In the face of rising care backlogs and staffing shortages, healthcare services urgently need innovative solutions to deliver sustainable transformation and support. As an Accident and Emergency doctor, I witnessed first-hand how poorly implemented, inflexible tech put additional pressure on clinicians and affected the ability to provide the best patient care. 

Our brain is constantly evolving. According to Zimmer, the brain has up to 100 billion neurons which create 100 trillion neural connections, making our brain into a highly complex thinking machine. We can take seemingly random pieces of information and connect them to completely unrelated subjects and create something new, which is why as humans we are incredibly creative and innovative. It seems like a paradox then, as despite this, we can find it so difficult to break negative habits that may even be detrimental to us.

Soaring fuel and energy costs have seen average household energy bills in the UK forecasted to rise to more than £3,000 this winter, this is also going to have a significant impact on offices too. While rocketing energy costs are certainly a cause for concern for many businesses, there are some reliable ways to increase the energy efficiency of your office and reduce outgoings.

Since handymen and labourers returned to work following national lockdowns, competition is back to pre-pandemic levels. The rising cost of living, altered working schedules and the new remote culture have led to an increased reliance on contractors. More so than ever before, it’s essential that your jack-of-all-trades company name is well-known, and that your services stand out from the crowd, but how can you get the best results from your handyman business?

If you are in the process of starting a new small business, you will be well aware of the various challenges that you may have to face in the near future. In Britain alone, you will be competing with another 5.5 million small businesses which means that you will have to pull out all of the stops in order to make enough revenue to stay afloat.

eCommerce is a growing trend, and the demand for eCommerce platforms will rise over the next few years. The good news is that several different eCommerce platforms are available to help you get started. The bad news? Building an online store isn't easy—nor should it be!

The UK’s tech sector has become one of the standout industries of recent years. Despite the harsh impact of the global pandemic, which has slowed down the performance of most sectors, the UK tech industry is one that has remained resilient.

Driven by the goods and services that address an increasing expectation, the anywhere economy is built upon solid foundations: anything, anytime, anywhere, all enabled by the Internet. After the traditional economy faltered during the pandemic, the anywhere economy surged. Companies like Zoom, Netflix and Amazon became providers of essential services for work, life and sanity.

As a Branding Advisor for Virgin Startup, I often get questions from the business community. A recent question that came up was about team building and company culture.

Workplaces across the globe have borne witness to rapid shifts towards digitalisation. New and innovative emerging tech has facilitated remote working, increased productivity, and changed the way in which businesses operate.

Stemming from the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and now the cost of living crisis, the Great Resignation is still a critical issue across numerous industries. Led principally by Generations Y and Z, employees have left their posts in droves for various reasons, from personal to political.

Companies are beginning to realise how important good food is in attracting talent and creating healthy workplaces that look after their employees. A recent study revealed two-thirds of respondents believe an organisation which prioritises their health and wellbeing would make them more likely to stay in their current role, so healthy food and beverage provisions should not be overlooked.

Storage is an essential factor in this age of digital technology. Many businesses have adopted the trend of storing data in a storage area network. This dedicated network comprising several storage devices allows multiple computers and servers to access shared storage. As a result, organisations can manage storage from a central place and apply data protection, security, and disaster recovery standards.

The Covid-19 pandemic proved to be a turning point for the corporate work culture, as companies reevaluated their practices and found new ways to respond to the evolving needs of the workplace. Amid lockdowns and social distancing, many employers rose to the occasion, strengthening their communications and relationships with staff while reimagining the workplace to accommodate hybrid work and a more supportive and encouraging environment.

An image of a plane making an attempt to take off just a few yards before the mountain edge has become a common representation of startups managing their financial runway to avoid going bust. 

Working with the right partners can make the difference between success and failure in almost any scenario, but this is even more true when running an early-stage business.  As a founder, it is simply not possible to know everything that needs to be done and the best way to do it.

With the rate of inflation soaring around the world, small businesses everywhere are facing a new kind of challenge – how they can best support employees through the cost-of-living crisis.

In the startup ecosystem, we’ve been hearing a lot of speculations about how the economic downturn will bring correction to the tech industry. We’ve seen layoffs happening across the industry, yet at the same time we’ve also seen news from startups that have achieved significant funding rounds.

On the scaling up journey, too many business owners fall into the trap of being at the hub of everything– creating an ‘owner’s trap’ that can be difficult to break out of. 

Supply chain and logistics departments often ignore reverse logistics, meaning $1trn worth of products is lost every year in the US alone.

