Running a business is lonely. This is the room where it isn't.
A private peer circle for Bishop's Stortford business owners and directors.
Application only · Owners & directors · Strictly confidential
The honest bit
There are things you can't say out loud.
Not to your team — they need you to look like you've got it. Not to your co-directors — it's complicated, and there's ego in the room. Not to your family at the dinner table — they've heard enough, and they worry.
So you carry it. The cash-flow week that kept you up. The hire you got wrong. The quiet question of whether any of this is still worth it. Running a business can be the loneliest thing you'll ever do well.
The Stort Circle is a small, confidential room of people who genuinely get it — because they're living it too. Almost like therapy, but with people who've actually signed the front of a payslip.
No pitching. No performance. Just honest conversation with peers who've been where you are, and won't flinch when you tell them the truth.
What it is
A trusted inner circle — not a networking group.
A small, vetted circle
Genuine local business owners and directors — carefully kept small so the room stays close and the conversation stays real.
Monthly, in person
We meet once a month in Bishop's Stortford, plus quarterly social experiences — think clay shooting, a cookery class, a gin distillery.
Confidential by default
Chatham House Rule. What's said in the room stays in the room. That's the whole point.
Owners & directors only
No salespeople, no account managers, no pitching — ever. Nobody's there to sell you anything.
How it works
Simple, and deliberately small.
- 01
Apply
Tell us a little about you and your business. It takes a couple of minutes.
- 02
We have a chat
A relaxed conversation to make sure the Circle is the right fit — both ways.
- 03
Join your circle
You're welcomed in. Membership is deliberately small and capped.
- 04
Show up monthly
Once a month, in person, plus the quarterly socials. That's it.
Who it's for
Honest about the fit.
This is for you if…
- Owners and directors of established local businesses
- People who want honest peer support, not another sales pipeline
- Anyone who's felt the quiet weight of carrying it alone
- Those happy to keep what's said in the room, in the room
It's not for you if…
- Anyone whose main goal is selling to the room
- Salespeople, account managers and business-development reps
- People looking for leads, referrals or a pitch slot
- Anyone who can't keep a confidence
Membership
It covers the venue, the food, the experiences and a properly run room — not a profit centre. Founding member places are limited.
Who's behind it
A note from James.
I'm James Moore — a local business owner, same as you. I got tired of networking groups where half the room was there to sell to the other half, and nobody said anything that actually mattered.
What I needed wasn't leads. It was a room where I could be honest — about the hard weeks, the decisions that keep you up, the stuff you can't say anywhere else. So I built the room I wished existed.
The Stort Circle is founded and supported by my company, Genmar — a local business. But Genmar stays firmly out of the room. No selling, no IT pitches, no agenda. Just the Circle, run properly, for the people in it.
James Moore
Founder, The Stort Circle
Apply
Apply to join the Circle.
A couple of minutes now, then a friendly chat. We read every application personally.