Before providing a funding offer or as a prerequisite prior to payment, venture capitalists will usually conduct due diligence to confirm the details provided by the startup are correct. Whilst most founders understand the broad outline of the due diligence, there are several areas where there is often confusion and misunderstanding which can derail the funding round.
UK credit technology company Abound has passed £1 billion in total lending volume, less than five years after launching.
Tracxn has released its UK Tech 9M 2025 Report, capturing funding and investment activity across the United Kingdom’s technology ecosystem for the first nine months of 2025. The country ranked as the second highest-funded market globally, behind only the United States, with India and Germany following in the third and fourth positions respectively. The period reflected steady funding momentum, marked by billion-dollar rounds, notable sector surges, acquisitions, and IPO activity.
It takes grit, determination, and drive to set up on your own. And it takes even more to stay afloat, with an eye-watering 60% of businesses failing in their first three years. Perhaps just as much as the brilliant business idea, the difference between success and failure boils down to personal resilience. Just how do you handle those founders’ knock-backs, navigating funding rejections, business pivots, and burnout? Can you pick yourself up, dust yourself down, and start all over again?
Experience shows that when we protect business purpose, performance follows. So, how do you hold fast to your values while pushing for higher returns? It starts by refusing to treat growth and values separately.
Global capital has turned cautious, which has exposed a simple truth that disciplined teams, who obsess over product and customers, are edging ahead of competition who solely relied on larger cheques. In this article, Nicolai Chamizo explores how lean, founder-led fintech startups are gaining ground, which business models have genuine staying power and how the Nordic ecosystem has become an early proving ground for the next fintech chapter.
The percentage of small business owners predicting growth has fallen for the fourth consecutive Quarter to a new five-year low (25%) – and in every industry sector, the percentage of enterprises predicting growth is down on the start of the year – according to new tracking research from Novuna Business Finance.
Relocated tech founders are settling in Europe, but their experience points to a deeper issue: ecosystems feel closed, capital is hard to secure, and much of the support on offer is low-value. A new study suggests Europe risks wasting incoming talent, while investors may find overlooked opportunities in the gaps.
New insights from American Express’ Merchant Barometer reveal that nearly two-thirds (65%) of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) say customer expectations around payment choice are higher than ever, with over half (52%) planning to improve their online checkout experience in order to reduce levels of cart abandonment.
Five years ago, I launched my first startup in The Bay Area. I’ll skip to the end: it failed. The idea was solid, I was motivated, but my co-founder and I didn’t see eye to eye. It was a costly, time-sucking mistake and it taught me a lesson I wish I’d learned sooner: non-technical founders don’t need a technical co-founder to get started.
The AI boom has reshaped the startup landscape. By some estimates, just over half of all the new billion-dollar companies in 2025 so far are AI companies. Many founders still operate with the same mindset they had during the booming valuations of the late 2010s and early 2020s. The default, time and again, is focusing on raising big rounds and chasing billion-dollar status as quickly as possible.
The recent debate around MIT’s NANDA report on the success or failure of generative AI in corporate projects underlines one truth about careers in technology: don’t get into it if you want certainty in your life. The reality is that this industry is changing continuously as innovations move through Gartner’s Hype Cycle.
Despite more conversations being held publicly about the impact of menopause and the requirements for support, many women still feel alone in their struggles, especially the physical and mental health effects on their work and career.
As the global digital finance evolution accelerates, Future Blockchain Summit x Fintech Surge returns to Dubai Harbour from 12th – 15th October 2025, convening international innovators, startups, regulators, investors, and tech leaders during Expand North Star, the world’s largest startup and investor connector event powered by GITEX GLOBAL.
Every business is a tech company now. It doesn’t matter if you’re selling clothes or executing a large-scale green engineering project; you’re ultimately driven by tech. Without it, your company wouldn’t exist in its current form. And yet, with all the advanced tech available, you’re still running your business using spreadsheets. Because they’re familiar, they feel comfortable… And they’re letting your business down. It’s time for a new approach.
OmniShelf, a startup from Singapore, has been named Global Winner of the Startup Competition at South Summit Korea 2025, co-organised by IE University, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, GBSA (Gyeonggido Business & Science Accelerator), and Unimotto.
Press releases are basically bread and butter for PR, one of the most important aspects used to communicate with the media and public, in order to build lasting relationships, solidify brand identity and shape the reputation of a brand. I’m Stepan Burov, a PR professional with 10 years of expertise, co-founder of 8bitPR agency, and I will share the most exciting new insights and strategies of making effective press releases.
MyRoboteam is launching its third batch of its acceleration program for tech startups at the beginning of October 2025. This program is free and designed for sole non-developers and even developers themselves who want to establish their own business but lack funding and co-founders.
India is a land of incredible opportunities – opportunities stitched together by diversity, ambition, and potential.
A critical financial skills gap is undermining the resilience and growth of small businesses across the UK, according to new research by Xero.
