• Swindon & Wiltshire Events
• Thursday August 20 2026

Founder to share ‘redundancy to millions’ success story

The founder of one of the UK’s largest background screening companies will take to the stage in Swindon this November to share the lessons she’s learnt from building a business from scratch into a multi-million-pound company.

Rachel Bedgood, who founded Complete Background Screening in 2005, has been announced as one of the guest speakers at the No BS Media Summit, taking place at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Swindon, in November.

The two-day event brings together journalists, business leaders and communications experts to help business owners understand how to tell stories that get noticed.

Rachel will speak about her business journey, from starting CBS at the age of 23 after being made redundant for the second time, to leading a company that now carries out more than one million background checks every year for more than 40,000 organisations across the UK.

Her session will focus on the realities of growing a business, building the right team and making decisions that allow a company to scale without losing sight of its values.

“I’ve never believed there is a single formula for building a successful business,” said Rachel.

“Every stage brings different challenges and opportunities, and I’ve learnt just as much from the difficult moments as the successes.

“When I started CBS, I could never have imagined where the business would be twenty years later. If sharing that journey helps another business owner make one better decision or gives them confidence to keep going, then it will be well worth standing on that stage.”

Rachel will join a line-up of journalists and speakers from across the UK and internationally, with the second day of the summit focusing on practical storytelling, media opportunities and business growth.

Fiona Scott, founder of Scott Media and organiser of the No BS Media Summit, said Rachel was an obvious choice.

“Rachel has built an exceptional business without ever losing sight of the people behind it. She’s honest about the highs and the lows, and that’s exactly what our delegates need to hear. There are so many lessons from her journey that apply to businesses of every size.”

The No BS Media Summit takes place on November 11 and 12 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Swindon. It is expected to bring together around 30 business owners for two days of practical sessions with journalists, speakers and PR professionals.