On 28 May, the room at UP filled with people ready to think differently.
There were familiar faces from Croydon’s business community, new connections being made over drinks, conversations starting before the programme had officially begun, and a sense that this was not going to be a typical evening.
Working Differently: Innovation, Neurodiversity & 14 Years of Impact brought together two connected moments.
The first was a series of lightning talks exploring neurodiversity, work, creativity, technology and enterprise.
The second was a heartfelt celebration of Geoff Ranson’s 14 years of service to the organisation, a tribute that looked back not only at one person’s career, but at the many people, projects, partnerships and businesses that have shaped UP’s story.
Together, they made for an evening of honesty, reflection, warmth and community.
Starting with different ways of thinking
The first part of the evening focused on neurodiversity and innovation.
Through short lightning talks, speakers were invited to share their career journeys, lived experiences, practical tools and reflections on how different ways of thinking can shape work and business.
The conversation did not try to simplify neurodivergent experience into one story. Instead, it recognised that every journey is different. For some people, neurodivergence can be connected to creativity, focus, pattern recognition, problem-solving or a distinct way of communicating. It can also bring barriers, exhaustion, misunderstanding and the need to build systems that make work and life more manageable.
That balance mattered.
The evening created space for speakers to talk not only about achievement, but also about the routes they had taken to understand themselves, build confidence, develop strategies and find ways of working that fit them better.
Saffron Saunders chaired the lightning talks, guiding the conversation through thoughtful questions and helping each speaker share the story behind their work, career and experience.
Emma Meheux: creativity, communication and finding strength in the detail
Emma Meheux from Brand Planning opened the speaker session with a story rooted in creativity, communication and business growth.
Known locally as a marketing consultant, Emma shared insight from her career journey and reflected on the relationship between her OCD diagnosis, her professional strengths and the way she approaches her work.
Her contribution connected creativity with structure. From creative writing to professional training and communication skills, Emma showed how attention to detail, clarity and careful thinking can become valuable assets in business.
For founders and small business owners in the room, her story was a reminder that growth is not only about strategy. It is also about understanding how you work best, how you communicate value and how your own way of thinking can become part of the service you offer to others.
Daniel Mullings: technology, inclusion and building tools for good
Daniel Mullings, founder of TechEmbrace, brought the conversation into the world of technology, inclusion and lived experience.
Daniel spoke openly about growing up being told he was “dumb” at school. For years, he struggled with literacy and carried the frustration of not being able to express what he knew was in his mind. That changed when, at the age of 40, he was given the chance to work with a computer and began to understand that he was dyslexic.
For Daniel, technology became more than a tool. Spellcheck helped him articulate his thoughts, communicate with confidence and prove that his brain was not lacking, but wired differently.
That discovery helped shape the work he does today.
His curiosity for technology has since become a way of creating solutions that support others. Through TechEmbrace and his wider work as an AI consultant using technology for good, Daniel continues to explore how digital tools can open doors, build confidence and make work more accessible.
His story was a powerful reminder that the right support, the right tools and the right environment can change how someone sees themselves, and what they are able to build for others.
Babs Giwa: voice, storytelling and the confidence to be seen
Babs Giwa, creator of Last Words With Babs, brought a moving and energising perspective to the room.
Babs is a powerful example of success through adversity. He has developed his own podcast and media brand while living with a stammer, something that can make communication challenging, especially in spaces where confidence and fluency are often expected.
Rather than allowing that challenge to define or limit him, Babs has used his platform to inspire and support others who may struggle to express themselves.
His story centred on voice, storytelling and the courage it can take to be seen and heard. As a Gen Z digital native, he spoke about building a media brand, creating space for honest conversations and using lived experience as a way to connect with others.
One of the strongest messages from his talk was that communication does not have to look or sound one particular way to be powerful.
Babs’ contribution also pointed toward the future of UP’s work with young people, workshops and creative delivery. He brought the voice of a generation already fluent in digital spaces, but still looking for meaningful ways to connect, contribute and be heard.
