Fractional Platform & Community Lead
I run the platform function for funds that need extra support.
Community, events, founder programming and fundraising support. Nine years doing this across a 6,000-member founder and investor community, an FT-recognised accelerator, and a 700-person Demo Day. Available 1 to 3 days a week.
WORKED WITHAtomico · LocalGlobe · Zinc VC · Colorintech · Rare Founders
TEDx Speaker
Summary
- Co-founded Rare Founders. Grew it from zero to 6,000 founders and investors, with a 20,000-person wider ecosystem.
- Built the Colorintech accelerator from scratch. Led 6 cohorts. Programme impact recognised by the Financial Times.
- Delivered a 700-person Demo Day and conference in four months, including investor access, pitches, sponsorship and partnerships.
- Closed 5-figure sponsorship and built the commercial model around events.
- Worked directly with Atomico, LocalGlobe and Zinc VC, and with hundreds of other investors across the ecosystem.
- Founders from my communities and programmes have raised an estimated £5M to £10M in early-stage capital.
- Coached hundreds of founders 1:1 on pitching, communication and performing under pressure.
- CIPD Level 7 in Adult Learning & Development, ILM-trained, accredited coach and hypnotherapist, and a TEDx speaker.
Previous Clients & Partners
Atomico
VC
LocalGlobe
VC
Zinc VC
VC
Colorintech
Accelerator
Meta
Partner
Google
Sponsor
Nike
Client
Nando's
Client
Queen's Commonwealth Trust
Client
Flanders Investment & Trade
Sponsor
Black Tech Fest
Speaker
TEDx
Speaker
What I Can Own
Within a platform role's normal functions, these are the ones I'm excellent at.
Community
Founder networks, member onboarding, engagement journeys, peer groups, rituals and formats that drive repeat participation.
Events
Demo Days, summits, dinners, offsites and founder gatherings. Concept, speakers, production, sponsorship, hosting.
Fundraising support
Pitch coaching, narrative work and investor readiness for portfolio founders. Investor access through events and networks.
Portfolio services
Founder-facing support built to scale. Mentor and expert networks, playbooks, resource guides, workshops and 1:1 coaching delivered as a service to the portfolio.
Most funds hire platform to scale founder support past what partners can do 1:1, and to have something to point to when they're competing for a deal. That's the job I'm built for.
Track Record
£5M–10M
Estimated capital raised by founders from my communities and programmes
Estimate
6,000+
Founders and investors in a community I built from zero as co-founder
Rare Founders
20,000+
Wider ecosystem, grown organically
Rare Founders
700+
Attendees at a Demo Day and conference I delivered in four months
Rare Founders
Hundreds
Investors engaged directly, including Atomico, LocalGlobe and Zinc VC
Nine years
Hundreds
Founders coached 1:1 and through programmes
Nine years
6
Cohorts led across accelerators, a trade mission and traction programmes
Colorintech
FT-recognised
Accelerator built from scratch for underrepresented founders
Colorintech
5-figure
Sponsorship closed from Flanders Investment & Trade
Rare Founders
Hundreds
Workshops delivered on leadership, communication and applied learning
Meta · Google · Nike · Nando's
4
Ventures co-founded since 2018
Self-employed
Experience
Rare Founders event on LinkedIn: 295 reactions, 73 comments, 6 reposts
Rare Founders
Co-founder · 2018 to present
- Built a founder and investor community from zero to 6,000 members and a 20,000-person ecosystem, almost entirely by word of mouth.
- Delivered a 700-person Demo Day and conference in four months. Founder pitches, investor access, content, sponsorship and partnerships.
- Closed 5-figure sponsorship and built the commercial model around events.
- Designed the onboarding, formats and rituals that turn one-time attendees into people who come back and bring others.
- Events and founder network regularly reach thousands of people across the London ecosystem.
Community6,000+ members
Ecosystem20,000+
Flagship event700+ attendees
Sponsorship5-figure closed
Colorintech
Startup & VC Lead · 2 years 9 months
- Built an accelerator from scratch for underrepresented founders and led 6 cohorts across accelerator, trade mission and traction programmes.
- Ran a trade mission to Singapore plus dozens of events and ecosystem experiences.
- Built and managed relationships with VCs, corporate partners, mentors and investors, and connected founders into them.
- Delivered the core content on fundraising, storytelling and leadership while running the participant journey end to end.
- Programme impact recognised in the Financial Times.
Cohorts6 across programmes
BuiltAccelerator, from zero
RecognitionFinancial Times
ReachUK, Europe and Singapore
Future Foundations
Learning & Development Coach and Facilitator · 8+ years
- Delivered hundreds of in-person workshops on communication, leadership and applied learning.
- Worked mainly with schools, colleges and youth organisations, delivering to teachers, youth workers and students.
- Built facilitator guides and session plans so other facilitators could deliver the same quality consistently.
- Used participant feedback and outcome data to improve each successive cohort.
WorkshopsHundreds delivered
SectorSchools, colleges, youth orgs
FormatIn person
AudiencesTeachers, youth workers, students
introstars
Fractional Community Success Manager · Oct 2025 to Jan 2026
- Designed and hosted webinars that activated members around networking and opportunity sharing.
- Built onboarding, email and engagement journeys to lift activation and retention.
- Wrote the community playbooks and repeatable systems the team still runs on.
- Analysed member feedback and engagement data to inform product direction.
ModelFractional, part-time
FocusCommunity success
BuiltOnboarding, playbooks
Approach
Audiences into participants. Participants into advocates. Advocates into growth.
Every community and programme I've built runs on the same loop. The work is designing the shifts that turn passive attendees into people who feel ownership, and then into people who bring others in.
That's why the communities I've built kept growing after the initial push, and why word of mouth did most of the work at Rare Founders.
References
"Seven's people-centred approach in curating experiences for founders, from a deeply discerning place, created joy, strategy, and long-standing relationships. I had the pleasure of being a founder in accelerators that Seven led. He was an asset to the flourishing of my community and created beautiful collaboration in the UK startup ecosystem."Oyinkansola Adebayo · Founder · Colorintech accelerator alum
"Seven is one of the very few people I know who has an unrivalled dedication and passion towards supporting underrepresented founders to achieve their goals. Whatever he works on, he has an ability to fully understand the key points and go deeper on them, for panellists or for entrepreneurs."Catherine Park · Community & Events Lead
"Seven has a wonderful way of bringing out the most of people with his open, curious interview style. It always feels like a conversation, rather than an interview or a performance. Seven is a natural host."Remy Blumenfeld · Coach & Exited Founder
"Seven is a great speaker and is able to captivate his listeners with ease. I personally learnt a great deal on how to nurture and develop connections through his actionable insights."Malick Abdullah · Founder, The Thought Base
How We Can Work
Fractional
1 to 3 days a week
Embedded as your platform, community or L&D lead. Ongoing, so the systems get built properly rather than patched.
Project
Fixed scope and timeline
Stand up an accelerator, deliver a flagship event, launch a community, build a cohort programme. Start to finish.
Sprint
Two to six weeks
Redesign a founder journey, fix a programme that isn't landing, or host and facilitate a moment that matters.
Credentials
QualificationCIPD Level 7, Adult Learning & Development
QualificationILM-trained, leadership and management
AccreditationHypnotherapist and NLP Master Practitioner, British Institute of Hypnotherapy
SpeakingTEDx speaker, host and MC
FounderFour ventures co-founded since 2018
BasedLondon. UK, Europe and remote