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ARTICLES IN Features
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You Don’t Need To Be Technical To Be a Tech Founder in 2021

The journey to becoming a technical founder is not as clear-cut as other career paths. Some careers have clear cut journeys. Doctors and nurses can expect university degrees, post-university education, residencies, clinics and more. Lawyers need to pass exams after post-university education.

Features 1 hour ago
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How to survive lockdown number three as a small business owner

It’s a complicated time to be a business owner, whether it’s a multinational company or a small enterprise. But while larger companies are having to make systematic changes to accommodate lockdowns, social distancing, and the other realities of COVID-19, many small businesses have been left adrift without clear guidance on how to proceed.

Features 22 hours ago
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The importance of LGBT+ role models for organisations

You can’t be what you can’t see. This is a phrase that crops up time and time again. We often see organisations pledge to take action to boost the number of opportunities for LGBT+ professionals to take up leadership positions; however there is still a lack of visible LGBT+ role models across business.

Features, Diversity 2 days ago
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Quick tips on how to implement your startup dream

Even the biggest companies started with just an idea. While their founders all dreamed for their business to grow, we’re guessing most of them didn’t really imagine that their small spark will stand strong and eventually reach a global scale. But we didn’t come here to talk about their ideas, we’re here to talk about yours and how to turn it into a reality.

Features 5 days ago
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Effective ways to improve professionally during the lockdown

As everyone is gradually settling into the newer methods of working at the time of lockdowns such as collaboration and remote working, it is a good time to consider the professional skills you possess for increasing your worth as an employee. You must find out what skills have to be updated for meeting the changing demands. Most of the conventional professional development activities such as conventions, workshops, and conferences have been either postponed or cancelled.

Features 6 days ago
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7 key facts about starting a franchise business

Here are 7 key facts you need to know about starting a franchise business.

Features, Life 6 days ago
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How to keep safe as a business traveller in 2021

International travel has ground to a halt for the vast majority of us. While travel restrictions forced many of us to put our holiday plans on hold, the impact goes far beyond holidaymakers - many businesses have been forced to limit any corporate travel since the start of the pandemic.

Features, Life 1 week ago
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Top Traits of a Business Partnership: How to Build and Maintain It

This last 12 months has shown what businesses can achieve through the power of collaboration, some naming 2020 the year for brand partnership dominance. Businesses have had to co-operate in unique and creative ways to navigate a COVID-19 stricken world.

Features 1 week ago
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Top tips for nailing your virtual interview

Job interviews are tough. Video interviews can be a disaster. Poor internet connection, the threat of a pet or child appearing in the background, and nowhere to hide from your own face as you try to concentrate on presenting the best version of yourself.

Features, Life 1 week ago
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The Passion Economy: Power to the Creators

We all have an unconventional interest or two. From those who hand-make chess boards, to avid Tetris players, to people who have read every Austen novel twelve times, it's our hobbies that give life meaning and colour.

Features 1 week ago
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How technology is democratising the professional services industry

At the start of the pandemic, thousands of employees were forced to work from home overnight, resulting in businesses scrambling to adapt. In the coming days and weeks, digital adoption accelerated like never before.

Features 1 week ago
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What It Takes to Keep a Small Business Open and Thriving

Since the year began, entrepreneurs have observed a serious global economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Small businesses have been impacted greatly by this crisis because they have limited resources to adapt to the changing context. If you own such a business, you must have experienced sales go down as well as an increased difficulty in accessing business inputs. While it might look like the end of your business, you should not despair.

Features 1 week ago
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The workplace trends to follow in 2021

In 2020 we experienced a lot of change to our working lives, with many of us turning to Google for tips and advice on working from home. Influenced by what we’ve all been searching over the past few months, Lauren Gordon, Behavioural Insights Adviser at Bupa UK shares the top workplace trends to follow for 2021 and tips on how to make these trends work for your physical and mental health.

Features, Life 1 week ago
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Smart Predictions: The Connected Technology That Will Transform 2021

Although we have bid a grateful farewell to 2020, the disruption and uncertainty we experienced are spilling over into 2021. If there is one thing that we learnt last year, however, it’s that we need to accelerate the pace of transformative change. Connected technology is of critical importance in this process, and is likely to be one of the key economic drivers going forward.

Features 1 week ago
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7 ways to stay motivated at work during challenging times

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.

Features 1 week ago
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7 tips for success when starting a business in 2021

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.

Features 1 week ago
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AI-powered voice analytics are ready to power the digital-first contact centre

AI has been identified by Deloitte analysts as the technology that is critical to ‘elevate the human experience’ and power successful next-generation customer service. This article will discuss how this advanced tech can help contact centres deliver a consistently high level of customer experience (CX) and ease internal contact centre pain points in a post-COVID world.

Features 1 week ago
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Five steps to tackle the last-minute tax return

Despite the government relaxing or extending certain deadlines for several annual financial outgoings, such as insurance policies, mortgages and MOTs, the call to extend the 31st January 2019/20 self-assessment deadline was rejected.

Features 1 week ago
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Five ways founders can still make 2021 the best yet

Call it a New Year’s resolution or call it a business plan, it’s all the same in the world of startups. Setting goals and reaching for the stars is all part of the startup journey as you have to show vision, commitment, and determination in all that you do. The only difference is that it’s not about you, it’s about your business.

Features 1 week ago
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The changing face of business payments

COVID-19 has put unimaginable pressure on small and medium sized businesses across the UK. For these businesses, now more than ever, cash flow is everything. Expenses play a major part in a business’ cash flow, and if handled correctly, can leave companies with a substantial pot of money at the end of each financial year.

Features 1 week ago
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Why Data Before Ideas Should be the Mantra of all Entrepreneurs

‘I’ve had this idea…’ It’s apparently ideas that drive entrepreneurs. Spotting a gap in the market, formulating an amazing product or service that will answer it. Why hasn’t anyone thought of it before? Good ideas are everything when it comes to starting a business… That is, until you find yourself blindsided by an idea that doesn’t take you anywhere because it has no data to back it up. Because while ideas are the entrepreneur’s bread and butter, it’s data that powers their production. At least, that’s been my experience.

Features 2 weeks ago
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The Pandemic: Online Delivery Apps Demand and Golden Opportunities

As the Corona Pandemic continues to derange the global supply chain processes and economy across the globe, consumers' inclination towards online buying has been increasing, resulting in many businesses switching to online to stay afloat during this challenging time.

Features 2 weeks ago
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Pivoting in a pandemic: a new business buzz word or a necessity that's here to stay?

Pivoting. Along with ‘unprecedented’, ‘lockdown’ and ‘the new normal’, it’s become somewhat of a buzzword over the last 12 months - and in the conversations I have among my business contacts, partners and stakeholders, rarely a day goes by where I don’t hear it used in one way or another.

Features 2 weeks ago
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The Edge of understanding AI

Before we can begin to understand AI, we need to learn about the edge. A lot of people have never heard of the edge, but in truth it's a bit like the chicken and the egg - you can’t have one without the other. For clarity, the ‘edge’ we are talking about involves the device on which you’re reading this article.

Features 2 weeks ago
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How To Buy An Insolvent Business To ... Start A Business

There's no time like a crisis for entrepreneurship. Looking back, some of the most successful companies in the world were founded in times of economic and societal turmoil. It's no wonder that millions of people want to follow the example of their founders in these trying times.

Features 2 weeks ago
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Intellectual property strategies for startups

Innovative companies around the world are realising their dreams and going to market with new and creative products and services. As they’re starting out, they often assemble teams of creative minds and experts in areas of product development, research, human resources, marketing, and more. More often than not, one key member of the team often omitted is the expert focused on intellectual property (IP) and patent strategy. This area is typically the last thing on an entrepreneur’s mind as they’re launching their business.

Features 2 weeks ago
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Do I need business insurance?

You might have a business plan but what happens when your business doesn’t, er, go to plan? You’ve invested time, money and effort in making sure your startup gets off the ground. Naturally, you want to protect it from any setbacks. 

Features 2 weeks ago
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Seven Top Tips for Organising Your Virtual Event

From product launches to investor pitches, in the current climate, virtual events have become essential to businesses wanting to connect with their clients. But if you haven’t planned a virtual event before, it can seem daunting. With so many hosting options, plug-ins and technicalities to think about, where’s the best place to start? We’ve compiled some top tips to help simplify the planning and make your virtual event a success.

Features 2 weeks ago
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How to make your home workspace a permanent fixture without breaking the bank

Despite home working remaining firmly on the agenda for the near future, more than a third of people (37%) admit they still don’t have a dedicated space to work from at home. What’s more, just a quarter of home workers have invested in comfortable seating (26%) or a desk (27%).

Features, Life 2 weeks ago
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Protect Your Files: 3 Simple Tips for Small Businesses

Small businesses have files that must be kept safe and secure. They include internal documents, corporation paperwork, financial statements, insurance documentation, and any documents with personal information. Although the attention is often on cyber attacks at large companies like Amazon, LinkedIn, and Equifax, smaller companies also experience their own share of data breaches.

Features 2 weeks ago
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Unique UK startups thriving despite pandemic pressures

Venture Capital Trusts were created 25 years ago as a means of effectively channelling government support towards the UK’s most dynamic early-stage businesses. Never has this been more important than in the midst of the current global pandemic.

Features 2 weeks ago
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Why every founder and sole trader must now become a digital marketer

As the UK is now in its third national lockdown, consumers and businesses are turning once more to remotely delivered services and digital experiences to survive in the coming month. As the world adapted to the impact of COVID-19, 2020 saw a rapid increase in digitisation, including from age groups that traditionally had been slower to adapt.

Features, Brand 2 weeks ago
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How the boom in e-commerce is aiding diversity and inclusion in the logistics industry

Over the past few years, we have seen considerable progress on gender equality within the workplace, with logistics providers outlining their commitments to building a more diverse pipeline of talent across all levels.

Features, Diversity 2 weeks ago
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Five ways employers can help their team beat the January blues

Every year, one in four of us will have a mental health problem according to Mind, with the COVID-19 pandemic placing further strain on our mental wellbeing. This means it is more than likely that a member of your team could be living with mental health issues.

Features 3 weeks ago
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New Business Opportunities Abound For UK SMEs in 2021

2020 was a major challenge for small business owners and leaders, but despite the tough environment, the UK’s largest CEO peer network organisation Vistage’s CEO Confidence Index has revealed that there is resilience in the UK SME sector. As we enter the new year, the UK SME landscape is expected to pick up steam as the economy improves post COVID-19.

Features 3 weeks ago
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VR: The future of video conferencing for businesses?

