Member Article

Manchester’s Finest Business Brains Celebrate Hello Work Birthday

Shindigger’s George Grant, Wakelet’s Jamil Khalil, OBI Property Ltd’s Will Lewis and Applied Futurist, Tom Cheesewright to share insights at Open House

hello Work, one of the UK’s first dedicated workplace platforms for start-ups, entrepreneurs and forward-thinking companies, is celebrating its First Birthday with a fun and informative Open House on Thursday 23rd April and guests can expect some first-class advice from some of the City’s brightest business brains.

Hello Work will open up its doors for an exciting tour of some of Manchester’s most innovative and exciting businesses. Taking place at Hello Work’s home in Old Granada Studios, Manchester - which offers drop-in desking, co-working and small studios - the Open House will welcome visitors from midday with a delicious complimentary lunch followed by a series of talks from high profile speakers including resident member, George Grant, co-founder of Manchester brewery, Shindigger.

George and his business partner Paul Delamare started out by selling their homebrew at student house parties, delivering them in the back of a beat-up hatchback. The beers proved so popular, the duo secured investment from a government fund and now sell to more than 60 stockists, including a string of top Manchester bars. They have some ambitious expansion plans in 2015.

Jamil Khalil, founder of visual content platform, Wakelet will be speaking alongside George to give advice on how to secure funding for growth and OBI Property Ltd’s Will Lewis and Applied Futurist at Book of the Future, Tom Cheesewright, will be part of a panel debate discussing the future of workspace working. Guests can also enjoy a tour of hello Work’s workspace facilities.

Hello Work’s Alex Hill said: “We’re very excited to have such high-profile and inspiring speakers coming along to share our celebration. I really don’t know where the last year has gone but we’ve certainly caused a stir in the start-up business community and traditional office sector in the North West and we see this as just the beginning of an exciting growth period. Hopefully providing visitors with an insight into the future of what is to come, this event is a chance for us to thank all our members, partners and everyone with an interest in our community for their support over the past twelve months.”

Hello Work has already helped over 300 Manchester-based businesses to collaborate in person, connect and work virtually with other members. Partners include Business Growth Hub, Manchester Entrepreneurs, The SME club and TiE UK North, who work collectively together to encourage and support members with mentoring and acceleration.

Success stories so far include Uber, myhelpster, Rormix, Jimbag and ShinDigger Brewing Company which have already expanded and established themselves within the city with hello Work’s help and support.

As well as complimentary food from BBC 2’s Great British Menu star Mary Ellen McTague and her Aumbry team, visitors will hear direct from members about how Hello Work has helped them on their journey to success. The tour will include a visit of the exclusive in-house film studios and a chance to take vinyl DJ classes with Modu Heart and hear undiscovered artists with Rormix.

“We really want people to come along to discover and explore this popular new way of working,” added Alex. It’s also a great opportunity for our smaller businesses to showcase their products and services and share what they love about workspace working.”

The event finishes in style when, from 7pm–9pm, visitors will be treated to live music from blues band, ‘Noon’, live art, more delicious food and a chance to network with fellow guests.

To register for this free event, visit: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hello-work-open-house-tickets-16296158248

For more information on Hello Work visit http://hellowork.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Laura Passam .