Joanne Harrington de Serrano: order, systems and rebuilding after burnout
Joanne Harrington de Serrano, founder and managing director of Order From Chaos, brought a powerful story of leadership, systems and self-understanding.
Her career has included major roles in humanitarian response, including 13 years working with DFID, an OBE in 2016 and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Portsmouth in 2017. She later became CEO of RedR UK, joining in late 2019 and helping move the organisation from a significant deficit back into the black within two years, during the COVID emergency.
But the story she shared was not only one of achievement. It was also one of burnout, diagnosis and reorientation.
Jo spoke openly about burnout, her ASD diagnosis in 2023 and the process of working out what should come next. Through coaching and reflection, she used the Ikigai framework to explore what gave her energy and where her strengths naturally sat. The answer pointed towards systems, processes, order, symmetry, coordination and structure.
From that, Order From Chaos was born.
Her story showed what can happen when someone stops trying to fit into a version of work that does not suit them, and instead builds around the way their mind actually works.
Jo also spoke about how she has used technology to strengthen and scale her business, from CRM systems and website building to automations, SEO and the use of AI tools such as Claude. It was a practical example of how the right systems can create capacity, confidence and growth.
Lindita Saliasi: confidence, employment support and the Wheel of Life
Lindita Saliasi from Status Employment brought warmth, energy and practical insight to the final lightning talk.
As a Peer Support Employment Adviser and Personal Performance Coach, Lindita spoke about her own neurodivergent diagnosis, her career journey and the work she does to support people moving forward with confidence.
Her session brought the conversation back to people. Employment support is not only about CVs, applications or interviews. It is also about confidence, self-awareness, practical steps and recognising the whole person behind the job search.
Lindita introduced the Wheel of Life as a tool for reflection. It offered a simple but useful way to look at different areas of life, identify where things feel strong or stretched, and begin thinking about what progress might look like.
It was a fitting final contribution to the lightning talks, giving people something practical to take away and use beyond the evening.
From lightning talks to a life in enterprise support
After the lightning talks, the room shifted into a different kind of storytelling.
What followed was not just a closing moment. It was a carefully prepared tribute to Geoff Ranson and his 14 years with the organisation.
The tribute began with the familiar sound of the This Is Your Life theme, setting the tone for a celebration full of memory, affection and surprise. Geoff was invited to sit at the centre of the room on our founder Bernard Weatherill’s House of Commons chair from his time as Speaker of the House, as colleagues, trustees and friends gathered around him to look back on his time with the organisation.
Paul Taylor, Chairman and Honorary Treasurer, led the tribute and presented Geoff with a red book telling the story of his life at UP. What unfolded was a journey through more than a decade of enterprise support in Croydon: from Geoff’s first connection with the organisation in 2012, through its evolution from CBV to StartUp Croydon and now UP, and across the many programmes, partnerships and projects he helped deliver.
It was a history of Geoff’s work, but it was also a history of the organisation itself.
There were stories of bootcamps, mentoring, business support programmes, rebrands, funding projects, COVID-era adaptations, partnerships with Croydon Council and other agencies, the development of the Creative Digital Lab and the growing recognition of UP as a key institution for small business support.
Along the way, colleagues and trustees shared their own memories.
Some spoke about Geoff’s knowledge and reliability. Others remembered his patience, kindness and commitment to helping people. There were reflections on his ability to support staff, trustees, tenants and local businesses with the same steady care. Again and again, the same qualities came through: dedication, generosity, attention to detail and a deep belief in the people he was supporting.
The tribute was moving because it was not abstract. It was full of names, projects, places and moments. It showed how much of Geoff’s work has happened quietly in the background, through conversations, introductions, advice, encouragement and the kind of support that helps people keep going.
A village for entrepreneurs
When Geoff spoke, he brought the evening back to one of its central ideas: nobody builds a business alone.
He reflected on the privilege of supporting so many people and thanked colleagues, trustees, family members and the entrepreneurs who had placed their trust in him over the years.
Then, in true storytelling style, he shared a poem adapted to tell the story of UP. Drawing on the rhythm of a familiar children’s story We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, he took the room through the journey of starting and growing a business, from not knowing where to begin, to finding a bootcamp, needing a business address, looking for an accountant, building confidence and eventually wanting to help others.