Redesigning a website is one of the most challenging things you can do for your business. It's expensive, time-consuming, and requires some technical know-how if you want to achieve the best results. But don't worry. We've got some tips to help make the process easier and more successful.

Data has come to dominate many aspects of our lives, with Big Tech companies tracking almost everything we do online or on our phones. It is estimated that by 2025 we will have created nearly 200 zettabytes worth of data as more and more devices record more and more information. That is an unimaginably large amount of data. A zettabyte is one sextillion (one followed by 21 zeros) bytes. The Bible is just four million bytes.

For some business people, the opportunity to establish an overseas business is irresistible. Globalisation, increased online communication, the lure of international supply chains, and emerging markets are encouraging businesses from every industry to travel to foreign lands in search of new customer bases and better material sources.

One of the many consequences of COVID-19 is the increase in those working remotely, with almost 50% of people working from home at some point during the pandemic. This type of working has many benefits, as does working in an office, and as we have begun to return to normal this has provided a new challenge for many companies. How do you navigate managing a workforce where some people are remote, some are hybrid and some are full-time office-based? In this article, we will explore some of the best techniques for achieving synergy within a geographically diverse team.

Employers have a legal responsibility to take care of their employees and to make everyone aware of how to handle potential hazards in the workplace. Apart from these legal reasons, they also have a moral responsibility with their employees and with society at large to guarantee the health and safety of the collective.

How many times have you read the words ‘this tweet was posted in error by an intern’? It happens far too frequently and regardless of whether it’s true or not, it highlights the lack of any strategic approach to social media. Whether you have a large team, are a startup, or all of your social media content is handled by you as the founder - the common mistake many businesses make is by treating the medium as just another sales channel.  

The pandemic forced the world to change its working habits, with many working from home full time for the past two years to ensure employee safety. However, over two years on since the pandemic was declared, workplace habits are beginning to change. With 80% of people surveyed by Mckinsey stating they enjoy working from home and 41% of people saying they are more productive, is working from home here to stay? Mark Bond, Group Chair, Mentor and Coach at Vistage discusses.

First impressions count. How a company handles the first few days and months of an employee’s experience can have a serious impact not only on their new team member’s confidence and productivity but on the business’s ability to retain top talent.

Funding rounds and cash injections are fantastic for startups - but what we don’t often see discussed are the business challenges that rapid growth can present. For example, the cash injection following our Series B funding round helped us triple our headcount in just six months - but because our onboarding process wasn’t built to handle so many new employees joining, we realised this simple inefficiency was hindering everyone’s success. 

As we celebrated World Youth Skills Day earlier this month (15th July) - the annual celebration of the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment and entrepreneurship as they begin their career journey, we wanted to highlight some tips from business leaders on how we can support the next generation as they enter the workforce.

When establishing a startup, or later on during the whole scale up journey, there is one general concept that holds good, and that is that you should try to under promise and over deliver. When producing a Pitch Deck or Business Plan don’t just focus on the best case scenario and don’t always just go for the highest valuation as there can be many downsides in doing this; raised expectations is only one of them.

Due to the impact of the pandemic, traditional working structures have been upended. During various lockdowns and restrictions, the global workforce had the opportunity to reflect and re-evaluate what they wanted from a career. From more flexible work arrangements to greater autonomy or even a complete industry change, this mindset shift is coming to fruition in the form of the so-called Great Resignation. And employers are faced with the consequences.

For many software professionals, coding is a pursuit of passion, and being promoted to higher positions is not a top priority. However, the desire for new challenges may leave software developers considering other opportunities.

I have always worked in tech, so have needed to understand the technical nature of the products we are building. This process has generally been over-complicated for me so I now always try to write a guide for non-technical people like me. It turns out that once you understand it you can explain it to other non-technical people much easier.

Even before the global health crisis changed the face of enterprise forever, digital transformation was soaring higher and higher on the business agenda for boards of directors worldwide. When it comes to establishing and holding a competitive edge, digital solutions can set businesses apart with improved operational efficiency and agility.

Hybrid working became the norm two years ago. How has it developed to become a realistic working model for the future?

One of the most difficult things to being a founder or running an early-stage business is the lack of human resources and the sheer amount and diversity of work that needs to be done. This can so often lead to founders getting caught in a cycle of fighting fires and finding themselves not able to have a planned approach, nor to being able to look at the overall picture of what needs to be done and when.

