The room where business owners say what they actually think.

Yes, and in writing. Every member signs a mutual non-disclosure agreement, and meetings run under the Chatham House Rule: you can use what you learn, but you never repeat who said it or which business it concerns. Nothing is recorded, screenshotted or forwarded without the explicit permission of the people involved. Because there is only one business per sector, nobody at the table competes with you.

How confidentiality works in practice

That is what the application and the introductory call are for. Members are typically founders, owners, CEOs and directors of businesses turning roughly £500k to £20m or more. Every member is allocated to the most suitable group, based on revenue band, sector and conflicts of interest, stage of business, team size, priorities for the year, location, availability, what they bring to the room and how they like to be challenged.

How we match members to groups

It costs twelve days a year and from £9,800 + VAT. We won't promise a return, because nobody honestly can. The better question is what deciding alone is already costing you: the hire that took a year to fix, the price rise you keep putting off, the opportunity you passed on, the problem you've carried for months because there was no one to think it through with. A good table gives you challenge before you commit, from people who have made similar calls with their own money. Most owners only need one expensive mistake avoided, or one good decision made sooner, to judge the year well spent.

No. There is no upsell ladder and no secret formula. Most of the value comes from the other members, who are running real businesses now. IGNITE Academy was founded by Sanjeev Desour, who has spent more than 30 years building and running businesses rather than teaching about them. Guest experts are chosen for practical knowledge in areas like pricing, finance, tax and M&A, and agree in advance that their sessions are educational, not a pitch.

No. The introductory call is a conversation about fit: what you want help with, whether a Growth Board or one-to-one coaching suits you better, and what it costs. If we don't think it fits, we will say so. Prices are published on this site, so there is nothing to negotiate around. Guest experts are not allowed to pitch, and the Members are free to do business with one another, and some do, but that isn't the purpose of the group. Nobody joins to be sold to, and the table is for decisions, not pitches.

They are respected, long-established organisations, and if one of them suits you, you should join it. The differences are practical. IGNITE Academy is a single, founder-led UK organisation rather than an international network of chapters, franchises or independently contracted chairs. Our groups have up to twelve members, one per sector, matched by revenue band. Our prices are published. Membership is open to established owners of any age. And members can draw on the IGNITE Group's own network of specialists, and Founder's Circle members work with Sanjeev personally.