☕ TEA Cups Community - for Members
The community shaping the future of corporate engagement—one bold move (and one cup of tea) at a time.
📚 Table of Contents
🌟 Welcome to the TEA Cups Community
At TEA, everyone’s welcome - especially when it comes to the TEA Cup Honours, our people’s choice recognition programme.
As TEA Cups continues to steep and strengthen, we're building the TEA Cups Community: a group of brilliant, values-driven people who want to help shape the future of corporate engagement, one conversation (and one cup of tea) at a time.
It’s early days, and we’re growing thoughtfully - keeping it organised, but never losing the energy and fun that make TEA what it is.
🤝 We Value Your Support
It takes all hands on the pump to make a community. So, if you would like to lend a hand or indeed wish to support as a premium ‘TEA Formation’ member or sponsor, we would happily accept your support.
🏛️ Where We Started
Since launching TEA Cups in March, we've been lucky to tap into a starter crew -governance pros, company secretaries, individual investors, and our sharp-eyed Gen Zennial Ambassadors.
Thanks to connections with amazing collectives like WoCoS (Women's Company Secretary Circle), ACGN (Asian Corporate Governance Network), and a wide circle of contacts from my consulting days, TEA had a strong base to build from. Plus, after reaching out to almost 400 UK-listed companies during the 2024 AGM season - and hearing back from around 150 - we know there’s real appetite for better, fresher engagement.
The TEA Cups Community is the next step forward.
📬 How Do You Join the Community?
To start, membership is by invitation. You might be invited if you:
Interacted with TEA during 2024 (especially in response to our AGM outreach).
Participated in the AGM Odyssey pilot.
Are already connected to TEA or recommended through aligned programmes.
Subscribe to the TEA Formation Plan or Annual Plan.
Support TEA as a sponsor or premium member.
Invitations will be sent out by Substack or email. You’ll have 90 days to accept.
Accept within that window, and you’ll get a complimentary TEA Formation Plan membership for your first year. After that, renewal will be at the standard rate.
Note: TEA reserves the right to approve or revoke memberships to protect the integrity of the community.
🤝 How Do You Stay in the Community?
It’s simple: show up, contribute, and live the values.
Members are asked to:
Follow the TEA Cups Community Code of Conduct (below).
Attend at least one deliberation session every six months.
Stay curious, kind, and constructive.
Extra involvement could earn you additional perks, distinction, or leadership opportunities within the community.
📜 TEA Cups Community Code of Conduct
As a TEA Cups Community member, you agree to:
Apply critical thinking and of course, forward-thinking, fun and creativity in all that we do.
Participate in cultivating a collaborative and supportive space that is inclusive of individuals from all walks of life - from board-level grandees to a recently graduated Gen Z or apprentice engineer.
Treat all participants with respect, fairness, and inclusivity.
Remove risk of conflicts by declaring any possibilities for conflicts Respect confidentiality of deliberations and discussions.
Aim to gain fresh insights - whether you are the Chair of a FTSE 100 or are an apprentice tree surgeon who has just opened and ISA account at Trading 212, interactive investor, etc.
Stay constructive and solutions-focused in feedback.
Avoid lobbying, campaigning, or promoting specific individuals for awards.
Uphold TEA’s core values: independence, transparency, and authenticity.
🎉 What Are the Benefits?
By joining the TEA Cups Community, you’ll:
Take part in priority access events like:
Sunset Sessions (Thursdays The Ned, Soho House, Royal Society of Arts, 1 Poultry and online)
Friday Formals (Think conversations by candlelight, a TEA tradition in the making.)
Wednesday Afternoon TEA (Mid-month reflections and engagement over tea on the hottest issues affecting corporates and individual investor alike )
Sustain & Supper Saturdays (Afternoon relaxation and finlit that transitions to a friendly supper club)
Play an active role in TEA Cup Honours deliberations.
Expand your network across sectors, generations, and geographies.
Get early access to TEA research, insights, and opportunities.
Earn recognition for contributions and leadership within the Community.
📅 TEA Cups Community Event Programme
🌟 Event Types & Descriptions
🏆 Thursday TEA Cups Deliberations
"Where recognition begins: cross-generational dialogue on real impact."
Where observation becomes recognition.
Thursday Deliberations are at the heart of the TEA Cups Community. These intimate, invitation-only gatherings bring together a cross-generational panel of board directors, governance professionals, individual investors, and sharp-eyed nextgen influencers to reflect on corporate engagement practices that truly stand out.
Purposeful yet informal, each session is designed to surface honest insights - no lobbying, just real impact observed and discussed.
Capacity:
20 guests at 1 Poultry (hybrid option available)
5 guests at satellite Soho House, Ned and RSA locations
Expect lively, intelligent conversation - and perhaps a few unexpected insights on the old rules of recognition. Drinks and nibbles.
🍵 Wednesday Afternoon TEA
"Midweek reflections, timeless connections over tea."
Midweek reflections over a pot of possibilities.
Wednesday Afternoon TEA is your moment to reflect and engage on the hottest issues affecting corporates and individual investor.
Each session will be theme-based and led by a pre-nominated guest of honour and an event chair. Held monthly in the vibrant yet relaxed setting of 1 Poultry, these casual gatherings offer an open floor for conversation around trends, governance challenges, ESG innovation, tech, and shareholder engagement evolutions.
Our guest list will be refreshingly diverse - a curated mix of board members and other corproate reps, experienced and budding individual investors, entrepreneurs, and emerging thought leaders across all generations.
Capacity: 20 guests.
If you're seeking connection, inspiration, or simply great company midweek - this is your place. Classic afternoon tea with English bubbles.
🎩 Friday Formals
Think candlelit college halls, smart garb, and even smarter minds. A tradition of formality. A celebration of community.
A modern twist on a time-honoured tradition.
Inspired by the classic university formal halls of Cambridge and Oxford, Friday Formals are a celebration of community, ceremony, and conversation - reimagined for today’s governance and investment changemakers.
Held monthly at 1 Poultry - looking out to the Royal Exchange and Mansion House, each Friday Formal begins with a thematic keynote or moderated discussion, followed by a convivial meal where conversations continue freely among guests.
Expect a distinguished yet welcoming mix of participants:
Board directors and NEDs
Governance specialists and IR leaders
Retail investors and investment professionals
TEA Gen Zennial Ambassadors and young professionals
Entrepreneurs and social influencers
Capacity: 20 guests.
Dress code: Smart
🌿 Sustain & Supper Saturdays
Rest, recharge, reconnect. Sustain your leadership. Supper with changemakers.
An afternoon of wellness and a soulful evening supper for meaningful connection.
Format:
Sustain Session: Personal development and wellbeing (12 participants).
Supper Club: Dinner and discussion (24 participants).
Frequency: Monthly, final Saturday.
Location: 1 Poultry.
A celebration of wellbeing, wisdom, and community.
Sustain & Supper Saturdays are a uniquely TEA experience: an afternoon devoted to personal sustainability and leadership resilience, followed by a soulful supper with fellow changemakers.
In the afternoon Sustain Sessions (limited to 12 guests), we explore themes such as mindful leadership, sustainable impact, and navigating the corporate world with authenticity.
In the evening, we gather for a Supper Club (up to 24 guests) to continue the conversations in a relaxed, elegant setting over shared food and ideas.
Our guests span sectors and generations — from seasoned directors to emerging investor voices — creating rich, cross-pollinated dialogue rarely found elsewhere.
Come for the growth, stay for the camaraderie.
Supper club dress code: Anywhere from relaxed casual all the way to full glam - whatever suits your mood on the day!
📆 Draft Events Calendar
