Championing new businesses.
What does it take to start up a company nowadays?
Our Chair, Ian Baxter, is no stranger to setting up and growing a business. Passionate about supporting this community, he has been a long term mentor and champion for new startups.
Nottingham is a city recognised for its encouragement of startup businesses (that includes us at Baxter Freight!)
Nottinghamshire Community Foundation is instrumental in supporting upcoming entrepreneurs in the East Midlands, through their 2023 Dragons Den.
Hosted at the University of Nottingham, the event provides local entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase their business ideas to a panel of successful business leaders from Nottinghamshire – and this year our very own dragon, Ian, is on the panel.
Once all business ideas are pitched, the panel will decide on which businesses will receive a grant of up to £3,000, support, mentoring, and, potential investment to start them on their road to success!

Sharing knowledge & providing support
Ian is no stranger to supporting local businesses, in fact, he already participated in Nottingham’s Dragons Den over 10 years ago, helping support the award-winning and eco-conscious tea company, Bird & Blend!
Since then, they’ve become a nationally recognised brand, with multiple stores across the country – highlighting the true impact that can be made when sharing knowledge and providing support.
“After 10 years, I’m excited to be back participating in Nottingham’s Dragons Den to see all the new ideas and encourage startups.
It’s a real opportunity to make a difference and provide useful insights to varying businesses.
Starting your own business can be risky, but this event gives both affirmation and encouragement to those embarking on the journey.” – Ian Baxter, Chair

Entrepreneurship within Baxter Freight
Our ethos is all around supporting businesses of all sizes, from SME’s to global brands, to find better ways of streamlining their supply chains and improving their logistics.
Ian’s drive for entrepreneurship lives and breathes in Baxter Freight, where we create a culture of being solutions architects.
We’re driven by innovation to help businesses across the globe find better ways of managing their supply chains and logistics.
Within our day to day, we have to be creative and offer insights that our customers may not have thought of to ensure we get the best solutions. It’s also the reasoning behind our values and culture that Ian set about creating nearly 10 years ago when Baxter Freight had just began.

For us, living by our values is fundamental in everything we do.
We Own It – we take as much individual responsibility as we can. Our long-term success comes from listening, learning and constantly improving.
We Are Creative – we continuously innovate and are tenacious in helping our customers, suppliers and each other to find the solution to achieve their goals.
We Are Better Together – we have a friendly, open culture of collaboration with our customers, suppliers and each other, helping us to achieve the best results and overcome even the most difficult challenges.
We Are Authentic – we do what we say. Being honest, straightforward and humble builds trust in everything we do.
By incorporating our values into everything we do, not only benefits us, but our local community.
Watch the video below to find out more about what makes us, us!
We’re passionate about supporting British businesses and SME’s; helping them to navigate the turbulent world business brings, and succeed along the way.
For more information about who we are and what we stand for, click below!