Frustration with ageist attitudes and broken recruitment processes mean we channel our time and energy into those most affected (our members).
Helping members see their age as an asset; developing their confidence and giving them the skills to make changes (big or small) so they feel happier and more fulfilled is hugely rewarding.
Not having to answer to sponsors, advertisers or investors means we can openly challenge what's broken and speak with an integrity the neutrality of our non-profit status offers. Members are guided to resources, sites or contacts which will benefit them (not a profit margin).
Finally - we do it because we're great at it. Our work has impact. We've changed the lives of hundreds of people and we're committed to developing the evidence base for what works.
As respected representatives of the 45+ workforce, we gave evidence to the Older Worker Select Committee. Our intimate understanding of this demographic, meant we were able to challenge the narrative that older workers are lazy and 'on the golf course' and demonstrate that governments and organisations are failing to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by an ageing workforce.
We'd be nothing without the support of people who give up their time, expertise and skill without payment or salary. You can't buy passion, but your £30 a year donation really does help towards our costs.
"100% of our fees support charities, small businesses and our own community"
A successful track record of helping people build better futures
Focused on needs as we change and get older
A dynamic community of talented, well connected professionals
Innovative opportunities to enable longer working lives
Co Founder
Tech Lead.
Harris is a tech and product guy at heart - with 10 years experience across Financial Services and Property Industries - such as Fitch Ratings, Lloyds Commercial Bank, and CBRE. He is also Product Officer of an innovative health tech hearing company. His passion for helping people is what drew into the Brave Starts concept.
Co Founder
Editor and Comms
Anna Streule is our Editor and Comms guru! Relocated from Switzerland where she was editor of an online magazine. She brings a variety of experiences across management consulting, personal training, and teaching - the ultimate career changer! Her passion is supporting people like her who are looking for their next big change!
Co Founder
Strategy and Partnerships
Lucy is a psychologist and Vice Chair of the Association for Business Psychology. She was previously Global Head of Recruitment in the Investment Bank and Strategy Consulting sectors across JP Morgan and LEK consulting. Brave Starts is a result of people passionately joining together to try and help companies supporting their employees to work and age better.
Thought Leader
Program Director
Mike is a seasoned thought leader and program director in the area of longevity, retirement preparations, and inclusion and diversity. Mike worked at Aegon for 18 years, previously holding roles as Sustainability Officer and Group Internal Auditor. Prior to working for Aegon, Mike worked for PwC and Wells Fargo Bank.
Psychologist
Career Coach
Alan is one our career coaches. He started life as a civil engineer. He moved into business and strategy development roles with major construction sector organisations. He then gained an MSc in Organisational Psychology aged 59. He values research and evidence-based approaches and he loves helping people discover what they can do and then go-get it!
Communications
Marketing Expert
Experienced Communication Skills Coach training groups and individuals on range of topics including presentation skills, pitching skills, corporate reputation and helping people improve their personal impact in meetings. An empathetic and encouraging communication skills coach with a track record of excellent feedback
Ian has built strong investor and grant funding networks. He was recently Head of Access to funding at The Knowledge transfer Network helping innovative companies raise money via investors, grants or equity.
David is an award winning Chief People officer. He’s a huge advocate for ageing better and has won significant recognition for the fabulous work he does in this arena.
Michael brings his experience of being a Chief People Officer to the team. He’s got over 20 years experience at Senior HRD.
An award winning expert on all aspects of pensions and later life policy
Head of Savings & Retirement at .unner, cycler, golfer and tenor
We operate on a volunteer basis. No one earns a salary. Fees help to supporting our platform running costs, legal fees, and general company admin. We can't grow without your support. We recommend a £30 a year fee, but feel free to make an additional or one off donation
£30 a year is not enough income to offer volunteers the security of a salary but we do hope with your support and donations we can grow to a point where we can make some hires in the future. In the meantime, your support and donations contribute towards our running costs.
We'd rather try to keep fees to a minimum and help as many people as possible. As a non profit our goal is impact: we want to help as many as we can. Each person that joins us adds to the evidence base of what does or doesn't work.
Harris met Lucy at a dinner exploring the solutions to an ageing society. Their visions were aligned - Lucy the psychologist specialising in mid/later life career development and Harris the tech wizard who makes everything happen.
We're a registered Community Interest Company (basically we're too small to be a charity!) Our articles of association mean if we do generate profit in the future, it needs to go back into supporting and helping our members. Think of us as a professional body for people over 45 who want to love and enjoy their work.
It is a demographic not well served by society. According to the Centre for Ageing Better, People over 50 are the demographic least likely to receive career support. The Careers and Enterprise Company (which allocates government funding for careers support) only issues funds if beneficiaries are up to the age of 21. Every FTSE 100 organisation has a 'graduate' scheme, but there are not yet 'career changer' or later year entry schemes. Our members feel job centres don't speak to them as they are generally focused on helping people get off benefits. The professional middle class audience we serve are not fashionable or sexy. They are lost and forgotten yet they hold the keys to most of societies biggest problems.
We want to raise the standards of career guidance and support for people over 45. Standards currently are not guaranteed and much of what is available is not practical or lacks the evidence to prove it works. (For example, you can read our article on what you should look out for if you are considering hiring a career coach)
We truly know as people get older, they do get wiser and so many problems in our workforce can be addressed by embracing and recognising the value of our ageing population. We will have done our job when organisations invest in strategies we can prove work and when people aren't held back from opportunities they should be celebrated for achieving.
We are always looking for brave people who want to help people succeed in their life aspirations. If you can regularly commit a few hours a week, please send us an email to hello@bravestarts.com with your background (preferably LinkedIn) and why you would like to join our mission and team.
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