As temperatures soar during this heatwave, at what point does it become too hot to still work?

Those currently in the early stages of their career are facing a very new set of challenges. As the cost of living crisis continues, Gen Z’s view of what they are looking for from their career has changed. We’re seeing the move from the traditional 9 to 5 to individuals embracing new and exciting ways of working including side-hustles. 

Feefo is a software-as­-a-service consumer ratings and reviews platform, harnessing the power of verified consumer reviews to improve online sales conversion metrics, enhance digital marketing and provide valuable customer insights and analysis to ecommerce customers. Startups Magazine caught up with Feefo's CPO, Bera Kalhan.

Inbound and outbound logistics, often used interchangeably, are very different processes that serve other purposes in the supply chain. Understanding the differences between inbound and outbound logistics can help you streamline your supply chain, reduce costs and improve customer satisfaction.

Fintech companies have huge implications in the world on the global economy, and on global warming. Currently, the world is facing one of its greatest challenges yet, to prevent rising global temperatures, by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

On average, we spend about a third of our lives working, so it comes as no surprise that our jobs can have an enormous impact on our wellbeing. Indeed’s Work Happiness Score, found that only 27% of UK workers report being happy at work, with nearly three quarters (72%) admitting that their workplace unhappiness has had a negative impact on their physical and/or mental wellbeing.

Working at home can be pretty fantastic. Increased flexibility, a quiet environment and no more commuting in peak travel hours are just a few reasons why working remotely can lead to a rewarding work life.

Climate change has been at the forefront of news reports, social media campaigns, and charity efforts for the past few years and it's been having a big impact on everything from the way people live to the way businesses run.

A key part of starting any business is figuring out how and when to take care of your bookkeeping and accounting. If you’re not sure where to begin, look no further!

Many of us will have probably read news stories about battles between companies over intellectual property (IP). Such stories can really capture the public imagination when it involves a small or medium sized company embroiled in a dispute with a large corporate. The British public seem to love an underdog story, with the classic David vs. Goliath scenario winning hearts and minds as people cheer on an SME’s attempt to fend off a challenge from a big business.

Starting your own company can be an expensive business and the costs soon add up. Luckily, even if you are short of money, there are different options available for improving your company cash flow and today we hear from some industry experts to get their insights.

The UK has become more environmentally conscious in recent years. In fact, the global pandemic encouraged people to become more sustainable, and 36% of consumers report supporting companies that are environmentally friendly. But where do Gen Z fit into this?

Disparity from HR, eagle eye investors who are aware of the issue and startups with big goals and small bank accounts have all compounded into a tech recruitment issue causing much debate in the industry.

Economists are signalling that a toxic mix of recession risks are hanging over the global economy. Many startups won’t have felt the effects of such a financial slump before and will find themselves in unchartered territory.

Femtech, technology aimed at supporting female health, has been on the rise in recent years as millions of women turn to technology to gain insight into their bodies.

If you're in debt, you're not alone. In fact, according to a 2019 report from the Federal Reserve, the average American household owes nearly $7,000 in credit card debt. But just because debt is common doesn't mean it's easy to deal with. If you're struggling to keep up with your payments, it can feel like you're drowning in a sea of numbers with no end. But there is light at the end of the tunnel

Over the last few weeks, we’ve surveyed our customer base, with the findings indicating that most UK businesses are starting to return to pre-pandemic levels of business travel, with plans to increase their business travel further in the future. Even international travel, which is still somewhat disrupted, is slowly increasing. These seem reflective of the wider UK too as the country gets to grips with a hybrid way of working with more miles on the road and in the air, while home working remains here to stay.

We’ve all struggled with feeling like we’re not good enough, and it’s common for employees to end up feeling like an imposter in the workplace - but according to Mike Jones, founder of Better Happy, these feelings of insecurity can actually benefit your business.

To be a successful entrepreneur means that you have to run a successful business. That in turn requires your business to sell products or services that customers want to buy and at a price that they are prepared to pay. In addition, the profit margins that you make need to be sufficient to support a growing business.

The Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance – a group of technology companies including Apple, Google and Microsoft – announced its commitment to supporting passwordless authentication across its products.

As the cost of living continues to climb and a potential recession looms, small businesses are facing new challenges. The pandemic, which already brought about an accelerated shift to online shopping, has piled the pressure on high street brands to keep pace with online counterparts.

You've got a great idea for a startup, and you're ready to make it happen. You don’t have a surefire marketing strategy in mind yet. But you know one thing - you gotta have an active email list ASAP.

