The Cranfield Business Growth Club
The Cranfield Business Growth Club is designed for BGP participants who enjoy facilitated learning in peer groups. We provide a network of continuing support and mentoring which builds on the unique Cranfield approach to owner-managed businesses. The network consists of a number of regional groups, each chaired by a Facilitator who is also an experienced Counsellor on BGP.
Benefits of Club Membership
- Membership of a group of other ex-Cranfield participants that meets six or ten times a year according to format, typically for a half or full day
- In addition to every group meeting, each Member receives a one-to-one mentoring session with the Club group facilitator
- Members receive premium membership of the Cranfield Management Association – CMA, the alumni body of Cranfield School of Management. In addition to all the standard services of the CMA – career management, recruitment, speaker events specialist interest networks and reunions – premium members have unlimited access to the commercial databases of the online Cranfield Knowledge Interchange. Vist the Cranfield Knowledge Interchange website for more details
- Privileged access to Cranfield VentureDay – see www.ventureday.co.uk
- Privileged access to online details of current Cranfield School of Management master programmes for recruitment purposes
- Project opportunities for current Cranfield students, undertaken at no or minimal cost to your business
- Preferential rates at Cranfield Management Development Centre.
In addition to meetings in regional groups, members meet periodically at Cranfield or in London for focused workshops on topics of particular interest to fast-growth businesses. For an example, see here.
Eight groups with over 60 members are currently active in the South-East, Midlands, North and South-West.
To discuss joining, contact BGP Club Director Stephanie Hussels at stephanie.hussels@cranfield.ac.uk
"I am indebted to the Business Growth Club for supporting me throughout a torrid time where we lost a major customer which accounted for 40% of our business overnight, and needed to quickly reinvent ourselves and transform our marketing in order to survive. Two years later we are still here and massively stronger – with a far wider customer base and innovatively marketed offerings setting us apart from our rivals.
I would like to pay particular tribute to Mark Kelly – a real inspiration and an excellent host and facilitator for the Club meetings. Thank you, Mark.
The strength of the Club lies in the network of other SME Owner Directors. Their support, advice and criticism have helped me forge a stronger business model and face up to some key issues. It has also sustained the BGP experience far longer than if I had just attended the Cranfield cohort session, presented my Business Plan and left."
Guy Chatburn, MD, Send Marketing
"Attending BGP in 2008 proved to be a 'game changer' for Cirrus however it was clear that developing and presenting the business plan was one thing, actually implementing it in real life was another. The Business Growth Club forces you to focus on working on the business rather than in it, at least twice a month, in a very supportive and social environment. The mentoring during BGP is taken to another level, becoming much more personal and hands on. The support provided through your Club peers is fantastic - in effect you gain a group of like minded peers who take your business as seriously as you and who share similar trials and tribulations.
I can't recommend the Business Growth Clubs highly enough, they are the perfect follow on to BGP - the journey has only just begun!"
Daren Walli,- Managing Director, Cirrus Research plc