Female-led equity-backed businesses show resilience through COVID-19

Resilience and Recovery, a new report from the Female Founders Forum – a project by think tank The Entrepreneurs Network, in partnership with Barclays – has revealed that female-founded, equity-backed businesses have been worse affected by the COVID-19 pandemic than their male counterparts.

Edgify brings Federated Learning to real world with $6.5m seed funding

Edgify, a company building AI training frameworks at the edge, has secured a $6.5m seed funding round backed by Octopus Ventures, Mangrove Capital Partners and a semiconductor giant.

Have you checked out the Women in Electronics annual leadership conference?

It is no secret by now that we are huge supporters of encouraging more females into the tech industry, and closing the gender equality gap. We have recently released out latest issue all about Women in Tech, where we spoke to some amazing females and heard some empowering stories from both males and females in the industry. However, to hear from some more inspiring females and males about the tech industry, and particularly the role women have within it, then head along to the 4th annual conference from Women in Electronics.

Report shows customer-centric leadership is the new growth indicator

Zendesk has released new research in partnership with Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) that shows how companies investing in customer experience (CX) are reaping the benefits. The global study found there is a clear link between organisations with more mature customer experience capabilities, and improved business success in areas such as market share, increased customer spend, and pivoting processes over the last six months. 

Five top tips to make the jump into a coding career

The art of coding is reported to enhance productivity and communication within businesses, therefore, it is fast becoming a sought-after skill by employers. As the tech industry continues its exponential growth and becomes an integral part of every business, where’s the best place to start for a career in coding?

Florence: The lady with the lamp

It seemed only fitting that three year old startup, Florence, an online platform and app that connects care homes directly to nurses looking for extra shifts, be named after the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, otherwise known as the ‘Lady with the Lamp’.

P4 Precision Medicine Accelerator opens 2021 programme applications

Powered by Barclays Eagle Labs, the P4 programme curates a unique ecosystem to support precision medicine SMEs develop research into world leading technology, gain regulatory approval as well as adoption into the UK and international healthcare systems.

Use the secrets of Improv to achieve results at work

If you think improv is just for extraverts and wannabe actors, think again. Learning improv skills can be a great investment in your career too. From marketers to management consultants, from startup founders to the NHS, people are taking the skills of improvisation offstage to help them communicate more clearly, act more confidently and think on their feet.

Utilising the economic downturn to get your marketing house in order

The economic downturn has been a struggle for many businesses but it has also been an opportunity for many to review their marketing activity.  POLARIS, a digital marketing agency based in London, suggests that as part of this marketing review, now might be the ideal time to consider the effectiveness of your business website and if planning an update, migrate your website now.

Seven UK innovators tipped to deliver Smart Zero Carbon Homes

Seven of the UK’s innovators in Smart, Zero Carbon Building Solutions have been selected for a rigorous business acceleration programme at Energy Systems Catapult. For its fourth ‘Innovator Challenge’, the Catapult is collaborating with Places for People, to help SMEs unlock new routes-to-market, secure investment and breakdown barriers to growth.

Europe’s startup-investor summit turns virtual

The organisers of Europe’s startup-investor matchmaking event, Arctic15, have brought its conclave virtual. The new online summit takes place from the 19th-21st October. The innovative event will bring together over 2,000 virtual attendees, 300 investors, 450 startups and 150 corporates, all of which are seeking to connect with the next generation of Nordic and European startups.

Fiverr and Startups Magazine Female Founders Competition

Startups Magazine and Fiverr have come together to bring Female Founders a Micro-Grant, to win £5,000 Fiverr credit. This competition has now closed for new entries.

Web Summit will host 100,000 attendees online on its own conference platform this December

The decision to hold Web Summit online in the interests of public health follows discussions with the Portuguese government and city of Lisbon .

My Digital announces People Hub for the new Quantum workforce

Today, one in seven UK workers are on flexible contracts, up 25% in the last two decades. To meet the demand of the modern workforce, Quantum Employment Design company My Digital is announcing its real-time digital accounting cloud service focused exclusively on the needs of contractors.

London-based startup launches new app for fashion lovers

London-based startup, SilkFred wanted to take all the things customers love about shopping with them and distill this into a simple concept: the latest fashion from brands you haven’t yet discovered, for the moments that are special to you and shoppable video content showing you how to wear from the SilkFred team.

Why NHS Test and Trace’s latest IT blunder is a lesson to us all

It baffles me that some 16,000 who had tested positive for COVID-19 did not have their information uploaded to the Test and Trace system because it was reliant on a 13-year-old legacy IT and, as it turns out, a complicated Excel sheet.

Upskilling opportunities during lockdown: UK employers miss the mark

According to new research from Pluralsight, the enterprise technology skills and engineering management platform, 43% of UK office workers are worried they will be left behind as companies seek new skills to cope with the rapid pace of change.

8 in 10 workers want a robot therapist; can AI help the mental health crisis?

2020 has been the most stressful year in history for the global workforce and people want robots to help, according to a new study by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence, an HR research and advisory firm. The study of more than 12,000 employees, managers, HR leaders, and C-level executives across 11 countries found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased workplace stress, anxiety, and burnout for people all around the world, and they prefer AI robots instead of other people to help.

Community in the times of COVID-19

Despite not feeling safe to socialise with anyone for the last six months, I’ve understood ‘community’ in new and wonderful ways.

Could coronavirus be the catalyst for a volunteering revolution?

One of the significant demands resulting from the Coronavirus crisis of 2020 has been the need for new and novel ways for voluntary support to be facilitated. The ability for assistance to reach the most vulnerable or living in isolation or quarantine in safe ways is vital to saving lives and mitigating the spread of the pandemic.