• Swindon & Wiltshire People
• Monday February 26 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Bristol business coach with dyslexia and ADHD joins panel at 10 Downing Street

A Bristol business coach was given the opportunity to share his experiences of dyslexia and ADHD in education and the workplace at the highest level when he was invited to a gathering of entrepreneurs at 10 Downing Street.

Andrew Sperring of ActionCOACH Bristol joined an exclusive gathering of small business leaders addressing key aspects of scaling a successful business in the UK.

The round-table discussion was hosted by the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, Gareth Davies MP, and the prime minister’s special adviser on business and investment, Franck Petitgas.

“With my own experience of dyslexia and ADHD, I highlighted the challenges within the education system and its one-size-fits-all approach. I didn’t feel like I really started learning until I left education to work and found my own way of learning,” said Andrew.

“Then going into business, I felt I was on my own to make it or fail, as most SME owners still feel now – it can be a lonely place.

“By making work accessible to people from all backgrounds, leaders and teams can leverage talent to succeed – and, by extension, fortify the UK economy.

“It was interesting to see what the panel and the group of entrepreneurs all had in common – passion and ambition to make a difference. I was surrounded by strong, resilient, hard-working people and felt I was definitely in the right room.”

Instrumental in Andrew’s invitation to join the panel was winning the UK’s No.1 Business Mentor for the Biggest Impact to SMEs at the National Mentoring Matters Awards 2023.

Andrew was joined at 10 Downing Street by Keisha Shah of Teddo Play, Holly Thallon Steenson of Viridian Nutrition, Mark Thompson of AceOn Group, and Daniel Woolfe from Enterprise Nation among others.

“It was a privilege to contribute to the vital conversation about nurturing SMEs, which constitute 99.2% of our business population,” said Andrew.

“As we step into 2024 with over 5.6 million private sector businesses, my commitment as a business coach is to ignite substantial progress and unlock the vast potential that awaits Britain’s entrepreneurial spirits.”