With the COVID-19 crisis leaving the economy in turmoil and more than 800,000 people out of a job, the New Year heralds a fresh start for Britain’s entrepreneurs. Around 56,000 new businesses are expected to start-out this month – which is almost 2,000 a day.
With most of the country on strict lockdown and no prospect of returning to the office any time soon, 2021 is playing out like much of last year so far, and people all over the country are understandably frustrated and tired. With uncertainty around the future and remote working continuing for most, staying motivated at work is crucial for us to maintain positive momentum and mindset this year.
As a successful entrepreneur in his own right, Daryl Woodhouse knows the price that success can sometimes seem to demand. In 2010, aged 26, he secured a national role at a FTSE top 10 corporate leaving in 2011 to set up his own business, which quickly grew into a seven-figure revenue, winning 30 awards in the process.
The Data & Marketing Association (DMA) has announced a new partnership with not-for-profit organisation, Race Equality Matters, which will seek to achieve racial equality in the workplace.
Spaceport Cornwall is seeing in 2021 with three new staff appointments. Following the departure of Miles Carden, Melissa Thorpe will be providing an interim solution to the position and will be supported by John Paffett. As well as this, new Cornwall Airport Newquay employee Luke Winfield, will be supporting the Spaceport team as Operations Manager.
Funded by the UK European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), CPI, an independent technology innovation centre and founding member of the UK Government’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult, has announced the launch of the PROSPECT programme to assist Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the North East across a wide range of sectors.
As SME leaders plan for the year ahead, Vistage’s latest CEO Confidence Index has found that more than half (54%) of Small and Mid-size Enterprise (SME) members in the UK and Ireland are optimistic that the economic conditions will improve in the next 12 months.
Ales Spetic, the now CEO and Co-founder of Klevio, a smart intercom and smartphone app that lets you open doors and share digital keys using your phone, from anywhere in the world, could be described as a serial entrepreneur. Prior to co-founding four different startups, he was a software engineer before switching to business, where he achieved an MBA from California State University and has also written a book on database programming.
The UK should take advantage of new post-Brexit freedoms to create a world-leading copyright system, Fixing Copyright, a new report by The Entrepreneurs Network think tank argues. According to the report, modernising copyright would provide a boost to the UK’s artificial intelligence startups.
UK-based EdTech gaming studio, Kuato Studios, has raised £4.5m in a round led by Horizons Ventures and is launching ‘Panic Room’ – its first virtual reality title.
The growing demand for software development professionals has already resulted in a talent shortage of 40m workers worldwide which is projected to reach 85.2m by 2030. However, no-code solutions will allow anyone in the organisation to code cheaper, faster, and without any prior knowledge in programming.
London is at the centre of Europe’s burgeoning tech scene, with new research from Dealroom.co and London & Partners showing that London tech companies helped Europe to reach record levels of tech venture capital funding in 2020. International investors continue to look to London, with the findings revealing that the UK capital received more tech VC investment than any European city in 2020.
“If we have learned anything in 2020, it’s that consumers play a pivotal role in their own health outcomes.” – CES 2021. Consumers are now expecting accessible, convenient solutions that allow them to jumpstart their care – from wellness to healthcare – at any moment.
Initial income from digital gift cards in the US stores sampled by Rise.ai jumped by 299% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter of 2020, and by 135% compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. Initial income rose by 558% in December 2020, compared to November 2020. Overall, while for the full year initial income more than doubled by 114% in 2020 in comparison to the previous year.
Hong Kong innovation and technology expertise will be on display at CES 2021, with 22 of the region’s leading entrepreneurs and innovators exhibiting at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s (HKTDC) 44th annual Hong Kong Pavilion at CES. Held virtually from 11th-14th, this year’s exhibits will showcase why Hong Kong is the ideal incubator and launchpad for tech innovation and global business success.
FaultFixers have successfully raised a joint investment deal of £100,000 out of a total £150,000 round through Suss Ventures, the new investor matching service at Sussex Innovation backed by the University of Sussex.
Positive Plus One, a social networking app, has announced that a total of £260,000 has been raised to add the next level of functionality into the specialist platform for the international HIV community.
New data has revealed that Birmingham has been crowned the UK’s regional startup capital for a seventh year running, defying challenges to business confidence posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Creative workspace and accelerator, Huckletree is launching a new initiative to ensure some of the UK’s most innovative and promising startups have the space and mentoring they need to grow in 2021.
New research conducted by Accountancy and Finance, HR and Data Analytics recruiter, Wade Macdonald has found that 44% of employees are finding working from home much harder, physically, mentally and emotionally, than being in the office.
