read more about my journey, please click on the PDF below.

Locally I would like to thank Lauren James Amy Lee Women in Tech Hampshire; Sarah Eggleston TechSolent Chris Cooper University of Portsmouth Ender Upton Zachary Wilson my nephew and Craig Woodage for their endless support and enthusiasm; also Amy Doyle sandie davis Spark Community Space on the days when I need a cuppa and a piece of cake to reinvigorate the 'little grey cells' as Poirot would call them.

Also one for Natalie Haigh Suki Fuller thank you for your friendship in this space as we know that women are often hard to find and your support means a great deal to me too.

Thank you Jonathan Thornton and Guy Robinson BA FCA for your sponsorship and support as well. Male allies in action!

Thank you for your support and have a great festive season.



Stephen Morgan MP
Caroline Dinenage MP
Amanda Martin MP
URBOND Community
SPARK Community Space
fans
Business Support - University of Portsmouth
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
Toucan-Diversity

Created with the Heyzine flipbook maker

12/10/2025

A SHOUT OUT!

To one of my favourite universities. Since 2015 when I started with my laptop in their Innovation Space; the University of Portsmouth has been very supportive. As one of my earliest sponsors and supporters alongside Uber when I was developing the concept of StartUp Disruptors™️ - Online Entrepreneurship Education; they helped with resources and support as well as student consultancy projects.

The result was that in 2020 we made Portsmouth the most entrepreneurial city in the U.K. beating London into second place. Source Yahoo Finance.

Building the eco-system was hard and we held meetings in pubs and at Uber’s Greenlight Hubs in Portsmouth and Southampton. Robert Newman when he was working at Basepoint Business Centres in Chichester helped us too by providing spaces for meet-ups alongside Mark Chivers who was manager at Basepoint in Gosport.

It has and will always been a team game. We have now helped mentor and coach over 10,000 startup founders across the Solent and U.K. region and are now developing Desk2Educate Ltd as a leadership development platform to help our SMEs to start and scale-up online so we will become the private sector one stop shop for all things startup community and learning with a focus on women and neurodivergent people and minorities.

Special thanks to all those marvellous people that helped me back in 2015 and those that are part of our amazing community still.

Here are some pictures of the ‘climb’ in dimly lit pubs and spaces; the thousands of hours and conversations and special thanks to Laura who at the very beginning helped keep me on track.

From a pull up banner in Richmond at the University of Portsmouth Business School to becoming Women in Data®’s ‘Twenty in Data and Tech’ and one of ComputerWeekly.com’s Top 100 UK Influential U.K. Tech Leaders; the power of persistence and hard work pays off over time.

Thank you also to Dame Caroline Dinenage MP DBE who was my MP when I lived in Gosport and first started up; and met with me in the early years to help and support me to live my dream; as a female founder; and Donna Jones for putting funding towards my early B2B events when she was leader of Portsmouth City Council I am very blessed to know so many amazing women and allies.

Thank you all ❤️😘

Dan Lodge
Chris Mason
Sue Mason
Lauren James
Amy Doyle
Amy Lee
Thierry Bridges
Paula Grundy
Debbie Newman BA (Hons)
Becky Miles
Dr Dom Page
Diego Vazquez-Brust
Dr Dom Page
Roisin McCarthy
Henrietta Sauleek
Fiona Sweeney
The Parliamentary Internet, Communications and Technology Forum (PICTFOR)
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP DBE
Stephen Morgan MP
Fred Jones a special mention for your help and support at the very start when nobody else was a ‘believer’ 😍
Andy Mew happy times ❤️
Sue Tilley
Sarah Windrum much more to come!
Blake GT Hopley welcome ❤️



Read the full post here 👇🏻👇🏻

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/beckylodge_women-business-startup-activity-7383072245855965184-u21S?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAHKtjQBVSsLK5CK9TxNbgxc3nrqnbmYcVQ

A SHOUT OUT! To one of my favourite universities. Since 2015 when I started with my laptop in their Innovation Space; the University of Portsmouth has been very supportive. As one of my earliest sponsors and supporters alongside Uber when I was developing the concept of StartUp Disruptors™️ - On...

14/09/2025

THIS WEEK!

We are running an online workshop for those interested in how AI can benefit their SMEs.

Totally free of charge and with Rebecca Lodge and Chris Mason hosting this workshop, we will run through the basics (jargon free) of AI; and help you to better understand what you can and can’t use AI for.

We have just 3 tickets left for this. So please be quick and only book if you intend to attend (as we would like people to get access if they can, to help as many as possible).

Non-members welcome.

Don't be left in the dark ages - come join us to demystify AI and stay ahead of the curve!

11/08/2025

Thanks to Caroline Dinenage MP for sharing this! See you there! I look forward to support from all of our local politicians for this event too ❤️ irrespective of party we need to help all small businesses and SMEs

Don't be left in the dark ages - come join us to demystify AI and stay ahead of the curve!

28/07/2025

The Parliamentary Internet, Communications and Technology Forum (PICTFOR) minutes are now available online!

ICYMI I was speaking at the House of Commons recently at the kind invitation of Dame Caroline Dinenage MP DBE; Samantha Niblett MP and Ella Dunham and Kate Troiano

More here 👇🏻✅👇🏻

Samantha Niblett MP, PICTFOR Co-Chair, opened the event by acknowledging Dame Chi Onwurah MP, former Co-Chair of PICTFOR, for establishing the DEI rally as an annual tradition. She thanked those in attendance and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to again focus on critical issues of diversity in tech. She welcomed Dame Nia Griffith MP, the Minister of State for Wales and Minister of State for Equalities, as the event’s first keynote speaker.

Dame Nia Griffith MP, the Minister of State for Wales and Minister of State for Equalities, outlined the government’s current approach to tackling digital exclusion – emphasising February’s publication of the Digital Inclusion Action Plan. She stated that inclusion in digital skills, access to devices, and localised community support is vital for boosting economic opportunity and driving national productivity.

She warned of rising global hostility to LGBT+ rights and noted with concern the rollback of DEI initiatives in international businesses. She reaffirmed that DEI is not only ethically right but economically sound, citing the underrepresentation of those from lower socio-economic backgrounds in tech and the billions lost in productivity as a result. She closed by applauding PICTFOR’s continued work in embedding inclusion across the tech sector and encouraged attendees to remain advocates for equity and fairness in both policy and practice.

Becky Lodge, Founder of Desk2Educate, shared her life story and career journey from working-class Leicester roots to leading an AI-driven edtech firm. She addressed barriers facing women especially neurodivergent and working-class women, in accessing funding, career paths, and social mobility in tech. She urged investment in overlooked talent, stating that economic growth and human dignity must go hand in hand.

Find out more about my involvement and Desk2Educate Ltd via our LinkedIn page.

We are changing the landscape with the support of Chris Mason Dan Lodge University of Portsmouth and Zachary Wilson Sue Tilley and Sarah Windrum MIRA Tech Park

Read the minutes in full from the PICTFOR HERE 🚀✅👇🏻

https://lnkd.in/ekhmyhba

Suki Fuller
Dr Vanessa Vallely OBE
Karen Blake
Ekua Cant (AI and Visibility for Adaptable Leaders)
Russ Shaw CBE
Louise Speaight
Rebecca Overend
James Kimble
Tegan Broomfield
Jasmine Sayyari
Tuğba Aydin

❤️❤️❤️

18/07/2025

Becky Lodge speaking at the PICTFOR DEI Rally at the House of Commons this week!