It’s become a familiar refrain: “We’re going to build the next Silicon Valley!” And yet, many of these grand strategies —complete with investment zones, modern offices, and flashy slogans—tend to fizzle out.
Why? Because they overlook the most vital ingredient of all: people who’ve actually done it before.
Here in Sheffield, the Bessemer Society Sheffield Branch is tackling this very issue head-on. It’s no secret that the Steel City has a storied industrial past. From the little mesters to Huntsman’s crucible steel and the revolutionary Bessemer process, our heritage reminds us that disruptive innovation cannot be scripted: it is the work of scientific and experimental mavericks; people with bold ideas and even bigger dreams who become entrepreneurs. Their motivation is to constantly quest to make things in better, more efficient and productive ways.
Learning from Sheffield’s past
In the 19th century, Sheffield became the global epicentre of steelmaking, thanks largely to Henry Bessemer—an “outsider” from Hertfordshire. It wasn’t a shiny brochure or government edict that sparked our city’s renaissance. It was Bessemer’s invention: a new steel-making method that transformed how metal was produced worldwide. Without him, Sheffield might have remained a local curiosity rather than becoming an industrial titan.
If there’s one lesson the genius of Bessemer teaches us, it’s that Sheffield would have stagnated had it relied entirely on its own native talents. It was its openness to new ideas, new ways of thinking and new people that triggered a revolution in steel making. Fast-forward to today. It is the same story. If we want to kickstart the next big wave of innovation it will not be achieved by local talent alone. No matter how many well-intentioned local committees we set up, if they lack a proven track record of building and scaling innovative businesses, Sheffield will fall behind.
Why Experience Matters
Look at Manchester. Andy Burnham and the University of Manchester are doing truly amazing innovation work in the heart of a great northern city. But they want to do more.
What did they do? They reached out to Cambridge, a rival university in the Gilded Triangle, but one of the most successful in the world at turning ideas into innovation and invention; and in starting and scaling enterprises from one-man-and-his-lab, to truly global companies that change paradigms and lives for the better.
That’s precisely where the Bessemer Society and its newly minted Sheffield Branch comes in. Earlier this year, we hosted an event in Sheffield that vibrantly illustrated how to do it right. Masterminded by Alex Stewart, the great-great-grandson of Henry Bessemer and founder of The Bessemer Society, he brought together a mix of talent, experience and enterprise that spanned the globe. There were no tired tropes about pitch decks or “journeys” from pre-seed to unicorns, delivered by people who had heard something on a podcast. These were innovators who had done the hard yards and then some. Their advice carried weight. Their support was infinitely more valuable than finance. And all of it would have been impossible to find had you looked in Sheffield alone.
One standout speaker was Stan Boland, a serial entrepreneur who founded Element 14, Icera, and Five AI, then famously sold Element 14 to Broadcom for $640 million. Boland’s insights weren’t theoretical musings or warmed-over business platitudes; they were drawn from years of practical experience in building and scaling tech ventures. Participants—local founders, engineers, and investors—walked away with actionable lessons and a renewed sense of how to push their own ambitions forward. Our aim in the Sheffield branch is to bottle the essence of that entrepreneurial spirit and uncork it at regular gatherings in the heart of the city.
The Bessemer Society Sheffield branch
So how does the Sheffield Branch plan to fix the all-too-common shortcomings of policy-driven innovation schemes?
1. Where local meets global
Rather than relying solely on local champions, we will use connections to bring seasoned entrepreneurs from outside the region—our modern-day “Bessemers”—to share their insights. This isn’t about ignoring local talent, but about blending it with globally recognised know-how.
2. Nurturing an innovation community
Real innovation thrives in strong communities where people trust each other, share best practices, and compare notes on everything from raising capital to hiring top engineers. The Society’s events, workshops, and mentoring programmes are built to do just that—fostering meaningful connections, where friendships are formed, successes celebrated and failures dusted off.
3. Championing practical guidance
“If you want to learn how to run a marathon, talk to someone who’s run it,” the old saying goes. The Bessemer Society Sheffield branch lives by this mantra. That means hooking up first-time founders with those who’ve steered companies through IPOs, high-stakes acquisitions, and even the dreaded meltdown periods. These are the war stories every aspiring innovator needs to hear.
4. Leveraging Sheffield’s entrepreneurial heritage
We shouldn’t forget that Sheffield’s identity is woven into these efforts. We’re not looking to mimic Silicon Valley by erecting “quirky” office spaces or rolling out more public relations fanfare. The real solution lies in harnessing the region’s deep industrial roots—our steel-making heritage & advanced manufacturing—and pairing it with the 21st-century drive for AI, robotics, clean tech, and beyond.
A call to policymakers
What might a policymaker learn from the Bessemer Society Sheffield Branch? First, that infrastructure alone won’t make an innovation ecosystem—people will. Second, that talent doesn’t always grow just outside your front door. Sometimes, you have to bring it in, whether from a neighbouring town, another country, or from across the Atlantic.
Instead of commissioning yet another whitepaper on “the future of technology,” consider supporting organisations that actively recruit and connect proven entrepreneurs to mentor our next generation. Set a budget for bringing in expertise, not just printing brochures.
The road ahead
Will Sheffield become “the next Silicon Valley”? We hope not. We want better than that. Our growth has to be inclusive. All the boats must rise. We should focus instead on harnessing our city’s strengths and making them even stronger with the best minds we can find—be they local or from afar. The Bessemer Society Sheffield branch’s ethos is to replicate the pioneering spirit of Henry Bessemer himself: see the big industrial puzzle, find the missing pieces, and slot them into place.
If policymakers are serious about creating lasting economic growth, they’d do well to take a page out of Sheffield’s book. Don’t assume that hype and infrastructure alone will drive change on their own. Seek out people who’ve actually achieved what you aspire to build, and bring them to the table. Because, as history has shown us time and again, it’s the spark of expertise that sets the furnace of innovation ablaze—and Sheffield’s been proving that for centuries.
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