Our Host
Mercedes Benson
A social Influencer & marketeer by day and a fierce entrepreneur & DJ by night, Mercedes Benson has managed to work for and alongside brands such as adidas, PUMA, BeatsbyDre, Google & more, to establish herself as a true tastemaker and voice of authority within the creative industry. With a passion that delves deeply into music, fashion, youth and content creation, she has mastered the art of juggling the fast paced realms of social media for brands, whilst maintaining her personal brand alongside. All of this at the tender age of 26. A true Renaissance Girl.
Anaïs runs our bespoke client workshops and events programme for UK advertisers and works with the world’s largest brands and agencies, helping them find new ways to connect to consumers and get the most out of the constantly evolving world of digital products and platforms.
She is an active member of the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Native and Content Council, helping to shape the future of the online ecosystem, and has spent the past 14 years based in the US, UK and Europe working on complex, international projects for brands including Unilever, BMW, Nestle, Mars, P&G, Nike, GlaxoSmithKline and L'Oreal.
Emmanuel Speaks is a performance poet, from East London - as seen on Channel 4, Huffington Post, SBTV, Sofar Sounds and more. Claiming to “influence and tell the stories of a generation”, he is an individual who has gone through a transition in his life from studying full-time at university to now becoming full-time invested in music. He's all about his wordplay, storytelling and ability to inspire - as he uses the power of his words to really capture the soul as well as the imagination.
Chenice is an up and coming singer-songwriter from South-East London. From a young age, Chenice has been exposed to music, from singing within the family household, to leading the Church choir, to studying Music Management and Artist Development at Bucks New University. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Jhene Aiko and Brandy, her musical style is a blend of alternative RnB, Soul and acoustic. Chenice continues to work her way to where she wants to be within the industry, holding onto the belief that nothing is ever impossible.
Steph is the inspiring Founder of 'What Next Coach?', a professional coaching company that supports young professionals and entrepreneurs achieve their personal and professional ambitions by helping them decide and plan “What Next?”. Apart from one-to-one life and career coaching programmes, she also runs business bootcamps for those who particularly want to start up their business and go from 'employee to entrepreneur'
William is the fashionable Founder of Vitae London, who make beautifully crafted watches, that don't break the bank. With each watch they sell they support a child through education in Sub Saharan Africa. They have sold in 26 countries and distributed over 2,000.
Abadesi is the enthusiastic and bubbly Founder of Hustlecrew, a company aimed at helping women in the work place, through events, workshops and mentoring.
Ayotunde is the Co-Founder of Vensy, a Sports Marketing company based out of TechHub in Campus London. They got their breakthrough after going through the Collider Accelerator where they raised £50,000 in a pre-seed round.