Not a business plan. Not a pitch deck. Not a strategy workshop.

An elephant.

A few years before TEMBO was founded, I received a parcel from a close friend who had spent a year working on a nature reserve in South Africa. Inside was a small elephant teddy for my daughter, along with a note explaining why she'd chosen it.

Elephants, she wrote, are intelligent, adaptable, strong and fiercely protective. A matriarchal species that leads with confidence and looks after its own. The message stayed with me.

A couple of years later, after a series of life-changing events, I found myself at a crossroads. I was a single mother, working in an industry I loved and thinking carefully about what came next.

I knew I wanted to stay in events. I knew I wanted to build something of my own.

Most importantly, I knew I wanted to create a business that genuinely helped the people behind events:

The marketing managers balancing impossible campaign cycles.

The organisers struggling to launch their dream events.

The teams trying to do more with less.

The idea for TEMBO was born in a hotel room during an event at the NEC. The elephant came back to mind, and the name felt right (TEMBO is Swahili for elephant). 

Not just because it sounded good but because it represented the kind of business I wanted to build.

Kate Disley, CEO & Founder