74% of UK small businesses have upped their social media use for promotional purposes throughout the pandemic, with 43% using e-commerce more and 30% increasing their use of paid social media adverts.
Forward Partners, London-based venture capital firm specialising in supporting high growth, early-stage technology businesses, has launched its 2021 Founders Programme.
In what has been both a mentally and organisationally testing period for many, businesses need to ensure they’re taking every action to support their employees’ mental health and encourage employees to make decisions that prioritise their mental and physical wellbeing.
Mental health charity, Oakleaf, which is based in Guildford and supports people through training and wellbeing social activities, has partnered with Professional Training Solutions (PTS), a provider of employability, apprenticeship courses and training programmes. PTS works across London, Surrey and the South East, and together they will deliver an employability programme to help individuals get started or return to a work environment.
Having decided that the entrepreneurial life is for you, it is then necessary to think about how you will actually make that best happen. The specific legal structure that you choose is only the vehicle used to transform your ideas into reality, and your theory into sales and profit.
The ICT sector has been given a swift push at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, during 2020 the number of ICT specialists employed in the EU has increased by approximately 600,000 as compared to 2019. However, the gender gap prevailing in the ICT workforce in the EU, where only one in five ICT specialists is a woman, has retained its relevance.
A new report shows as many as one in seven people plan to set up their own business over the next 12 months as the country moves out of the pandemic. According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report record numbers of new firms are already in the early stages of starting out.
As a result of the pandemic, working from home has become, by default, the new normal. As many organizations are weighing up a partial return to the workplace – at least in a hybrid capacity – now is a good time to reflect on the efforts made to encourage positive interaction amongst teams throughout the WFH experiment. For many, this will involve rethinking how the office, and the new digital tools adopted over the past 18 months, fit into their business.
UK-based fintech startup, Minted, surveyed over 1,100 people to reveal that more than half of people (54%) have no investments at all, mostly due to a lack of understanding.
There’s a common misconception that exporting services and goods are reserved for the big leagues. In fact, from natural teas to blue-light blocking screen protectors and men’s cosmetics, there are thousands of small businesses in the UK that are going global and sharing their products with the rest of the world.
There’s always been something rather bittersweet about the back-to-school season. On one hand, it marks when the mornings start to feel a little more crisp, the return to the grind after that last bank holiday until Christmas. On the other, there’s a sense of hopeful optimism – a chance for new beginnings and an opportunity to return to work feeling refreshed.
The University of Salford and HOST, the Home of Skills & Technology, have won a bid to establish the first ‘Unity Centre of Excellence on Campus’ in the region, which will be aimed at bringing immersive technology skills, jobs and business innovation support to the area.
PassFort, the SaaS RegTech provider whose platform automates financial crime and compliance processes, has announced the close of its Series A funding, which gives the firm access to $16.2m. The money will be used to realise PassFort’s global growth plans and its ambition to be the category leader in compliance automation for regulated businesses.
Important conversations surrounding mental health have grown, particularly over the past year, however this is not always translating into meaningful actions that support and protect everyone in the workplace.
As the 2021 festive season fast approaches, many small businesses will be turning their heads towards planning, utilising and thriving during the Christmas period.
After more than a year apart, many businesses are now making plans to welcome their employees back into the workplace again. Remote working has been a test for companies during lockdown; while some have thrived and experienced growth, others have suffered under the pressure to quickly adapt.
UK startups and competition would be damaged if the government cracks down on mergers and acquisitions involving big tech companies, a new report argues. The report, released at the end of a Government consultation, warns that the plans will chill investment in British tech startups, hurting the UK’s competitiveness and attractiveness as a place for tech startups to do business.
No matter how hard you work or how much you grind you’re going to need a chunk of cash to get that startup flywheel turning. Generating that initial inertia takes energy and fuel… you’ve brought the energy, but what about the fuel?!
As many move back to the offices, whether full-time or hybrid, there’s a palpable sense that our lives are starting to return to normal. However, a change that must be seen in this ‘new normal’ is more open discussions at work around mental health.
PixelMax, a Manchester-based tech startup, has launched an immersive 3D platform to solve the hybrid working challenge.