Few business leaders at the start of the pandemic would have thought that video conferencing would be anything more than a temporary solution to a temporary problem. Now, nine months down the line, we are still Zooming in order to hold business meetings. What was at first a safe and novel alternative, is now an exhausting chore.

Features 3 weeks ago
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Tech Talents Welcome: The UK is Open for Business

The Global Talent visa is an immigration route to the UK launched in February 2020 to replace the Exceptional Talent visa. It is one of many immigration routes that businesses looking to employ foreign nationals could use but it often appeals to startups and SMEs because Global Talent visa holders do not require sponsorship from their prospective employers.

Features 3 weeks ago
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How the reality of work is changing, and what employers need to do about it

We’ve all seen such a huge upheaval for many organisations in the way they work, that it’s tempting to think that everyone was operating in traditional environments – think nine to five, fixed office, company-issued IT – right up until March 2020.

Features 1 month ago
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Digital platform transformation - from closed source to open source

Choosing the right content management system (CMS) is one of the first decisions that needs to be made to build your website. We spoke to Bhavesh Nayi, Vice President at Django CMS Association who here explains the four main pillars to help you understand the best route to take!

Features 1 month ago
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Tech can make furniture sustainable

Advances in technology have transformed the nature of consumption in almost every sector: it isn’t just the products we buy that are different, it is the way we buy them. But there is one sector which remains relatively untouched by the tech revolution, a sector responsible for over a billion trees falling every year, alongside 670 thousand tonnes of landfill in the UK and 10 million tonnes in the US: furniture.

Features 1 month ago
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The lessons that businesses cannot ignore from the last year

As we prepare to enter a new year, businesses must take a moment to reflect on the last 12 months as they put plans in place for 2021. For most businesses, the events of 2020 will have been completely unprecedented and how each company has reacted to this crisis will be unique.

Features 1 month ago
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Predicting the biggest digital innovation trends of 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many already-present trends in almost every aspect of our lives. For businesses, this has meant an accelerated reliance on technology. Of course, companies of all kinds have had to rely on technology for decades. But 2020 has forced organisations to entirely shift processes from the physical world to the digital one.

Features 1 month ago
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What does 2021 have in store for recruitment?

The recruitment landscape has changed dramatically. Just before the nation’s lockdown at the end of March, the industry was already feeling a slowdown which was driven by several things, including the looming uncertainty of Brexit. However, when COVID-19 hit, recruitment froze, and the industry became a ghost town; it was an anxiety-fuelled time for firms, their clients and their candidates.

Features 1 month ago
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Where to start when it comes to creative writing?

As a writer, of course I think words matter to your business. But they really do. They are how you communicate to customers, stakeholder and employees. They are how customers experience your product. They are what sell you. They rouse people to action.

Features 1 month ago
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Things You Should Consider When Setting Up Your New Office

Preparing a new office environment is often an exciting time for everyone involved. In every room, you see opportunities, productivity, and progress. And yet, some leaders tend to get too carried away in the aesthetics and other meaningless factors, and don’t put enough effort into setting things up in a way that’s actually conductive to all that productivity they envision. If you want to keep things running smoothly, there are some modern approaches to certain aspects of office environment setup that you should pay close attention to.

Features 1 month ago
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How Technology Innovations Have Helped Fast-Track the Low-Touch Economy

Many industries have had to quickly adapt to new operational guidelines due to the coronavirus outbreak completely changing the economy and the way we live our lives. Many professions that the public took for granted were prevented from operating under their normal circumstances.

Features 1 month ago
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2021: The year that back-end needs to become front-of-mind

The past year has been make-or-break, not just for individual businesses but entire sectors.  Digitisation and market disruption are hardly new trends, but amidst a global pandemic, they have transformed the way we work, shop and live. Many of the businesses that stepped into the gap of legacy businesses have been scale-ups: fast-growth businesses on an upwards trajectory. Think of the likes of Deliveroo, Monzo and Cazoo. The question remains: will these businesses continue to grow once the pandemic has passed?

Features 1 month ago
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Remote goal setting in the startup environment

It’s been a tale of two halves for the startup scene this year. The pandemic has created both challenges and new opportunities - and for many, it’s been a mixed bag of muddling through and innovating out of a crisis. 

Features 1 month ago
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Why Our Environmental Crisis is a Public Health Concern

In the United States, almost half of adults (46.4%) will experience a mental illness during their lifetime. From 2005 to 2017, the number of reported mental health symptoms has increased by 52% in adolescents, and by 63% in young adults.

Features 1 month ago
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How to Prepare for a Business Trip

Business statistics show that 1.3 million business trips are taken in the United States every day. Amidst globalisation, more persons are embarking on business trips and this is because businesses extend beyond the border of their country. Before going on such a trip, adequate preparations must be made for it, as this will guarantee the success of the trip.

Features 1 month ago
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What does 2021 have in store for the tech industry?

As we approach 2021, Michael Niddam, Managing Partner at Kamet Ventures shares his predictions about telemedicine, mental health, healthtech, and insurtech.

Features 1 month ago
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Talking Diversity and Inclusion with Asif Sadiq

Asif Sadiq is an award-winning diversity and inclusion expert, now working as Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Adidas. Committed to creating inclusive corporate environments, Asif has also worked as Head of Diversity and Inclusiveness for EY Financial Services, and as Head of Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Unit for the City of London Police.

Features 1 month ago
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How to use virtual events for lead generation

2020 has certainly been a challenging year for millions of businesses both UK and worldwide. From developing mass remote working policies at speed to ‘pivoting’ product and/or service offerings to appeal to a COVID-19 dominated target audience, it’s no secret that business leaders have had to remain flexible and agile in order to survive this turbulent time. Oliver Rowe, Co-Founder of events management solution, VenuIQ explains.

Features 1 month ago
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UK’s northern technology sector is leading the way in tech innovation

The North East of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Yorkshire & Humber are fast becoming new powerhouses for UK tech innovation.

Features 1 month ago
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How to Develop a New Product From Concept to Market

The current business scene is extremely dynamic and competitive. To survive and thrive in such an environment, you must continuously develop new products to address customers’ ever-changing needs. And to do that you must understand how to bring a product idea to life. This guide will highlight the steps for developing a new product from concept generation to the introduction of the end product into the market.

Features 1 month ago
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Why now’s the time to build a strong personal brand

The biggest marketing trend that we’ve seen throughout 2020 is the drive to build a strong personal brand. Customers are becoming savvy to the ethics and ethos of the businesses that they are buying from. They are being more discerning in their choices driven by the desire to do good and to avoid untrustworthy brands during an unpredictable time.

Features, Brand 1 month ago
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2021 insurance: rebooted, re-energised, rebounding

In this article, Tim Hardcastle, CEO and Co-founder of INSTANDA, shares what he thinks will be top of mind for insurers in 2021 and why technology will be critical.

Features 1 month ago
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Brisky business in the Mediterranean

Cyprus is wooing would-be investors to the island by massively speeding up the process allowing third-country nationals to establish new businesses there.

Features 1 month ago
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Breaking down the barriers of remote hiring

Finding suitable talent for your business has always come with its challenges, and 2020 has accelerated a shift in workplace culture that means a higher level of remote workers, searching for their perfect employment match, creates new hurdles for recruitment.

Features 1 month ago
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Final Lessons from 2020

Looking back on 2020 and learning as many lessons as possible is a very worthwhile exercise for all of us. At the beginning of this series, nearly three months ago, I paraphrased a famous quote from the Monty Python film ‘Life of Brian’, and asked “what has 2020 ever done for us?” 

Features 1 month ago
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Isolation: You and the letter box boom

The current epidemic has created a world of isolation we are rapidly becoming rather familiar with. The use of words like quarantine, face masks and social distancing are part of our daily vocabulary and with that both business and consumer behaviour has seen a dramatic change in activity. With all that said, none of us want to sit back and let our businesses idle. In this very moment we are seeing new startups launch the world over (The Guardian, 19 Nov) as many take advantage of government advice to stay at home as an opportunity to pick up dormant inventions, push for new patents and contribute back to society in these tough and trying times.

Features 1 month ago
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Effective Ways to Cut Business Costs

After a difficult year, there is no surprise that most people are looking for ways to save some money and scrape those pennies together. No matter which part of your life you are looking to tighten the belt in, it can often be difficult to know where to start; particularly if you are a business owner, who has felt the brunt of this year. We don’t blame you; we have all been there! Try not to stress, however, for we have a helpful and effective list detailed here, of ways you can cut costs to your business, without causing any damage to profits.

Features 1 month ago
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After an unpredictable year, what might 2021 hold for the next-gen of global businesses?

How could we have prepared for 2020? It was the question on the minds of many throughout the early months of the pandemic that affected every aspect of daily life. But now, we know the answer: preparation was impossible. However, our collective experiences in this most challenging year have taught us some valuable lessons. Among the most important is that they way individuals, leaders, and companies respond to new and unexpected situations is the true indication of success.

Features 1 month ago
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How to use the Christmas break to change your life and your startup

Christmas this year won’t be the same as every other year. Regardless of where we live and how rigidly we stick to the rules, the gatherings are going to be smaller. It’s been an extraordinarily difficult year for us as individuals, as family members and as entrepreneurs.

Features 1 month ago
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The 11 measures to create a culture of wellness in the workplace

Sometimes even after long pep talks and different ways to motivate your employees, you are not able to create high employee engagement. Despite consistent efforts, you are sometimes not able to attract the best productivity in your workers. In such a scenario, do you ever question your understanding of employee engagement?

Features 1 month ago
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Recording a podcast

In part one, we discussed the key planning phase for your podcast including the all-important name, format and topic. In this article we’re going to take a look at the essential factors for recording your podcast, including how to produce a podcast remotely.

Features 1 month ago
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Virtual Interviewing: Preparing for the New Norm

Without beating about the hypothetical bush, the future of the labour market in the UK is looking rather bleak. Reports suggest that we are on course for the worst recession in more than 300 years. The Institute for Policy Research meanwhile has warned that more than one million young people could be unemployed by 2021.

Features 1 month ago
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How having a clear purpose can help your startup thrive

Gone are the days where profit reigned supreme in a business’ strategy. Now, investors, customers and talented employees are all looking for businesses with a purpose they can buy into.

Features 1 month ago
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Employees Are Valuable To Startups - So Here’s How To Boost Their Engagement

Startups are all about growth and achieving their potential almost from day one. For any business to succeed, though, it needs to have dedicated employees who put the time and effort into making things happen. Of course, you can’t expect to have that if you don’t do everything you can to make your workers feel valued.

