Thanks to our F100 Growth Fund in partnership with Sky, eleven Black-owned businesses received funding in 2023. We asked some of our 2023 success stories to share their journey of their businesses and how they found the F100 Growth Fund experience.
Read Serge from Esarzee’s story.
1. What is your name and background?
My name is Serge Rashidi – Zakuani. I was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and came to the UK as a child. I grew up in Tottenham and spent most of my upbringing in North London. I played football and began writing poems which eventually morphed into lyrics as I fell in love with creative self-expression. I dropped out of university in my second year as I was more interested in starting my own business. I started a business called ‘Stepping Stonez’ which was a creative production company that aimed to work with young people, telling their stories around issues that matter to them. In hindsight, I wasn’t ready. While the shows we put on were moderately successful, it wasn’t enough to make the business sustainable. I had to get a job to support me and the business. I landed at Sky and that led to everything else.
2. Tell us about your business and how you started it. Have you always wanted to become a business owner? Where did the idea for your business come from?
I now run a creative strategy agency. We support decision makers in cultivating forward thinking cultures within their organisations. We do this by providing facilitation, design and video production services. It’s my belief that with the right framework, with the right questions, any problem can be solved and any time can go from surviving to thriving. The idea for the business came from the realisation that I am good at a few things, telling stories and helping others solve their challenges by asking the right questions as a coach. During my time at Sky, I served as an innovation coach and I learned how to facilitate rooms where c-suit level execs were seeking answers to challenges facing the business. I was also making my own independent films in my spare time and learning how to tell better stories. I knew I wanted to implement the skills I was building into a business but I wasn’t ‘ready’ to launch out on my own. At the start of 2023, I incorporated my business ‘Esarzee Ltd’ with company’s house and gave myself 18 months to put things in place so I could leave my day job and go full time on my business. In April of 2023, my entire team were made redundant and were given a 2-month notice. I guess 18 months had turned into two months to get ready. On the one hand, I still didn’t feel ready but on the other, I was walking away with money, having been at the same workplace for over 10 years. It was time to really set myself up for success. I used the remaining two months I had in the business to network and offer my future services.
3. How did you come across BEO’s F100 Growth Fund programme?
I first heard about the BEO F100 Growth Fund programme while still working at Sky and doing additional independent work where and when I could. So, I actually filmed the first cohorts demo day video. I was inspired by all the pitches I heard that day and maybe subconsciously, witnessing this, it also pushed me to register my own business the following January. As luck would have it, as I was preparing to leave Sky, the applications for the new cohort of the F100 were being taken. I initially didn’t go for it as I wrongly assumed my business was too new but once I went on the site and saw the criteria, I saw that I met the criteria and was also encouraged to apply by Sky colleagues who support the programme.
4. What made you want to apply for it?
I wanted my business to have the best start, I knew that if my business had an association with the BEO then it would give me a level of credibility that would otherwise take me a long time to build on my own.
5. What have been the key benefits of joining the F100 Growth Fund (this can be the financial benefits, personal development or other benefits like access to supply chains/networks/investors)
The key benefits for me were meeting other founders and hearing about their journeys and seeing how they went about reaching their milestones. This was inspiring. I enjoyed all the sessions offered but some of them were just incredible, for example, we had sessions dealing with the mental health of founders. I was thrilled to be awarded some funding and this has been super helpful to the growth of my business as well as working within the Sky eco-system as a supplier. I continue to receive work from Sky even as I expand my services to other businesses. I enjoyed being given the task of setting up clear milestones that I then had to demonstrate I had reached, this really helped me take the necessary action. I believe I grew as a person as well. Demo day is an exciting part of the process which helped me clarify my value proposition and my go to market approach. All in all, it was a brilliant experience.
6. What would be your top tip for any business owners out there looking to apply to our next cohort of our F100 Growth Fund programme?
My top tip would be ‘have clarity on your value proposition’. What is the need your business will meet for its customers? If possible, do some customer research and even better than this, obtain a sale. These things will validate your business. If you are hesitant about applying, don’t be, this is a value exchange, the programme will give you a lot of value when you are a part of it but never forget that you bring tremendous value too. Come and share your value while you benefit from the value that will be provided to you.
