What Be the Business does

Be the Business is a UK not-for-profit organisation, founded in 2017 by Sir Charlie Mayfield and registered as The Productivity Group (company limited by guarantee no. 10754958, registered charity no. 1173660 in England and Wales), with its headquarters at 10 Queen Street Place, London. Its stated mission is to help UK small and medium-sized businesses close the country's long-standing productivity gap. The organisation operates a programmes-and-research platform comprising The Productivity Programme (expert advisory boards pairing SME leaders with experienced mentors), The Productivity Collective (a peer-to-peer community of SMB leaders), the Resource Library (guides, toolkits and digital books), and the quarterly Productive Business Index (a longitudinal research instrument tracking SME productivity capabilities since 2021, now in Edition Eight). Since inception it claims to have supported over 16,000 business leaders and recorded more than £915m in GVA uplift, 15,000 additional jobs created and £2.1bn in additional turnover among participant businesses to March 2024.

The portfolio also includes Click Start London, a fully-funded 4-week in-person digital skills programme launched in June 2023 for 18-30 year-olds not in education, employment or training, delivered with the University of East London, Institute of Coding and Nominet; the Construction Productivity Taskforce, an industry-specific productivity initiative; the SME Innovation Lab, a corporate-SME collaboration mechanism; and "Small Changes for a Big Impact", a February 2024 policy manifesto. A monthly newsletter (The Bolt), an ambassadors network, and a localised Barrow Rising support aggregator extend reach. There is no proprietary technology platform underlying these offerings; the core "product" is human-led advisory, mentoring and curated content delivered in person and through a self-serve resource website (resources.bethebusiness.com), with a careers portal at bethebusiness.bamboohr.com.

Be the Business monetises through corporate partnership contributions rather than fees from SMEs, all of whose core programmes are free. It works with more than 50 corporate partners spanning consulting (Accenture, McKinsey & Company, KPMG, EY), technology (Amazon, Cisco, Meta, Shopify, Siemens), life sciences (GSK), banking (Lloyds) and professional bodies (BCS). The partnership roster is the principal revenue engine and is supplemented by restricted funding for specific programmes (e.g., Nominet funds Click Start London). Revenue is not disclosed, no equity funding rounds are recorded, and the organisation is not part of a larger corporate group.

Name

Be the Business

Legal name

The Productivity Group

Website

https://bethebusiness.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Be the Business is a UK not-for-profit founded in 2017 that helps small and medium-sized businesses improve productivity through expert advisory boards, peer learning, and quarterly research. It is funded by 50+ corporate partners including Amazon, KPMG, and McKinsey, and serves UK SMEs free of charge.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

SME Productivity Advisory

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Management Consulting Services (54161), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK), Leadership, Management & Teamwork for Business (EDAMAHAI), Entrepreneurship & Freelance Employability (Self-Employment Readiness) (EDAAAKAM)

Keywords

• SME productivity support
• Business advisory boards
• Peer-to-peer learning
• Digital skills training
• Productivity research

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Partnership Contributions: Be the Business generates revenue through partnerships with corporate organizations. The organization states it has more than 50 corporate partners including Accenture, Amazon, BCS, Cisco, EY, Meta, GSK, KPMG, Lloyds, McKinsey & Company, Shopify, and Siemens. These partners collaborate with the not-for-profit to support UK SME productivity improvement, likely through funding, expertise sharing, or strategic support.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Be the Business is a UK not-for-profit that helps small and medium-sized enterprises improve productivity by connecting them with expert advisory boards, peer learning communities, and digital skills training. The organization delivers The Productivity Programme (expert advisory boards), The Productivity Collective (peer network), Click Start London (digital skills training for young adults), and publishes the Productive Business Index research series tracking SME productivity.

Product overview

Be the Business is a not-for-profit UK organization (founded 2017) operating a platform-plus-programmes model for SME productivity improvement. The core offering consists of The Productivity Programme (expert advisory boards and mentoring), The Productivity Collective (peer community), the Resource Library (guides and toolkits), and the Productive Business Index (quarterly research tracking SME capabilities). The Click Start London programme provides digital skills training for young adults. The Bolt newsletter delivers monthly insights. The SME Innovation Lab, Construction Productivity Taskforce, and partner-specific variants extend reach. Impact metrics include £915m+ GVA uplift and support for 16,000+ business leaders since inception.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Productivity Programme: Expert advisory board programme connecting SMEs with experts to boost productivity
• The Productivity Collective
• Click Start London
• The Bolt
• Productive Business Index