Features 1 month ago
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Going Digital: Common Sense for Successful Businesses

Inevitably, the world will change once we have emerged from lockdown. With a heightened sense of hygiene and further concerns about workplace safety, employers will need to look closely at ways to reduce contact and move towards what is being touted as the Low Touch Economy. But how can this happen with as little disruption to business as possible?

Features 1 month ago
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How to Make Your Business More Eco-Friendly

As we continue to work towards the government’s net zero emissions by 2050 commitment, businesses are naturally becoming increasingly aware of the need to be more eco-friendly. Other strategies, such as the Clean Growth Strategy, which aims to promote economic growth at the same time as decreasing emissions, mean that the focus on having a positive effect on the environment is now higher than ever.

Features 1 month ago
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Five ways to stay connected to your colleagues this festive season

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way the world works, and with UK workers working at home for the foreseeable future, it can be difficult to connect the workforce together. To support workers, flexible office specialist, Workthere, has shared five tips on how you can stay connected to your colleagues, both in and out of the office.

Features, Life 1 month ago
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How to Craft a Relationship Marketing Strategy for Your Business

Relationship marketing is significant for all businesses. It is the customers who keep your business running. SEO for big brands can get them the necessary clients. But that is one aspect and keeping them is quite another story. Customer loyalty for your business can go a long way in maintaining a strong relationship with the customers.

Features 1 month ago
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GDPR fines: can third party service providers be fined for the privacy lapses?

In the space of just two months, the UK’s data watchdog, the ICO has dished out nearly £40m in personal data breach fines to some of the country’s best-known companies - British Airways, Marriott International and Ticketmaster. Whisper it quietly but the ICO’s burst of penalty decisions, coming after significant delays, goes some way to countering mutterings that the regulator lacked the will to take on large and well-resourced opponents.

Features 1 month ago
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Choosing the best CRM system for your startup

When starting a business, the implementation of a Customer Relationship Management or ‘CRM’ system may seem like an unnecessary task but committing to it from the outset will save time, cost and resources when compared to installation at a later date.

Features 1 month ago
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COVID-19 and Brexit

Businesses, and indeed stock markets, hate uncertainty.  Sadly, there is no doubt that 2020 has been full of uncertainty at every stage.  And whilst the main focus, for very obvious reasons, has been on Covid-19 and all the trading and other ramifications that that has brought with it, it has not been the only source of major disruption this year.

Features 1 month ago
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Ten real-life applications of AI for your business

In 2019, Elon Musk made headlines by touting AI as a “fundamental risk to the existence of civilisation”. Ironically - for a man in his line of work - Mark Zuckerburg countered this argument, describing the warnings as 'pretty irresponsible'.

Features 1 month ago
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Essential Productivity Tools For Startups In 2021

Ask yourself, what would your 2020 have looked like without Zoom, Slack and Google Drive? If anything has stepped up and carried the load of remote working this year, it’s these tools.

Features 1 month ago
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Green Means Gold: Sustainability the Key in Attracting Talent

It should come as no surprise that a strong environmental ethos within an organisation is a driving factor for many jobseekers when choosing where to apply for work. However, a recent report has detailed just how important sustainability aligned with social responsibility really is in terms of recruitment.

Features 1 month ago
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Prejudice is costing your portfolio

A staggering £4bn of investment went to UK tech companies in the first half of 2020. The British Business Bank’s recent Government report, together with recent surveys by leading investment platforms like Stakeholderz, show that despite the challenges posed this year, investors are continuing to back the UK’s high growth tech companies, with many indicating they will invest the same or more over the next year. Tech has long proved to be a lucrative and attractive sector for investors and entrepreneurs.

Diversity, Features 1 month ago
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Effective Sales Promotion Examples to Win More Customers

If you have just started a business, you would probably want to know how to get more customers from the get-go. It can be from knowing the way to success or even just having the welcoming body language that can either make or break a deal. You need to be careful as a salesperson - being nervous is easily visible.

Features 1 month ago
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Six steps to implementing a Kanban system in your organisation

Kanban has been around as a methodology since the '40s but is now getting more attention partly due to the increase in remote working and the popularity of agile and lean in every sector. While Kanban was originally applied to manufacturing, it can work in virtually any setting. It can be used as a stand-alone tool, or in conjunction with other agile management methods. Implementing it, however, can be easier said than done. Let's take a look at the steps you need to take to implement a Kanban system in your organisation.

Features 1 month ago
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Tips on pitching to journalists during a pandemic

Nine months on from the first outbreak of Covid-19 here in the UK and the virus remains the most-talked about news item. Whether it's radio shows discussing tiers or newspaper articles investigating possible PPE corruption, coronavirus continues to be the biggest story worldwide.

Features 1 month ago
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COVID-19 driving huge growth in employee share schemes

Back in January, it looked likely that employee share schemes would see reasonable growth across the country through 2020.

Features 1 month ago
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It's not you, it's me...

The fourth in our six part series of articles harnesses our Associate and Partner network and focusses on Founders and the complexities of relationship between Founders and Co-Founders - for better or for worse. "It's not you, it's me," how do you stop things going pear shaped at the top and what do you do if it does?

Features 1 month ago
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Deep work: finding your startup mojo

I love startup life. It has been my passion for many years now. In 2007, I launched my first company, Skimlinks from my apartment living room in Sydney. It grew to become a $50m-a-year revenue business, headquartered in London with offices in San Francisco and New York.

Features 1 month ago
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Growing your business without killing the planet: how to stay true to your sustainability goals as you scale

In the world of startups, scaling and sustainability are made to feel like opposites. You may have started with the best intentions, but as businesses grow it gets harder to ensure high ethical standards are met, particularly when faced with outdated industry practices and the pressure to keep down costs. The company values you wrote at your kitchen table start looking more like suggestions than rules to live by, and growth and greenness feel diametrically opposed. Sustainability just seems like a sacrifice you’ll have to make on the altar of profit and progress.

Features 1 month ago
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We need a bold, long-term vision for the startup and scaleup economy

It seems that we’ve had so many turning points over the past few years, we’re running in circles. Landmark moments from Brexit to COVID-19 have completely shifted our personal lives, politics and the economy. Crises and moments of great change put us into reactive mode, and short-term fixes appear to be the only option. Looking for solutions which reap benefits and pay for themselves further down the line is a much bolder endeavour.

Features 1 month ago
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The challenges and opportunities presented by COVID

While the economic ramifications of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic are still very much a selection of rather worrying predicted lines and correlations on graphs, there is no doubt the world of commerce and industry is set to be deeply impacted in the long term, and likely changed for good, by the crisis.

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How can businesses make working from home a long term success?

There’s no question that 2020 has been an incredibly disruptive year for business, as both national and local shutdowns have forced many firms to temporarily shut up shop.

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Are you too small for industrial robotics?

There is a misconception that the benefits of industrial robots are reserved for few manufacturing giants. However, according to the Robotics Industries Association (RIA), enterprises with less than 100 employees and less than ten robots represent a growing segment of the robotics market.

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5 ways to improve your financial health this December

Our physical and mental health has been at the forefront of many of our minds during Coronavirus. So should we really also be worrying about financial health? The year of 2020 saw many employees furloughed and even made redundant, causing financial stress. However, there are also many people who have been lucky to be able to continue working during COVID-19.

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Branding your business – the pitfalls and mistakes

As we all know, branding is something that can make or break your business - a blueprint for how you want the world to see your company. Despite this however, it is something that is still chronically misunderstood – to the point where it is sometimes ignored altogether.

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The Standard Brain: Embracing neurodiversity in the workplace

Ten percent of the population are believed to be dyslexic, but it is still often poorly understood. With the right support, the strengths and talents of dyslexic people can shine. So how come workplaces have yet to wake up?

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Customer service versus sales: How CRM creates balance and drives growth

According to statistics, the average business grows at an estimated 15% per annum, yet just four percent manage to reach that magic £1m turnover mark.

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Easy Ways To Streamline Your Fleet During The Pandemic

2020 has been an unusual year for businesses. Every industry has been affected by the pandemic in some way, whether that’s for better or worse. As companies continue to try and navigate these difficult times, it’s essential to find ways to thrive and keep the money coming in.

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How Secure is the Digital Side of Your Business?

Running an organisation free of issues is what everyone wants. No business wants to fall victim to cyber attacks. However, that's not always the case. Day in day out, cyber criminals are devising means of compromising businesses. According to Purplesec, Cyber crime is up by 600% due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some other factors, such as software issues, make enterprises insecure.

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No code? No problem

In this article we will discuss no code, the no code startup and the no-code revolution and how it will impact businesses and the world around us. So, what is no code? No idea? Well, essentially it allows programmers, and perhaps more importantly, non-programmers, to create application software through graphical user interfaces and configuration instead of using traditional computer programming (or coding).

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Four reasons to consider outsourcing fleet management

If you run a business that relies on vehicles for operations, it can become more and more difficult to manage the fleet as it grows. Keeping the fleet in good working order, making sure that driver safety is a top priority, and saving money on maintenance and repairs can all become much harder to manage as your vehicle numbers rise. Because of this, it’s no surprise that many growing fleet-based companies are turning to fleet management companies. But is this the right solution for your company? Here are some reasons why it might be the best idea.

Features 2 months ago
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Escaping the Big Smoke: why startups are opting for green space post-pandemic

Two decades ago, London was the place to be. The bustling environment of city life was a haven of opportunity, both personal and professional. Students, graduates, young professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs had their sights set on the cool bars of Soho and classy ‘lunch and learns’ in the hotspots of the capital while enthusiastically scribing their first business plans on whatever napkin or beer mat happened to be available; it was the only place to be.

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Why leaving funding too late will store up problems

Bored of the adage 'If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail'? You're not alone. Sadly, truisms - much like a parent's advice - tend to be worth heeding. When it comes to funding, it's best to do it well in advance. Too many companies leave it until there's a cashflow crunch before acting. As trusted advisers, accountants need to play the role of parent, use their wisdom to identify future funding opportunities, model a couple of scenarios, and help clients find a source of finance that doesn't leave them with unfavourable terms.

Features, Funding 2 months ago
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How can SMEs harness data to compete with tech giants?

As December approaches, firms of all sizes will be planning their strategy for 2021. The second lockdown in England has brought yet another blow to the business world, and proves that industries will continue to be impacted by COVID restrictions and a new way of working. Planning for 2021 may be challenging this year, especially for small firms who have found their usual service heavily disrupted.

Features 2 months ago
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Focus on Skills: Why Apprenticeships Are the Future for Business

The need for specific employable skills in the workplace is essential. Attracting and acquiring new talent to all industries is a competitive field, with more students leaving school and attending university than ever before.

