The Unfair Advantage: How SMEs Can Outrun the Big Girls and Boys
Conventional wisdom says bigger businesses should win. They have larger budgets, bigger
teams and greater resources. Yet some of the most successful companies of the last twenty
years started life in garages, spare bedrooms and garden sheds. This keynote challenges
the assumption that size determines success and argues that SMEs possess advantages
that larger organisations often struggle to replicate.
Drawing on neuroscience, behavioural economics and real-world business examples, the
session explores three powerful drivers of competitive advantage: speed, storytelling and
data. From Gymshark’s journey from a Birmingham garage to a global brand, to Moonpig
founder Nick Jenkins tracking competitors through receipt numbers, the keynote combines
research, practical tools and commercial experience to show how smaller businesses can
move faster, connect more effectively with customers and make better decisions.
AI appears throughout the session, but not as the headline act. The argument is deliberately
contrarian: because everyone now has access to the same technology, AI itself cannot be a
sustainable source of advantage. The real opportunity lies in using it to sharpen judgement,
test ideas and accelerate learning. Attendees will leave with practical ways to act faster, tell
stronger stories and use data more intelligently, creating an advantage that many larger
competitors simply cannot match.
Martin Spiller FCA, Barrister-at-Law (non-practising), Associate Professor in
Entrepreneurial Practice
Martin Spiller is Associate Professor in Entrepreneurial Practice at Oxford Brookes Business
School, where he teaches entrepreneurship, scaling and strategic growth. Alongside his
academic role, he is Managing Partner of Paladin Partners, advising founders and
leadership teams on growth, value creation and exit.
A Chartered Accountant, qualified Barrister-at-Law, Martin began his career in corporate
finance with Andersen and Deloitte before founding, growing and exiting his own giftware
business. He later completed a buy-in management buy-out of a South West-based
managed service provider, helping deliver fivefold growth before a successful exit. Across
his career he has worked with hundreds of SMEs as an adviser, executive, investor, as both
an angel and as part of an early stage VC fund and non-executive director, supporting
businesses through growth, investment, succession and exit.
Martin has served on more than 25 boards and has been involved in raising and deploying
over £15-million of investment capital. His experience spans technology, professional
services, consumer products, media, social enterprise and high-growth entrepreneurial
businesses, giving him a broad perspective on the challenges founders face as
organisations evolve.
A regular speaker, judge and commentator on entrepreneurship and business growth, Martin
combines academic research with real-world commercial experience. His work focuses on
helping founders build businesses that are more valuable, more resilient and ultimately
better aligned with the people building them. Known for challenging conventional business
wisdom, his talks blend evidence, practical insight and a healthy dose of commercial reality.
