Our story
Next-Up was launched in 2018 by founder and chief executive, Victoria Tomlinson. A respected businesswoman, she had an award-winning communications and digital business – and saw a long line of people in their 50s and 60s who could not find ways to use their skills. When society has so many problems these generations could help with, this seemed ludicrous.
Next-Up is ahead of the curve and creating new markets. As with any innovation, there have been a number of pivots on the way, not least because of Covid! What we remain focused on is finding practical ways to use the skills of the 50+ generation.
Our business was initially focused on helping individuals – this was what we had been doing in our previous business, very successfully. However, it quickly became apparent that it is really difficult finding and engaging individuals once they have left the working market.
Alongside this we had been trialling all sorts for proof of concept. We believed this generation could add enormous value to entrepreneurs, charities and more. We ran events, launched a mentoring platform – which transformed many entrepreneurs in Covid – and proved beyond doubt, this generation is valuable.
After a lot of trial and error, we now have three core products and services
- We run workshops for pre-retirement partners in professional firms to great acclaim. This is an entirely new concept and we have created a new market. The workshops are hugely successful, giving partners inspiration, ideas and practical skills for the next stage of their lives. 100% of partners recommend us; all firms have rebooked and include Magic Circle, Big 4, regional firms and more. We are now expanding the concept with open workshops and ways to deliver these for corporates
- We have created a platform, Rethink Retirement, to help employees plan the next stage of their lives – ideas and inspiration rather than financially focused. It has been piloted with a major corporate and Version 2 was built based on feedback from 300 employees. There are few benefits for people aged 50+ – we hope it will eventually become standard for all corporates to offer this to employees
- And we are now looking at how we can help corporates value and make more of the skills of the 50+ generation, with a particular focus on understanding the jobs market and encouraging and reskilling people in digital, data and AI/
Victoria and Next-Up walk the talk on all this. She is 68, became a tech entrepreneur at 67 and is keen to show the value of experience. In 2024, Next-Up employed 56 people aged over 50 – from videographers and designers to speakers at events and strategic advisors.
If you are a progressive employer, we would love to work with you, pilot things together and really create value from an increasingly overlooked part of society, the 50+ generation.
