By Elly, Co-founder of Boost Talent and Trustee at Leeds Baby Bank

In September, we teamed up with ALT Legal to bring female founders and women in business together for a morning of movement, networking and fundraising at RYDE Leeds.

As both co-founder of Boost Talent and a trustee at Leeds Baby Bank, this event brought together two things that mean a lot to me: supporting women building businesses and giving back to our local community.

This was the second event in our series, and it was fantastic to see so many women make time before work to connect, share experiences and support a good cause.

A different way to start the working day

We gathered at RYDE Leeds for a group spin class before getting stuck into our usual working days.

RYDE is somewhere we already love visiting in our free time, so it felt like the perfect place to bring everyone together. There was plenty of energy, encouragement and an opportunity to do something for ourselves before turning our attention to everything else.

When you’re running a business, it can be difficult to make that time. Combining exercise with networking gave us a chance to step away from our desks and meet people in a relaxed setting.

Sharing an experience also made it easy to start conversations. We talked about our businesses, exchanged advice and discussed some of the challenges that come with leading and growing a team.

Raising money for Leeds Baby Bank

Through my role as a trustee at Leeds Baby Bank, supporting the charity is something I care deeply about.

I wanted this event to give our business community an opportunity to come together and contribute, while making connections of their own.

Seeing everyone show up with such enthusiasm made the morning particularly special. Thank you to everyone who attended, donated and helped us raise money for Leeds Baby Bank.

Making space for female founders and women in tech

One of the things I enjoyed most was seeing women from different businesses sharing their experiences so openly.

Running a business can sometimes feel isolating. You’re making decisions, supporting other people and working through challenges, often with little time to speak to someone who understands what that looks like.

That’s why I wanted to help create a space where female founders and women in business could connect, ask questions and learn from one another.

As co-founder of a technology recruitment business, I’m also passionate about supporting women in tech. At Boost Talent, we speak to people building their careers, leading teams and growing businesses every day. I want us to use those relationships to help women build networks and access support throughout their journeys.

Sometimes, a useful introduction or an honest conversation with someone facing a similar challenge can make a real difference.

Supporting the community around us

Working with ALT Legal and hosting the event at RYDE was a brilliant opportunity to bring local businesses together around a shared cause.

For me, supporting business growth goes hand in hand with supporting the community around it. That includes the venues we visit, the charities we champion and the people we help connect.

At Boost Talent, we commit 5% of our profits to initiatives that help close the regional digital divide. Alongside that commitment, events like this give us another way to support local charities and create opportunities for people to get involved.

I want giving back to be an ongoing part of how we work, and something our wider network can be part of too.

What’s next for our female founders events?

This was our second event in the series, and we’ll be hosting another soon.

The turnout and conversations have given us plenty of encouragement to keep going. I’m looking forward to creating more opportunities for women to take some time for themselves, meet new people and support good causes together.

A huge thank you to the team at ALT Legal, everyone at RYDE Leeds and all the women who joined us. You helped make it such a positive morning, and we raised over £450 for Leeds Baby Bank which will make such a difference to the charity.

Join us at a future event

If you’d like to attend, host a session or explore partnering with us, I’d love to hear from you.

Whether you’re a female founder, a woman working in tech or a local business keen to get involved, please get in touch.

Email me at elly@boosttalent.co.uk, and let’s keep building this community together.