The demand for app development doesn't show signs of getting slower any sooner. As apps are an accessible type of technology, where people can have access from anywhere, the consumers' interest in this technology is vital. Therefore, many companies are taking this trend and changing their traditional environment to mobile for effective business positioning. But developing an app isn't easy and takes time and teamwork for a positive outcome.

We are all aware that something needs to be done to reduce our carbon footprint, but many of us have no idea where to start. Naturally the best place to start anything is from the beginning and in carbon planning the beginning is to measure where you are now - what your current carbon emissions are. 

With the worst of the coronavirus pandemic seemingly – hopefully – behind us, many of the world’s leading economies are looking for ways to begin recovering and rebuilding from the financial downturn they have experienced as a result.

Medical startups are a prospective niche that provides valuable services to people seeking medical help. One of the most successful examples is Bookimed.com. It is a medical tourism startup that assists people from any corner of the globe in finding the best treatment option. People use such services for two reasons: either they look for higher quality or low-cost medical services than those they can find in their own country of residence.

Hello and welcome back to Part two of our series on Leading and Lagging indicators. In the first part, we covered what leading KPIs are, looked at how they work numerically, discussed why they are a powerful tool for startups, and shared the nuances startup founders should keep in mind while working with leading KPIs

Government lockdowns during the COVID pandemic forced businesses to quickly adapt their working practices, as employees required work-from-home set ups almost overnight, and many companies quickly became reliant on cloud-based technologies to make the shift as smooth as possible.

Much has been written about payment rails in the news lately, as neobanks and fintechs continue to flood the market with new and innovative banking and payment products. Simply put, any business that deals with transactions in any shape or form must also deal with payments, and ultimately, payments rails.

Over the past few years, we have been plunged into a working life of makeshift desks, online meetings and working predominantly alone, often from home. Managers and their teams have adapted quickly to conducting the majority of business remotely, becoming rather adept at doing so.

Bringing a minimum viable product (MVP) to market is a landmark moment in the development of any tech startup – and for many founders, it marks the critical first realisation of their idea.

As human beings, we primarily learn from trial and error. If our actions have positive outcomes, we feel compelled to repeat them; a behavioural pattern often driven by incentive and reward. Whether it’s buying one drink to get the second free, or donating old clothes to get money off the next order, incentives are key to understanding people and their priorities.

Welcome to a new series of articles for Startups Magazine. In this series we will look at some of the more common challenges that are faced by early-stage businesses and some of the top tips designed to overcome these challenges or, at the very least, to mitigate their worst effects.

As the saying goes - no-one can whistle a symphony, it takes an orchestra. For all the well-publicised (and valid) advantages of our new-found freedom to work wherever we want, some key elements of our working lives have become a little diminished.

After making a small return last year, 2022 London Tech Week returned with a bang this year, with a new venue, an incredible line-up of speakers and thousands of people and companies there to connect and learn about how technology can make a positive change and impact. 

Research has shown that global users spend an average of nearly seven hours per week watching videos. Whether they are on YouTube, social media, or embedded on websites, videos have the unique ability to convey an audio and visual message to the viewer. In the world of digital marketing, this two-pronged attack can wield the power of persuasion. 

As your startup business grows, so does the need for increased working capacity.

When you’re a startup founder, every decision has opportunity cost. It’s one of the reasons that running an early-stage business can be so stressful because even if you make the ‘right’ decision, there are consequences.

Reverse logistics is crucial for any company involved with logistics, delivery or the supply chain process. To help you get started, today we will list everything you should know about reverse logistics and how to have a successful operation.

In this era of digitalisation, data analytics has made it easy for businesses to understand the needs and preferences of their customers. Innovative workplace technologies are swiftly hitting the market, enabling organisations to adapt and prosper in a constantly digital environment.

Following the Queen’s Speech, and years of consultations and lobbying from the micro mobility sector, it looks like the e-scooter industry is in for a bumper year. The vehicles have until now been legal to buy, yet illegal to use on the UK’s public roads except through authorised ride sharing schemes.  However, this will now change through the creation of a new vehicle class for e-scooters specifically. 

Once upon a time, not very long ago, most businesses upheld an office-centric culture. Demanding boots on the ground, companies were limited to hiring employees that could be physically present five days a week, capping their talent pool and offering little flexibility. Now, in the wake of the pandemic, the seismic shift towards remote working has triggered a borderless working world, in which international companies can hire remote employees located anywhere.

