“The bank wants a personal guarantee.”
Talk it through with founders who have borrowed, raised and refinanced, and know which terms to push back on.
Steve Phillips raised $170m for Zappi
Helm · The private club for scale-up founders and CEOsYou're at the helm.You don't have to steer alone.
Meet founders who have raised, scaled and sold, and already faced the bank, the buyer and the bad hire.
Members include
Rob HamiltonThe Instant Group · 175 countries
Mark WhiteSEKO Logistics · President and COO
Steve PhillipsZappi · Raised $170m
Andrew SchofieldFinelight Group · 16 acquisitions
Dominic JosephCaptify · PE exit, 2021
Clare HarrisTalking Tables · King's Award
Stuart MilesPocket-lint · Sold in 2022
Tamara LittletonThe Social Element · Sold in 2025
Fiona Hudson-KellySmart Assessor · Bootstrapped exit
Spencer GoreEMJ · Queen's Award
Marie-Claire DwekCEO, Newmark Security · AIM-listed
Diane YoungCo-founder, The Drum
Tanith SellicksPure Table Top · B Corp
Robert GinsbergCEO, hib · 10-year member
Adam BlomerleyCEO, Quick Release
Alex CheatleTen Lifestyle Group · AIM-listed
Why founders need a peer network. Your next problem has already been solved. By someone in this room.
Founders a few years ahead of you have already met the bank, the buyer, the bad hire and the cash crunch. At Helm you sit down with them every month, and get answers no adviser, investor or employee can give you.
Swipe for more
“We have had an offer. Is it a good one?”
Hear from founders who have sold to trade buyers and private equity, and lived with the warranties afterwards.
Dominic Joseph sold a majority stake in Captify to private equity
“My best manager has just resigned.”
Founders who have hired, fired and rebuilt leadership teams at every stage know what to do on Monday morning.
Adam Blomerley leads Quick Release's 250+ engineering experts
“We are about to double in size. What breaks first?”
Learn from founders who have scaled past where you are now, and remember which systems and people cracked.
Rob Hamilton took The Instant Group to 175 countries
“Cash is tight this quarter.”
Founders who have steered through a squeeze help you choose what to protect, what to cut and who to call.
Profit or growth?“My co-founder and I no longer agree.”
Others have been there. They can help you find the conversation you need to have, before it breaks the business.
Co-founder conflict“Do I need a proper board?”
Founders who have built boards and hired chairs and non-execs know what good looks like, and what to avoid.
Building your first board“I have sold. Now what?”
Sit with founders who have sold and started again, invested, or now chair a Helm Forum.
Ready for life after exit?What a Forum gives you that nothing else can
Only a third of UK small business owners belong to a network of peers. YouGov for Start Up Loans
01
A peer board, on your side
Founders at your stage, facing the same calls, with a Chair who has built and sold a business. No shares, no fees and no agenda but yours.
02
Accountable to yourself
Say what you will get done. Next month, the room asks whether you did. It is the simplest way to hold yourself to your own plans.
03
Honest challenge, in confidence
Nobody in the room works for you, invests in you or sells to you, so they tell you what your team can't. Nothing leaves the room.
Forum, plus 180+ events a year. Your Forum every month. Then 180+ ways to meet the rest of the club.
Dinners, roundtables, guest dinners, retreats and Investment Day, in London, online and further afield. Two to three a week, and no need to come to them all. Choose yours.
Every monthYour Forum
Three hours with your Forum and its Chair, ten times a year. Fully confidential.
How Forum works
Each weekDinners and roundtables
Recent sessions: venture debt with Stephen Sacks, and US expansion with Daniel Glazer.
See recent events
Every quarterInvestment Day
Pitch, learn and network with investors, four times a year.
About Investment Day
Spring and autumnFounders' Retreats
Members only, with invited guest speakers. Menorca in the spring, Tuscany in the autumn.
Inside the Menorca retreatHow a Helm Forum works. Up to eight founders. One table.
Your Forum is a small group of founders at your stage, chaired by one who has built and sold a business. You meet ten times a year, and nothing leaves the room. Hear it from two of our Chairs and a member.
How Forum worksYour Forum: up to eight founders at your stage, chaired by one who has built and sold a business. Ten meetings a year. Nothing leaves the room.
Helm members: who's in the room. Sit down with people you couldn't just call.
They have raised, scaled, sold and started again. At Helm they pick up the phone, because they remember what it felt like.
