One of the few positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic had been the renewed focus of the climate agenda. Over the past few months we have seen companies like BP begin to divest from their traditional oil and gas business and set aggressive net zero targets. For startups this represents a huge opportunity.
New research from Professor Feng Li, Chair of Information Management at City’s Business School has outlined three new approaches that digital innovators can take to reduce the risk of failure and seize competitive advantage in the industry.
Some founders come up with their business ideas alone, whilst others do so with friends or associates. Some founders wish to stay as sole founders, whilst others prefer to work with co-founders to share the tasks, decision making, and risks, as well as adding often complementary skills or knowledge to their own.
Fifty percent of people currently employed are planning on looking for a new job after COVID-19, according to new research released from Hooray Health & Protection. Nearly a quarter (24%) of employees questioned said they were somewhat likely to seek a new job, 13% said they were very likely and twelve percent were pretty positive when they said they were extremely likely to look for a new job post COVID-19.
SAVORTEX has announced the launch of its ‘Smart’ Hand Sanitiser, a revolutionary hygiene product designed to help restart the office economy in a post-COVID-19 environment. The innovative product uses smart technology to deliver the exact amount of sanitiser required without touching the device, and to ensure maximum use, providing companies with peace of mind as workplaces re-open.
Performance marketing agency, Journey Further, has teamed up with Europe’s first revenue-based finance provider, Uncapped, to offer performance marketing support to entrepreneurs, startups and scaleups across the continent.
Global financial services provider, iBanFirst which delivers solutions across banking borders, has announced that it will continue to expand with the help of venture capital funds Elaia and Bpifrance, through its growth capital fund Large Venture.
British Patient Capital has announced its participation in Quantexa’s series C funding round as Quantexa announces the close of the round at $64.7m (£51.2m).
A startup who in my opinion is a very deserved winner, and one of the best UK Startups we have come across. If you have read the last issue you may be familiar with Tractable, a company that uses AI for accident and recovery, and although it focuses primarily on car accidents, there is potential for that to grow to cover natural disasters too.
Much like any relationship, co-founders start their journey together full of optimism and excitement for the future. Falling out is far from their minds. But, with research showing that as many as 65% of promising startups fail because of founder disputes, smart founders should put a plan in place to deal with disputes.
Commercial real estate, HR and technology professionals are focused on finding innovative ways to meet the challenges of a post-COVID workplace through safe and effective back to work strategies. John Williams, Head of Marketing at Instant Offices, considers what this means for businesses heading back into the office.
As the UK high street continues to battle for survival in the aftermath of lockdown, new data shows that online retail sales are up 72% year-on-year in the UK. It’s the latest evidence that our retail future is going to be online-first, and hence it’s no surprise that, across the country, many independent retailers are shifting their businesses into the digital domain to stay in touch with changing consumer preferences.
The automated driving technology company, AImotive has announced a new investment round of $20m led by Lead Ventures, a Budapest based scale-up investor. With the fresh capital AImotive has become the largest VC-backed company developing automated driving technology in Europe, with total funding of $75m.
KegTracker is an IoT device that instantly turns kegs into smart containers. It tracks real time location, volume, temperature and motion for each keg, to create reports and insights that enable a sustainable supply chain. Since 2018, R&D has been completed, as well as a working prototype, pending patent and multiple LOIs.
An organisation supporting underrepresented Founders in London and connecting them with opportunities in tech called OneTech has launched a new Founders stories campaign to show the face of startups, and has shared an update on the work achieved by the programme since it began.
Online toolkit for surviving modern alcohol-free society, One Year No Beer, has launched a £1.4m funding round on Seedrs. Already attracting £1.1m investment in the private stages of the round, One Year No Beer now opens its campaign to the wider public. The funding will be used to further develop the technology infrastructure of the business, allowing them to scale their lifestyle support system which facilitates sustained behavioural changes, through the power of community and connection.
It’s a tough time for all businesses, but Manchester once again proves to be a hotspot for emerging new talent. Ambitious startup, The Shirt Society, has secured a substantial six figure investment from one of the city’s top tech investors: Scott Fletcher MBE.
Growing fears of a no-deal Brexit will prompt an increasing number of British and international investors to move their financial assets overseas out of the UK, believes the CEO of a large independent financial advisory and fintech organisations.
Comau has launched a global web-based networking platform designed to support general industry SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) by creating a win-win ecosystem between ‘verified’ systems integrators and companies exploring automation opportunities.
Four in ten (39%) small business owners believe it will take at least five years for the UK economy to fully recover from the impact of lockdown and COVID-19, according to a new poll.