Products and services

• The Productivity Programme Expert-led advisory board programme that connects small and medium-sized UK business leaders with experienced mentors who help identify and implement productivity improvements. Free for SMEs.
• The Productivity Collective Peer-to-peer business community network for SMB leaders providing exclusive insights, case studies, real-world strategies, and networking opportunities with forward-thinking business leaders.
• Click Start London Fully funded 4-week in-person digital skills programme teaching digital and employability skills to 18-30 year olds in London not in education, employment or training. Delivered with University of East London and Institute of Coding. Includes travel expenses, IT equipment, and free lunch.
• Productive Business Index (PBI) Quarterly research index tracking changes in five key capability areas to understand what actions UK SMEs are taking to improve productivity. Includes business performance measures and capability assessments.
• Resource Library Comprehensive online library of guides, toolkits, and productivity stories for SME leaders to improve their businesses, hosted at resources.bethebusiness.com.

Quantifiable outcome

• £915m+ GVA uplift for businesses participating in Be the Business interventions
• +6 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• AmazoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner collaborating with Be the Business. Amazon supports SME productivity initiatives and has hired graduates from the Click Start London digital skills programme.
• BCScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner of Be the Business, supporting the not-for-profit's mission to improve UK SME productivity.
• CiscocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner collaborating with Be the Business on SME productivity improvement initiatives.
• EYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner of Be the Business, contributing expertise and resources to support UK SMEs.
• Meta (Facebook)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner supporting Be the Business productivity programmes for UK SMEs.
• GSKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner of Be the Business, supporting the not-for-profit's mission to boost SME productivity.
• KPMGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner contributing to Be the Business programmes that support UK SME productivity improvement.
• LloydscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner of Be the Business, supporting initiatives to improve UK small business productivity.
• McKinsey & CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner collaborating with Be the Business, contributing strategic expertise to help SMEs improve productivity.
• ShopifycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner of Be the Business supporting UK SME productivity improvement initiatives.
• SiemenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate partner collaborating with Be the Business on SME productivity programmes.
• University of East LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDelivery partner for Click Start London programme, providing venue and academic support for the 4-week in-person digital skills training programme in London.
• Institute of Coding (IoC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner in the Click Start London programme, providing curriculum development and industry connections for digital skills training.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Confederation of British Industry (CBI): Premier UK business lobby representing companies of all sizes. Comparable in policy advocacy reach and corporate membership base, but covers all UK businesses rather than specialising in SME productivity.
• McKinsey & Company: Global management consulting firm providing productivity and operational improvement services. Comparable as a provider of management advisory work, though operating at the opposite end of the market (large enterprise fees) and is also a BtB corporate partner.

Direct peers

• Enterprise Nation: UK membership community and support platform for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Highly comparable mission — empowering SME founders with resources, mentoring and policy advocacy — and operates a similarly free-plus-partnership-funded model targeting the same UK SME segment.
• ScaleUp Institute: UK not-for-profit focused on understanding and accelerating SME scale-up activity. Comparable mission around improving UK SME growth and productivity, with research, peer learning, and corporate partner engagement models closely aligned to BtB.
• Federation of Small Businesses (FSB): The UK's largest membership organisation for small businesses and the self-employed, providing advice, policy lobbying, and benefits. Comparable as a UK SME advocacy and support body, though funded via member subscriptions rather than corporate partnerships.
• British Chambers of Commerce: UK national chamber network representing and supporting businesses of all sizes, with a strong SME base. Comparable as a UK-wide SME advocacy, networking and business support organisation, though delivered through a federated local-chamber model.
• The Prince's Trust: UK charity supporting young people into employment, education and self-employment. Comparable to the Click Start London programme through its youth entrepreneurship and digital/employability training work, with a similar partnership-funded model.

Regional players

• The Growth Company: UK social enterprise delivering business growth, skills and employment programmes, particularly in the North of England. Comparable as a UK provider of SME growth and productivity programmes, though with a stronger regional and publicly-funded footprint.
• Innovate UK: UK government agency funding business-led innovation, with a strong SME focus. Comparable as a UK SME support and capability-building funder, but operating with public grant capital rather than corporate partnership contributions.

Emerging players

• Good Things Foundation: UK charity tackling digital and social inclusion through digital skills training for disadvantaged adults. Comparable as a UK digital-skills-for-disadvantaged-youth provider with a network delivery model, partly overlapping with Click Start London.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bethebusiness

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Be the Business