Features 2 months ago
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The gold and diamond jewellery market

Of all the industries in the world, the jewellery business is one of the most traditional and old-fashioned. It is also the most reliant on direct interaction between master craftsmen and merchants. The most precious metals and stones in the world pass from hand to hand in a supply chain that has barely changed in hundreds of years.

Features 2 months ago
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EU Commission sets out new intellectual property action plan

On 25th November 2020, the EU Commission published a new intellectual property action plan.  The action plan, touted as “an intellectual property action plan to support the EU’s recovery and resilience” outlines possible future moves, noting that intangible assets are “the cornerstone of today’s economy”, with IPR-intensive industries generating 29.2% (63 million) of all jobs in the EU during the period 2014-2016, and contributing 45% of the total economic activity (GDP) in the EU worth €6 trillion.

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How leaders can help their team combat the work from home fatigue

For many, December will soon mark almost eight months of continuously working from home, a complete shift from normality when it comes to working and riding the balance between work and home life. Google trends data also reveals searches for ‘burnout’ peaking as the UK entered a second national lockdown earlier in November.

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Looking after everyone's wellbeing

Following the recent lockdown #02, there has never been a more important time to focus on wellbeing for clients and employees and of course yourself! I wanted to share what we have been doing at Clockwise to support everyone we work with.

Features 2 months ago
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Making the most of business data during COVID-19

If you own or run a small or medium sized business (SMB), chances are you’ve heard a lot about data: how it can give you new customer insights, tell you more about your staff, or help you make better business decisions. All of that may be true, but you’re also likely thinking about one key question: how does data help me boost my revenue?

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8 fundraising tips for startup founders

One of the top ten reasons why startups fail is lack of financing and investor interest. That is why fundraising is an important part of a startup journey. There are some principles following which might increase your chances for success in closing your next investment round.

Features, Funding 2 months ago
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Top tips for SMEs to prepare for this year’s peak retail season

Many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups will be entering uncharted waters with this year’s peak retail season. The past several months have radically changed business operations, and current health and safety restrictions have accelerated the trend in consumer spending online.

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The top 5 lessons for business owners to take from 2020

As we near the end of a year unlike any other, many business owners will be hoping for a more optimistic 2021 and preparing to turn a new leaf. The crisis is not over yet, but it has already shown us the importance of resilience, resourcefulness, and vigilance for businesses and there are many key lessons for us to carry into the New Year.

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Get Indemnity - You Must Get New Insurance Quotes in 2021

A leading business insurance broker has urged firms and SMEs to get new insurance quotes in 2021. Get Indemnity, the digital insurance broker polled 650 SMEs and found that 68% of participants had not sought alternative insurance quotes in the past three years - and a further 32% had not applied for new quotes in the past five years.

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The Tools You Need To Run a Company Remotely

With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing and uncertainty over when we will be returning to our offices, every company big and small is now adjusting to remote working.

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Could R&D tax credits be the answer to SMEs finance woes?

Although many businesses are currently able to access significant finance via the various Government-backed loan schemes, which have recently been extended until January 2021, not every business is willing or able to accrue additional debts.

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8 reasons why you should start your own business today

Starting a business may be exciting, however there are a few things that you need to make sure that you get right from the beginning. Here are some of the top tips that I share in my new book, BOSS IT.

Features 2 months ago
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Taking the positives from 2020 to build back better

Starting a business is hard. You only need to look at the failure rate to confirm it. And that’s in a normal, non-pandemic year. For anyone starting out now or looking to do so soon the challenges are astronomical. This is because as well as all the normal startup hurdles involving financing, staffing, cash-flow and the like, businesses are beset with a legacy of COVID-19 and the wider economic ramifications it will leave.

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A helping hand for your business venture

Xilinx Ventures, the corporate venture programme of US technology company Xilinx, has invested over $125m in more than 30 global startup businesses over the last three years, covering technologies in data center, communications, machine learning, automotive, edge computing, and innovative silicon design. It therefore seemed an ideal port of call for this issue’s Startups Launchpad feature. We caught up with Sagi Paz, Head of Xilinx Ventures, and Patrick Rundell, Manager at Xilinx Ventures, to find out more.

Features 2 months ago
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How Business Owners Can Successfully Navigate Uncertain Times

From full national lockdown and the gradual easing of constraints, to a three-tiered regional system of restrictions and then back into another national lockdown. It’s been a long and arduous time for everyone since COVID-19 first reached our shores earlier this year, and even more so for the many hardworking business owners up and down the country trying to keep disconnected workforces operating smoothly.

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Why you should start your own company podcast

Podcasts are a great way to build your brand and tell the story of your business. Over the past five years, there has been an explosion in the number of corporate and business podcasts available and with it a growth in engaged podcast audiences. According to a September 2019 Ofcom report over seven million people in the UK listen to podcasts each week, a 24% growth over the previous 12 months.

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Why our agile entrepreneurs can rise from the COVID-19 ashes

Anyone digesting the headlines and latest research over the last few weeks would be forgiven for believing things have never been so bad for small business.

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How can businesses prepare for Brexit?

The UK’s path to Brexit has not been an easy one. Since the 2016 EU Referendum the country has experienced three different Prime Ministers, a global pandemic and a recession; all have which have made an inevitably difficult negotiation process even more complicated.

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How to launch a business during a pandemic designed to support other businesses

Pandemic is a relatively new word to most of us. Not that we do not fully understand what it means, more that we had little use for it before March this year.

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Why is e-commerce now more important than ever?

E-commerce is something many of us have experienced, but how popular is it, and should you be prioritising ecommerce when looking to sell to customers? 

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Why Localisation is This Year's Smartest Investment

It is a continuously changing and fast-paced world. For maintaining the competitive advantage you need to have systems in place in the commercial market for scaling and adapting as necessary. More than 50% of the global merchandise trade in the year 2018 was focused around 10 localised economies.

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Silicon Valley and London: Uniting global tech hubs to solve global challenges

From the ongoing pandemic and climate change to the fight for greater inclusivity and diversity across society, the world is currently facing a number of social and economic challenges.

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Setting up your technology - Getting it right first time

In the second part of this business mix article series we see Brash Solutions Limited focus on technology. But not the sexy tech of product development, more the ‘behind the scenes tech’ that keeps you operating and secure – a real fundamental backbone to the operations of every business, regardless of size.

 

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Global Entrepreneurship Week: how has the pandemic catalysed entrepreneurs?

This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week, designed to celebrate ambitious individuals within the business world, and those who have believed in their own abilities and branched out on their own. Despite the waves of shock that the pandemic has brought to the business world, there has been a 12% increase in new businesses starting during 2020 already compared to 2019.

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Black Friday 2020: How Can Small Businesses Prepare Themselves?

With much of the UK still in the midst of a national lockdown and the majority of high street stores temporarily closed, the online activity surrounding Black Friday (taking place on November 27th) is set to be higher this year than ever before.

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When the going gets tough, entrepreneurs get going

Thousands of new businesses are setting up during the pandemic, a new report has revealed. 'How Startsups Can Kickstart The Economy', published by law-firm, Harper James Solicitors, details how 41,620 more incorporations happened in the first quarter of 2020 than in the first quarter of 2012. This represents an increase of almost a third (32.5%).

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Why your startup should work with a specialist recruiter

Startup founders tend to share a common personality trait - one which makes them the ‘doers’, the kind of person who believes in action and knows that ‘if you want a job done properly, you do it yourself’.

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Why Startups and Apprentices are a Perfect Match

In the UK alone, there are hundreds of thousands of new businesses opened up each year, and it’s a number that’s only getting bigger. Whether your startup is based around technology, products or services, these businesses represent a massive part of the UK industry. With the rapid growth and an increasingly tech-savvy approach to getting things done, startups in the UK are the perfect fit for the growing number of apprentices. Here are just some of the main reasons why startups and apprentices are the perfect fit for one another.

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The ten things to consider before starting a business

Thinking about starting a business? We spoke to Ollie Collard, Virgin StartUp advisor and founder of Enterprise Orchard, to find out what you need to consider first.

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The valuable role social media will play in keeping businesses afloat during lockdown

Most businesses have a website. Fact. But what role does it play in the overall strategy of your business? Now that global business is going through one of the toughest and most challenging times, you might need to blow the cobwebs off your website as it could be what actually saves your business.

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Virtual vs Reality

For everyone around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed many aspects of all of our lives. But what lessons have we learned about virtual verses reality? In many ways, it is those that work that have seen the largest changes. Before 2020, the chances are that if you asked your boss if you could work from home they would have come up with many reasons why it was not possible and, if you were allowed, it would only be very rarely, and you would be made to feel as though you had been given a great favour.

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The pandemic is no longer an excuse for poor customer service

Customer service organisations need to prioritise business continuity plans to ensure their customer service efforts remain unaffected by any future disruption. That means investing in digital contact centre technology to emerge from the disruption with both customers and employee satisfaction intact.

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How to Start and Grow a Business Internationally

If your business is doing well in the local market it is normal for the entrepreneur to think of expanding the business internationally to attract new prospects. You will find many advantages of taking your business forward internationally including newer opportunities in the sales and growth sectors and there are more opportunities to make your business more competitive in your niche market.

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How can startups ensure success in the subscription economy?

Subscriptions seem to be everywhere around us these days; they are here, and they’re growing more than ever. The benefits of shifting to a subscription model is motivating many of today’s disruptive tech companies. Take a look at Apple, for instance; this is a company that used to be known for their premium consumer devices, and now they have expanded their business to offer additional services and subscriptions.

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How to launch a life changing product

The logical place to start when launching a new product is to understand who your customer is and to get inside their heads. What drives them? What excites them or makes their life easier? Where do they hang out, online or in the physical world? What frustrates them?

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How Entrepreneurs Can Drive the UK’s Economic Recovery

Entrepreneurs spot gaps and opportunities. What sets them aside is that they have the drive, energy and ambition to turn those opportunities into successful business ideas. What they often lack is the right guidance and expertise to make it happen.

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The Sales Pipeline

business mix Limited does two things; we help large organisations operationalise their innovation strategy and, more importantly here, we support startup and SME sized companies with their operational growth. But the sizzle to our sausage is that collaboration is absolutely at the heart of everything we do. We deliver first class services to our clients yes, but we’re a community and network fundamentally. 

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11 Ways to Keep Employees Happiness High Through a Downturn

UK businesses have been doing it tough in 2020 and with the recent announcement of the UK's unemployment rate jumping to 4.8%, as 314,000 people lose their jobs, there is no denying many companies will be facing an economic downturn.