400+Founders and CEOs
£21mAverage member turnover
23 yearsSince 2003, as The Supper Club
180+Events a year, plus your Forum
Swipe to meet more members
Read the profile Mark White
Former President and COO, SEKO Logistics
Helped build SEKO into a global logistics network.
Global logisticsRead the profile Rob Hamilton
Founder, The Instant Group. Forum Chair.
Built the world's largest marketplace for flexible workspace.
175 countriesRead the profile Steve Phillips
Founder, Zappi
AI insights platform used by 350+ global companies in 13 countries.
Raised $170m
Read the profile Andrew Schofield
Founder and CEO, Finelight Group
Three-time founder. 16 acquisitions across two PE-backed businesses.
16 acquisitions
Read the profile John Stapleton
Co-founder, New Covent Garden Soup Co.
Co-founded one of Britain's best-known food brands.
Household nameRead the profile Dominic Joseph
Co-founder, Captify
Built Captify into a global search intelligence business, then sold a majority stake to private equity.
PE exit, 2021
Read the profile Mark Robinson
Founder, Rocksteady Music School
Built Rocksteady into an FT 1000 company, then brought in Vespa Capital in 2024.
FT 1000
Read the profile Clare Harris
Founder, Talking Tables
Built a King's Award-winning B Corp party-ware brand.
King's Award, 2023Helm Forum Chairs. Every Forum is led by a founder who has done it.
A few of our Chairs. All have built and sold businesses. They run the room, keep it honest and bring what they learned the hard way. How Forum works
Swipe to meet the Chairs
Forum ChairRob Hamilton
Founded The Instant Group, sold to private equity. Now an angel investor in Grubby, Frameworks and Revvies.
More about Rob
Forum ChairDavid Lester
A serial founder who has built and sold businesses, and now chairs a Helm Forum.
More about David
Forum ChairStuart Miles
Founded Pocket-lint, sold in 2022, and then Squirrel. Now a strategic adviser and board member.
More about Stuart
Forum ChairMark Colquhoun
Founded Solar Communications, sold to private equity. Now an angel investor and adviser to scaling businesses.
More about Mark
Forum ChairStephen Sacks
Founded muubaa, sold to management. Now an angel investor and founder of Funding Nav.
More about Stephen“It's really rewarding to see many of the things I've learnt running my own businesses helping others.”
Stuart MilesForum Chair, founder of Pocket-lintHelm guest dinners. Dinner with people you'd never get to ask.
Small rooms, real questions, Chatham House Rule. Members have sat down with the founders of Reebok and Vinted, Dyson's former CEO, a Dragon and a former First Sea Lord. Read what they shared.
- Theo PaphitisRetail entrepreneur and Dragons' Den investor
- Joe FosterCo-founder of Reebok
- Rory SutherlandVice Chairman, Ogilvy UK
- Justas JanauskasCo-founder of Vinted
- Ali ParsaFounder of Babylon Health
- Sir George ZambellasFormer First Sea Lord
- Martin Frost CBETook CMR Surgical global
- Ben PageCEO of Ipsos
- Martin McCourtFormer CEO of Dyson
- Nick ReadLed turnarounds at Nisa Retail and Post Office
Further from the office
Members-only retreats with invited guest speakers, a members' ski trip, and a quarterly Investment Day where member investors hear pitches from up to 10 businesses.
How Helm works: one membership, all of this included. Not one thing. Everything a founder needs.
Forum is the bedrock, but it's one part of the membership. Use what fits you, when it fits you.
- 01How Forum works
Forum
Six to eight founders at your stage, chaired by a founder who has built and sold a business. A second board, on your side, matched on stage, experience and personality.
- 02See events
Events and guest dinners
Dinners, roundtables, breakfasts and masterclasses in London and online, plus guest dinners with the founders of Reebok and Vinted and Dyson's former CEO.
- 03Inside a retreat
Retreats and trips
Time away with other founders: Founders' Retreats in Menorca and Tuscany, and the members' ski trip, with invited guest speakers.
- 04About Investment Day
Investment Day
Four times a year, member investors hear pitches from up to 10 businesses. Come to raise, to invest or to learn how others do it.
- 05Member benefits
Introductions and the member community
Put any question to a community of 400+ founders and CEOs, and we'll help you find the right person to talk to.
- 06Watch Founders' Brew
Expert sessions and Founders' Brew
Expert-led online sessions, a library of recorded talks to watch when you like, and filmed interviews with founders who have been there.
- 07See the perks
Founder perks
Savings on the workspaces, software and services you already pay for, from Runway East to HubSpot.
Where we meet
London
Helm's home on Great Portland Street, and dinners at places like Claridge's.
