TPC Team
When you gather more than two hundred portfolio professionals under one roof, you feel something unusual. It’s not the standard structure of a conference or the formality of a corporate event, it’s the sense of something bigger, more meaningful forming in real time. We often say we’re not just a community, we’re a movement – our 2025 Portfolio Career Festival certainly made that statement real.
The space was filled with people who had never fit neatly into a box. Finance Directors who do stand-up comedy. Social workers who make handmade products. Marketers who are personal trainers. Designers who run bars. People who refuse to narrow their working lives to one title. In a society that often asks us to specialise beyond recognition, our community chooses curiosity.
This variety isn’t an accident, it’s the fuel that keeps the movement growing. It shows that portfolio careers are not reserved for office-based professionals or those with linear backgrounds. They are wide open to people who want work that reflects the whole of who they are and what they want from life.
Growth by design: A festival structure created for you
Our team intentionally designed this event to create the perfect environment for growth that spans across the whole day – no moment was left untouched.
We wanted to break away from the typical conference mould, offering something more immersive, more relaxed and ultimately, something you walk away from feeling refreshed and revitalised, ready to make real progress in your portfolio career.
Networking sessions
spaced thoughtfully throughout to enable meaningful conversations, not quick ‘hello’s’.
Workshops
built to spark transformation, challenging assumptions and exploring new ideas, whilst walking away with practical actions to use long after the event.
Main stage talks
to provide learning, inspiration and insight, reminding everyone that growth often begins with a single new perspective.
Post-event drinks
creating a space for follow-up conversations, reconnections and just as importantly, fun.
Growth does not come only from seriousness or rigid structure; it also comes from joy, shared moments and the reminder that what it all comes back to is human-to-human connection.
Growth begins with the courage to ask different questions
Throughout the Festival, our theme stood strong: GROWTH. Growth of skills. Growth of confidence. Growth of community. Growth of the very idea of what a career (and life) can be.
On our main stage, an animated debate captured the tension many professionals feel today. The conversation opened with a line that made the whole room laugh in recognition.
“Some of you are using Chat GPT and speaking to it more than your best friends right now.”
Yet beneath the humour was a serious question: is technology freeing us or just speeding us up? Is it aiding in our growth? Research from Harvard Business Review reports that AI can raise productivity by up to 40%, but the same study found people felt less creative and more rushed as a result. That friction sits at the centre of modern work.
We knew it was a topic that needed to be discussed – and a heated discussion it was! Our panellists explored both sides of the argument – super users vs super builders. One reflected that “it can do both” whilst another reminded us that not everything can or should be automated: “you cannot forget that it is not human.”
And then came the line that resonated across the entire day:
“The thing that I found most enriching is those human conversations, those human stories.”
Across every session, the message was clear. Tools may scale work, but people shape meaning. Growth in a portfolio career depends on strengthening the capabilities that cannot be digitised: critical thinking, courage, creativity, compassion, and connection. It echoes research from Forbes, which highlights the need for these qualities and human skills in the coming years.
In a world where AI can mimic competence, our edge lies in the qualities that cannot be copied. So ask yourself, what edge will you have to enable your growth?
Growth requires connection, especially when the world feels uncertain
The world of work is challenging at the moment. Economic pressure sits alongside technological disruption and traditional roles feel less secure. Many people are asking themselves what work should look like and how to find stability in changing times.
This is why community matters so much. It’s why we brought together communities from a range of sectors, some of which may not have considered a portfolio career as a viable option.
Feeling Social joined us with youth practitioners supporting mental health.
Good Nugget and Eric took space in the room because they champion young creatives who are shaping the next wave of portfolio careers.
Brave Starts represented career changers later in life, along with the senior ops community of Operations Nation attending to explore the concept of fractional ops roles (fractional leaders grew from 60,000 in 2022 to 100,000 in 2024!)
We invited them because accessibility is not a talking point for us; it’s a principle. A movement must welcome people who have not always been welcomed into the world of work. Many assume portfolio careers are reserved for senior corporate leaders and consultants; we believe the opposite. They can empower people from every background, income level and stage of life.
That belief is also behind our recent pricing changes for Pioneer membership, which ensure that more people can access the support they need to build a future-proof portfolio career.
Growth becomes possible when more doors are held open.
“Not only were there so many rich discussions, but you all spread that TPC magic of making everyone feel so welcome.”
Growth thrives where ecosystems flourish
Following our 2024 Festival, we recognised the need for spaces to showcase skills. For the first time, we offered booths as a space for members and partners to display their offerings.
