Torbay Business Network - 24th July 2026

TBN is back for July and we are at Hotel Indigo!
About this Event

Torbay Business Network is back in July and this month we will be hosted by Hotel Indigo, Torquay!

We are really looking forward to Kickstart your morning with some fantastic networking and top talk from Matthew Barrington-Packer:
Talk overview

Busy, Not Stuck — the best chance in a generation to actually ship the thing

Most work doesn't fail with a bang. It fails quietly — through endless meetings, deferred decisions and what Matthew calls "polite postponement," staying green on every report while never reaching a customer. Drawing on twenty years brought into stalled projects across defence, energy, big tech and finance, he makes the case that AI has changed the game for smaller firms: as the cost of building collapses, the advantage goes not to the biggest budget but to whoever decides and ships fastest — exactly where a nimble Torbay business can now out-manoeuvre a multinational. Attendees leave with practical, use-it-Monday ways to put AI to work, and one simple tool for getting their most stubbornly stuck project moving.

Matthew Barrington-Packer has spent twenty years inside some of the most demanding organisations in the UK and US — across defence, energy, big tech and finance, including the MOD, BAE Systems, Google and AWS — usually brought in when a project had ground to a halt. Watching the same problem play out across wildly different industries led him to develop the VOLTS Method, a practical framework for getting stuck work shipped. He is also the author of Just F*cking Ship It (out September 2026).

Join us on Friday 24th July, 8–10am for breakfast in the restuarant followed by Matthew Barrington-Packer presenting in the roof top bar overlooking the most stunning view of Torbay!

You will have an arrival drink of Tea, Coffee and water.

And for the main event either:

Full Cooked Breakfast (vegan, gluten free available)

Yoghurt and fruit pot

All Served Tea or Coffee

Drinks will be served at the roof top bar for the presentation section and this is pay as you go.

Free parking is situated in the car park below the hotel.

Tickets are £20.95 per guest and we will be overlooking the beautiful Torbay.

You will also be entered into our business wheel of fortune with the prize to have free entry to the next event, take the business spotlight space, and promote your business at a future event.

Parking is FREE and there are plenty of parking spaces in the car park next to the venue.

Please note: Our refund policy is stricktly 7 days and if we are not notified within this timescale we cannot defer this to another meeting.

Can we please ask that if you are unable to attend the event, even at short notice that can you let Dean know on 07399 611643. Many thanks

Agenda

🕑: 08:00 AM - 08:15 AM
Arrival Networking, with Tea & Coffee
🕑: 08:15 AM - 08:45 AM
Breakfast time!
🕑: 08:45 AM - 09:15 AM
Your time to shine! Guests intros
🕑: 09:15 AM - 09:25 AM
Business Spotlight winner - Lisa Haines-Owen
🕑: 09:30 AM - 09:55 AM
Main Guest Speaker - TBC
🕑: 09:55 AM - 10:00 AM
Final notices