Online
The member community and expert-led digital events, wherever you are.
Retreats abroad
Founders' Retreats in Menorca and Tuscany, and the members' ski trip. Members only, with invited guest speakers.
Lisbon and Dubai
Coming very soon Be the first to hear when Helm opens in Lisbon and Dubai.
Not ready to join yet?
Get one founder guide a month.
Practical guides from Helm members and Chairs, on the decisions that keep founders up at night.
What Helm members say. Founders on Helm, in their own words.
Members on camera, and what others wrote in their Google reviews. Tap any video to hear it from them, with captions.
“I've attended dinners with some of the UK's most successful founders. The calibre is exceptional.”
“My Forum has been an invaluable source of support and guidance, improving both me and my business.”
“Helm has been transformative in helping me solve business challenges and connect with experienced founders.”
“Helm gives me access to impartial advice and a community of founders who genuinely want me to succeed.”
“Helm's events deliver valuable insights and takeaways, alongside genuine, lasting connections.”
“Time is a founder's most valuable asset, and Helm makes it time well spent. Every conversation is high-value, genuine and action-driven.”
“From scaling to exiting and beyond, nearly 20 years on, I still get incredible value from Helm.”
“Helm connects you with people who can genuinely help create life-changing value in your business.”
“Helm has been a game changer. The knowledge, support and camaraderie have been invaluable.”
“Helm's online and in-person sessions are consistently practical, relevant and thought-provoking.”
How to join Helm. Four steps. No hard sell.
- 1ApplyTwo minutes. Tell us about you and your business.
- 2Talk to usA 30-minute call with our team, to check Helm is right for you.
- 3Get approvedOur membership committee reviews every application, usually within 48 hours.
- 4Meet your ForumBook events straight away. We match you to your Forum within three months.
Helm FAQs. What founders ask us first
Something else on your mind? Talk to our team
What is Helm?
Helm is a private club for founders and CEOs of scale-up businesses. It started in 2003 as The Supper Club. Members join a chaired peer Forum, choose from 180+ events a year on top of Forum and join a community of 400+ founders. There is a strict no-sales rule.
Why do founders join a peer group like Helm?
Because the hardest calls have no one inside the business to share them with. A Helm Forum is a peer board: founders at your stage facing the same calls, chaired by a founder who has built and sold a business. They have no stake and no agenda but yours, they challenge you honestly, and each month they ask whether you did what you said you would. Why a peer network matters
Who can join Helm?
Founders and CEOs of businesses with £3m+ revenue. Every sector is welcome. Every application is reviewed. Advisers and service providers cannot join. What size of business do members run?
How much does Helm membership cost?
Membership is a small monthly business cost that should pay back many times over. It includes your Forum, Helm's events and the member community. We'll talk you through the options on a short call. Start your application
What happens in a Helm Forum?
A Forum is six to eight founders at a similar stage, chaired by a founder who has built and sold a business. It meets ten times a year for about three hours. Members bring real challenges and opportunities, from hiring and fundraising to selling the business, and leave clearer on what to do next. What a typical session looks like
What perks do Helm members get?
Members get discounts and credits from partners including Runway East, HubSpot, Notion, Miro, Gamma, Zendesk, Orega and Xero, plus offers at The Chesterfield Mayfair and Smith & Wollensky. See every member perk
How is Helm different from Hampton?
Hampton is a US-led network for tech-first founders, with groups run by paid moderators. Every Helm Forum is chaired by a founder who has built and sold a business, and 180+ events a year are included. Our members run tech businesses like Zappi, Captify and Kyero, alongside consumer, services and industrial companies. Hampton vs Helm in full
How is Helm different from Business Leader?
Business Leader is a growth programme built on Sir Richard Harpin's 9 Steps method, with CEO coaching and peer forums. Helm is a peer club: founders learn from founders who have been there, chaired by someone who has sold a business, with 180+ events a year on top of Forum included. Business Leader or a peer group?
Is what I say at Helm confidential?
Forum is fully confidential: nothing leaves the room. Other Helm events run under the Chatham House Rule, so you can use what you hear but never say who said it. Helm's no-sales rule has held since 2003. How confidentiality works at Helm
Can I cancel my Helm membership?
Yes. You can cancel any time, with one month's notice. The terms are set out in the membership agreement.
What was The Supper Club?
The Supper Club was Helm's original name. It was founded in 2003 as a place for founders to talk honestly over dinner without being sold to, and later became Helm. Read our story
YouThere's a seat at the table.
It's yours.
Join 400+ founders and CEOs who know exactly what this job feels like.