Life in ProductWork with me
Polly Dhaliwal hosting a panel at the Enterprise Nation StartUp Show 2025

A decade in the small business and startup space

I'm here to help small businesses get where they're trying to go.

Small business is my passion. It's what I've spent the last decade on, and it's the thread through everything I do. At Enterprise Nation, the UK's largest small business community, I'm COO and Director of Government Affairs and Partnerships, which means I get to fight for founders in two ways at once: building the partnerships and programmes that give them practical support, and taking their reality into the rooms where policy is decided, from ministerial meetings to No.10.

And through Girls in Movement, the not for profit I founded, I do the same thing for the founders who haven't started yet: young women in 25 countries who need someone to show them that building something of their own is a real option.

See the workTalks and media

Communities, brands and institutions I've worked with

Enterprise NationNatWestMastercardGoogleCanvaJPMorganChaseOpenAISquareTikTokKing's College LondonSisterhoodCandid Studios

180,000+

member small business community

50+

staff, scaled from a founding team of 5

£5M+

in public sector contracts

22,000+

girls reached across 25 countries

What I do

Community, partnerships and policy. Three things that only really work when they work together.

Community

I build and scale communities that people actually stay in. The 180,000+ member Enterprise Nation community, Life in Product for product people, Girls in Movement across 25 countries and the Sisterhood board for young changemakers.

Partnerships

I build strategic partnerships with major corporates, banks and technology platforms, from the first conversation through to signed, multi year programmes that deliver real value to small businesses.

Policy

I advise No.10 on small business, sit on national taskforces including the No.10 Small Business Growth Taskforce, and run the Downing Street faith and business roundtable series. My job is to make sure the reality of running a small business is in the room when decisions get made.

Who I am

I've spent my career at the intersection of business, government and impact. Scaling a small business community, advising No.10, sitting on national policy taskforces, and founding a nonprofit that reaches girls in 25 countries. I care about building things that outlast the person who started them.

Read my story

Communities I've built

Community is the thread through all of it. The 180,000+ member Enterprise Nation community, Life in Product for product professionals, Girls in Movement for girls in 25 countries, and the Sisterhood board supporting young changemakers. Scaling a community is a craft, and it's the work I know best.

See community stories
Portrait of Polly Dhaliwal

What I write about

Small business policy, AI adoption, hiring, growth and product, written for the people actually running businesses. Newest first.

Polly Dhaliwal speaking on stage about small business and startups

Speaking

I speak internationally on entrepreneurship, small business policy, scaling communities, purpose led leadership and practical AI adoption, including at Canva, Google, Mastercard, Web Summit and as a contributor to BBC Radio 4.

See my speaking topics

Girls in Movement

Alongside my day job, I founded Girls in Movement, a not for profit reaching 22,000+ girls across 25 countries through school visits, a podcast and a children's book series, The Girl and Her Globe. It started with my grandmother's unfulfilled dream of becoming a teacher and has become a global platform for girls to learn, lead and create change.

Visit Girls in Movement

Let's talk.

Whether you're building a partnership, shaping a programme, or want me to speak at your event, I'd love to hear from you.

Work with me