York Business Festival

Launch event

5.30pm to 8.00pm

Creative Centre

Join us for the launch of York Business Festival at York St John University 2025. Hear from our keynote speakers.

Emma Jones: Small Business Commissioner

Emma started as the Small Business Commissioner in June 2025. She will speak about her own journey and lessons learned as a business leader and founder, and what the government is doing to support small firms.

Clare Bailey: Loyalty and trust - Lessons from retail for every business

Real loyalty isn't about points cards or discounts. It's about trust, credibility, and those small moments of joy that make people feel valued. In this session, Clare (Retail and Hospitality Champion) will explore what true loyalty looks like in practice - from Pret a Manger's surprise free coffees to Lidl's playful spin-the-wheel promotions - and what any business can learn from them.

Clare will share lessons from her work supporting independent retailers, local authorities, and small businesses through high street recovery, digital adoption, and growth. Whether you run a café, builder's merchant, or consultancy, the same principles apply: people choose businesses they trust.

You'll hear how trust and reputation influence customers, suppliers, and employees - from online reviews to employer brand - and take away practical strategies you can use to build stronger relationships and stand out in competitive markets.

Registration and morning coffee

9.00am to 10.00am

Creative Centre, Atrium

Join us for the start of Finance Tuesday at York Business Festival.

Funding Landscape and Fireside Chat

10.00am to 12.00pm

Holgate 013

Host: Innovate UK and York Angels

This session aims to increase awareness of the various forms and processes in raising capital finances and identifying the most appropriate for your business. There is the opportunity to understand what information the investor is looking for with an informal Q&A panel session.

 Lunch and Business Expo

12.00pm to 1.00pm

Creative Centre, Atrium

Choose from 2 sessions:

Track 1: Fair Payment Code

1.00pm to 2.30pm

Holgate 013

Host: Jacquie Moore, Head of Fair Payment Code, Department of Business and Trade

Finance - The Role of the Office of the Small Business Commissioner and the Fair Payment Code.

Healthy cash flow is critical for small business survival and growth. Late payments and long payment times disrupt the cash flow cycle and can prevent a business from paying its bills, potentially resulting in business failure. In 2023 15% of small businesses and medium sized enterprises cited cash flow and late payments as an obstacle to running their businesses.

The Office of the Small Business Commissioner (OSBC) is committed to improving payment culture and supporting small business prosperity. It manages a free complaints service and provides guidance and support tools. The OSBC administers the prestigious Fair Payment Code on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade, which rewards businesses for adopting fair payment practices for their suppliers. This session will cover how they can support your business by promoting prompt payment, improving business relationships and update you on the latest Government initiatives to help micro and small businesses.

Track 2: Navigating the Employment Rights Bill: What Employers Need to Know

1.00pm to 2.30pm

Law Clinic

Host: Torque Law

The Employment Rights Bill will make significant changes to UK employment law which will reshape how businesses manage their people, policies and workplace practices. The expert team at York-based employment law specialists, Torque Law, will present a focused and practical session designed to help employers prepare for what lies ahead. They will guide you through the key changes, explain their likely impact on your organisation and highlight the proactive steps you can take now to stay ahead.

Delegates will also have an opportunity to ask questions. Whether you employ a handful of staff or manage a large workforce, this session will provide an excellent opportunity to prepare for the forthcoming changes and safeguard your organisation.

The Fundamentals of Business

2.30pm to 4.00pm

Holgate 013

Host: Sam Cotton, Northern Tonic

The directors of accountancy practice Northern Tonic will be putting on an interactive session to help entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs understand the fundamentals of running a successful business.

They will be covering a wide range of topics, from the basics of personal tax and a chat on the role a modern accountant can play for businesses, to how crucial cashflow management is.

Business Support Workshop

4.00pm to 6.00pm

Holgate 013

Host: CYC Business Growth and CA Growth Hub

Learn about the wide-ranging support available from the CYC and CA Business Growth teams and hear from businesses who have benefited from such support.

Innovation Supper

6.00pm to 8.00pm

Dining Room Extension

Host: Emma Rollason-Taylor, YNY Combined Authority

The event sees 6 new businesses pitch their business ideas to the audience. The winner chosen by the audience takes away the money (given by the audience in payment for their supper) to give their new idea the boost it needs.

Registration and morning coffee

9.00am to 10.00am

Creative Centre, Atrium

Join us for the start of Innovation Wednesday at York Business Festival.

Understand Where the Real Value is Within Your Business - Encourage Innovation Through Lego Play

10.00am to 12.00pm

Holgate 013

Host: Terry McStea, RTC North

How do you generate income from your value creation?

We'll be helping you to understand and explore where the real value is in your business, what it costs you, how to create more, and most importantly how to help your customers do the same.

