Emma Smith-Wood
Entrepreneur
Starting her first business abroad at 18, Emma has been a serial entrepreneur for more than 35 years across the hospitality, childcare, property and media sectors. During the last 10 years she has developed strategies that have taken recognised UK companies into international markets, but her greatest passion is helping start-ups, self-employed individuals and SMEs achieve success.
In 2011 she launched Hothouse, a growth accelerator agency serving businesses across the geographic region of the Weald of Kent and Sussex, which she continues to run. She then launched the region’s largest What’s On website, The Big WOW in 2018.
Designed to empower all types of enterprise that hold events of any size, The Big WOW combines a rapid mobile-responsive e-commerce website, hyper-local geo personalised mobile advertising, GDPR compliant outbound marketing, social media and print to promote highly localised events on a viable basis. With the platform now boasting upwards of 55,000 subscribers, Emma’s plan is find other people passionate about their geographic area and to franchise this in other locations starting in 2020.
In June 2019, together with her business partner Stuart Smith, Emma also opened the doors on their first ‘Hive’, a unique enterprise, hot desking and hospitality hub in Cranbrook town centre to serve local and visiting businesspeople and community. The Hive is a boutique space offering dedicated IP internet services, business support, access to funding and events; including art, workshops and networking. Other locations for The Hive are in the pipeline.
Emma is delighted to be appointed Local Leader for Enterprise Nation representing the Weald of Kent and Sussex.
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Meet Yiannis our Greek Chef
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Danielle our General Manager
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Kitchen Update at Kypseli
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