Sam Smith

Passionate UK entrepreneurship and scaleup champion Sam Smith has developed, supported and promoted multiple initiatives that have fostered entrepreneurship in Britain, particularly among the young and under-represented. The founder and for 24 years CEO of specialist stockbroking firm finnCAP, Sam was the youngest person to lead a stockbroking firm in the City and the first female. Since then, Sam has energetically and enthusiastically supported entrepreneurship in Britain and the scaleup of successful British start-ups. As well as being a leading figure within organisations such as The Entrepreneurs Network, the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation and the Centre for Entrepreneurs, Sam was a key member of the Government’s Women-Led High-Growth Enterprise Taskforce which helped identify gaps in funding female entrepreneurs and the challenges they face. Sam works hard to help make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business. She launched the ScaleUpBritain campaign, is an expert adviser to the ScaleUp Institute and founded the SuperScalers community, to help these engines of growth and innovation build new markets, generate jobs and succeed. Sam is also a part-time Non-Executive Director, where she works within businesses to help bring about greater diversity and inclusivity.