When I hear that female founders have been the hardest hit due to the effects of COVID-19 and the UK’s numerous lockdowns, it pains me greatly, not least because, studies such as The Rose Review estimate that if women in the UK were founding businesses at similar rates as they are in other countries, about £200bn would be added to the UK economy!
Whilst many people enjoy watching the sparring between business angels on TV this type of investing may feel like something for others i.e., the millionaire business owners. Because of this, rather than exploring this exciting asset class, we put our investments into safer options we are more familiar with such as mutual funds and stocks. Gavin Heys, Envestors Private Investment Club explains.
According to government data, SMEs made up over 99% of the total business population at the start of 2020 – and this is the reason why thriving SMEs remain the backbone of rebuilding our economy. Across the UK, SMEs are getting back on their feet, employing workers and providing important services which fuel our local economies.
UnderPinned has hit its funding target of over £500k within an hour of going live on crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. Having quadrupled their community and launched accelerator programme with day one profitability since their last round, they’re raising to amplify marketing and further enter US & European markets.
According to MoneySuperMarket, around 22% of the UK’s two million freelancers are busy delivering essential business support. As more companies embrace hybrid working models, recruiting external consultants can complement the skills of in-house staff. Here Ashmita Das, CEO of Kolabtree, the freelance platform for scientists, explains how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can integrate freelancers successfully.
ReLondon is set to convene leaders and innovators from across the capital and beyond for the fourth Circular Economy Week (#CEweekLDN), which took place 14th – 18th June. The week showcased some of London’s most promising circular economy approaches to inspire action and encourage organisations and individuals to waste less and reuse, repair, share and recycle more. The aim is to promote polices, practices and behaviours that can accelerate the growth of the circular economy and place it firmly on the agenda for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November.
TravelTech Show, taking place virtually on 14-15 September 2021, has committed to supporting startups in the travel technology space by creating a £25,000 fund that startups can apply to access. The fund supports startups from across the globe founded with the last 48 months and have not raised more than £2M in funding with subsidised exhibiting options and additional marketing and PR support.
When launching their business, entrepreneurs get very excited at the prospects of finding clients, but also anxious about how to do it. While there are many priorities for them in terms of business operations, building up the right teams, or maintaining their cash flow, organic marketing isn’t one that should be neglected or postponed.
What exactly is an Advisory Board and why is it so important to growing your business? This is a question that I am often asked by founders of early stage businesses. Thankfully, as questions go, it is one of the easiest to answer and, indeed, one of those topics that can make a fundamental difference to your business.
Legal & Governance Hub, are a business law consultancy supporting startups, scaleups and SMEs. I am Gulnaz the Founder who trained at a startup boutique law firm, which was my first real exposure to learning about business. I worked in marketing, finance and even sales with my own client following! Starting my career in a startup was a great move, I had lots of responsibility and autonomy.
CRL have shortlisted 16 startups as potential participants for the CRL Accelerator programme. Over the past six weeks, the CRL team have been working with the group, supporting them to identify the biggest questions and assumptions that need to be understood before they could progress their business to the next stage.
Closing the skills gap in organisations and industries around the world has a key role to play in our pandemic recovery. Factors such as geography, poor infrastructure, financial hardship and a lack of public resources are preventing many from accessing training that could transform their futures. Yet recent research shows that if digitally lagging sectors—such as manufacturing, mining, healthcare and education—double their use of digital tools, Europe alone could add €2.5 trillion to its GDP by 2025.







