It Starts Here

The West Midlands is a place where ambition becomes action. 

Where ideas are brought to life, businesses grow, culture is created and new experiences take shape. 

What is It Starts Here? 

A shared story for the West Midlands

It Starts Here is the West Midlands’ market-facing promise. 

It gives the region a clear and consistent way to tell its story across investment, visitor economy, culture, major events, partnerships and place promotion. 

At its heart is a simple idea: this is a place where people, ideas, businesses and ambition connect with the talent, support and opportunity needed to move forward. 

Current Campaigns

Faster horse 

What if the better question changed everything?

Faster Horse is an It Starts Here campaign exploring West Midlands businesses that have challenged assumptions, rethought the problem and created a different answer. 

From electric motorcycles that charge from a standard plug socket to new approaches in cancer detection and drug development, the campaign looks at what happens when people stop asking how to improve what already exists and start asking what could work instead. 

It Starts Here in action

One regional story. Different ways to tell it. 

It Starts Here comes to life through campaigns, stories and activity across the West Midlands. 

From investment and innovation to culture, visitor experiences, major events and place, each shows a different side of the region while contributing to the same wider story.