Thrive started as a free business magazine and is now on a mission to enable female founders in Sussex to gain the knowledge, clarity, and community they need to grow a resilient, small business.
We’re delighted to work with Thrive to develop training programs and workshops and give our Enjoolata partners access to the tools to grow their impact.
Here, we chat with Clare Griffiths, founder of Thrive, about the vision and values of the business.
Clare is a woman on a mission. If you’re a business in Brighton, you’ll no doubt know her from the incredible work she does to support entrepreneurship and innovation both in her day job at Brighton University and through the work she does at Thrive.
She shows up for our interview full of energy with a passion for business that radiates. We dive straight in to discover the why that drives her.
“I was dissatisfied with the lack of diverse female voices and relatable content available for women running small businesses. Thrive started as a magazine focusing on featuring interviews and case studies of female founders, freelancers, and changemakers, aiming to spotlight their achievements and foster a conversation around female entrepreneurship.
“While the magazine ran for a year due to financial constraints, the meetups we started continued and have been the cornerstone of Thrive since.”
We’ve supported Thrive to deliver many of their workshops, funding them to be able to bring in brilliant trainers and facilitators across a wide range of industries.
“Enjoolata has been flexible and accommodating, understanding the time constraints of change-makers. Their funding enabled me to conduct training workshops, international meetups, podcasts featuring female founders, and deliver group training sessions for specific beneficiary groups, including those affected by domestic violence.” Clare tells us.
Thrive focuses on filling a gap in the business community, providing training and development opportunities for solopreneurs and small teams, which is often overlooked by other training programs.
“Peer support is equally vital, and I weave elements of it into all initiatives, believing in the power of peers supporting each other.” At the heart of Thrive is an engaged and supportive community.
We ask Clare about the impact our support has had on the work she’s doing and the wider business community in Sussex.
“Enjoolata’s funding facilitated online workshops, expanding Thrive’s reach beyond Brighton and Hove, reaching across Sussex and into other counties. Their support has amplified my voice and extended the outreach of Thrive.
“Enjoolata is an incredibly understanding funder. Their willingness to listen to partners and their receptiveness to suggestions for improvement have been exceptional.”
We’re looking forward to working with Thrive to develop more workshops aimed at our community as part of our commitment to support the growth of our partner’s impact through skills development.
You can learn more about Clare and get involved in the Thrive community here.
