A day of clarity, connection, and creative energy for Brainspark Games

Our founder, Reedah El-Saie, spent a transformative day at Sara Davies MBE’s Entrepreneurial Retreat, returning with renewed clarity, inspiration, and a notebook full of ideas. Here are some of her reflections.

“I finally stopped and listened to my body…”

“After the Brainspark Games Dragons’ Den screening, I caught a cold and felt my body telling me to pause. I had time to reflect – how do I leverage all the support, exposure, and Dragon expertise to scale and grow Brainspark Games? I knew I needed space to think, and that is exactly what I experienced with the support of Sara’s team — Ashleigh Vincent, Katie Allen and Grace Baillie.”

Reedah arrived needing a moment to breathe.
What she didn’t expect was the depth of generosity, honesty, and authenticity that shaped every conversation during the retreat.

Sara Davies: the entrepreneur behind the public persona

“I was aware of Sara Davies – the public persona, the Dragon, the author. But I was taken aback and moved by how authentic and genuine Sara is. She shared her personal story of how she scaled Crafter’s Companion whilst still at university, to a £30 million turnover company – navigating the highs and lows of a high-growth business, family, parenting, children, a TV career, managing investors, and being a Dragon angel investor.”

This retreat offered something rare: real transparency about the lived reality of building, scaling, and sustaining a purpose-led company.

Creative energy, connection, and conversations that matter

Reedah reflects that the most powerful moments came from unexpected conversations, generous offers to brainstorm, and an atmosphere of openness and collaboration.

“My highlights were the unexpected conversations, the offers to brainstorm and collaborate, the sharing of networks, experiences, and ideas – the willingness to listen and share the challenges of growing (and failing) at startup. The energy was so positive, so creative. It was magical to be part of Sara's tribe of investee companies. Thank you.”

Reedah also met brilliant founders exploring future opportunities:

Kate Ball (Mini First Aid)
Flinty Bane (Skin)
Alex Street (Mystery Jersey King)
Gemma Fairhurst (Scoff Paper)
Carla Saull (Good Wash Day)
Thomas Willday (Willsow)
Omid Moallemi & David Parr (Prsnt)
Jayne Sibley (Sibstar)
Holly Davison & Josie Jones (Strong & Nourished)
Cameron Mitchell (Brick Borrow)
Derry Green (The Secret Garden Glamping)

Expert insights delivered exactly when needed

The retreat brought together brilliant speakers who shared practical advice and real-world expertise:

Lee Harris (Mitchell Gordon LLP): specialising in SMEs and high-growth startups. With the help of Helen Clarke, he reviewed Brainspark’s financial forecast the next day. “Needless to say, we are moving accountants.”
Sophie Milliken MBE: powerful session on raising personal profile.
Jade Craggs: importance of email journeys, funnels and user flow mapping.
Amit Aggarwal & Sara Davies: an honest conversation on angel vs institutional investment.
Grace Baillie: a transformative session on how to research, plan, and deliver an authentic social media strategy.
Abby Horne & James Murden: a live TV masterclass with the pace and energy of a QVC studio.
Richard Midgley & Steve Henry: how to harness creative strategy to grow brand visibility.
Gemma Walton: virtual PA support for busy founders.
Scott Harrison: insights on health, mindset, and the psychology behind long-term resilience.

A powerful reset for the next chapter

This single day offered Reedah the space she needed to reset, refocus, and reconnect with her core mission:
to transform children’s learning through inclusive, playful, curriculum-aligned educational games.

It marked an important moment - the pause before the next leap.