The Foundations

The First Four Weeks

Where the Traction Happens

Bringing It All Together

This is for you if…

• You’ve already left corporate, or you have a confirmed leave date
• You have decades of senior leadership experience... P&L responsibility, scaling, change, exit, sales, marketing, operations or finance
• You’re serious about building a paid portfolio career, not just exploring whether it’s an option
• You want a structured 12-week programme, not a course you watch when you feel like it
• You’re prepared to do the work... typically 3 to 5 hours a week, plus the weekly live calls
• You want commercial engagements (advisory, fractional, NED, consulting), not a five-year wait list for a FTSE board seat

This isn't for you if…

• You’re still in full-time corporate with no confirmed leave date
• You’re only interested in pro bono work or charity trustee roles
• You want a five-year journey toward FTSE-level non-executive directorships
• You’re looking for a passive course you can dip in and out of
• You’re not prepared to be visible on LinkedIn or have direct commercial conversations
• You want someone to do this for you rather than learn how to do it yourself
• You expect results without being willing to put yourself out there
• You're hoping for guaranteed board seats rather than building real opportunities

Here are our most recent success stories…

Don't take our word for it. Here's what the executives who've done it say... in their own words.

3 Paid NED Roles in 7 Weeks

Nick Crossley: Former CEO, Turtle Bay Restaurants

After a demanding executive career in hospitality, Nick took time to reset, then realised he had no idea where to start building a portfolio. He'd assumed the inbound approaches would come. They didn't.

He joined the Accelerator in September. Within weeks he'd repositioned his LinkedIn profile, reintroduced himself to his network and started generating inbound conversations. By mid-November... just eight weeks in... he'd signed three paid board advisory roles with a fourth in advanced discussions. All paid, all at his target rate, all with a three-month review built in. He'd passed his original goal of two roles by Christmas before the programme was even halfway through.

"What you guided me to do has yielded some really powerful results, very quickly... far faster than I thought it was ever going to happen."

First Paid NED Role After 30+ Years in Corporate

Steve Goodwin: Former MD, Kinetico UK

After 26 years at Johnson Diversey and four years running a £13m business, Steve's MD role was made redundant in a European restructure. He wanted a portfolio career, but months of searching the NED databases had produced almost no traction... and no structure to follow.

He joined the Accelerator and built the foundations while finishing an interim engagement. The moment that role ended, he committed to the system fully. Within one week of starting he secured his first paid NED appointment.

"Within a week of really pressing the buttons, I secured my first NED appointment. It's given me the confidence that the process really works."

£100K Pipeline in 8 Weeks

Janet Markwick: Former Global VP Commercial Operations, Young & Rubicam (WPP)

After leaving WPP, Janet planned a portfolio of non-exec, advisory and consulting work. Instead, the interim roles she took to bridge the gap kept consuming her... three days a week became four, year after year... and the NED ambition slipped down the list every time. She knew that if she didn't change her approach, she'd repeat the same pattern indefinitely.

She joined the Accelerator and made the deliberate choice to prioritise the portfolio over the next easy interim role. She rebuilt her positioning, committed to consistent visibility and used the cohort to hold herself to it. Eight weeks in, she'd secured two paid advisory roles and two paid coaching engagements, with a £100,000 pipeline of fee proposals in active discussion and a paid international keynote booked.

"This whole journey has given me belief. I now completely believe a portfolio career is more than possible."

From Corporate to Portfolio: A Life Redesigned in 12 Months

Andrew Mair: Former Director, BT

Andrew didn't have a crisis to escape... he had ambition with no clear moment to act on it. The hardest part was choosing the right time to step away from a long corporate career and back himself to build something of his own.

He joined the Accelerator at the point of transition and made a deliberate choice: advisory work, not the fractional "get on the tools" roles that would have pulled him back into execution. Twelve months on, he's built a paid advisory portfolio, invests in small businesses, gives time to a charity and is far more present for his family... the change they comment on most.

"My big measure of success is that when recruiters call me about jobs, I don't take the call anymore."

3 Paid Roles and His Life Back

Mark Rattley: Former VP Sales & Head of Strategic Programmes EMEA, SAP

After a 30-year corporate career, Mark spent a year on consulting and interim work... earning half his old income, working five or six days a week, with no security and no real belonging. He'd learned the hard way how fast a network goes cold once you step out of it.

He joined the Accelerator and shifted from operational consulting to strategic advisory... work he chooses, with people he rates, paid properly. He now holds three paid advisory roles and, for the first time in two decades, has the balance that matters most to him: present with his family, walking with friends, in the room rather than on the clock.

"The gift I've got now is I'm in the present. Forget being paid, forget everything else... that's the thing I've achieved."

From Paid for Time to Paid for Value

Tim Richardson: Former European Sales Director

Tim had set up his own company years earlier but drifted into commission and contract sales... including one large three-day-a-week retainer that paid the bills but left him feeling, in his words, like he was just on the clock after 35 years of experience. He knew there was a better way; he didn't yet have the confidence or the stepping stones to reach it.

He joined the Accelerator and reframed the way he sold... from time to value. When an opportunity came up with a French manufacturer wanting to enter the UK market, he resisted the usual "boots on the ground" retainer and instead positioned himself as a strategic growth partner. What started as a few-thousand-a-month conversation became a five-figure proposal with a £4,000-a-month advisory role on the back of it... the first project alone worth more than five times his investment in the programme.

"You don't need a plan, you just need a direction... and then to take some steps. That changed everything for me."

The Window You’re In Won’t Stay Open

There’s a reason the executives who move early are the ones who build the strongest portfolios... and it has nothing to do with luck.

When you leave corporate, your network is at its warmest. The people who know your work, trust your judgement and would happily make an introduction are still a single message away. That’s your most valuable asset and it has a shelf life.

Twelve to eighteen months after you leave, that warmth starts to cool. Contacts move on. Context fades. The introductions that would have happened with a quick call now need rebuilding from cold. The asset that could have anchored your entire portfolio quietly depreciates while you’re deciding whether the time is right.

The time is right while your network still remembers exactly who you are.

You don’t need to have it all figured out first. You need a system that puts that warm network to work before the window closes... which is precisely what the Accelerator is built to do, starting in your first weeks.