Katie Lewis
Co-FOUNDER
Katie Lewis grew up in New Zealand and moved to the UK after studying International Business (BCom) and Psychology (BA) at the University of Otago.
She soon realised London provided her a fantastic opportunity to work within a buzzing and emerging start-up ecosystem (in 2010). She spent several years at an early-stage VC, then running an Accelerator company through which she has supported 1000s of companies to raise investment in the UK and abroad.
She is currently COO at a high growth scale up, Aspire working with the world's largest organisations to upskill their talent to launch new products/services to drive growth through new business models & routes to market (including partnering with and buying from startups).
In 2011 she cofounded 9others, bringing people together in a supportive, trusting environment to give those going through the trials and tribulations of building a business a sense of community and belonging.
Katie lives with her husband Nigel, in Kingston Upon Thames, UK where she enjoys Olympic Weight Lifting, reading and gardening.
Matthew Stafford
Co-founder
Over the last twelve years Matthew has worked with startups, venture capital and angel investors, governments, NGOs and large corporations to create and capture value.
Matthew is a Co-founder of 9others, a global entrepreneurs' network, and an active angel investor.
9others was established in 2011 and is now a global network of 5,000 entrepreneurs in 45+ cities who meet over dinner to help each other solve the challenges of business and life.
To date Matthew has invested in 23 startups, most of which have been sourced from the 9others network, and has achieved 2 exits. He has invested in and negotiated investment transactions from £15k to £50m.
He studied Computer Science at Durham University and has an MBA from Imperial College Business School. Matthew lives with his wife, daughter and son in Hertfordshire, UK, where he enjoys reading biographies, watching Formula 1 and training for ultra-marathons.