THE STARTUP Croydon TEAM

Saffron Saunders

CEO

Saffron is a well-known face in the business support arena having been in the South London business community since 2013. As a key stakeholder, Saffron is able to bring in key players to help Start Up Croydon move into the digital age, supporting our economy and delivering excellence.

‘It’s an inspiring time to be at the helm, with so many new team members all working towards enterprise support, it’s a pleasure to be leading such a dynamic and ambitious team’.

Ben Oram

Operations Manager

Ben is StartUp Croydon’s Operations Manager with responsibility for making sure the building runs smoothly, tenants and visitors are looked after and the accounts are managed on a day to day basis.

He also helps support businesses through delivering training workshops and 1-1 advice sessions.  Ben loves the variety of the work – every day is different and never the same; he gets a great deal of satisfaction providing a great service but more importantly seeing people develop, grow their business, improve themselves and provide opportunities for others.

Geoff Ranson

Project Manager

Geoff is the Project Manager here at StartUp Croydon, overseeing the rolling out and facilitation of all the exciting programmes put together for the benefit of our community.

His keen eye for detail and huge depth of knowledge means everything goes smoothly and allows StartUp Croydon to do what it does best. Geoff thrives on helping people, and the hard work and dedication he shows when someone is in need of his support shows what a great asset he is to the team.

Latoya Busumbru

Executive Assistant / Head of Social Media

Latoya is the first face you’ll see when you come into Weatherill House, as well as being the main person behind all of the StartUp Croydon social media.

Latoya has her own brand WombBae, which has grown throughout lockdown and is excited to be working in the world of startups helping others to develop their ambitions using her experience to inspire others, and her many years in the corporate world to help us stay organised.

Tanya Sinclair

Community Manager

Tanya has been through our training programmes with her natural juice business T&N Naturals and was a winner in our recent Business Incubator programme.

As a service user, Tanya influences how we work with and reach new clients. In her role as Community manager, Tanya is responsible for sales and events and contributes to our social media content and delivery. Tanya has an infectious personality and is a joy to be around.

Fiona Ingvarsson

Marketing Executive for The Creative Digital Lab

With over 20 years of experience working in the creative industries and an award-winning photographer, speaker and writer, Fiona brings her entrepreneurship and marketing knowledge to our team.

Fiona also took part in our past Incubator programme, of which she was a runner-up, producing an business plan to support her photography mentoring programme

Naveed Ali

E-Business Advisor

As an SME Consultant, Naveed has a proven track record of helping businesses to improve their operational efficiency, increase their market share, and achieve their strategic goals. 

As E-Business Advisor at Startup Croydon, Naveed leverages his extensive experience to provides strategic advice to start ups and established business  on e-business models and digital marketing strategies. 

Adam Pavitt

E-business Advisor

Adam brings his expertise in e-business strategies and tools to our team. Beyond his role at StartUp Croydon, Adam has run his own IT Support startup business in Sydney, Australia and Co-Founded and ran a business coaching business for 10 years.

With his background in both tech and business, Adam has keen interest in helping his clients leverage their time through digital and process efficiencies.

With his keen interest in Artificial Intelligence, Adam is able to advise organisations large and small on how to best utilise this technology to create their competitive advantage.

Herty Owusu

Senior Project Administrator – eBusiness

Herty’s commitment to the eBusiness project is obvious in her engaging enthusiasm and her emphasis on a superior client experience. Her positive outlook combined with a Project Management background has been great in facilitating the efficient running of her team.

An award winning writer and experienced filmmaker, Herty’s collaboration with inspiring creatives across Europe, Africa and North America has fuelled her passion – to see good projects reach their full potential. For her, seeing businesses thrive in a community filled with nourishment and support is what being at StartUp Croydon represents.

Aysha Iqbal

Media Presenter

Aysha has been instrumental in supporting the development and launch of our new Media Studio, She is also the primary host interviewer for our business podcasts.

Aysha is an experienced communications coach and a Croydon resident. Her contribution has raised the bar on our professional communication style.
For Communication coaching, contact Aysha direct at Wizz Media

Antonio Lewis

Creative Lead Consultant

Antonio Lewis is our Creative Lead Consultant. As an expert in film production and owner of his own film production company and creative agency, TVOX Ltd; Antonio is our expert in all things relating to the Creative Digital Lab.

Acting as the glue between the CDL and its many stakeholders, Antonio helps manage the space, deliver workshops, and technically execute projects. Anything taking place relating to digital content creation is his domain.

Glenard Patnelli

Audio & Youth Engagement Consultant

A seasoned entrepreneur, Glenard leads in Afrobeats with Team Salut and pioneers educational innovation at his brainchild company, Joal Miez Educational Services.

With an ear finely tuned to both sound and societal needs, he excels in creating award-winning music and enriching youth programmes at the same time! His commitment to social impact shines through all his work, making him a driving force for impactful and successful endeavours.

Rajpal Rekhi

Digital Strategic Consultant

Known as “The Creative Entrepreneur,” Rajpal combines his academic background in economics with more than 15 years of practical design experience in visual identity, animation and UI/UX to help organisations create profitable business solutions that drive customer value.

As someone who has built a successful business from scratch, he understands the pressures entrepreneurs face. Rajpal’s focus is on protecting creativity while promoting sustainable business practices.