Cheshire East Council
My Support Hub
We are pleased to welcome you on to the Start-up and Early-stage Business Programme
Cohort - C3 - 2025
We will use this site as the main communication platform within our cohort and will provide regular updates and share information here.
The programme is delivered through a series of high impact group sessions and includes direct 1:1 mentoring and coaching with an expert business mentor.
Important Information
Please make a note of all the dates for our group sessions and block the time in your calendars. You will also receive a ZOOM invite for each session, with an additional link provided in the dates section.
Please note our participant charter which is a requirement for all cohort members.
Finally, key contacts for the administration and facilitation team are included for your information.
Programme Dates - Cohort C3 - 2025
| Session | Session Focus | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Entrepreneurial Mindset | 18th March | 09:30 – 12:30 |
| 2 | Developing your vision and SMART goals | 27th March | 09:30 – 12:30 |
| 3 | My role as a leader | 15th April | 09:30 – 12:30 |
| 4 | Confidence building and managing fear | 24th April | 09:30 – 12:30 |
| 5 | Self-discovery and self-awareness | 1st May | 09:30 – 12:30 |
| 6 | Review, Reflect, and Play Forward | 13th May | 09:30 – 12:30 |
Group Sessions
The above are the dates and times for each of our peer group sessions, which will be hosted via ZOOM. You will have a calendar invite for each session already, including a direct link to join the ZOOM meeting.
Each session will be in two parts. The first part will be an interactive masterclass based on the session theme. Following a short break, the second half will be a facilitated action-learning session. During the action learning sessions, you will be asked to bring a challenge to the group to work through.

Content will be available 48 hours before each session and all associated tools, guides and templates will be uploaded after the session.
Individual Sessions
Upon completion of session one, you may start booking your individual 1:1 sessions. As part of the programme, you each get 3 hours of 1:1 time. Please use the booking tool below to select a convenient slot for each session. You may choose either a 30 minute or 1-hour session. Please note that if you cancel or do not attend the session without giving a minimum of 72 hours prior notice, you will lose the allotted time.
Programme Material
Our Cohort Participant Charter
The programme brings together diverse cohorts of business leaders
so you can discuss your business challenges with your peers.
The strength of the programme derives from the breadth and depth of its participants and their collective commitment to support each other.
To
maximise the value of the experience for yourself and others the programme requires that each participant commit to:
- Attend every session, completing the full hours of action learning
- Respect the ground rules adopted by the group, and take note of the requirement for confidentiality
- Be respectful to the facilitator and other participants
- Focus exclusively on the sessions whilst they are in progress and refrain from undertaking work or checking emails in the background
- Speak openly, honestly and be prepared to be challenged
- Contribute within the action learning framework outlined by the facilitator
- Engage with the reflective nature of the action learning methodology completing the review notes after each session
- Take the action agreed during the session and share the learning with the group at the following session
- Complete all participant surveys as directed by your group facilitator or other programme representative
- Should they arise, flag conflicts of interest to the facilitator
Meet your facilitator
Mark Bayley-Smyth
Connect with Mark:
The programme is developed and facilitated by an expert adviser and mentor, with a proven business background in starting and scaling businesses. Mark Bayley-Smyth is founder and CEO of CIRCLE Leadership, a leadership development and business innovation consultancy. He has decades of international leadership and business scaling experience, latterly as Managing Director at Siemens UK.
He is a business mentor for the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator programme, and the UK Government's Help to Grow: Business programme. Mark developed the SME innovation programme for Manchester Metropolitan University and the multiple scale-up business programmes across the UK. Mark is Chairman of Brio Leisure, a leading leisure, health and wellbeing provider and sits as non-executive director on the boards of SME businesses in the professional services and manufacturing sectors.
Mark is passionate about helping leaders, teams and their businesses succeed and grow. Having spent many years running diverse businesses, he is only too familiar with the difficulties, challenges, frustrations and at times the sheer loneliness and isolation it can bring as a leader.
Meet your cohort
Matt Langford
People Plant Product
Simon Malpas
Made by Simon
Natalie Williams
Interior Instincts
Neil Wheatley
DBL Jump
Adam Slamani
Adam Slamani Group
Laura Glover
Laura Kay Fitness
The Programme Management and Facilitation Team
Jake Addison
Programme
Administration Support
Mark Bayley-Smyth
Programme Leader
Facilitator / Mentor
