Portsmouth Business
Support Service
In partnership with:
Business Mentoring
Shaping Portsmouth can link you to a local Business professional to provide mentoring in the areas you need to help you succeed.
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our city, creating jobs and driving innovation. However, many entrepreneurs face challenges in starting and growing their businesses. A mentor can be a game-changer.
Did you know that businesses with mentors are three times more likely to experience high growth?
Small business owners who have a mentor are five times more likely to start a business, and these businesses are 20% more likely to thrive and grow in their first five years.
To find out more, please contact us.
See some of the business to have benefited from the scheme here.
Our Mentors
Below are just some of our mentors, currently supporting local businesses by sharing their expertise.
Interested in becoming a mentor? Find out more here.
Amanda Ansell
Carrington West
Amanda is an experienced marketing leader with a business to business and professional services background in SMEs. She has worked internationally for a range of companies, many small start ups where she works directly with business owners. In her current role she sits on the leadership team of a growing recruitment business as Marketing Director and mentors and coaches employees across the business.
Andy Sheppard
Eastleigh Borough Council
Andy is a passionate arts professional who has been managing marketing in the cultural sector for around 30 years, within both commercial and funded arts and cultural organisations across the South of England. She has headed up marketing at The Mary Rose Trust and the historically significant Phipps/Matcham, New Theatre Royal in Portsmouth, and is described by her peers as a bit of a ticketing & data geek!
Bev Collins
Frank HR Solutions
Bev is an experienced HR consultant and business owner with over 20 years of senior HR and people management experience. She supports businesses across a range of sectors with leadership, workplace culture, people strategy, and employee wellbeing. Passionate about helping others grow in confidence and reach their potential, Bev is particularly interested in supporting individuals through career development, business growth, and professional challenges.
Bill Sainsbury
Portsmouth City Council
Bill manages the marketing & communications for the Planning and Economic Growth teams at PCC. One of the council’s key priorities is to grow the local economy. Bill has developed a marketing plan to support Portsmouth’s businesses to start up, grow and thrive and attract inward investment. Current campaigns include Southsea Food Festival, Eat the Island, Christmas in Portsmouth, and Support Local.
Dan Carlin
Mountjoy LTD
Dan is a chartered accountant with experience of working in a number of sectors and growing business in a profitable and sustainable way. He is a chartered accountant and Director of Mountjoy, a Facilities Management and Construction company, and also a Trustee of two charities including Pompey in the Community.
Daniel O'Brien
Citrus Facilities Services
Daniel is the Managing Director of Citrus Services, a leading facilities management company specialising in cleaning, security, and specialist restoration. He has built and scaled multiple service-based businesses through his expertise in sales, marketing, and operational leadership. He is also passionate about mentoring other business owners, sharing his own real-world insights to help them achieve sustainable success.
Joe Taffurelli
Ovio
Joe is CEO of Ovio, with a career that’s taken him from government corridors to the chaos (sorry… the fun) of the private sector. Along the way, he’s picked up experience in just about everything, strategy, sales, HR, finance, ops, you name it, and loves using that mix to help people grow, develop, and thrive.
Jonathan Bird
Delivered Social
Jonathan is the founder and managing director of Delivered Social, a dynamic digital agency based in Portsmouth & Guildford. With a passion for helping businesses grow online, Jonathan has built a reputation for delivering innovative digital marketing strategies that drive results.
Kevin Briscoe
Briscoe PR
Kevin is a Chartered PR Practitioner and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) with more than 30 years’ experience in public relations, communications strategy and media relations. He works with business owners, directors and senior leadership teams who want their communications to be more than just activity – and instead become a clear driver of reputation, growth and long-term success.
Lisa Gibbs
Philip Gibbs Insurance Brokers
With her qualifications and experience in insurance, online retail and education businesses, Lisa brings a strong blend of academic knowledge and practical expertise across business management and leadership. As a mentor, Lisa can provide valuable guidance and structured support to help others achieve their goals and reach their business goals.
Michele Capel
Think Smart People
Michele is a senior Learning, Leadership and Organisational Development professional with extensive experience designing and delivering high-impact development programmes that strengthen leadership capability, improve performance, and support sustainable organisational growth. I’ve worked across complex environments including research, engineering, energy, and consultancy, helping organisations translate strategy into practical learning initiatives that enable people and teams to perform at their best.
Neil Hawkins
Future World 3D
Neil has spent all of his career either looking at or solving issues around the area of business development. He has a huge amount of business development experience that he can support people with. Running a business is tough but also very rewarding when you get it right.
Owain Thomas Little
NATS
Owain is a Senior Technical Designer working in air traffic management on some of the most complex airspace in the world. He thrives on challenge and finding better ways to connect people, systems, and ideas. He’s passionate about helping others grow and realise their potential, and believes the best results come from empowering people to bring their whole selves to work.
Paul Sims
Negotia Ltd
Paul is a 5x founder and commercial leader with international experience scaling sales, marketing and operations across technology, retail and service-based businesses. Driven by a commitment to support local entrepreneurs, Paul is a hands-on mentor sharing practical, real-world strategies that build sales capability and impact.
Robin Lander Brinkley
Maxwell Communications
Robin has 25 years experience in Marketing and Public Relations, 20 years of which have been running his own business, a Masters Degree in Marketing from the University of Portsmouth, and won professional awards including ‘Best Freelance Practitioner in the UK’ from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Salina Ali
University of Portsmouth
Salina has many years of broad accounting experience from large national and international organisations, starting her accounting career at IBM and continuing with organisations such as World Duty Free and Babcock. Currently she is teaching within the Business and Law School at the University of Portsmouth and has just completed two further qualifications, Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education and Fellowship of Higher Education Academy.
Samantha Russell
Practical Path AI
Sam is the founder of Practical Path AI and an AI Trainer and Consultant, helping small businesses, charities and purpose-led organisations use AI in practical, human-centred ways.
She has over 15 years’ experience across digital marketing, communications, training and technology adoption.
Sarah Roads
SLR Recruitment
Sarah is founder and director of SLR Recruitment. Driven, knowledgeable, and selfless, she inspires her team to strive for excellence in everything they do. With her entrepreneurial spirit and kind heart, Sarah leads by example, guiding her team to uphold the highest ethical standards with integrity and honesty.
Tim Rampton
Tim Rampton Coaching
Over 40 years in financial services and personal development, Tim has coached and led numerous teams and individuals to achieve success. Through his professional experiences, he has developed a real ability to discover what is of importance to his clients and then walk with them to ensure they succeed.
Yvonne Clay
Landsec - Gunwharf Quays
Following a successful career in retail, buying, product management and marketing, Yvonne started working in Portsmouth for Landsec, based at Gunwharf Quays, 9 years ago. Yvonne was instantly impressed by the energy and passion that the people of the city have to offer, and was keen to do all I could to see Portsmouth thrive.