Ask The Chameleon was founded in 2015 by Staffordshire University alumni Rachel Hayward to ensure a level playing field in tender procurement for Midlands SMEs.

Rachel graduated from Staffordshire University Business School in 1995 and enjoyed a 20-year career in HR in the public and voluntary community sectors before starting her own company.

The Burton-upon-Trent business specialises in funding and commercial procurement applications and business award submissions for East Midlands micro, small businesses and third sector organisations.

Client wins increased from £50,000 in total contract value to more than £117million to date, with 135 clients including a 60% retained client rate. A further £100 million of contract values are in the pipeline with secured high-profile awards for clients including The King’s Award for Enterprise, Chambers of Commerce, FSB and British Business Awards.

Ask The Chameleon offers a bimonthly tender ebulletin for clients, showcasing available opportunities for subscribers. Each edition regularly has opportunities with values exceeding £2 million, cutting through the myriad of portals for those subscribers, breaking down barriers to their involvement and leading to a greater possibility of success. Initially developed to assure business owners that opportunities were still available during Covid, this Tender Alert service has a growing subscriber base and is now in its fourth year.

Rachel is an active volunteer in her community. She is a trustee for charity The Star Trust and was a trustee of Annabel’s Angels for seven years. Rachel also offers pro bono support for charities with funding applications.

During the pandemic Rachel co-founded Derby Swap Shop – latterly the UK Swap Shop – offering a lifeline for SMEs and charities to swap their skills with each other. An award-winner itself – the FSB East Midlands Community Award in 2022 – this digital platform is being reimagined and will soon be relaunched following successful funding from Innovate UK offering a new lifeline for micro businesses UK-wide.

Rachel has entered the Entrepreneur of the Year category of the Staffordshire University Business Awards and has entered Ask The Chameleon into the Small Business of the Year category.