Turning Factor, a learning and development training provider with offices in Norwich, Cambridge and London, has joined the Future 50 as a partner for its 2022 programme.

The company was founded in 2005 by Kathryn Horton, who previously spent 16 years at insurance giant Aviva – then Norwich Union – as a senior corporate trainer. Having seen her brother launch and build his own business, she was inspired to do likewise.

“I left a very comfortable corporate role to start my business, but I also wondered whether I could build a business from a blank piece of paper that could eventually run independent of me,” says Kathryn. “That is my drive and ambition to achieve.”

Like any business, Turning Factor has had its bumps over the past 16 years, but Kathryn is a firm believer that any successful business owner must experience, and learn, from failure.

"You're not an entrepreneur until you've built a few companies and maybe lost a few along the way, and if you haven’t experienced failure, you haven’t pushed yourself hard enough” she says. “If I could wind back the clock and do anything different, I probably wouldn't because of the experience I’ve gained building and running a business and employing people”.

It’s this experience that informs the services that Turning Factor provides to clients, from large corporates to ambitious start-ups like those in the Future 50 programme.

“It’s very fragile for a business in the early stages,” says Kathryn. “We are very familiar with the SME market and can help businesses develop leadership and management skills through real-life, practical training, which is a crucial part of the business growth plan.”

For more information, visit www.turningfactor.com