Make Your Mark: What Happens When You Bring Art and Entrepreneurship Together?

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What happens when you take a room full of entrepreneurs out of the usual business networking environment and surround them with art, creativity and people sharing the reality of their journeys?

Ideas. Conversations. Connections. Inspiration.

And, as I discovered when I hosted MAKE YOUR MARK: The Art of Entrepreneurship, a rather special sense of camaraderie.

On 30 September, entrepreneurs from Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire and beyond joined me at Kaizen Fine Art in Bagshot for the first special in-person addition to our Enterprise Nation Small Business Local Meet-ups.

And this was deliberately not your usual business networking event.

From online community to real-world connection

I first became a volunteer Enterprise Nation Local Leader for Surrey in May 2020, helping bring local entrepreneurs together and connect them with support, knowledge and people who could make the journey a little easier.

In 2026, I was delighted to return with an expanded remit supporting Berkshire and Hampshire too.

Our monthly online meet-ups bring wellbeing and business discussion together, helping entrepreneurs navigate challenging times and position themselves to flourish.

But our community was increasingly asking us: “We’d love to meet in person too.”

I didn’t want simply to transfer conventional networking into a physical room. If people were stepping away from their businesses, I wanted to create an experience that might stimulate different conversations, perspectives and ideas.

Because I firmly believe the environment dictates performance.

And so, MAKE YOUR MARK was born.

What do artists and entrepreneurs have in common?

More than we might imagine. Both start with an idea. Both create something from nothing. We experiment. Adapt. Solve problems. Work with the resources available. We need resilience when things don’t work and confidence to do things differently. Ultimately, we’re all trying to make our mark.

Kaizen Fine Art founder James Thompson knows something about unexpected entrepreneurial journeys. He didn’t set out to become an art dealer. His first business was a bicycle shop and online store. An interest in art led James to experiment with exhibiting work in his bike shop. The exhibitions proved successful; an opportunity emerged, and one entrepreneurial journey evolved into another.

Today, Kaizen is built around supporting artists and developing genuine relationships between artists, collectors and people discovering art. A wonderful reminder that entrepreneurship is rarely a straight line. And that theme continued with another creative journey unfolding before us.

A front-row seat to a launch

Then there was Tatia Starkey.

Our Enterprise Nation guests had the privilege of a private preview of Tatia’s first solo exhibition, Invert, immediately ahead of its formal launch the following day.

Tatia, granddaughter of Beatles legend Ringo Starr and daughter of musician Zak Starkey, is a musician, performer and contemporary artist who began painting in 2023.

Her approach is anything but conventional. She uses her body as a paintbrush, bringing together paint, movement, music, emotion and instinct to create distinctive abstract work.

But what particularly resonated with me was that we weren’t simply talking about entrepreneurship while surrounded by art. We were watching it happen.

Here was a creator who had developed something personal and distinctive, found her own way of expressing it and reached that exhilarating and vulnerable, entrepreneurial moment when you put what you’ve created in front of an audience.

As one guest reflected: “Tatia, as an artist, has done what we as entrepreneurs do: poured her heart and soul into her enterprise, finding a way to unleash her creativity, talent and love for what she believes in.” Exactly!

Connection, conversation and camaraderie

Looking around the gallery, I was reminded why I continue to volunteer my time to the Enterprise Nation community. Entrepreneurship is exciting. It can be exhilarating. It can also be exhausting.

Never underestimate the power of connection in helping us feel less alone on that journey. That’s what sits at the heart of our Local Leader meet-ups: connection, conversation and camaraderie.

It’s not about collecting business cards. It’s about sharing experiences, listening to people’s journeys, exchanging ideas and building genuine relationships.

One guest captured it beautifully: “Hearing people’s journeys is so inspiring. It’s not always plain sailing, and overcoming challenges builds the resilience entrepreneurs need every day.”

Another summed up the evening: “What a great event, not your usual business networking event. How refreshing.”

Mission accomplished.

Want to feel the atmosphere? Watch the video and experience the art, conversations, connections and camaraderie that made MAKE YOUR MARK so special.

Watch the MAKE YOUR MARK event video on YouTube

Make your mark

My hope is that MAKE YOUR MARK is just the beginning.

We’ll continue our monthly online meet-ups, but I also hope to complement them with special in-person experiences across Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire, perhaps quarterly, creating the conditions for fresh thinking and new connections.

Because great things happen when a community comes together.

And if I could leave fellow entrepreneurs with something from this evening, it would be this: Keep going. Keep creating. Keep experimenting.

The entrepreneurial journey is rarely a straight line. Don’t be afraid to pivot when the path changes. Find your own way of expressing what you believe in. Have the confidence to be different and the courage to be authentic. Pour your heart into what you create and be brave enough to put it into the world. Surround yourself with people who understand the journey. People who encourage you, challenge you and remind you that you don’t have to do it alone.

We’re stronger together.

Perhaps my favourite feedback from the evening was also the shortest: “When’s the next one?”

Watch this space. And whatever you’re building… MAKE YOUR MARK.