Former BBC Dragon announced as a keynote speaker at South West Business Expo

With the South West Business Expo just around the corner, the organisers at South West Business Connections have announced details of the keynote speakers for UK’s 2nd largest business show, taking place at Westpoint Arena on Wednesday 20 November. 

Though the list of key figures is diverse, all speakers have one thing in common: they’re all intimately aware of the great potential in the south west’s business community. 

Headlining the Expo in the Taurus Keynote Theatre will be Former BBCTV Dragons’ Den ‘Dragon’, Rachel Elnaugh, the British entrepreneur who created the £multi-million market leading ‘Red Letter Days’ experience brand at the age of 24 which grew from nothing, on a shoestring budget, into a £multi-million turnover household name, which at its height was making £1million profit a year.  In 2000 Red Letter Days was acknowledged by Mintel to be the creator of the new UK experiences industry – by then worth £250million per annum. Rachel is now a business speaker, published author and award winning business mentor and is CEO of the digital publishing and marketing platform for evolutionaries www.source.tv

Rachel, also an accomplished author, wrote her first book ‘Business Nightmares‘ as the collection of stories about 20 successful entrepreneurs who hit problems on their journey, and it includes her own personal story with Red Letter Days. It has since become THE handbook for business survival for many struggling entrepreneurs.

She is now a professional speaker with experience of of over three hundred events including Harvard University, TEDx, The Scottish Parliament, The Oxford Union Debating Society, The British Library, The National Library Singapore, the Opening of Global Entrepreneurship week in Holland (with Nick Clegg) and the Conservative Party Conference. She has been invited by many entrepreneurs to help them with their own business and has became a mentor to many, creating along the way a series of low cost training programmes and workshops designed to help entrepreneurs struggling to make their business work.

Her keynote address at the South West Business Expo is entitled “The Game Of Business And How To Play It”. It will share insights on how to get into ‘flow’ around your business. She says: “Millions have been inspired to go into business as a result of TV shows like Dragons’ Den yet the truth is most aspiring entrepreneurs end up struggling and frequently give up on their business dream.” Her talk will aim to encourage and inspire entrepreneurs to do otherwise.

Other key speakers will include John Attridge, founder of the BBX brand in the UK and Ireland which has progressed from a fledgling start up to a multi million operation with customers in 14 countries, Claire Smith Head of Business Development for Moneypenny, which handles customer communications for hundreds of thousands of clients across the UK and USA, Lucy Matthews, founder of Marvellous PR and author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller on Public Relations ‘A Marvellous Reputation’ and James White who brings over 20 years’ experience converting prospects into customers. 

Dave Barr, Managing Director of South West Business Connections said: “We’re really excited to be hosting such fantastic businesses and speakers at the Expo. That’s as well as also holding 25 seminars and masterclasses. From well-known industry figureheads to passionate people in the incredibly varied industries that the south west is home to, it’s important that we continue to champion their growth, with significant opportunities to expand industry across the region as well as the UK.”