Natalie Brown, this month’s People of Harley Street Health District profile, is the Community Manager at Hale House – London’s home of HealthTech. A hub for collaboration, connections, and innovation. It is run by Spacemade, a workspace provider that designs and operates purpose-led co-working spaces for specific sectors.
The people behind the ecosystem
Hale House isn’t just defined by innovators and technology; it’s powered by people who bring the ecosystem to life. As Community Manager, Natalie’s work is broad and hands-on, spanning hospitality, programming, and people – with the goal of creating meaningful connection.
“My role is really versatile – from opening up the space and filling coffee machines, all the way through to delivering and curating our events.”
Spaces for HealthTech
With five years’ experience working alongside HealthTech startups, Natalie is clear that Hale House isn’t a generic co-working space. It’s deliberately sector-specific, bringing together all parts of the health innovation ecosystem under one roof.
“Hale House is a pretty unique coworking space. Everyone based here is within the same industry – HealthTech – but not everyone is a HealthTech innovator.”
That diversity is intentional. By housing startups, service providers, and partners alongside one another, Hale House creates opportunities for collaboration that go beyond traditional networking.
Designed for connection
The physical design and culture of Hale House encourages informal, valuable interactions that can’t be replicated online.
“The space is set up to give people those watercooler moments. It’s super open – lots of places to bump into each other and get chatting.”
These everyday encounters often lead to conversations that spark ideas, partnerships, and progress. Natalie is a keystone coordinator and curator of these encounters.
Events that meet founders where they are
A key offering of Hale House, and one that Natalie is heavily involved with delivering, is the events programme. These are carefully curated to meet members where they are – especially early-stage founders with limited time.
“A lot of early-stage startups work really hard and don’t have much time, so bringing events into the space where they already work makes it easy.”
Creating connection
As community manager, Natalie understands what it takes to bring people together and make it feel natural and relevant. She contrasts online connections with the value of real, tangible relationships that actually move businesses forward.
“Some founders have thousands of connections on LinkedIn — but are they meaningful? Do they lead to business or collaboration? Often, they don’t.”
For Natalie, real value comes from convening people in person, where conversations can go deeper and challenges can be tackled head-on.
“Being able to convene a community in real life, where you can get into the nitty-gritty of what you need for your business, is really powerful.”
Motivation rooted in experience
When asked why she chose to work and stay in this industry as a Community Manager, Natalie speaks to her personal motivations, driven by lived experiences.
“A lot of people I’ve met have created their businesses from lived experience – something didn’t work for them or a family member.”
“I was hearing a founder tell me a personal story about why he started his business. And I had actually gone through a similar experience with a family member of mine. So, to know that there’s companies out there that are working really hard for people like my cousin who’s going through severe mental health issues, was really kind of heartwarming.”
Perspectives
As an individual who is closely involved with over X startups and founders, Natalie sees that the Harley Street Health District is evolving, not just as a centre of care, but as a global health innovation hub.
“I think Harley Street Health District is fast becoming the epicentre of health tech innovation.”
What 3 words would she use to describe the District?
“Community, opportunity, and excellence.”