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The five pillars of workplace wellbeing for staff working from home

The sudden move to working from home has been a challenge for many SMEs. With smaller teams often benefitting from close knit relationships with their colleagues, COVID-19 is forcing many businesses to reconsider their approach to employee wellbeing. In many cases, however, this is easier said than done, with research from Wildgoose finding that nearly half (47%) of employees at SMEs are finding that their mental health has been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Features, Life 2 months ago
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The challenges of working in a team

Simply put, working in a team means collaborating with other people to achieve a common goal. This, of course, presents several benefits. For starters, working together in a project ensures that work is completed on time, hitting deadlines much easily. What’s more, a team pulls together people with different talents and skills, making problem-solving easier and enhancing creativity and innovation.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is deepening the global period poverty crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled numerous aspects of our lives, and quickly escalated into one of the most profound healthcare crises’ the world has faced to date. Whilst the health impact has been widely reported across the globe, we are also seeing alarming ripple effects of the pandemic in other areas, which are going unnoticed.

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Becoming your personal best: A story of biomarkers

When it comes down to managing one’s personal health, small changes can lead to significant improvements, according to Sarah Bolt, the founder and CEO of Forth, a digital healthcare service in the UK. Self-improvement starts from within, and Sarah is the ambassador of this belief; Sarah is championing the innovation of personalised biomarker profiling to help others with self-improved health. Forth’s biomarker profiling starts with an at-home blood testing kit that is sent back to the lab where it is analysed for over 50 key internal biomarkers integral to good health. By reporting the results to an app, it shows users how the body is performing, allowing them to optimise their lifestyles to reach their personal best.

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All trick and no treat: the top 5 scariest realities of the virtual workplace

Halloween may have just passed, but it feels like this whole year has featured lots of tricks and very few treats. Before January 1st rolls around, we’ll have experienced two national lockdowns, a huge cultural shift to working from home on a mass scale, and many will have felt enormous mental and emotional strain as a result.

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Five IT headaches caused by long-term remote working

Having the ability to work from anywhere, on a device that’s secure and appropriate for your workload is now more critical than ever, as we embrace working away from crowded offices for the foreseeable future.

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Going Slow in Times Of Uncertainty

Heather Monro, an executive coach, leadership consultant and speaker at Impact International here reflects on the higher-stage leadership that is called for in these uncertain times.

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Working from home: why employee monitoring software should be avoided

COVID-19 has changed the way we work forever, with limited in-office hours and lockdown 2.0 seeing hundreds of businesses going back to 100% remote work, there has been a dramatic rise in demand for surveillance software that monitors employee activity.

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Five crucial tips you need to follow in preparation

Lockdown has been a massive change for almost everyone across the world, both in our personal lives and in our profession.

Features 2 months ago
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Using business SEO strategy to close the environmental crisis’ communication gap

We are failing to meet our CO2 emission goals, seeing widespread overexploitation, and entering a sixth mass extinction event. This doesn’t bode well for a strong economic future. The science screams for urgent action, yet society seems to be slumped, dragging its feet towards a more sustainable future.

Features 2 months ago
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Why just being a 'disruptor' is no longer enough to succeed

The word 'disruption' has long been a buzzword in startups and small businesses looking to take on larger rivals, often with a reputation for doing things a certain - old fashioned - way. The global energy market has been flooded with 'disruptors' while the multi-billion pound FinTech industry has long revelled in its 'challenger' moniker.

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How to find the right business partner to help your idea thrive

It was 2am on a cold December morning when I attempted to get a ride home after a rather disappointing Christmas party. I pulled out my phone and opened up Bolt. At that time of night drivers were few and far between. I was matched with a driver on the other side of the Thames to myself with an estimated arrival time of 27 minutes.

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Cash was our past, contactless is our present, contextual payments are the future

$6tn in the next five years, this is how much the world will spend through contactless payments, according to analyst firm Juniper Research. For many of us who have discovered and since relied heavily on contactless payments since its introduction in 2007, either through card, phone, or watch, or those of us who have taken a stroll down a COVID-era high-street to see shop windows adorned with 'card payment only' signs, this is hardly a surprise.

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How AI can help you grow your startup

COVID-19 has driven a period of rapid adoption for digital technologies amid a climate of business contraction and job losses, but I encourage you to try to look behind the headlines for something more positive. I believe that this can be found in the statement: "The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated changes already occurring in society.” 

Features 2 months ago
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Four easy ways to maintain your wellbeing at home

Since the beginning of the year, wellbeing has been a prominent topic of interest among Brits, in fact, searches for the term ‘wellbeing’ have increased by 257% in the past five months. As people continue to spend more time indoors, Rebecca Snowden, Interior Style Advisor at FurnitureChoice.co.uk, explains how to create a calming oasis to maintain wellbeing at home.

Features, Life 2 months ago
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5 ways to create authentic branded content for your business

We’ve all heard of the importance and growing demand for authentic branded content over the years, but what does it actually mean and how can you set to achieve this within your business?

Features, Brand 2 months ago
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Business Model Pivots

The international pandemic has forced every founder to re-evaluate their strategy, urgently! I’ve paid close attention to the media and have noticed that the business model pivot topic has certainly been well covered. The article that surprised me the most, was one by Sifted that referenced a Station F survey of VC funded startups in Europe, the USA and Israel. The stat that grabbed me was this one: 80% of the startups involved had gone through some kind of business model pivot in the last few months. That’s a lot of change, especially considering that startups are also dealing with other challenges related to the pandemic.

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COVID-19 boosts investment seeking startups

Historically, startups based in the regions have been 50% less likely to secure funding than those in London. This has created a situation where 72% of all venture capital deals in the UK involve London companies.

Features, Funding 2 months ago
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The importance of accessible, real time data for remote teams

The worldwide pandemic COVID-19 has been dictating where and how businesses operate. The lockdown forced (and continues to force) many companies into a state of ‘remote working’. With little time to prepare, many startups have been scrambling to find new ways to communicate, collaborate and share valuable business information.

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The post-COVID benefits of the gig economy

Remote working is here to stay. According to a survey by KMPG, 68% of CEOs are planning to move operations online and downsize office spaces. As more businesses realise that employees do not need to be under the same roof to be successful, they are considering how to embrace a more flexible work environment.

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Boosting your e-commerce strategy in time for Black Friday

Like pretty much everything else that has happened so far in 2020, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are going to look a bit different this year. When we think of Black Friday, we imagine bustling crowds swarming into shops and busy customers, battling to bag a bargain. This year, however, 70% of consumers say that they're not planning on returning to physical shops for the foreseeable future. This means retailers need to take an online-first approach to Black Friday. 

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Tackling presenteeism during the pandemic

Today’s workplace culture has many employees feeling the pressure to turn up to the office at all costs, even when ill; however, the global pandemic COVID-19 has shown it is more critical than ever for businesses to tackle the widespread challenge of 'presenteeism' especially when majority are working from home.

Features, Life 2 months ago
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How to Create a Stylish Home Office In A Small Space

With the ever-growing numbers of people who are in the white collar jobs, against the very limited space in towns and cities where most people would prefer to get an office, there is a need to put up offices in homes. Also in this pandemic season, working from home has become a part of the new normal. Remote working has greatly helped in decongesting offices and minimising the need for daily commute.

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Influencing Others: The Ripple Effect of Corporate Kindness

Company culture has a big effect on our overall happiness and wellbeing. A toxic workplace culture can impact someone so dramatically that it affects their performance and can create a ripple effect into their families’ lives. By having a supporting, caring and inspiring working environment, employee health is improved which impacts the business’ bottom line through increased productivity and the creation of positive brand ambassadors for your business.

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Secrets to success for UK startups in this turbulent time

As many UK businesses begin to reopen, investor eyes will be sharply focused on whether startup companies can withstand the ongoing COVID-19 storm. However, investors do not need to stand by nervously as these fortunes are gradually revealed. By being actively engaged in the development of portfolio companies, investors can not only identify earlier the budding businesses likely to emerge strongest, they can also move quickly to help the most challenged.

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How to keep your business going during coronavirus

The Coronavirus is spreading like wildfire all over the world and because of that, it’s becoming more and more difficult for businesses to keep their operations going. Since March this year, 40% of all businesses in the United States have been closed down because of the Coronavirus. Due to that, many businesses are faced with more challenges than usual.

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The future workplace: will where we work change?

Traditionally, the office has been a place we go to in order to work. But with almost three quarters (74%) of firms planning to maintain increased levels of home working after the pandemic, according to research from the Institute of Directors, are the days of the physical office numbered?

Features, Life 2 months ago
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The Most Important Things to Consider When Downsizing Your Business

Downsizing a business is never an easy task, however, with many businesses not performing up to standard as a result of the pandemic it has become necessary. Richard Wayman, CIA Landlord’s Finance Director reveals the most important factors to consider when downsizing during the pandemic.

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Do you fear, hate or avoid selling?

In the past three years, I have worked with a number of businesses and clients from all sizes of company and all industries. Whilst the companies and people differ, one thing is constant for nearly every single person I have met since starting my consultancy: most people fear, hate or avoid selling.

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How Brexit will affect UK immigration

Brexit immigration is one of the shocking events that shocked the world, specifically the UK citizens. The changes that have been foreseen due to these changes predict a huge transition in the economy and the country at large. As the decision was made in June 2016, the majority vote made the UK exit the European Union severely. The Brexit mainly affects the immigrants predominantly leaving them with terms and conditions that they need to follow, and this article highlights some of the impacts of this legal move.

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Top Virtual Conference Tips, from Start to Finish

The virtual conference has become all the rage and is now becoming common practice within many businesses working routine. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced business owners in all sectors to reassess how they communicate with their clients, colleagues, and audiences.

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Five tips to financially prepare your business for a second lockdown

With the second wave of the pandemic upon us, many business owners will be prioritising their finances to ensure they can continue to provide a service for their clients and customers.

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The five key steps to obtaining effective business insurance

It is hard to imagine a single business that has not suffered disruption and loss as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore no surprise that business insurance and in particular, business interruption insurance, has become a subject of great importance recently in the boardrooms of so many UK businesses. Here, Jonathan Cole, Solicitor at Goodman Derrick LLP gives us this tips on obtaining effective business insurance.

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To understand AI, learn first about human evolution - or the lack of it

I’m going to start off where all good stories about human evolution should... close your eyes and imagine you’re a neanderthal walking through a jungle.

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Throwing Out the Fraud Rule Book in the Face of a Pandemic

The amount of fraud that companies face on a daily basis has rapidly increased since the beginning of the global pandemic. Country-wide lockdowns saw customers forced to move many aspects of their lives online, whether for shopping or socialising. To keep up with these changing behaviours, companies have had to enter the digital arena, many for the first time.