Whether they were products or services, each were specially selected to improve the lives of portfolio professionals – and it was truly impossible to ignore the energy around the booths. Not just because they were promotional stands with exciting offerings to our community, but because they were reflections of what a mature portfolio ecosystem looks like.
Sprintlaw showed how flexible legal support meets the realities of small ventures.
Work.Life demonstrated how a workplace should be designed around happiness.
Content Works guided professionals who are learning to present their varied work with clarity and confidence.
Our own members showcased the innovation within the movement. Nelly Ward’s Wine Roulette created a lively corner that turned strangers into friends. Tes Macpherson shared her AI marketing platform and Zed Vakil showcased his peer support programme, built for others walking the same path. TPC accredited mentor Pawel Hajdan offered technical expertise and Anthony Main, founder of The Distance, introduced his recently launched AI offering, MAIN.
Nelly Ward’s Wine Roulette created a lively corner that turned strangers into friends.
Tes Macpherson shared her AI marketing platform.
Zed Vakil showcased his peer support programme, built for others walking the same path.
TPC accredited mentor Pawel Hajdan offered technical expertise.
Anthony Main, founder of The Distance, introduced his recently launched AI offering, MAIN.
Then there was Bird and Blend – our official tea partner for the Festival. Their complimentary warm teas in the morning and iced matchas in the afternoon carried people from conversation to conversation. They even kindly gifted our VIP’s something to remember them with, their festive Gingerbread Chai. As a B Corp known for thoughtful and ethical growth, their presence felt fitting. They reminded us that businesses can expand while staying rooted in purpose, something many portfolio professionals strive to achieve.
It’s important to remember, growth does not happen in isolation, it happens in ecosystems.
Prioritising learning is prioritising growth
We believe that being a lifelong student is essential – there’s always something new to learn! When learning becomes a priority, it creates the foundation for growth. It strengthens skills, broadens your perspectives and enables you to have confidence in yourself.
After our 2024 Festival, we knew workshops needed to be at the forefront, as the need for personal and professional growth was high. With a varied audience, a varied set of workshops was needed to suit everyone’s needs. As we’re always saying, collaboration is key, so working closely with our community aided us in creating workshops to enable growth and feel truly suited to the requirements of our portfolio professionals, no matter the role or sector.
Imposter syndrome: cure or catalyst? workshop by Rob Wright
It enabled attendees to walk away knowing how to quiet their inner critic and instead, show up with the inner confidence they may have been hiding.
The value lab: find your superpower by Ellen Donnelly
It got us all thinking, “who really am I?” This was a space to consider value propositions and where their strengths will take them, all from passionate discussions with others in the room – highly encouraged by Ellen!
The personal branding playground by Fiona Chorlton-Voong and Alex Pitt
A lively session, getting hands-on and letting those creative juices flow when it came to who you truly are.
The resilience toolkit by Maria Evans
A workshop centred around resilience, teaching attendees to handle rejection and stay motivated, rather than feeling deflated after setbacks.
The opportunity engine by Ben Legg and Fiona Chorlton-Voong
Part of growth is finding work and remembering, opportunities don’t just show up – you have to know where to look. This session revealed practical ways to find opportunities and grow your network.
Play, build, connect by Nicola Twiston Davies
A quick-fire way to make new connections? Putting attendees in a room with a bucket load of LEGO! This session was designed to spark collaboration, growing networks in a natural way.
“It was one of the most engaged conferences I’ve been to in a long time. So many questions being asked, tonnes of networking, a truly safe space.”
The movement is already here
Our Festival was not about presentations or strict schedules, it was about a community discovering its collective strength, banishing the thought that traditional career paths are the only way and building schedules that are more flexible and more fulfilling.
We’re not just a community. We’re a movement. One that is reshaping how people work, connect and grow all over the world.
If you believe there is more to your career than a single job title. If you want your skills, values and interests to coexist rather than compete. If you want to grow yourself, grow your network and grow a working life that honours your whole identity, then our movement has space for you. All that’s left is to take the next step.
Join the movement. Become a Pioneer.
Step into a community that’s redefining what a career can be – now for just £5 a month. Expand your skills, deepen your connections and create a career that finally feels like you.
Think this sounds like the right path for you? Come along to our monthly Community Welcome Call for new members to find out what a portfolio career could look like and how The Portfolio Collective can help you take those first steps towards professional success – and don’t forget to connect with our community!
