Karen Sherwood at The_Track

Karen Sherwood - Founder 

George Ivy is a specialist bid writing consultancy which supports small businesses to secure public sector contracts.

George Ivy was founded by Karen Sherwood, who first got the idea for the business during lockdown in 2020.

The firm’s typical clients are small, service-based businesses and it has already worked with a variety of sectors, including trades like construction and security, along with healthcare, coaching and community groups.

Karen said: “I support clients at all stages of the bid-writing process, whether they want to start their bid-writing journey or increase their win rate. I work with them to turn their

knowledge and skills into work-winning submissions, tailoring my support to their needs, whether it’s translating the bid writing jargon, helping them navigate clunky portals or generally supporting them through the process of bid writing.”

Karen has an extensive background in contract management, business development and procurement. It was during her time in the procurement team for a large county council in 2020 that she started working from coworking space The_Track.

Karen said: “I initially became a member at The_Track for some respite from working from home. There was a huge improvement in my work-life balance but I also found the environment really inspiring - I was surrounded by entrepreneurs and small business owners, and it really got me thinking about the prospect of turning my own skills into an enterprise too.

“In my work for the council, it became apparent that smaller suppliers come across many more barriers when bidding for contracts that suit them. I decided to start George Ivy because I found a passion for supporting these small businesses to overcome these barriers and win contracts with the potential to take them to a whole new level.”

In the summer of 2021, Karen attended the business support programme Startup Club at The_Track and took her idea from a dream to reality. She’s since taken advantage of all of the other free networking and business development opportunities on offer at the hub.

Initially, Karen gained most of her clients through word of mouth and networking at The_Track. However, after winning an Arun District Council Startup Grant, she was able to invest in a professional website and upgraded IT systems, helping her to generate organic leads through her online presence, resulting in year-on-year growth.

Karen said: “It’s fantastic that the business is seeing consistent growth and attracting the right clients who need this service. Launching my business alongside my full-time job and maintaining some work-life balance was challenging, but getting results for small businesses who are looking to scale up has made it so worth it.

“Supporting these kinds of clients was the main fuel behind me starting this business, so helping them to achieve their aims are definitely my proudest moments.”