Five years ago, I made the bold decision to leave the world of corporate business behind and launch my own startup. Make no mistake about it – this was not a decision taken lightly, as I was all too aware of the success rate – or, rather, the high failure rate – of startups during their formative years.
We’re all familiar with the stigma surrounding the process of buying a second-hand car. The perilous pitfalls associated with used cars and their salespeople were made infamous by the dodgy wheeler dealer Arthur Daley in the 1980s TV show ‘Minder’.
Despite the vertigo-inducing surroundings of the 24th floor of the Shard Building in London, it was none the less a glamorous location for the inaugural Seedrs Alumni Awards.
This was one of those weeks where everything seemed to be on fast forward. Not just the number of meetings but the speed of progress in the companies that I met was truly remarkable.
Despite constantly evolving, women are still under-represented in the tech sector – a problem even more acute in fintech, which is typically male-dominated. But as a woman with an eye on fintech markets across Europe, here’s how we can tackle the issue.
For many startups, the process of fund raising can be quite daunting. What method of raising do you use? How long is it going to take? To say nothing of the fact that it’s the time when founders and entrepreneurs have to stick their necks out and ask other people to invest and commit to their vision.
Innovation company business mix is the key contributor and platinum sponsor for the 2019 festival from 7th-12th October 2019. The Malvern Festival of Innovation is a week-long celebration of innovators, host to multiple symposiums, a gala event, comedy night and formal dinner.
This week was quite typical in that it was an unusual mix of many of the things that I get involved with as a mentor and that I have written about in the past. There was some international, some regulation, some cyber security, lots about women in business, and yet again on advisory boards and raising finance.
Crowdcube was inspired by an unshakable belief in entrepreneurs challenging the status quo with big ideas and new thinking, the ones with a vision and who dream big, push at the edges and want to make a difference, big and small.
Marta Krupinska, Head of Google for Startups UK, recently created the Google for Startups first UK Immersion cohort for African startups, to help them along their business journey.
America. In some ways, it can be and has historically been a tough nut for UK technology companies to crack, while in many other ways, the PR strategies and campaigns that work in Britain will work equally as well Stateside.
Calmer launches the digital Calmer Community platform for busy professionals and joins forces with Startups Magazine as Mental Health & Wellbeing Partner.
One thing that I have learned over the years is the importance of cooperation and working with the right partners, and this has only been reiterated during my activities as a mentor. By working with others that have skills or experience in areas that you do not, then 2+2 can, quite literally, equal 5.
Knowledge Transfer Partnership, or KTP, is a part-government funded programme that for the past 40 years has helped businesses – including startups – to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within universities.
The demands, challenges and risks that come with running a small business can bring personal pressures and impact on health and wellbeing.
Sounds like a simple question, doesn’t it? And yet a fundamental lack of understanding in who your customer is, where to find them and what they think or feel is often one of the most common mistakes businesses can’t afford to make, but do.
Concerns about AI technology, in general terms, boil down to the quantity and areas in which it’s used to replace human tasks. Establishing the limitations of AI and unique skills innate to humans, provides insight into its future application, and alleviates some of the worry that one day AI will take over the taskforce.
Google for Startups has announced the latest instalment in its commitment to female entrepreneurs with its first Female Founders Residency programme.
So, you’ve had a great business idea, you have thought it through, built a business plan and a strategy and you believe in it so much that you now want to turn your idea into a reality.
For the supremely talented entrepreneurs and startups doing great work around the world, marketing and PR are often low on their list of priorities. After all, there’s the running of the business to get on with, the development of amazing technology and launching of innovative projects, investment to secure, and people to hire.
