A place to work through the knotty challenges of work and life with other men who’ve walked a similar path.

Being an entrepreneur is rich with confronting experiences. You may have no boss, but just as much need for support, challenge, and a wise ear as anyone. Partners and friends mean well, but can’t always give you what you need. Talking honestly with fellow Directors or business partners doesn’t feel straightforward.

And transitioning from running something - working out who you are without it, or what comes next for you, for your family, for your sense of self - can be complex.

A Campfire Circle is a place to reflect and take stock. A place to be held to account for how you say you want to grow. As a leader. As a man. A father. A partner.

It is absolutely NOT a place for dick swinging.

Over the years members of our founding Circle have become close confidants, advisors, friends, supporters of each other and occasionally co-conspirators in business. For the men who’ve joined, it has become a group like no other in their lives.

They return to their workplaces and home lives with more of a sense of objectivity, perspective and balance.

Who is in a Circle?

Everyone on a Campfire Circle has run or is running an ambitious business.

Some on the group may recently have left their company, and find themselves navigating the post-exit phase. Others are deep in the swirl of building something now. All have experience of the complexity and challenges that come from leading.

We have members who’ve built and sold businesses, raised investment of all sorts, invested their own money, merged businesses, bought out partners, done franchises, done JVs, de-merged, survived board room battles, been let go from their own company, floated their company, had to go back into their company having left, and on and on. - across renewable energy, travel, children’s products, tech, consultancy, SaaS platforms and beyond.

The miscellany of backgrounds is what makes the range of experience so diverse, and so valuable.

The group is for men typically in their late 30s and upwards. Why?

I feel there’s a distinct difference in the challenges faced and questions we ask ourselves when moving from the singular, thrusting pursuits of our early career into a more complex and wider ranging mid-stage where there may be family life, bigger existential questions or new angles on ‘success’ now that some goals have been met.

“The camaraderie at Campfire is amazing”

HOW IT WORKS

The groups come together every 8 weeks, from morning to dinner, for a fully hosted day (by me, Toby – an ex-CEO, trained coach and facilitator).

We support, challenge and back each other in whatever we’re facing. In the summer we go away for a two nighter, somewhere beautiful.

The meetings have three main components:

  • Peer Coaching: members bring challenges or big questions to the group, and a group coaching structure brings out the wisdom around the table.

  • Accountability: members make commitments to themselves, starting with an annual planning exercise, and are supported and held to account for taking action by a small sub-group.

  • Reflection: we have regular time and structured exercises to help take stock of where each of us is, what needs to change, and where we’d like to be heading.

There is also a ‘red flag’ that can be raised by any member outside the main meeting structure if an urgent group chat is needed to support someone with something pressing.

Some of our time is spent in conversation around a circle, ideally a fire. But we also get out in nature together. Swim in the sea at our summer meeting. And break bread around a table each time.

Over the last 6 years we’ve built up a strong sense of trust, part of what has made the group so valuable. We’ve been together as businesses have folded, new ones have started, relationships have ended or huge decisions were made.

Two members have even started a company together.

Make it stand out

  • Campfire has been one of the most rewarding things I'm connected to in the sometimes lonely world of leadership!

    Tom Savage

  • "The group combines high calibre members with a grounded and reflective humility"

    Ben Cosh

Toby Sawday head shot

Hosted by Toby Sawday


Campfire is the group I wish I had when I was CEO of Sawday’s and Canopy & Stars. Somewhere to share the ups and down, to be supported (and challenged) and to feel as if I wasn’t handling it all alone.

I led Sawday’s through 8 years of massive, tumultuous but ultimately successful transformation from a venerable print publishing house to an e-commerce business. We also incubated Canopy & Stars, which is now the leading ‘glamping’ booking agent. Both businesses are high-scoring B Corps.

After near burnout and an ownership transition to Employee Ownership, I left and retrained as a coach, working with entrepreneurs and CEOs looking to navigate the challenges of life at the top. I’ve also been deeply involved in the founding and seed stages of the coaching start-up, More Happi.

My greatest love is providing a place for people to come together to support each other, to grow and to learn in a way that combats the isolation of leadership through conversations that are rarely had elsewhere.

  • "Toby runs Campfire with a light, human way but yet somehow ensures that we get the most from each session. Everyone should have a Campfire in their lives!"

    Tom Savage

  • "Toby’s leadership is exceptional"

    Ben Cosh

FAQs

Who is Campfire for?

Our Circles are for men aged 35 and up who either lead or have recently led a business with a turnover of £1m and up. Why? Because we will all have enough shared understanding of the complexities and pressure of something that has some scale.

Each group is an eclectic group of who love to learn, who are up for exploring tough questions together and who are willing to let others support, challenge and hold them to account. We don't wear suits and try not to take ourselves too seriously.

Our founding group is a mix of people deep in running a business, and those who've left and are exploring 'what next', whether that is heading back into a new project, exploring NED / advisory work or taking a well-earned break. The mix offers everyone a range of perspectives. But everyone understand what is it to be responsible for an organisation. And all that comes with it.

The groups meet in person, around Bristol and Bath. Most people who join are therefore from that area.

Why only men?

I've always been struck by the way in which (most) women connect when they get together. They genuinely want to know what's going on in each other's lives.

Two men, on the other hand, can meet for hours and not know the first thing about what's truly going on for the other, even if profound challenges are being faced.

Campfire addresses this. It's an place where men can meet to discuss - with confidence and candour - what's going on for them, professionally and personally. To untangle knotty problems or big questions. And to move forward in the company of experienced peers who have their back.

How big are the groups?

8 is the optimal number - much bigger and it doesn’t feel intimate.

Why focus on professional AND personal?

Those who've run businesses know the inseparability of personal and professional lives. Identities are blended. When something's wrong in one domain, it affects them all. And when you stop running a business, the unexpected tumult of emotions is real.

It's impossible to separate these identities, to discuss something really important in one area without considering how it relates to the others parts of our lives.

What is the commitment?

The value of the group is in the quality of the relationships between all the members. A stable group that has committed members is what makes this possible. So, members commit to coming for the meetings for a year, unless life conspires to make that impossible.

What are the fees?

There is a reasonable fee that covers all meals, drinks, venues and our overnight retreat in the summer. For details please get in touch.