At the heart of the poem was a simple line: it takes a village to start and grow a business.
That idea captured the spirit of the evening.
UP is not only a building, a workspace or a programme provider. It is a village of advisers, founders, mentors, tenants, partners, trustees, staff and alumni. It is a place where people come with ideas, doubts, questions and ambitions, and where they can find people willing to help them take the next step.
Geoff’s story sits deeply within that village.
His 14 years of impact were not only measured in programmes delivered or reports written. They were measured in the people he supported, the confidence he helped build, the businesses he helped shape and the community he helped strengthen.
More than a programme
Alongside the talks and tribute, the evening included networking, conversation and a mini trade fair, with contributors including Zoe Parker and Elizabeth Knapp.
These moments matter.
The formal programme gives people a reason to come together, but the value often continues in the conversations that happen around it. Introductions in corridors. Follow-up questions after a talk. Someone recognising part of their own experience in someone else’s story.
There was also a quiet room available, recognising that inclusion is not only something to talk about on stage. It needs to be considered in the way an event is designed, hosted and experienced.
What UP offers next for businesses
Events like Working Differently are a window into what UP is here to build.
We support businesses through the real stages of growth:
- START: Practical support to help founders go from idea to action, including our bootcamps.
- GROW: Hands-on guidance to help businesses scale, including delivery through the Croydon Business Support Programme (CBSP) and one-to-one mentoring.
- SPACE: Flexible workspace options that help businesses operate professionally, including Virtual Offices and Serviced Offices.
- CREATIVE: A thriving creative community, including our work with schools and colleges through the UP Creative.
- NETWORK: Connections that create momentum through our partner ecosystem and events like Working Differently.
That mix is deliberate.
START gives founders direction and momentum. GROW gives businesses the structure and support to scale with confidence. SPACE gives teams stability and professionalism. CREATIVE brings fresh thinking, skills and new talent. NETWORK creates reach, relationships and opportunities that move faster than any business can build alone.
It is all part of the UP village Geoff described so well: the people, programmes, spaces and connections that help entrepreneurs and small businesses move forward.
Why this evening mattered
Working Differently was a reminder that innovation rarely comes from one way of thinking.
It comes from people who notice different things. People who ask different questions. People who build systems because they need them. People who communicate in new ways. People who turn lived experience into insight, creativity, tools, support and enterprise.
The evening also reminded us that impact is often built over time.
Sometimes it looks like a speaker sharing their story for the first time. Sometimes it looks like a practical tool that helps someone reflect on where they are. Sometimes it looks like a conversation after an event that leads to something new. And sometimes it looks like 14 years of steady, generous support for entrepreneurs and small businesses across Croydon.
At UP, these stories sit at the heart of what we are building.
You may have known us as StartUp Croydon. Today, as UP, our work continues to support entrepreneurs, small businesses, creatives and teams as they start, grow, connect and take their next step.
Keeping the conversation going
Thank you to everyone who joined us on the night.
Thank you to our lightning talk speakers, Emma Meheux, Daniel Mullings, Babs Giwa, Joanne Harrington de Serrano and Lindita Saliasi, for sharing their experiences and insight so openly.
Thank you to Saffron Saunders for chairing the lightning talks and guiding the conversation throughout the first part of the evening.
Thank you to Paul Taylor for leading such a thoughtful and memorable tribute to Geoff, and to the colleagues, trustees and friends who shared their reflections.
Thank you also to Zoe Parker and Elizabeth Knapp for being part of the evening and helping bring the wider creative and business community into the room.
And most of all, thank you to Geoff Ranson for 14 years of service, care and commitment to the entrepreneurs, small businesses and wider community that make UP what it is.
Working Differently was a celebration of neurodiversity, entrepreneurship, community and legacy. It reminded us that when different minds, different experiences and different generations of support come together, something lasting can happen.
We look forward to continuing the conversation, and continuing to build the UP village together. sign up to our newsletter here: https://uphub.work/newsletter/
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