A major highlight was the launch of our two new business grants for companies on Anglesey:
Together with out upcoming Level Up grant, these represent over £110,000 in new funding for Anglesey based busineses. This is just one part of our long-term commitment to helping local businesses innovate, grow, and remove the obstacles that can slow good ideas down.
We also announced the launch of the Skills Academy. If you are looking to employ and mentor an Academy member, your business could benefit from a new employee who will be fully paid by M-SParc for 6 months. To register your interest, fill in our form here.
The day opened with a welcome from our board member Nia Roberts, who set the tone by underlining the importance of protecting and commercialising new ideas. We were then joined by author and broadcaster Barbara Want, who led a session on The Power of Communication and chaired the first founder panel of the day — a conversation that was honest, energising, and full of useful takeaways.
We heard from Anna Roberts (SelfStorageBooker.com), Catrin Owen (Tropic), Leah Watkins (Dolen HR), and Andrea Knox (Knox Commercial & Insolvency Solicitors), who shared what they’ve learned from founding, growing, and adapting their businesses. As Andrea put it, “We’re all founders. We don’t want to be known as female founders.”
As well as being fantastic speakers who are experts in their field, all those who contributed to the event identified as female. This was actively orchestrated to spark conversation. We’ve all attended events with all-male speakers, particularly in the business and finance sectors, so we wanted to flip the narrative. Of course, all our events should feature diverse speakers that truly reflect the range of people who work in innovation, and this is something we’re continuously working on, but there’s no harm in purposely pushing the boundary of this to start what is an important conversation.
Lois Bevan Shaw, Business Support Manager, M-SParc
Across the day, panels and sessions tackled big questions and shared practical support. We looked at what’s available for startups in North Wales through organisations like Big Ideas Wales, Business Wales, Innovate UK, the Welsh Government’s Innovation team, and the Enterprise Hub. We explored innovation in health and care, how to bridge the regional skills gap, and the power of connecting academia with industry.
Founder journey talks from Lucy Bulley and Olaitan Olawande gave us two very different but equally inspiring perspectives on navigating growth, challenges, and opportunity in business.
The atmosphere throughout was informal but buzzing – with M-SParc-themed mocktails provided by Porthmadog’s The Baa Baa Bar, free professional headshots taken by our own Nia Jones, and time to connect over lunch and a BBQ in the evening sun.
With more than 20 women leading keynotes, panels, and discussions throughout the day, the gender balance stood in stark contrast to the typical male-dominated conference circuit. This wasn’t a ‘women’s event’ – it was an event shaped by the best voices available: founders, funders, innovators, and policy experts. The line-up was by design, a reflection of the exceptional women leading in their fields. As one attendee pointed out, the statistical odds of a conference of this scale featuring an all-female speaker list may be in the tens of millions – even more so when factoring in the seniority and specialism of those taking part. But as Emily Roberts, M-SParc’s Outreach & Community Manager, put it: “It would hardly be remarkable if every speaker here today were male — so why should it be when they’re all women?”
tom@m-sparc.com
Tom used to work at the KFC in his hometown of Colwyn Bay before it mysteriously burned down. He then spent several years “on the lam” in East Germany, where he worked as an animator in Berlin. When the wall fell, Tom came home.
He enjoys climbing and hates ice-skating.