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How tradespeople can avoid being stung for tax they can't afford

If you're a self-employed tradesperson, driver, beautician, or hairdresser, there are things you can do now, before January's tax return deadline, to avoid being stung for tax you can't afford.

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8 ways to boost sales using video in your marketing campaigns

Business videos attract customers through eight marketing channels at once. EIGHT! And all eight can be used simultaneously! We conducted a survey and found that on average customers use no more than two of them. Don't do that. Since you paid for a cool video, make the most of it!

Features, Brand 2 months ago
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Business continuity: offering business as usual in unprecedented times

This year has been more turbulent than most. From setting out strategic business goals to embarking on new personal adventures, plans set out - in all aspects of life - have been well and truly rumbled. However, as businesses try to navigate the choppy waters posed by the pandemic and the changing needs of their people, customers and suppliers, they should strive to take advantage of this window of opportunity by rethinking how they operate.

Features 2 months ago
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Five practical ways to supercharge your business by fostering more creativity

The Secret Leaders Podcast is now launching its sixth season (starting with John Cleese), Secret Leaders has rapidly grown into one of the UK’s most popular business podcasts (often ranking number 1 according to Apple). Hosted by serial founder Dan Murray-Serter whose entertaining but intimate style allows him to elicit surprising and personal revelations from his guests, and here we get a chance to read about some of the first episode.

Features 3 months ago
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Top tips to help entrepreneurs get on the right track to success

Starting a business can seem like a daunting prospect, given that if you Google 'startups and fail', there are lots of articles on the percentage of startups that fail before they get going, which could put you off even getting started. However, by being well prepared and informed before you start the process, you may be able to avoid some of the common pitfalls and become one of the 2/10 startups that succeed.

Features 3 months ago
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Use of Computer vision in Standard Operating Procedure analytics and Automation

Computer vision has established itself as a worthy addition in a gamut of industries. Including automobile, education, healthcare, e-commerce, agriculture and more. It has managed to create a niche segment for itself, making it an absolute essential for industries to maintain their position staunchly in the market. Here ICarta Technologies delves into the world of computer vision, particularly in automation.

Features 3 months ago
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Speed is of the Essence

In business, it is always important to react to changing circumstances and this has never been more true than in 2020. Regular readers will know that I have written a lot this year about adapting and pivoting but this week I wanted to look at something that can be an aspect of that but also has an impact on most other aspects of business – speed.

Features 3 months ago
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For a more resilient future, organisations will need analytics

Today, organisations of all types are having to change their perspective - of how to do business, of how to collaborate with remote employees, of how to best engage with customers, and more.

Features 3 months ago
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Tips on how startups can turn their business into a success

Since its launch in 2012, leading global e-learning platform, Preply has experienced huge global growth, especially across the last 12 months during the peak of the pandemic.

Features 3 months ago
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How to empower your employees to be more sustainable

There aren’t many positive stories to emerge from the current global pandemic crisis but perhaps one was the beneficial impact that ‘lockdown’ had on areas of the environment.

Features 3 months ago
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Five taboos purpose-led startups need to dispel to be successful

There is a lot of wisdom that comes from having built up a successful sustainable business from the ground-up. Although I can now attribute them as 'learnings', many purpose-led start-ups perceive them to be modern-day taboos. The truth is, for your startup to not be a part of the 20% that don’t survive beyond their first year, or the 60% that go bust within their first three years, you need to be able to dispel the following five taboos for your startup to thrive.

Features 3 months ago
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Leadership lessons from lockdown

Lockdown changed the rulebook for how we live and work, for all of us. As entrepreneurs, we have the in-built advantage that we’re wired to manage uncertainty and finding solutions is our happy place. Only this time, it was without the backdrop of our gloriously airy EC2 co-working space, surrounded by my talented team and fuelled by yummy flat whites from the local coffee shop. It was happening from my home-office, in isolation, in a London that was quickly becoming unfamiliar.

Features 3 months ago
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Investing in solutions that will shape the future of healthcare

There is no denying that 2020 has been an extremely difficult year for the healthcare industry. COVID-19 continues to bring challenges to the delivery of all aspects of hospital and community care and the need for innovation has, arguably, never been greater. Fortunately, the healthtech ecosystem in the UK is as vibrant as ever and entrepreneurs across the space have responded by working tirelessly to solve the problems thrust upon clinicians and patients.

Features 3 months ago
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Inspiration everywhere: for your next business idea, travel the world

You never know where inspiration can hit. This was the experience of Jonathan Merry, founder, and CEO of MoneyTransfers.com. While traveling the world, he struggled to avoid accruing fees on his travels - so the idea for a better money transfer experience was born.

Features 3 months ago
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The building blocks to business

As the ongoing economic impacts of COVID-19 continue to be felt, there is an often-forgotten segment that has the potential to spearhead the UK’s re-growth in years to come. Pre starts, startups and SME’s hold the potential to move at pace and expand quickly to support a fledgling economy, provided they receive the right support at the right time and most importantly, at the right price.

Features 3 months ago
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IP due diligence: what do entrepreneurs and startups need to know?

At a startup, you are most likely to come across Intellectual Property (IP) due diligence in the form of investors conducting due diligence prior to investing or from potential partners or collaborators seeking to work with your company or license in your IP. It is important to know what to expect so you can present your company in its best light. You may also wish to conduct your own IP due diligence on other companies prior to working with them or licensing them your technology.

Features 3 months ago
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Here’s why voice is the best tech to invest in 2020

Voice Assistants are the trendsetters for voice tech. They have revolutionised the way we live our lives. In 2019, the global user base of voice assistants was 3.25 billion. What might amaze you is that the same is estimated at almost eight billion units, that is, even more than the global population! Here ICarta Technologies tells us more about the voice technology landscape.

Features 3 months ago
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Reinventing Venture Capital: why VCs are turning their attention to influencers

Since the launch of London’s Silicon Roundtable in 2008, UK tech startups have enjoyed more than a decade of strong interest from Venture Capitalists (VCs). Spurred on by the success of fast-growth consumer tech companies like Uber or Deliveroo, VCs have sought out startups that could break into the public zeitgeist to become the world’s next big thing. This culminated in more than $13bn being pumped into British technology startups in 2019. Then, the pandemic struck.

Features, Funding 3 months ago
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Why Continuity and Succession Planning is Crucial for Businesses Right Now

Coronavirus has created many challenges for businesses and an area of discussion that has rapidly escalated in importance is around protection. Protection should always be an area of priority for a business, but the situation we find ourselves in has understandably brought this topic to the fore.

Features 3 months ago
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Still not MTD compliant? Four ways to fix it

It’s been two years since the very first digital tax pilot from HMRC, commonly known as Making Tax Digital (MTD). Initially, HMRC required UK businesses above the VAT threshold to process their returns digitally. It has now been announced that businesses that are VAT registered and are below the VAT threshold must also be compliant with MTD, from April 2022. The self employed and landlords must be compliant by April 2023.

Features 3 months ago
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How Business Owners Can Market Amidst COVID-19

COVID-19 has made history by affecting each industry in the world. From the lockdown that caused the closure of businesses to people adapting to work from home, there is a need to identify strategies of how businesses will be run going forward. The pandemic has disrupted how people socialise as well as their shopping patterns. To adapt to this new normal, business owners have to make significant adjustments to reach out to their customers or less they risk failure.

Features, Brand 3 months ago
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Communications – The New Normal

Communication has always been key in running a business, and indeed in most other aspects of our lives. In 2020 many lessons have been learned or reinforced and it has reminded us all how very unpredictable life can be. But one of the most obvious changes that should be apparent to all, has been in the way that companies are communicating.

Features 3 months ago
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What I learnt building a health app

When launching a health app, it is always about convincing other people to change the habits of a lifetime. When we began pitching Joint Academy to physiotherapists - top-level professionals who had always treated patients hands-on and face-to-face - they initially saw no reason why they would ever do physio remotely.

Features 3 months ago
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Reskilling for a digital future

It’s difficult to catch news that is not connected to COVID-19 or the US presidential campaign at the moment. In light of COVID-19’s impact on the employment market, at the end of September the Prime Minister vowed that 'radical changes' were being introduced to the UK’s adult education system.

Features 3 months ago
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Common mistakes made by startup founders and how to avoid them

It's tough as a founder on so many levels. As an investor in B2B startups, I’ve seen many of the same mistakes made - here are some thoughts on maybe trying to avoid some of the biggest pitfalls.

Features 3 months ago
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Teamwork vs Individual Work: Which one is better?

Teamwork involves people working together to complete a task or achieve a particular common goal. In any organisation, a team works to maximise effectiveness in the company and raise the morale, creativity, planning, efficiency, initiative as well as learning.

Features 3 months ago
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10 crucial tips for Covid-proofing your business

Many entrepreneurs' daily focus has gone from doing business as usual to doing everything to fight for survival. It’s not easy to run a business during times of COVID-19, especially when you’re in an industry where you rely on people physically coming in. Mike Jordan, CEO of Summit Defence, has put together ten tips to make sure your retail business or restaurant is COVID-proof.

Features 3 months ago
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Local loyalty built to last: How the Pandemic has unlocked a new customer base for small businesses

During lockdown in the UK, there was no question that SME businesses and local traders were hit hard. Around 80% of small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK have seen a revenue impact in the last few months, due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent lockdown.

Features 3 months ago
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You need to know how to sell or risk becoming invisible

I’m Jamie Martin and I’m an experienced Sales Trainer. Even more importantly I’m a Business Millennial, born between 1980 and 1994 and I’m a thought leader. 

Features 3 months ago
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Is UK business leadership heading towards a cliff edge?

The last few months have been the most challenging period for many UK business leaders. The coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent economic downturn have thrown the workplace out of kilter, requiring CEOs and senior leaders to be more present in every facet of the business.

Features 3 months ago
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The Best Laid Business Plans

The first lesson to be drawn from 2020, and undoubtedly the biggest lesson, is that the future is unpredictable. All of us in our personal and business lives try to predict the future to some extent, as this is what enables us to lay plans for the future.

Features 3 months ago
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Open Innovation: Murata’s search for technology startup partners

Startups Editor Anna Flockett talks to Murata’s Mitch Nozaki, EMEA facilitator for their Open Innovation website, about why the electronics company is looking to collaborate with startups.

Features 3 months ago
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Community in the times of COVID-19

Despite not feeling safe to socialise with anyone for the last six months, I've understood 'community' in new and wonderful ways.

