We know the value people in the 45+ demographic can offer. We enjoy supporting our members with evidence-based advice and workshops to help them develop the insights needed to reach clarity and find or create fulfilling work.
We exist to raise the bar. We teach members techniques to leapfrog ageist hurdles whilst also lobbying businesses and government to recognise the untapped value of an ageing workforce.
As a non-profit organisation, we don’t answer to advertisers or investors. We speak with integrity and guide members to resources, events and contacts which will most benefit them.
Our purpose is to reduce barriers to quality resources by not making profit our motive. We've changed the lives of hundreds of people, and we're committed to keep developing and improving.
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As respected representatives of the 45+ workforce we gave evidence to the Older Worker Select Committee. Our intimate understanding of this demographic meant we were able to challenge the narrative that older workers are lazy and 'on the golf course' and demonstrate that governments and organisations are failing to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by an ageing workforce.
This open letter outlines 4 calls to action which seek to address the root issues allowing ageism to flourish unchecked.
We ask for the UK government to investigate and instigate action on these main issues.
Read our letter by clicking on the image, and if you agree, sign your name and provide your email address.
We'd be nothing without the support of people who give up their time, expertise and skill without payment or salary. You can't buy passion, but your £30 a year donation really does help towards our costs.
"100% of our fees support charities, small businesses and our own community"
A successful track record of helping people build better futures
Focused on needs as we change and get older
A dynamic community of talented, well connected professionals
Innovative opportunities to enable longer working lives
Co Founder
Strategy and Partnerships
Lucy is a psychologist and Vice Chair of the Association for Business Psychology. She was previously Global Head of Recruitment in the Investment Bank and Strategy Consulting sectors across JP Morgan and LEK consulting. Brave Starts is a result of people passionately joining together to try and help companies supporting their employees to work and age better.
Experienced Recruiter
Career Coach
Katie Pope is a volunteer Career Coach with Brave Starts. She is an ICF accredited Professional Coach with over 17 years of experience in recruitment gained in the UK and Australia. After working for several leading international organisations such as KPMG and Korn Ferry, Katie left the corporate sector in 2020 to take her experience in a new direction and established her own career coaching business, Elevate Careers. Katie is passionate about coaching and mentoring 'mid-life' individuals for confidence in career transition and job search and is always happy to pass on her tips!
Workshop leader
Ambassador
Marcus is Group People Director at NAHL Group plc. Passionate about staff engagement and
development, he recently delivered Gold Standard Investors in People Awards for both divisions and
their inclusion in the Times 100 ‘Best Small Companies to Work For’. He’s built up a stellar career
working comfortably at board level but he’s never left his roots as am empathetic human being, keen to
make a difference to the HR profession. He’s a volunteer mentor and is personally very driven to
support people at the midlife stage of their careers. He’s personally supportive of the Brave Starts
mission.
Thought Leader
Program Director
Mike is a seasoned thought leader and program director in the area of longevity, retirement preparations, and inclusion and diversity. Mike worked at Aegon for 18 years, previously holding roles as Sustainability Officer and Group Internal Auditor. Prior to working for Aegon, Mike worked for PwC and Wells Fargo Bank.
Head of Product
Product
Nick’s background is in product growth and he moved to Madrid in 2004 to start up and lead the Spanish operation of a US tech services provider. More recently, he's focused his career on areas which make best use of his commercial and communication abilities, including product management and training. He volunteers at CodeYourFuture, a non-profit which teaches coding skills to those who wouldn't otherwise be able to secure tech roles, and is Vice-chair of a citizens’ rights group which promotes and supports the rights of EU-resident Brits.
Co Founder
Editor and Comms
Anna Streule is our Editor and Comms guru! Relocated from Switzerland where she was editor of an online magazine. She brings a variety of experiences across management consulting, personal training, and teaching - the ultimate career changer! Her passion is supporting people like her who are looking for their next big change!
Volunteer
Ambassador
Alison has over 30 years of expertise in international digital project and product development. Built from
foundations of consulting on client needs, and delivering technical solutions with multidisciplinary
teams, her career has been one of continuous learning and change. Since 2015, her focus shifted
towards organisational development and behaviour change, culminating in a Master’s degree in
Organisational Psychology from City, University of London. Alison excels in collaborating with
stakeholders, driving positive change in teams and organisations.
Career Coach
Ambassador
Gemma is a chartered occupational psychologist and career coach. In addition to providing 1 to 1
coaching, she works with clients across sectors designing and using assessments to recruit and develop
talent, and has also delivered a range of development programmes. Gemma holds a Certificate in Career
Coaching and other coaching qualifications from the CIPD, Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring and
Centre for Coaching. She has a strong interest in supporting those midlife and beyond explore their
career options.
Volunteer Career Coach
Ambassador
David joined Brave Starts when he was wondering ‘what next’, and has since become a volunteer
careers coach. He had a major career change from his management roots in property and telecoms in
his mid 30s, having realised his true potential lay in the field of people, careers, and workplace
effectiveness. Since 2003 David has worked as an independent occupational psychologist with a
particular interest in careers. He offers 1:1s where you’ll him find friendly, insightful and above all
helpful!
Workshop Leader
Ambassador
Graham spent 23 years as a partner at Primary Capital, a private equity firm known for its investments in
Yo! Sushi, The Works, Paperchase, Leisure Pass and Great Rail Journeys. He currently divides his time
between the charity and commercial sectors. He is Senior Adviser to recruitment firm ZRG, an
ambassador for us at Brave Starts, Strategic Application Consultant at The Fore, and Chair of the
Trustees at the charity Goods for Good. Over the past six months, he has been investigating AI and
exploring its productive applications in both business and personal life.
