Session 6 of the Create Growth programme was a timely reminder that while swimming in code and tech is fun, humans are necessary. The day was a game of two halves: the warm, fuzzy logic of collaboration and the cold, hard logic of grant funding.
The Human Approach: Know, Knit, Maintain
We kicked off with Briony Phillips. I was already a fan of Briony through her newsletter, The Bristol Bugle, which is basically the bible for entrepreneurship in the South West.
I’ll be honest—”networking” usually makes me cringe. It brings to mind warm wine and ruthlessly swapping business cards. But Briony’s session on The Power of Collaboration hit a different note. She framed it not as a transaction, but as an ecosystem.
She introduced a framework that really stuck with me: Know, Knit, Maintain.
- Know: Who is actually out there?
- Knit: How do you weave those connections together?
- Maintain: How do you keep it alive without it feeling like a chore?
It felt less about “what can I get?” and more about “how can I contribute?”. We talked about how a network isn’t just for leads; it provides capability (skills you don’t have), perspective (challenging your ideas), and resilience. It was a relief to view the local scene as a community giving everyone a leg up, rather than a zero-sum game.
The Money: Breaking the Code
After the warm fuzzies, Lucy and Aimee pivoted us to the sharp end of the business: Grant Funding.
I’ve applied for my fair share of grants for Octopus Immersive. Some I’ve won, some I’ve lost. The process often feels like academic writing, but with a hidden agenda I can’t quite crack.
This session was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me.
The Trap of the “Great Idea” I realized I’ve fallen into a classic trap numerous times. When I write a bid, I spend 80% of my word count trying to sell my “Great Idea” (the solution). It turns out, funders like Innovate UK care significantly less about the solution than I thought. They care about the Problem, the Team, and the Impact. The solution is just the bridge between them.
AI as a Grant Assistant We also got access to a brilliant guide on using ChatGPT to assist with applications – not to write them for you, but to stop you crying over them. This isnt new to me as such, I have found LLMs to be a great sounding board, within reason. However, what was presented really nailed down how to use LLMs to more usefully to research, reframe and workshop ideas.
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