Ref: FYF-SD-069

Sophie

Commercial Consultant

📍

Midlands

Roles Available

Commercial Consultant

Expertise

Board Meeting
Fundraising
Growth Strategy
Leadership
Operations Strategy
People & Culture

Introduction

I'm the founder of The Portfolio House, providing senior strategic support to start-ups and scale-ups across funding, people and governance. I work with founders, leadership teams and investors navigating growth, helping them secure capital, build capability and strengthen decision-making at board level. My background spans 20+ years across science, innovation, investment and governance - with past roles at the British Business Bank, Innovate UK, ICAEW, a start-up business and a number of universities. I specialise in helping science, technology and engineering businesses become funding ready, structurally robust and positioned for scale.

Key Achievements

  • Track record relationship-led impact: Identified and supported high-quality opportunities through roles with the British Business Bank and Innovate UK, building local networks that convert into growth outcomes.
  • Ecosystem reach: Established and maintained senior relationships across the Midlands and North, connecting founders, investors and intermediaries to unlock opportunities.
  • Early-stage investment and founder support: Advised early-stage companies and university spin-outs on investment readiness, commercialisation and scaling. Strong focus on identifying investable teams.
  • Governance and strategic oversight: Board-level experience across innovation-led organisations, providing commercial insight, strengthening accountability and supporting growth decision-making.

Qualifications

PhD - Chemistry BSc (Hons) - Chemistry ICAEW Non-Executive Director Certificate ILM Certificate in Project Management