First Light
AI Workshop for Women Founders · Leeds · £30
A quarterly half-day AI workshop for women founders across the North of England
Most founders have tried AI and aren't quite sure what to do with it. First Light cuts through the noise. A small room, a practical theme, and four hours that leave you with one concrete thing to test in your business by Monday. No technical background needed.
Built for founders who want
AI to actually work
First Light is designed for women business owners across the North of England — practical, in-person, and built around your real business, not a case study.
- You run your own business — as a founder, sole trader, or director of a women-led company
- You're based in or near Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, York or elsewhere across the North
- You've heard a lot about AI and tried some of it — but you're not sure what's actually worth your time
- You don't have a tech background, and you don't need one
- You want to leave with something concrete — not just notes from a good talk
- You're curious about the longer programme, or you just want to see how we work first
Half a day. One AI shift you can use by Monday.
First Light is designed so you leave with something real even if you never come back. £30 covers everything — venue, warm drinks, a light lunch and materials. Three things you can count on in every session:
One practical theme, gone deep on
AI for content. AI for client delivery. AI for ops. We pick one and we work it from honest first principles — not hype, not theory.
Real businesses in the room
You'll meet up to eleven other women running real things — agencies, consultancies, product companies. The conversations are peer-to-peer, not panel-to-audience.
One thing you'll test next week
Every session ends the same way: each founder leaves with one specific experiment to run in her business before the next one. Action, not notes.
How every First Light session runs
Every First Light follows the same shape — so the room settles fast and the work goes deep.
Arrivals & warm drinks
We start at 10 — giving you time for the school run first. Tea, coffee and water on arrival. The kind of conversations you only get at the edges of a small group.
Theme of the session
A 25-minute opening on the practical question we're working through today — with real examples, not slideware.
Working block
Each founder applies it to her own business. Tools. Drafts. Decisions. Things that move on Monday.
Light lunch
A 30-minute break with a light lunch provided. Step away from the screen, eat, talk.
Round-the-table & close
Each woman names the one thing she's going to test. The room helps her sharpen it. We close at 14:00 — so you're back in time for school pick-up or the afternoon office.
Find your next First Light near you
First Light runs quarterly across the North, capped at twelve founders per room. Leeds is first — more cities confirmed below as venues land.
What you leave with
- A clearer picture of where AI fits in your specific business
- Three or four practical applications you can use straight away
- Honest answers to the questions you've been too embarrassed to ask
- A small group of founders working through the same things
- A clear view of whether the longer Compass programme is right for you
Next First Light dates
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Places opening soonLeedsJuly 2026 · Venue TBC
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Dates TBAMore citiesRolling out across the North · 2026
First Light · £30 per seat · Covers our cost
Includes venue, warm drinks, a light lunch and materials. No upsell pressure on the day.
In the same trenches as you.
I'm Jitka. I run Marketiva, a marketing consultancy for scaling founders, and I'm working out where AI helps and where it's just expensive noise — same as you are.
I host these sessions because the conversations I want to be having don't really exist yet in the North. Just twelve women running real businesses, in a room, getting honest about what works.
First Light shows you what's possible.
Compass shows you how to make it permanent.
After First Light, Compass is where you build the rest: the systems, the habits, the tools that quietly run in the background of your business for years.
Four sessions over six months, twelve women, in person. Content and visibility. Customer insight. Operations. Strategy. The same room across all four — so the trust compounds and the work goes somewhere real. Most Compass members come straight from First Light.
Your £30 First Light fee is credited against your Compass investment.
Learn more about Compass →- 01 AI for Content, Visibility and Conversion
- 02 AI for Customer Insight and Research
- 03 AI for Operations and Admin
- 04 AI for Strategy and Decision-Making
Questions you are probably thinking
Why is it only £30? What's the catch?
No catch. £30 covers the venue, warm drinks, a light lunch and materials — that's the whole point of the price. First Light exists so women founders across the North can sample how we work without it being a financial decision. If it lands and you want to go deeper, Compass is there. If it doesn't, you've still had a useful half-day.
How technical do I need to be?
Not at all. If you can use email and a web browser, you have what you need. The session is designed for founders, not engineers — and the whole point is to make AI accessible to people who don't think of themselves as technical.
Do I have to join Compass afterwards?
Absolutely not. First Light stands on its own. There's no pitch on the day. If Compass feels like the right next step for you, you'll know — and we'll talk about it then. If not, no follow-up, no pressure. More on Compass here.
What should I bring?
A laptop and an open mind. Everything else — including lunch and materials — is provided.
What if my city isn't listed yet?
We're rolling First Light out across the North through 2026. If your city isn't on the list yet, drop us a line at hello@marketiva.co.uk and we'll let you know when dates are announced near you.
Can I come if I'm on maternity leave?
Absolutely — and please bring your baby. Maternity leave is one of the best times to step back, think about your business, and upskill. Babies are very welcome in the room.
Start with First Light.
Decide the rest later.
£30 covers our cost. No pitch on the day. If Compass is right for you, we'll talk then — not before.
Reserve a seat at the next Leeds session
Twelve seats per session, kept small by design. Tell us a little about your business and we'll come back within one working day with payment details and venue confirmation.
- Half-day workshop — 10:00 to 14:00
- Warm drinks, light lunch, materials
- Up to twelve founders in the room
- Your £30 fee is credited if you later join Compass
Got it — thank you.
We've received your request and we'll be in touch within one working day with payment and venue details.