Jon Rhodes AKA legup.social has spent the last three years helping hundreds of small businesses, charities and social enterprises with digital, for free.

Established in 2019, legup.social brings together digital experts to support those who need help with the digital side of their business. By pairing the challenges of their mentees with skills of mentors Jon has helped people from all walks of life learn the skills they need to progress their business.

After noticing the digital industry was becoming less inclusive and more expensive, Jon wanted to remove barriers for people and help them learn new skills. He begin to sign up digital mentors and now more than 50 people are signed up to help those who need it.

And mentees aren’t the only ones learning. In the last three years Jon has been adapting and developing events each time to make sure they’re as accessible and inclusive to all. Evening out the gender split and making sure venues didn’t exclude people who didn’t drink – the pub was quickly swapped for co-working spaces and libraries – are just a few of the small changes made along the way to make sure legup can give everyone the legup they need.

Established in Sheffield with a second event in Manchester, legup’s most recent challenge has been navigating through the coronavirus pandemic. In-person events were out and the atmosphere and relationships that build in those face-to-face sessions is hard to replicate, but Jon is determined to re-imagine legup to suit the strange times we find ourselves living in.

Legup is always on the lookout for new mentors. If you work in digital or have relevant expertise and experience, Jon will be more than happy to chat – just drop him a line on join@legup.social.Words by Molly McGreevy.