Together employers and employees need to understand, and remove, the barriers in the workplace for greater inclusion for all.  Diverse and inclusive workplaces can not only grow your business, but they can also lead to real social change. The desire for more diverse workforces is apparent, with employees strongly supporting organisations that are taking action to create a workplace which is diverse and inclusive.

Britain’s SMEs are facing a crisis. In a time where everything possible is transitioning to digital, SMEs are struggling to acquire sufficient skills to benefit from constantly evolving digital technologies. Here, Kristian Torode, Director and Co-Founder of IT business support and communication technology specialist Crystaline, investigates the reasons behind the digital skills gap, and SMEs can become as future ready as their larger counterparts.

Zeinab Ardeshir, Co-founder of PillSorted, the healthtech that’s raised £4.5m to work with the NHS in getting medications to patients more efficiently discussed their journey so far with Startups Magazine.

When it comes to gender equality in the workplace, the financial services sector is regularly in the spotlight. Traditionally male-dominated, progress has been made in recent years to ensure women are encouraged to pursue a career in the financial services, backed by private and public initiatives like the Women in Finance Charter. This is promising, with more women taking on visible leadership roles. 

With dramatic increases in online shopping resulting from the pandemic, the e-commerce space experienced an unprecedented boom. Merchants and payment providers had to quickly adapt to and many managed to capitalise successfully, benefitting from consumers’ shift to online purchasing.

Over the last 10 years financial technology has become more than a subsection or merging of two industries, and has developed into a fully-fledged industry in itself.

“Start Up Bromley is fantastic… a role model”, David Smith, Economics Editor of The Sunday Times, said earlier this year when he was part of a panel of entrepreneurs and business influencers in Bromley’s Central Library.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned so far along my entrepreneurial journey is that  building and owning a startup is not a job, it’s a lifestyle. Despite no two journeys ever looking the same, something valuable can always be extracted from every founder’s story. 

Building anything from the ground up comes with its fair share of challenges, and the existence of this site is a testament to that. But if there's anything we pride ourselves on, it's being able to give little tips on how your business can speed up its growth from day one. Today, we'll be talking about a few technologies that can help make the life of you and your customers that much easier. 

Setting up a new business can be an exciting time. Everything is new and the possibilities are endless. However, you don’t want to fall into the trap of making a few wrong decisions, leading to real problems down the line.

I was once delivering a sales pitch to a well-known British Public School where they were looking for entrepreneurial and innovative ideas to disrupt the education sector.

According to recent statements from Cabinet Office Minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, civil servants should return to the office to ensure Government buildings are at full capacity. Given that all legal restrictions arising from the COVID-19  pandemic were removed earlier this year, a full-scale return to the workplace has already occurred across many organisations.  

There's been much talk about the Great Resignation, with workers across sectors resigning en masse from their jobs in early 2021. The tech and finance industries were reported to have been hit hardest, but despite similar employment trends being seemingly apparent across marketing, advertising, visual arts, and more, the creative industries were conspicuous by their absence from reports. Driven by the pressing need to fill this absence, we ran surveys with the aim of better understanding the cause and effect of The Great Resignation in the creative industries and cultural sector.

These are the five things that will help new freelances create a sustainable business that gives them freedom, joy and money as they help shape their industry.

In today’s world, it is commonplace for employees to regularly change jobs. Indeed, the average UK employee changes jobs 12 times throughout their career. And with people changing jobs so regularly and the advent of autoenrollment, employees often accumulate and lose track of multiple pension pots, which could threaten many people’s long-term financial wellness.

Diversity is crucial to the tech industry's development and success, and female representation is an important piece of the puzzle. One Deloitte Insight analysis predicted that female representation in technical roles in large technology companies would increase by 0.6% from 2019 to 2022.

Due to the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, side hustle and startup businesses are becoming increasingly popular in the UK. In fact, according to a recent report by digital marketplace Airtasker, 46% of British people are using side hustle businesses to generate a second income to fund their lifestyles. According to the Business Statistics Bulletin, there were 810,316 new businesses launched last year, making it a 21.8% increase from 2019. 

Banks and big business are racing to get behind sustainable frameworks as the world sets its sights on net zero. But should startups feel the same urgency too?

Ensuring that anyone with potential can get on in life makes good business sense. It means that women should have the same opportunities as men to start their own businesses and be represented in business at every level.

Excel is a powerful tool that you can use for business forecasting. By using Excel, you can easily create forecasts and projections for your business.