Startup founders and investors, especially in Silicon Valley, often talk about scratching your own itch as a way to reach the highly sought-after product-market fit, which will then accelerate your company to greatness. It’s likely that your problem isn’t unique, the theory goes, so by solving it you could stumble upon an idea for a product that could help thousands or even millions of people.
In the current turbulent economic climate, many startups will be faced with financial challenges. In many sectors and industries, employers have not seen a return to pre-lockdown customer demand. That being the case, the starting point is to think about what your structure will look like for this new normal?
When you’re building something from the ground up, it’s essential to have a strong foundation for support right from the start. Your business needs to have one main idea you can use to create a brand identity, to generate strong branding and to produce an effective brand development strategy to reach your goals.
Xero has announced improvements to Xero Tax as it continues to transform the compliance landscape in the UK. Xero Tax is a cloud-based tax and accounts production solution. Designed by accountants for accountants, it provides increased visibility and efficiency when filing for clients.
A new study, commissioned by business bank, Allica Bank, shows that the practice of regular training correlates strongly with high performance in SMEs and will be vital to businesses’ prospects of a swift recovery post-COVID. The study analysed data from over 1,000 companies and ranked their success on a scale that evaluated factors including productivity, growth, consistency and outlook.
W2 is Wincanton’s digital innovation programme for developing products and services across all sectors of the Group to drive sustainable value in the supply chain. Under the W2 umbrella, W2 Labs aims to reach out to both startups and existing partners to bring fresh thinking to the supply chain, help us respond intelligently to business change and develop agile, flexible and potentially transformative solutions that improve Wincanton’s customer offering.
I always thought that nothing would take priority over my career. Even during pregnancy, I was certain that I’d be itching to get back to work. Back to my routine, back to what I’m good at and have worked so hard to progress and refine over many years.
One thing that every early stage business should produce is a pitch deck, whether they are looking to raise external funding or not. A pith deck is typically a 15 to 20 page very simplified business plan set out in a PowerPoint type format. Its purpose is to succinctly outline all aspects of the business to any outsider. Just like a business plan, producing a good pitch deck is a good exercise for any founder in refining the business itself, and considering all aspects clearly and objectively.
Xero has announced that it is increasing the limits on its Starter plan, alongside improving the functionality of payments and insights tools, to help sole traders and new small businesses get started, manage their cash flow and grow during and beyond the pandemic.
Sustainable fashion app, Nuw has announced the expansion of its services across the UK and Ireland to empower people to reduce their environmental impact of fashion, and give love to the clothes that already exist in our own wardrobes.
When should leaders invest in homegrown talent or go headhunting? Is there a place in a team for driven but disruptive employees? Is leading with transparency always the right way? These questions and more are tackled by former England football manager, Kevin Keegan OBE and BigChange founder, Martin Port in a new series of video interviews launched today.
Xero is calling on the government to step in on tech adoption for small firms after its report reveals the impact on the post-pandemic recovery. The resilience and recovery of a small business is acutely impacted by how digitally enabled they are, according to Xero’s new report on the global impact of COVID-19.
Tech Nation has today announced the launch of the Fintech Pledge with support from HM Treasury (HMT) and the Fintech Delivery Panel, to accelerate the growth of the UK’s fintech sector by enabling enhanced collaboration between banks and leading fintech firms.
As a startup, taking the first steps into marketing can be daunting. Where should you start? What activity will be the best use of my time? If you’re limited on time or budget – and even if you’re not – a great place to start is content marketing.
Sewio, a UWB-based real-time location system (RTLS) vendor, is giving away three Digital Hero Enablement Kits for free to evangelise ultrawideband (UWB) technology and its advantages to the wider market.
For years, if not decades, being a ‘woman in tech’ has been seen as the exception to the rule and for many, a career path that’s littered with challenges. According to a Women in Tech report from PWC, only 5% of leadership positions in the tech sector are held by women, a paltry 3% of females say a career in tech is their first choice and only 16% of females have had a career in tech suggested to them (vs 33% of males).
New research, commissioned by meeting provider, PowWowNow has revealed only a quarter (25.9%) of companies provided information about Shared Parental Leave (SPL) without it being requested first, suggesting a lack of transparency around the existence of the initiative is preventing its uptake.
Founder of early digital success story, Online Galleries, and former Managing Director of 1stdibs’ international region, Carmine Bruno has announced his new venture: an international marketplace that will set a new standard for dealing antiques and furniture online.
London Tech Week has announced plans to definitively map the UK tech scene highlighting and promoting the best businesses, innovators and thinkers operating across the country.
As part of the ‘Pandemic Response Projects’, 62 new innovation projects bringing together 212 partners from 25 countries are developing solutions directly tackling COVID-19 related challenges. The ‘Venture Support Instrument’ is supporting 145 startups, scale-ups and SMEs from 23 countries that have been enormously impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
