“It’s made me realise there’s a market for what we create” Surfing Light Beams’ Harmeet Chagger-Khan talks West Midlands Create Growth

When is the right time to level up? For many start-ups chipping away at their dreams, it can be hard to know when the stars have aligned enough for you to make the leap towards something bigger. Creative founder Harmeet Chagger-Khan found herself in this position. As the director and founder of Birmingham-based immersive experience company Surfing Light Beams, a venture that uses state-of-the-art technology to provide inspirational and communal digital adventures, she found herself on the cusp of a creative wave. In her mind, it was now or never.

“I wanted to pivot towards becoming a business that could grow and generate revenue,” she explains, speaking to us about her own growth journey. “For me, it was the right time. I thought, ‘I might as well do this now because if I don’t, what am I waiting for? Am I going to miss the cusp of riding this wave?’ We’re firmly in an early adoption era when it comes to immersive, interactive experience,” she says. “When things are new, you can capitalize on that hunger.”

This attitude led Harmeet to West Midlands Create Growth, a support programme designed to help regional business owners solidify their proficiency as creative founders. “It felt like the time was right,” she continues. “I hadn’t seen anything like the Create Growth programme before in terms of something that offered a concentrated period of time where you could gain lots of knowledge and some key mentorship while building your network. It was also great to have done this with a cohort of peers who were all in similar creative businesses.”

With a strong freelance career behind her, the course offered the opportunity to focus on some integral business-building specifics that had been easy to overlook. “It provided lots of granular detail which as a founder, you have to know,” she tells us. “As a director, you’re driving the vision of the company but there’s all kinds of nitty gritty details that you need to know – like how to run your finances, what to do with your cap table, how to generate IP… These aren’t just useful, they’re necessary. Dedicating time to that granular detail was really useful.”

The ability to compare notes with other like-minded creatives proved to be equally beneficial. “The power of the network was really important. It’s useful to know where your growth trajectory might be but talking to other businesses that might be in a slightly different area to you is also really valuable,” reasons Harmeet. “Nobody is indestructible – even though we like to think we are – so having space to hear how other founders and companies deal with challenges was really insightful.”

Another useful tool? The ability to dip your toes into the pitching boardroom for some much needed early experience. “I wanted to be in front of investors,” admits Harmeet. “I’m a little early but I still wanted to pitch and start building relationships with investors. That was great because if you want to be in front of investors, you have to stick your head down the lion’s mouth,” she smiles. “I want to be able to speak with eloquence and confidence about what I’m doing as a business and know that it’s investable. My mentor really helped me with that.”

With insight gained, granular details ironed out and investor relationships underway, Harmeet feels more confident than ever about Surfing Light Beams and its potential for future success. “I think if the programme had failed, I’d be looking for a job right now,” she laughs. “It’s made me realise that there is space for the kind of company I’m running. Being a start-up is like having a small boat in a huge ocean,” she says. “If you don’t carry on, you might die – but you might also find real treasure. This programme has made me realise there’s a market for the kind of immersive experiences for social good that we create – and we’ve got to keep going if we want to disrupt the market.”