You'll be working alongside other businesses, and guided by experienced facilitators to make sure you go away with critical insights into enhancing Value Creation and increasing Value Capture for your business, and understanding the costs of value creation to Improve Productivity

We'll be using the Lego Serious Play methodology, which is an internationally renowned facilitated process used by organisations of all sizes to generate innovative ideas for business improvement. It is a great way to enhance communication within teams, to stimulate and bring out creativity and innovation, and to develop strategies for growth.

This workshop will be suitable for companies of any shape or size.

 Lunch and Business Expo

12.00pm to 1.00pm

Creative Centre, Atrium

Exporting Made Easy

1.00pm to 2.00pm

Holgate 013

Host: Adam Butterworth, Department of Business and Trade

Understand what support is available to assist in exploring and working with overseas markets. This session will also demystify perceptions that exporting is any more difficult than trading nationally.

Transformation in a Digital World

2.00pm to 5.30pm

Holgate 013

Host: Rebecca d'Orazi Flavoni, York Learning

Rebecca was instrumental in building the DVLA website and leading teams through that digital transformation and has partnered with IBM in key projects.

The workshop is as much about good leadership, the importance of culture and building teams, as it is about implementing actual tech solutions to your business’s challenges. At its heart, this session is all about how to get comfortable with change within an organization, how to embrace innovation and how to manage an evolving business landscape. The session is relevant for any leaders / aspiring leaders within small, medium and large companies, including those currently within education.

Men's Mental Health Matters - Social Media Showcase

4.00pm to 6.00pm

Creative Centre, Auditorium

Host: Winojith Sanjeewa, York St John University Business School 

As part of Men's Mental Health Month, this event showcases creative video campaigns created by York St John students, each offering an unique perspective on the challenges men face in professional environments. Whether you're a student, academic or business leader we invite you to join this important conversation and be part of the movement towards healthier and more compassionate workplaces.

Women of York: Film and Panel Discussion

6.00pm to 8.00pm

Creative Centre

Host: Professor Anne Marie Evans, York St John University

This event aims to raise awareness of the crucial role women have played in our city's development and to widen access to women's history in York's many tourism and heritage sites.

In 2024-2025, York St John University worked closely with the Yorkshire Film Archive (YFA) to produce a short film about the history of women's everyday life in York, based on archival footage from the YFA.

The aim of the film is to present the diverse spaces in York where women lived, gathered, worked, played, worshipped, and more, while taking into account the challenges that they faced in their day-to-day lives, from international conflicts to experiences of poverty and displacement. We hope that the film can start a conversation about women's history in York, and make viewers think about the many ways, and particularly the many everyday actions, through which women made the city and its history.

Watch the trailer on YouTube.

Registration and morning coffee

8.00am to 9.00am

Creative Centre, Atrium

Join us for the start of Digital Thursday at York Business Festival.

AI As Your Business Support

9.00am to 10.30am

Holgate 013

Host: Dr Andrew Fairley, York St John University

AI is only effective when you first clarify what are the challenges facing your business and therefore what aspect of AI will best support you overcome those challenges. This session will educate you further in which AI tools will best support you in increasing day to day efficiencies and giving you time back to focus on driving the business forward. The session will cover inputting risks, interjections, data security, prompting frameworks and evaluation.

Unlocking Business Opportunities with Data and AI

10.30am to 12.00pm

Holgate 013

Host: Andrew Edge, Simpson Associates

This session is designed to support small/medium businesses uncover practical ways to leverage data and AI to drive growth and efficiencies. The session will explore how to identify your most important KPI's and business levers to support in data driven decision making. Importantly the session expands upon what data your business holds and its not just about what’s on an excel spreadsheet. 

Then the session will walk through simple high level process mapping to pinpoint areas where data and AI can add real value through automation, insight generation or improved customer engagement. The approach is practical, jargon free and tailored to the realities of small/medium sized businesses. You will walk away with a clear framework for spotting opportunities, understanding where to start and how to align technology with business goals.

Cyber Security Masterclass

12.00pm to 1.00pm

Holgate 013

Host: Thom Siron, Techscend

This session delves into how to protect yourself from ransomware attacks, understand if your business domain is protected from impersonation attack and understand what are the latest methods being utilised to attack your business and how best to mitigate against such problems faced by M&S, The Co-Op and Heathrow recently.

 Lunch and Business Expo

1.00pm to 2.00pm

Creative Centre, Atrium

Marketing Masterclass

2.00pm to 3.30pm

Holgate 013

Host: Steve Lowe, Local IQ

Quite simply learn how to optimise website searches, understand the benefits and audience optimisation of the various online and printed platforms available and how AI can support you.

Strategy for Building a Sustainable Business

3.30pm to 4.30pm

Holgate 013

Host: Cherie Federico, Aesthetica

In today's shifting landscape business leaders need more than talent - they need a strategy to build a resilient and adaptable business model. This session will guide you through the key steps for growth, setting goals, understanding your audience, identify revenue opportunities and navigating representation. You will gain practical insights into building visibility, securing funding and entering new markets.