Divergent Thinking named finalist at the SME Hertfordshire Business Awards 2026

We’re delighted to share that Divergent Thinking has been named a finalist at the Watford Chamber of Conscience SME Hertfordshire Business Awards 2026.

Founder Nathaniel Hawley has been shortlisted in the Entrepreneur of the Year category — a milestone that means a great deal after a year of real growth, national recognition and continued momentum for the business.

As a neurodivergent-led organisation, this recognition feels especially meaningful. Divergent Thinking was built from lived experience, from a belief that neurodivergent people should not have to break themselves to belong, and from a determination to make inclusion more practical, more human and more useful in the real world.

"Celebrating excellence: A proud finalist of the 2026 Hertfordshire SME Business Awards, part of the Chamber of Conscience's Network of Goodwill."

A big year for Divergent Thinking

2026 has already been a significant year for Divergent Thinking.

We have continued to support employers, educators, charities and other organisations to create more inclusive environments for neurodivergent people through training, speaking, strategy, audits and practical support. That work has focused on helping organisations move beyond surface-level awareness and make meaningful changes to communication, recruitment, leadership and culture.

This year has also brought growing recognition for the work. Alongside this new finalist place at the SME Hertfordshire Business Awards, Divergent Thinking was proud to win the Making a Difference Award (Independent) at the National Learning Disabilities & Autism Awards 2026. For a small, independent, neurodivergent-led business, that recognition has been both encouraging and deeply affirming.

It has also been a year of visibility and growth. From working with a wide range of organisations to opportunities that have taken Nat into new spaces — including a visit to 10 Downing Street — this year has felt like one of those periods where the business is no longer just emerging, but really starting to establish itself.

More than awareness

Divergent Thinking was never created to be a generic awareness provider.

It was built to help organisations make practical, credible and sustainable change. The work is grounded in lived experience of autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia, alongside professional delivery experience and academic insight, including Nat’s background in applied neuroscience.

That combination has shaped an approach that is both strategic and personal: work that helps organisations understand neurodivergence more deeply, but also gives them the tools to do something useful with that understanding.

Whether through workshops, consultancy, keynote speaking or organisational support, the aim has always been the same: to help build environments where neurodivergent people are more likely to feel understood, supported and able to thrive.

Why this finalist place matters

Being shortlisted for Entrepreneur of the Year is particularly meaningful because it recognises not only the mission behind Divergent Thinking, but the business journey itself.

Building a small, purpose-led business takes resilience, creativity and persistence. It means developing an offer, building trust, growing visibility, creating opportunities, delivering high-quality work and continuing to evolve — often all at once.

This finalist place reflects a year in which Divergent Thinking has continued to grow not only in profile, but in substance. It reflects the reality that a neurodivergent-led business can be both values-led and commercially credible. It reflects the fact that entrepreneurship does not have to look one way to be powerful.

And, as a Hertfordshire-based founder, it is lovely to see that journey recognised closer to home.

Thank you

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported Divergent Thinking so far this year.

Thank you to our clients, collaborators, peers, supporters and community. Thank you to everyone who has trusted the work, recommended us, invited us into important conversations, or helped us keep building. Small businesses do not grow in isolation, and we are very aware of how much that support matters.

Looking ahead

The awards final will take place at Tewinbury Farm on Thursday 17 September 2026, and we’re looking forward to celebrating alongside other businesses from across Hertfordshire.

Whatever happens on the night, being named a finalist already feels like a real milestone.

For Divergent Thinking, it is a marker of how far the business has come — and a reminder of how much more there still is to build.