Entrepreneur Foundation

Entrepreneurs are vital to business; individuals who have a vision, can inspire others to join them on their journey and drive the success of our local and national economy.

Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce recognised this need and so launched the Entrepreneur Foundation in September 2020. The initiative has been designed to nurture and grow a new network of enterprising individuals, by offering a two-year programme of guidance, training and support, supplied by the Founders, by Supporters and, of course, by the Chamber itself.

We are now looking for our third cohort of Entrepreneurs, so if you are aware of any new start-up businesses in Hertfordshire or any local entrepreneurs who would benefit from being supported by the Entrepreneur Foundation, please do ask them to get in touch with us at enquiries@hertschamber.com for more information and an application form.

The Founders and Supporters

of this initiative, are carefully selected business owners and influential decisionmakers, with philanthropic desires to give back to the local economy by passing on a wealth of knowledge and experience.

These businesses recognise the importance of nurturing new business initiatives and the benefits these can bring, not just to the local economy but potentially to their own businesses.

The Entrepreneur Foundation Lifetime Founders are as follows: • Len Simmons, Director, Highway Cycles • Claire Austin, Managing Director,

Austin’s Funeral Directors • Phil Wallace, Group CEO, Lamex Food

Group • Stelio Stefanou OBE, DL, Founder of

For Baby’s Sake Trust • Edward Rowlandson, Group Managing

Director, RO (Group) Trading • Geoff Hill, Owner and Founder,

Astute Electronics

“It gives me great pleasure to give my wholehearted support to the Entrepreneur Foundation. The definition of an entrepreneur is “a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit. “I have always believed in the importance of encouraging entrepreneurs from a very early stage of the development of their business - and what better way to minimise the risks that they take than to be supported by experienced entrepreneurs who have themselves experienced the highs and lows of starting and running their own business.”

HM Lord-Lieutenant Robert Voss CBE CStJ

Property entrepreneur signs up to be a Lifetime Benefactor of the Herts Chamber Entrepreneur Foundation

The Chamber’s Entrepreneur Foundation provides training, advice and mentoring for a number of selected individuals, supporting them with their new business ventures. The support for this initiative includes a number of Founders and Supporters, all of whom are established business owners and influential decision-makers, each with philanthropic desires to give back to the local community. The foundation has recently been joined by a new Lifetime Benefactor, Simon Cox at Walter Cooper.

Simon Cox is the Managing Director for land agency Walter Cooper, which started in his garage at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Since then, Simon has grown the company to employ eight members of staff with new offices based in Widford, Hertfordshire.

Simon’s passion and knowledge has been the force behind companies’ success and its growth. Walter Cooper was catapulted into the industry officially with a launch at Somerset House in 2021, which was well attended by colleagues within the land profession. With over a decade of experience in the property industry, Simon has seen many changes to the development landscape. Whether it’s assisting national housebuilders complete regeneration schemes in excess of five thousand units, or local builders managing a handful of units, he has been instrumental in their sale and acquisition of the land that underpins the deal. Since the beginning, Simon has been keen to make an impact on the local community and has made efforts to ensure Walter Cooper gives back. The Annual Walter Cooper Bursary was introduced in partnership with the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust to help with members of the trust who wish to further their career within the field.