Features 3 months ago
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World Mental Health Day: Social Media is Harmful to Young Wellbeing

Saturday 10th October is World Mental Health Day. It arrives during the strangest time we’ll ever likely face in our lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each year’s theme is set by the World Federation for Mental Health, and this year’s is 'mental health for all'. This encourages us to think of different demographics and communities of people and how they are faced with issues and problems in their lives.

Features 3 months ago
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Why NHS Test and Trace’s latest IT blunder is a lesson to us all

It baffles me that some 16,000 who had tested positive for COVID-19 did not have their information uploaded to the Test and Trace system because it was reliant on a 13-year-old legacy IT and, as it turns out, a complicated Excel sheet.

Features 3 months ago
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Could coronavirus be the catalyst for a volunteering revolution?

One of the significant demands resulting from the Coronavirus crisis of 2020 has been the need for new and novel ways for voluntary support to be facilitated. The ability for assistance to reach the most vulnerable or living in isolation or quarantine in safe ways is vital to saving lives and mitigating the spread of the pandemic. 

Features 3 months ago
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COVID-19 and the sports industry: how startups can help the sector’s recovery

As with every sector, the sports industry has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The after effects will no doubt continue to reverberate for some time to come even once we emerge from this global health crisis. However, sport is unique in that it plays a different role to many other activities in life; it provides a space for people to come together for rituals and traditions, often harking back for generations.

Features 3 months ago
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How Fostering Collaboration Can Boost Innovation

Collaboration involves people working together to attain a particular goal or to complete an allocated task. Some of the greatest ideas are born through this process. When you think about innovation, it is a collection of ideas either from the past or present.

Features 3 months ago
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Why we must encourage female entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship

Hopefully, it goes without saying that women are vital members of any team in business. The best ideas are conceptualised and executed by groups with a variety of backgrounds, skills and opinions - homogenised teams will lead to unexciting products.

Features, Diversity 3 months ago
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So you’ve pledged to improve on diversity... now what?

In my previous blog, I considered the steps necessary for business leaders to close the gap between rhetoric and reality on racial equity at work. This time, I wanted insight on what is actually happening on the frontline. I sat down with award-winning business strategist and founder of The Black British Business Awards, Melanie Eusebe. She has risen to the upper- echelons of the corporate world, and in our broad conversation offered her perspectives on corporate responsibility, solidarity, and how we sustain the current momentum.

Features, Diversity 3 months ago
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Why times of crisis may be the perfect time to launch a tech startup

Opening a new business during a period of economic and social crisis, such as the current pandemic, may seem like a risky venture and for certain sectors this may certainly be true. However, for those looking to launch a new tech project, particularly one that supports remote working or artificial intelligence, then there may have never been a better opportunity.

Features 3 months ago
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Fraud: How you can prevent it and what to do if you’re a victim

Some people are doing very well out of the pandemic - the fraudsters. That’s because the chaos COVID-19 has caused makes it far easier for them to operate. Have you increasingly been asked to provide personal data to strangers since March? Have you changed any of your habits? Gordon Ramsey himself couldn’t have created a more perfect recipe for rising fraud. How can you make yourself as safe as possible and if you have been a victim, what should you do next?

Features, Diversity 3 months ago
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Change with a purpose: Putting people at the heart of your COVID-19 recovery

With societies across the globe still some way off returning to the ‘old normal’, many businesses are set to continue suffering from the impacts of COVID-19.

Features 3 months ago
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How to make your CV stand out when applying for jobs remotely

Applying for jobs, let alone during a pandemic, can be an extremely time-consuming and stressful job in itself. It’s crucial to ensure that amongst a sea of other applicants, you tailor your CV for success - especially now that employers will likely be hiring remotely.

Features, Life 3 months ago
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Driving business value from language

At Relative Insight, we’ve always held the conviction that language provides a critical source of insight that’s often overlooked, and our mission is to help our customers drive value from all those language data sources that they’ve got floating around in their organisations, not doing much.

Features 3 months ago
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No-Code: Breaking down barriers and revolutionising the startup landscape

The startup world is no stranger to fleeting fads. We’ve seen an influx of monthly subscription boxes, e-commerce savings communities, and even a rise in nostalgic games like Pokemon Go. While those were all fun and games while they lasted, users eventually lost interest and moved onto the next shiny thing.

Features 3 months ago
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Five top tips for networking at an online conference

Online conferences and events aren’t new, but the coronavirus pandemic has brought them from a niche activity to a mainstream channel. In the absence of in-person events and conferences, online ones are providing one of the best ways for startup founders to meet one another, learn from each other, and gain inspiration for building their businesses in a safe, socially distanced manner. 

Features 3 months ago
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How to build a tech startup without writing a line of code

For years now, there has been a huge demand for developers, all with different skillsets, from coding specialisations to full-stack backgrounds. And this is unsurprising, as until recently, many startup accelerators and incubators were hesitant to accept companies without technical co-founders or a built MVP.

Features 3 months ago
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Entrepreneur Awards winners announced following national final

This week saw the national final of Santander's Emerging Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship Awards 2020. Since May, 81 businesses from Santander’s network of 85 partner universities have been put through their paces during a series of expert-led online workshops and webinars, covering a range of topics under four key themes – money, management, marketing and motivation.  

Features 3 months ago
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How to attend an online confernce

Attending an online event feels novel for many but since the outbreak of COVID-19, it’s becoming mainstream. As an organiser of in-person, and now online conferences, I have found that there is an art to attending and maximising an online event, which is quite different to the in-person experience. 

Features 3 months ago
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A legal guide to setting up your online retail business

The world of online retail has progressed significantly since the launch of eBay and Amazon in 1995 and online channels are now a key source of revenue for retail businesses. As customers increasingly move to shopping online, rather than in physical stores, retail startups evermore question the need for a physical store to sell their products.

Features 3 months ago
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The key to future innovation

Jason Brand, Regional Sales Manager for Mass Market customers in North East Europe and South Africa, at Texas Instruments, discusses why startups are critical to future innovation, and what the semiconductor company is doing to maximise their potential.

Features 3 months ago
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How to build a cohesive founding team

There has always been debate as to what the optimal number of co-founders is for a startup. Some people prefer to go solo, while others choose to work in teams of two or three. It’s certainly an interesting question - products can pivot and evolve, funding can often be found somewhere, competitors will come and go, and the market will always fluctuate, but through it all it is the team of founders that hold the company’s DNA.

Features 3 months ago
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Is bad leadership all in the head?

We are facing multiple attacks on the working world as we used to know it. Technological disruption has forced change into almost all industries. COVID-19, the climate emergency and the need to take Diversity & Inclusion seriously is forcing fledgling companies to adapt at lightning speed if they are going to survive, let alone thrive.

Features 3 months ago
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Leadership styles determine the success of employees engagement while working from home

How often do we consciously change our leadership styles at work? How would you describe your leadership style? Autocratic? Democratic? Collaborative?

Features 3 months ago
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7 Steps to Building a Business Selling Online Course

People are now more eager to learn than ever. And what better place to find this knowledge than in the most convenient of places - the online platform. Businesses and individuals alike understand this demand and are coming out in great numbers in a bid to satisfy this growing need.

Features 3 months ago
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Top tips to entrepreneurship

What qualities make an entrepreneur? What character traits are typically seen in entrepreneurs? Are these qualities and character traits something that they are born with or do they change over time? Can they be learned? Is it nature or nurture? Whatever the answers, it is certainly true that some people take to being an entrepreneur naturally whilst others would be so far out of their comfort zone that they would never even consider the idea.

Features 3 months ago
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6 steps to getting your business ready for Brexit

The clock is ticking to Brexit and there are now less than 100 days until we exit the European Union. For startups the potential changes this could bring, coming so soon after the disruption caused by COVID-19, will present another huge challenge.

Features 3 months ago
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The traditional business model for events is dead - the future is hybrid

When it comes to reimagining what the events industry will look like in the near future, these are the four things we should be thinking about according to Wolves Summit’s Vice-President, Mike Chaffe. Mike grew Wolves Summit to become one of the largest tech conferences in CEE. In March this year, when most tech events were put on hold, he made the decision to organise Wolves Summit 11th as a fully virtual event. Over 1,500 participants, 600 startups, and 300 investors tuned in online to be part of the former edition. Since then the Wolves Summit team has also organised other events on behalf of some of the largest organisations in Poland and worldwide. Wolves Summit now offers technical support to CEE & CIS based Hopin clients. Hopin is an event software that has recently secured $40M in funding. We spoke to Mike to find out more about the future of events.

Features 3 months ago
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5 tips on how you can onboard new employees during the pandemic

Employees joining during lockdown don’t have the same chance to meet other members of their team or get acquainted more casually with the company, and it can be tough on both morale and productivity as a result.

Features 3 months ago
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3 ways to support and nurture your workforce through times of uncertainty

Whether it’s a natural disaster, global health pandemic or economic downturn, businesses are inevitably going to encounter some unexpected circumstances that are out of their control. It’s not always straightforward for companies to keep operations running smoothly during these unprecedented times, but the highest priority should be to nurture employees and support the company culture. But how do organisations invest in the business culture, while still taking care of the company’s changing needs?

Features 3 months ago
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Why showing your ethics doesn't have to be risky

Ethics and business aren’t always easy bedfellows in a crisis. Now, more than ever, in order to survive, most businesses need to be risk averse and fret primarily about the bottom line.

Features 4 months ago
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Britain’s SMEs are using tech to get back on track

Throughout the pandemic, SMEs have had to adapt to survive - which has been no mean feat. In many cases, technology has proved to be essential in keeping operations running during lockdown. Whether it be shifting entire workplaces to remote working, or using video conferencing tools and cloud accounting software, small businesses have been relying on tech more than ever before.

Features 4 months ago
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Money matters - financial wellbeing needs to be addressed

We’re living through a time of economic uncertainty, so it’s no surprise that money worries are responsible for a high level of stress and anxiety right now. Financial concerns can have a huge impact on an employee’s performance and productivity levels at work and employers therefore have a duty of care to their people when it comes to financial wellbeing.

Features 4 months ago
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Handling redundancy: a checklist to help startups

In my last article, I explained how to make changes to an employee’s terms and conditions of employment, including the types of situation when you might need to do that. For example, if reducing someone’s working hours or making a major change to their role.

Features 4 months ago
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From logging calls to Chief Digital Officer: What it’s like to work in tech

It still makes me laugh even to this day, that during my first IT support role, there were numerous times when people would call up and think they had reached the wrong department because a woman answered the IT department phone!

