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We’re living through a tough moment in the labour market.
For more than 40 consecutive months, job vacancies have declined month on month. Roles are harder to find, competition is fiercer and, for many people, particularly those with deep experience, the traditional job-search playbook is both ineffective and demoralising.
As is always the case with Brave Starts, we choose not to complain and do nothing – but to experiment and try new things – so on Wednesday we ran our first Value Exchange.
Why the Value Exchange exists
The idea is simple.
Startups are often rich in ideas and ambition but short on time, capacity and ability to take on more work. When you’re growing organically, you can’t jump straight from one or two people to hiring full-time. What start ups need and want is people who will help partner, test, build and experiment.
At the same time, our community is full of people with skills, experience, time and energy to give. They’re exploring what’s next, developing new capabilities, expanding their networks and looking for purposeful ways to stay in motion.
Most of our members don’t want a full time job and, if they are exploring their options, they appreciate the opportunity to test, build and try things out.
The Value Exchange brings these two groups together. Not to “create jobs” in the traditional sense, but to create value hopefully for each other.
Value isn’t always financial. It might be:
- Earning reputation
- Getting the chance to develop new skills
- Building new contacts in a different sector
- Feeling good from helping someone else make a difference or idea you care about
- Building confidence
Whatever the outcome – it always contains value.
What actually happened in the room
We kicked off at 2pm at Crown and Two Chairmen. The event was packed - some sitting but, for most, standing room only. High energy. A real buzz.
Pitches began at 2:30pm. The format was intentionally tight:
- 5-minute pitch
- 5-minute Q&A
- Three pitches back-to-back
- Followed by 30 minutes of open networking
The structure mattered: no one dominated; no one was held hostage by long-winded questions, and everyone had the space to move, connect and follow their curiosity.
By the end, people were coming up saying things like:
- “I’m joining an advisory board.”
- “I’ve got four introductions to follow up on.”
- “That conversation alone was worth coming for.”
These weren’t polite “let’s keep in touch” exchanges - they were clear next steps.
Meet the pitchers
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We heard from six founders tackling real problems and openly inviting collaboration rather than perfection:
- Good Life Sorted – helping older adults stay independent through trusted local support.
- Club Avandra – curated, all-female luxury travel for women who want independence and connection.
- SmartOnion – bringing order to life admin, documents and future planning.
- Mitos Relocation Solutions – supporting the emotional and practical reality of retiring abroad.
- LivOn – an AI-driven platform supporting purpose, wellbeing and connection post-career
- The Media Remix – strategic media buying focused on the mature market.
What members told us
The feedback was strikingly consistent .
People loved the pace, the structure, and above all the quality of conversations. Many said it felt energising rather than draining. Several commented on how different it felt from traditional networking or job-search activity.
What stood out most was how useful people felt and how good that felt.
Why this matters (especially now)
There’s strong evidence that action within your control is far better for mental health than effort spent in systems you can’t influence.
Our broken recruitment market is exhausting and often unrewarding.
By contrast, doing work that helps others, builds skills, creates momentum and restores confidence, puts agency back where it belongs.
Many of us in this community are in our 50s. Britain isn’t doing particularly well economically. At this stage of life, with decades of experience behind us, there’s an argument that we have a duty not just to seek what we can take, but to think about what we can give.
Giving doesn’t diminish our value – it makes us feel valued and human again.
What’s next
This won’t be a one-off.
The response has been overwhelming, and we’ll definitely be running another Value Exchange, most likely in September, and in a bigger venue!!
In a world where the old rules of work no longer hold, this feels like a far better place to start: creating value together, rather than waiting for permission.
See the impact for yourself. Watch the video to hear startups reflect on the experience, the talent they met, and the value of connecting with the Brave Starts community.
