Value Added Partner Stories
14th February 2025
Author EditorPosted on Categories Business
This month the spotlight falls on Lyndsey Clay, of Connected Brighton.
Tell us your story
In 2013 my world fell apart when a failed IVF journey led to divorce and disrupted my social circle. While my friends were all embracing parenthood together, I felt isolated, out of pace and out of place. To help me process my grief I started sharing my story on Instagram through
@nottheblueprint, openly discussing infertility, divorce and mental health. This vulnerability became my strength, driving me to qualify as a coach to guide others from grief to growth.
Then, during the 2021 lockdown, I created Connected Brighton, a social events business designed to help people connect by supporting local businesses. Now we have a Social Club, Business Club for preferred suppliers and we work with hotels on guest experiences too. Fulfilling my mission to put money back into the city, and help people feel seen, heard and special by supporting ‘local’.
Today, as well as growing Connected into other cities, I am using my entrepreneur experience to empower other business owners through my Coaching and Mentoring Mastermind groups, helping brands to embrace their authentic selves to grow businesses that they love too.
What has been your biggest business challenge to date?
The biggest challenge for me was to tell my story so openly, and to be so vulnerable. The fear of judgement, the fear of isolation, the fear of being the odd one out. I never planned to tell my story when I started Connected, but it quickly became what people wanted to know. And telling it has been the rocket fuel to my success.
What has been your greatest or proudest business achievement to date?
Every award has made me so proud, making the 2024 Top 100 Inspiring Female Entrepreneurs in the UK was the cherry on top. Being at the House of Lords with the other women, and feeling like I’d really made it and that the hard work to get here was worth it.
What type of clients do you currently work with and who are you looking to meet?
Through Connected, I help people over 35 make new friends in our Social Club. Our Business Club supports local businesses looking for new audiences. Our Concierge service supports hotels and, in my Coaching and Mentoring, I help other personal brands find the confidence to grow. I’d love to meet anyone who can benefit from being part of my network, or who wants to grow their business.
Tell us a story/fact about yourself that people might not know
I grew up in foster care, because our house was a foster home. My family fostered from before I was born right up until I was 18. Looking out for others, making people feel seen, heard and special has been part of my life, all my life. It’s made me love people, and want to serve others. And that’s what I do.
How do you define success?
Success for me comes in so many forms – the privilege of seeing the impact my business has made on other people, the difference I see in myself because of it. Being able to live life by my rules and to be in a position that allows me to be a positive influence. Still being here and still standing, that’s success to me.
letsconnect@connectedbrighton.com