Member engagement
Ambassador
Katherine is a classically trained business leader (BCOM, MBA) with diverse B2C experience. Whether
working with a Fortune 100 company, supporting start-ups or running her own business, her focus is
always on how to improve the customer experience and deliver greater value.
Katherine’s connection to Brave Starts is personal. In her early 50s, during a period of transition, she
faced the tough reality many midlife workers encounter—struggling to have their skills and
contributions recognised. This led her to create The 50:50 Project, an interview series exploring fulfilling
work in your 50s and beyond.
Community manager
Ambassador
Sheila is a professionally trained viola player having had a varied career which spans opera, ballet,
events, film tracks, West End shows, and main stage Glastonbury to Mick Jagger’s Xmas party. She has
always enjoyed stepping out of the music world though and, amongst other things, has run a small
business called Know Knockers (bras for the small breasted!) and has even dipped her toes into stand-up
comedy.
At a time when her career isn’t what it was, Sheila found Brave Starts and found it so helpful, she was
driven to put something back into it and help others in their career journey.
Career coach and workshop lead
Ambassador
Jo started out teaching English in Japan before embarking on a finance career. After qualifying as a
chartered accountant with PwC, subsequent roles have included Management Auditor, Commercial
Finance Director and Head of Finance. Her 20 years’ experience spans global companies such as BT, and
in recent years has focused on supporting SMEs and start-ups. Jo is currently studying a Master’s in
Career Development and Coaching Studies and is looking to return to a people focused role
Workshop leader
Ambassador
Lisa is a career recruiter who has held leadership roles across Talent Acquisition with leading companies,
with a wealth of expertise crafting talent strategies to drive forward business objectives. She was an
expat for 8 years and is passionate about building diverse global teams, coaching, nurturing talent,
inclusion, and encouraging age diversity. Lisa now works for Redeployable supporting service leavers
and veterans to switch careers.
Career coach and workshop lead
Ambassador
Lisa is a professionally accredited executive coach (ICF ACC, EMCC) with more than 25 years in libraries,
publishing and private education. She has a keen interest in the sustainable workforce, age diversity,
and the creativity of multi-generational teams, specialising in recovery after burnout caused by the
‘midlife collision’. She is a life-long learner and loves to support people through the changes of life and
work.
Co Founder
Tech Lead.
Harris is a tech and product guy at heart - with 10 years experience across Financial Services and Property Industries - such as Fitch Ratings, Lloyds Commercial Bank, and CBRE. He is also Product Officer of an innovative health tech hearing company. His passion for helping people is what drew into the Brave Starts concept.
Ian has built strong investor and grant funding networks. He was recently Head of Access to funding at The Knowledge transfer Network helping innovative companies raise money via investors, grants or equity.
David is an award winning Chief People officer. He’s a huge advocate for ageing better and has won significant recognition for the fabulous work he does in this arena.
Michael brings his experience of being a Chief People Officer to the team. He’s got over 20 years experience at Senior HRD.
An award winning expert on all aspects of pensions and later life policy
Head of Savings & Retirement at .unner, cycler, golfer and tenor
We operate on a volunteer basis. No one earns a salary. Fees help to support our platform running costs, legal fees, and general company admin. We can't grow without your support. We advertise a £49 per year payment, but do also rely on generous donations. Donate here
Many Q3 workers (those aged 50-75) face ageist recruitment practices, recruiters with the inflexible attitudes and organisations reluctant to change what they've always done because they don't see the 'business case' in making changes. In addition, career coaching and adult career guidance is not regulated meaning some people can get exploited by poor or bad practice. Evidence based insight into what works is not understood.
We exist to raise the bar, to evaluate and understand the impact of what we do so we can share this with others and have mass impact. This is an amazing group of people, it will grow and the contribution which can be made to society if we get this right is huge.
We'd rather try to keep fees to a minimum and help as many people as possible. As a non profit our goal is impact: we want to help as many as we can. Each person that joins us adds to the evidence base of what does or doesn't work.
It is a demographic not well served by society. According to the Centre for Ageing Better, People over 50 are the demographic least likely to receive career support. The Careers and Enterprise Company (which allocates government funding for careers support) only issues funds if beneficiaries are up to the age of 21. Every FTSE 100 organisation has a 'graduate' scheme, but there are not yet 'career changer' or later year entry schemes. Our members feel job centres don't speak to them as they are generally focused on helping people get off benefits. The professional middle class audience we serve are not fashionable or sexy. They are lost and forgotten yet they hold the keys to most of societies biggest problems.
£49 a year is not enough income to offer volunteers the security of a salary but we do hope with your support and donations we can grow to a point where we can make some hires in the future. In the meantime, your support and donations contribute towards our running costs.
Harris met Lucy at a dinner exploring the solutions to an ageing society. Their visions were aligned - Lucy the psychologist specialising in mid/later life career development and Harris the tech wizard who makes everything happen.
We're a registered Community Interest Company. Our articles of association mean if we do generate profit in the future, it needs to go back into supporting and helping our members. Think of us as a professional body for people over 45 who want to love and enjoy their work.
With more than 600 members, 250 experts, 40+ events a year, there will be people, events and experiences you will benefit from.
* There is a one off £19 onboarding fee when you sign up. The total you pay in your first year is £49. Membership renews at £30 a year.
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