You run a community of ambitious, entrepreneurial professionals
The Ask delivers talks, workshops, coaching & mentoring for entrepreneurial people and start up talent.
We support communities of founders and professionals with the tools they need to bring out the best version of themselves personally and professionally.
Whether it’s confidence, personal branding, self-awareness, co-founder dynamics or building the right team — get in touch to find out more about the services we deliver.
Client testimonials
"It’s been an absolute pleasure having Ellen deliver workshops on self-awareness and personal branding to startups in our portfolio. This type of support is hugely valuable for any Founder looking to grow their team and become leaders in their industry. The sessions are highly interactive and always practical. I’ve actually done a few of Ellen’s exercises myself and would recommend them to anyone looking to gain a deeper understanding of themselves and how to leverage their strengths in their professional (and personal!) lives”
Nelly Lavielle, Partner
Bethnal Green Ventures is Europe's leading early-stage tech for good VC
“Ellen carried out a personal branding workshop for our team at the BBC and she was really excellent – thoughtful, inclusive and extremely knowledgeable. Nothing was too much trouble as Ellen offered different framings, resources and exercises to guide us through this area. She engaged the team, provoked supportive discussion and offered an array of practical tools. The feedback I had from the team afterwards was overwhelmingly positive. I was especially impressed since we only had a short time in which to deliver a lot of information. Ellen is wonderful to work with, very personable, highly professional and an all round pleasure to work with.”
Laura Ellis, Head of Technology Forecasting, BBC
“As an early-stage Impact Accelerator, it's crucial for our founders to build strong teams and strong cultures and it's an area that many are unprepared for. Our session with Ellen was invaluable, she brought experience and advice across the topics of diversity, self-leadership, recruitment, uncovering character, and employer brand. We can't wait to invite her back for our next cohort."
Jack Follet, Programme Lead, Impact Central
Impact Central is an accelerator and mentor network for impact-driven businesses solving social and environmental problems.
“We asked Ellen to speak on the topics of finding your purpose and honing in on your strengths to our community of founders and aspiring entrepreneurs and we were blown away. Ellen has a way of delivering engaging and incredibly impactful talks that really get you thinking about things in a way you've never thought about them before. We'd highly recommend Ellen to anyone looking to find clarity and purpose and we look forward to inviting Ellen back again soon.”
Lara Sheldrake Founder & CEO
Found & Flourish is the female founders' network that empowers women to turn their business ideas into a profitable and sustainable reality
“Ellen joined us for a Fireside Chat with our cohort of career changers, looking to Switch into the Tech Industry. She advised them on identifying the right path, finding the right business and how to stand out during the application process. The group really enjoyed the session and were impressed by how insightful, authentic and practical Ellen's advice was. We'd definitely have Ellen back in the future, she's fab!”
Nina Gordon, Marketing Manager
Jolt is the business school for the self-made, their SWITCH programme equips its students to enter the world of tech
“The Ask and Out of Hours co-ran an event for our communities online, designed to help them navigate the inner critic voice that can stop people following their dreams or starting on their business ideas. Ellen was super knowledgeable and professional to work with!”
Georgia Ritter, Founder,
Out of Hours is the community for people pursuing side projects that matter
"The Ask delivered coaching for 90 students on the London web development and data science courses, helping our students with their individual career plans and goals whether that be joining a tech company or starting a business. We really enjoyed the collaboration as Ellen was a professional throughout, extremely knowledgeable and super responsive to the cohort needs and Le Wagon ways of working."
Laura Wiltshire, Talent & Partnerships Manager, Le Wagon
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We can deliver talks, workshops, coaching or mentoring on professional development topics including:
Personal Branding + Visibility
Hiring + Retaining Startup Talent
Self-Awareness + Emotional Agility
Career Change + Job Hunting
Strengths + Energy Mapping
Networking + Relationship Building
Personal Productivity + Time Management
Leading Yourself + Others