The person behind The Bid Clinic

Nicola started her career in sales twenty-five years ago, and procurement was always part of it.

Around ten years ago she moved into a marketing role, and tender management came with it. As it turned out, it was the work she was best at.

Over the years she has worked on and won contracts worth tens of thousands, tens of millions, and frameworks worth hundreds of millions. It was one of the most successful periods of her career — and the point she knew she wanted to do it for herself.

The Bid Clinic has been running for nearly three years. During that time, one thing has become clear: the vast majority of small businesses either don't know public sector tendering exists, think it's not for them, or are put off before they've read the first page of a specification.

That bothers us. The opportunity is real. The rules have shifted in favour of smaller suppliers, and some of the best businesses we've come across are still sitting on the sidelines.

We're particularly passionate about social value. Not as a box-ticking exercise, but as a genuine opportunity for suppliers, buyers and communities to get more from public contracts than simply a service and an invoice. The connection between supplier, buyer and community organisation is often overlooked — yet it has the potential to create meaningful and lasting impact.

We intend to play our part in changing this.