Member Event with Charlie Hoult, Hoults Yard

Exhibiting an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age, Charlie Hoult started his career directing cousins picking mushrooms on Holy Island for his holiday fruit & veg stall.

After taking over the mantle at Hoults Yard, Charlie now successfully balances the running of this business alongside being the Chair of Dynamo, dedicated to growing the North Easts’ IT economy.

Pre-Hoults Yard, Charlie started a marketing agency in London, aged 25, scaling the business to a turnover of £50m, securing £25m venture finance and employing 400 staff, before disaster struck in the 2008 credit crunch. The largest individual shareholder, Charlie lost all of his capital, returning to his native North East in 2010.

Operating out of a previously industrial site, the yard stays true to its entrepreneurial and industrial past, embracing more than 100 organisations from a wide range of sectors, including a large percentage of creative businesses.

Asides from Hoults, Charlie has backed a series of start-up teams including Futureheads Recruitment, Opencast Software and Cheviot Insured with a combined turnover of £15m and 60 plus staff.

As co-founder and current chair of Dynamo, he has been the catalyst for the region winning £10m to develop the Northern Futures University Technical College and £30m to create the National Institute for Smart Data Innovation.

In the comfort of his own Yard, this is your opportunity to hear all about the high, lows and lessons Charlie has learnt throughout his entrepreneurial career.