Distributor to provide purpose-built solutions for small businesses

Comstor, a Cisco distributor and part of Westcon-Comstor, has announced the immediate availability of the recently launched new Cisco Business Dashboard and Cisco Business Switch solutions as part of its Cisco Designed portfolio.

Wellness startup challenges big pharmaceuticals ‘one size fits all’ approach

Bespoke protein and vitamin provider, Personalised Co, has announced the launch of its £300k funding round on Seedrs, to support its rapid growth. Following a successful round in 2019, this latest campaign has already secured over half of its investment target in its early stages.

Edtech startup raises £13.5m as demand for math learning surges

Knowledgehook, the comprehensive mathematics learning platform, has raised £13.5m Series A equity funding, led by a UK-based EdTech investment fund with participation from Mesoamerica’s Alexandria Corp., Nelson Education, Ideal Ventures, and Nicoya Ventures.

British Patient Capital commits $35m to invest in cyber security companies

British Patient Capital has announced a $35m commitment to The Evolution Technology Fund II. The Fund is expected to achieve a targeted $250m final close in the coming months and is already investing in growing cyber security and enterprise software companies.

BidrentoPro emerges as champion as 15 finalists battle for funding

There was a bullish attitude amongst attendees at this year’s online version of the Arctic15 startup event that investment in Northern European startups was picking up despite a second wave of COVID-19 across the region.

UK businesses lost £6.2m over the past year to cyber scams

UK businesses have lost over £6.2m to cyber scams over the past year – with a 31% increase in cases during the height of the pandemic (May-June), new research shows.

Speaking to the Founders of The Others Beauty Co.

After spotting a gap in the market, Stu Jolley and Simon Forster started a beauty brand with a difference; instead of creating products based on people’s insecurities, they would meet people’s genuine needs. They launched their first products in 2016 – a range of tattoo skin care now called Stories & Ink, and The Others Beauty Co. was born. We caught up with Stu and Simon about why they started their beauty business, the gap they saw in the industry, and why they recently pivoted to DTC despite successfully being stocked on retail shelves.

Tips on how startups can turn their business into a success

Since its launch in 2012, leading global e-learning platform, Preply has experienced huge global growth, especially across the last 12 months during the peak of the pandemic.

The AI entrepreneur fighting COVID-19 and healthcare inequalities

My journey as an entrepreneur began, like many other entrepreneurs, with the realisation of a major and entrenched problem. In 2014, while working in the Medical Devices team at the World Health Organisation (WHO), I became aware of the magnitude of the  global childhood pneumonia challenge. I was shocked that in the 21st century, a treatable condition still takes the lives of 1 million young children every year and is the number one killer of children under five years old globally.

For a more resilient future, organisations will need analytics

Today, organisations of all types are having to change their perspective – of how to do business, of how to collaborate with remote employees, of how to best engage with customers, and more.

Study reveals HR leaders are prioritising wellbeing investment for 2021

Focus group research conducted by e-days, the Nottingham-based global absence intelligence company, has revealed that ‘wellbeing’ is the most popular area of investment for HR leaders as we move into 2021.

Nudea’s Lockdown Evolution

Taking a look at how one startup navigated the challenges of COVID by adapting and refining their product and service and came out on top, we spoke to Priya Downes, CEO & CO-Founder of Nudea.

Partnership provides free memberships for diverse business founders

WeWork, the global flexible workspace provider, has this week opened applications to its new Diverse Founders Programme in collaboration with award-winning social enterprise, Foundervine. The programme, available to both existing WeWork members and non-members, will provide founders from ethnically diverse minority backgrounds access to 100 WeWork Labs memberships through its community Labs platform, as well as hot desk spaces, starting in January 2021.

WorkClub a different type of workspace

WorkClub workspaces support hospitality venues, co-working hubs and pubs, to drive more footfall during day-time hours. These venue hosts become neighbourhood workspaces, allowing WorkClub members to work closer to home, supporting the local ecosystem around the corner from their homes. We spoke to Nick Donnelly of WorkClub to find out more about them.

Leadership lessons from lockdown

Lockdown changed the rulebook for how we live and work, for all of us. As entrepreneurs, we have the in-built advantage that we’re wired to manage uncertainty and finding solutions is our happy place. Only this time, it was without the backdrop of our gloriously airy EC2 co-working space, surrounded by my talented team and fuelled by yummy flat whites from the local coffee shop. It was happening from my home-office, in isolation, in a London that was quickly becoming unfamiliar.

Starting a Business: Don’t Just Dream, Do!

The line between dreaming about your perfect business and actually running a killer corporation is not a huge gap – it is a simple step. Sadly, a lot of people get stuck on their idea. They dream about what could be, without ever focusing on achieving their goals. If you also have a great passion and an amazing idea, then make sure not to be one of these people. All you need is to divide your process into smaller, easier to handle bits. Doing so will help you tackle them more eagerly, and deal with the tasks as they come. Today, we take a look at five essential steps needed to stop dreaming – and start doing.

How to empower your employees to be more sustainable

There aren’t many positive stories to emerge from the current global pandemic crisis but perhaps one was the beneficial impact that ‘lockdown’ had on areas of the environment.

Investing in solutions that will shape the future of healthcare

There is no denying that 2020 has been an extremely difficult year for the healthcare industry. COVID-19 continues to bring challenges to the delivery of all aspects of hospital and community care and the need for innovation has, arguably, never been greater. Fortunately, the healthtech ecosystem in the UK is as vibrant as ever and entrepreneurs across the space have responded by working tirelessly to solve the problems thrust upon clinicians and patients.

The Importance of Looking After Yourself as a Business Owner

Last month, in the run-up to World Mental Health Day, I joined a panel webinar at Orbit 20 – an online festival organised by WeCoffe – to discuss this topic.

In Remote Working Environments Purpose is More Important Than Ever

A company’s values and culture are becoming increasingly important for the modern worker, quashing even the number on their paycheck. This has never been clearer than today, with the global pandemic both shifting and confirming priorities for workers around the world.