Features 4 months ago
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5 reasons to work with a career and business coach

Many business people and career professionals are consulting business and career coaches these days. One of the reasons why this trend is gaining prevalence is because just like in the normal world, people in the business world need a shoulder to lean on whenever the going gets tough.

Features 4 months ago
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How gaming culture is being championed by women

It’s no secret that women are still widely underrepresented in the gaming industry, particularly when it comes to video and mobile game development. Whilst this has been historically accounted to the common misconception that gaming is a predominantly masculine hobby, women actually make up a significant amount of the industry, representing nearly half of hyper-casual gamers.

Features 4 months ago
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How Women in Tech have a real opportunity to drive change

In 2013, four years after having my first child, I finally waved farewell to the prospect of high value, full-time employment in the digital advertising sector. Juggling a client in Asia (early mornings), a client in North America (late nights), a workplace culture dominated by presenteeism, the needs of a pre-schooler and a four hour round trip commute, something had to give. And that something was me.

Features 4 months ago
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The lessons I’ve learnt running tech businesses with my husband

I set up SimplyHair in 2013. I was working alongside my husband, Pip, to grow digital marketing agency, digitalbeans and also juggling a role in customer services and a side business as a mobile hair extension stylist when I realised how poor online purchasing experiences were in the hairdressing trade.

Written by Amy Filippaios, Founder of ecommerce wholesaler, SimplyHair and Creative Director at digitalbeans

Features 4 months ago
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Q&A with the go-to lawyer for IP-rich firms

As we carry on focusing on female founders and women in tech ahead of our next issue, we decided to catch up with Lindsay Gledhill, a partner at UK law firm, Harper James Solicitors. Lindsay heads up the Intellectual Property (IP) team. She has specialised in IP exploitation and dispute resolution since 1997. It has made Lindsay the go-to lawyer for IP-rich firms who wish to protect and exploit their proprietary technology in fast-growing and international markets.

Features 4 months ago
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A promotion after maternity leave shouldn't be a rare thing

Razor’s Head of Client Services, Ellie Mosley, recently shared her story with us on having a career in technology as a new mother. Now, Razor’s CEO, Jamie Hinton responds. In his mind, it was the natural thing to do.

Features 4 months ago
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Clever Ways to Market Your Business Abroad

Tailoring your marketing efforts to a global audience can be a perfect chance to expand your business and reach prospective clients that may not otherwise learn about your products or services. Targeting a global audience, however, requires having an in-depth understanding of regional laws, cultures, and purchasing behaviours. Here are four clever ways to market your business abroad.

Features 4 months ago
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Why the world is crying out for more women in tech

The stats are not promising when looking at women in tech within the UK. Last year it was revealed that women only make for 16.8% of workers within the tech field. Shocking right?

Features 4 months ago
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How to Scratch Your Own Itch to Success

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.

Features 4 months ago
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It’s not about women having it all, it’s about women having the same chances

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.

Features 4 months ago
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How to change your employees’ terms and conditions of employment

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?

Features 4 months ago
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The power of content marketing for startups

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.

Features, Brand 4 months ago
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How to turn being a ‘Woman in Tech’ into a competitive advantage

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).

Features, Diversity 4 months ago
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Financing a startup free from the risks of a personal guarantee

A rise in startups born during the pandemic is hugely positive but also not surprising. We’ve had more time to think and do and explore new avenues, particularly where existing business models or employment have ceased to exist. Necessity truly is the mother of invention. But while the pandemic has created new opportunities, the lending environment for startups looks set to be challenging.

Features 4 months ago
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The value of customer loyalty at times of crisis

COVID-19 has brought about sweeping changes across all industries. Whether for better or worse, these changes are forcing a reset, providing an opportunity for businesses to emerge in a much stronger position.

Features 4 months ago
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How to diversify your startup during a crisis

Businesses, whether they’re established, starting up or looking to grow, all have one thing in common. The need to be agile and aware. And, if the pandemic has taught us anything it’s that businesses can adapt to a changing market and they can do it very quickly.

Features 4 months ago
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Cloud solution options for your startup

As the Founder/CXO of a startup, your other title is CFFO, or Chief Fire Fighting Officer. You don’t have time to attend a one-day workshop to solve a current problem in your business, let alone read a white paper on the topic. You need quick reads that provide you with answers to your problems now. And that is the purpose of this article.

Features 4 months ago
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Five ways small businesses can boost employee morale

Boosting employee morale is one of the most crucial topics that every leader should consider when finding ways to steer their small businesses to grow exponentially.  Low morale can result in poor cooperation, low productivity, and augmented turnover. Several studies have demonstrated that focusing on enhancing morale in the workplace can have a tremendous impact on a company’s growth.

Features 4 months ago
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Sustainability – An employer must in 2020

Back in 2015, representatives from nations all around the world met to sign an initiative that would help combat the damaging effects of climate change. This very first globally collective effort in terms of reducing greenhouse emissions, to which 179 countries have formally agreed their commitment, focusses on limiting the rise in global temperature increases by two degrees above its preindustrial measurement.

Features 4 months ago
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6 ways to increase the chance of IPO success

Even the most optimistic founders and executives at high growth companies aren’t immune to the challenges of fundraising. According to PWC, European IPOs have been ‘heavily impacted’ in the first half of 2020, with just 28 deals compared to 53 at the same stage in 2019.

Features 4 months ago
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Craft yourself a new direction

With lockdown forcing many people into furlough or redundancy, the thought of turning a personal passion into a startup has never been more tempting. But is this the right time or the right environment? And how do you turn a passion project into a viable business?

Features 4 months ago
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Managing ‘Reluctant Returners’ the responsible way

The return to the office has sparked some interesting debate. Our own research has found that individuals are more concerned about their work-life balance and having to commute than the impact of COVID-19 to their health. And similar themes have been explored around the attitudes of staff in different countries and why the UK is lagging with a proposed return compared to European counterparts.

Features 4 months ago
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Top Tips to valuing your business

Founders typically establish a business with one of two game plans in mind. They either want a lifestyle business and one that fits their work life balance, or they want to build a business and grow it with the ultimate goal of building something of value that they can exit when the time is right for them. For any founder seeking to raise finance for their company, or to sell it, whether a lifestyle one or one with more ambitious plans, there will always be the need for a valuation.

Features 4 months ago
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Do you live in the UK’s worst connected city?

The East Anglian City of Ely has been labelled the worst connected city in the UK according to a study by Nomad Digital.

Features 4 months ago
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Dawn of the SMED

Cyprus’s tourist industry suffered a hammer blow this year thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but the disaster has fuelled other ambitions on the island with many political leaders, financial experts and corporate players now seeing the country as an international hub for SMEs.

Features 4 months ago
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There’s still time to recession-proof your business

It’s troubling times for industries around the world who are attempting to negotiate the impact of a global pandemic and - for those in the UK and EU, the uncertainty around Brexit.

Features 5 months ago
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Five ways to implement design thinking in your business

Now more than ever, the power of design thinking is being recognised. From Airbnb and Netflix to Tesla and Samsung, companies are looking to this ideology to change the way they view business problems, using it as a catalyst to introduce customer-focused design that works.

Features 5 months ago
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5 top tips on how to approach a mentor

For freelancers and small business owners, mentors can help take your career to the next level. As such, Tide explores what to look for in an ideal mentor, and how to successfully find and approach one.

Features 5 months ago
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How to make your business more eco-friendly

As we continue to work towards the government’s net zero emissions by 2050 commitment, businesses are naturally becoming increasingly aware of the need to be more eco-friendly. Other strategies, such as the Clean Growth Strategy, which aims to promote economic growth at the same time as decreasing emissions, mean that the focus on having a positive effect on the environment is now higher than ever.

Features 5 months ago
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How to build a successful Enterprise-wide Data Strategy

Online streaming giant Netflix, which has over 150 million paid subscribers in over 190 countries, collects data from its users. Using advanced analytics to understand customer behaviour and buying patterns, the company makes extremely relevant customer recommendations, helping it achieve an impressive 93% customer retention.

Features 5 months ago
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How remote working is transforming company culture

Remote working has been in the technology ecosystem for many years. I have personally been doing partial remote work for the last ten to twenty years and what I have found is surprising. Most individuals are not used to this style of work which is accelerating a nationwide transformation of company culture.

Features, Life 5 months ago
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The best founders have lived the problem they're trying to solve

It’s received wisdom that successful startups solve real world problems. But there’s a commonly overlooked footnote to this mantra: you can’t try to solve a problem unless you’ve lived it first. Because without gaining the authentic understanding of lived experience, you’ll never find a solution that works in practice as well as in theory.

Features 5 months ago
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Being monitored – is there a ‘right’ solution?

A few years ago, journalists at The Daily Telegraph arrived at their London office on a Monday morning to discover that ‘Occupeye’ sensors had been installed over the weekend on the underside of each of their desks. The management team defended the installation ‘…as part of the Telegraph's commitment to green energy measures,’ claiming they were simply conducting a four-week study aimed at optimising the building’s use of lighting, heating and air conditioning. The study’s subjects were not impressed.

Features 5 months ago
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The rise of Europe’s startup cities

Ask anyone which location they’d associate with startups, and my money would be on “Silicon Valley” being their answer. But in the past few years, global investors have been shifting their collective gaze to Europe. Forbes reports that the first half of 2019 broke the record for tech investment in Europe: £17.2bn was invested in the continent’s tech startups. Similarly, Europe was pretty much on par with the United States when it came to the existence of startups backed by venture capitalists. 

Features 5 months ago
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How the future is looking for the startup scene

Many startups would have been forgiven for spending the last three months focusing purely on survival. Yet, as lockdown restrictions lift, an alternative story is beginning to emerge.

Features 5 months ago
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Pivoting for a pandemic

Launching a new business is not for the faint hearted even when market conditions are ‘perfect’. Doing that in the midst of the worst global pandemic in over a century is, by any standards, rather bold.

Features 5 months ago
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How can the Government avoid yet more tech disasters?

It has now been five months since the Government announced the development of a centralised NHSX contact tracing app that was set to monitor and contain the spread of COVID-19, safely releasing the UK from its strict national lockdown.

Features 5 months ago
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Hitting reset: business re-imagined

As much as we hate this phrase, Babble was born in the cloud. We don’t have any fixed technology so naturally, when Boris gave the order to stay at home our business found it easy to adapt. Our employees work, collaborate and communicate around one central platform, available on any device, anywhere. Our contact centre isn’t fixed to an office with phones and headsets, and our cyber security isn’t something we ever need to worry about.

Features 5 months ago
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COVID-19 Emails: Key Considerations and Tips

Right now, your customers are likely continuing to be bombarded with emails about COVID-19 — from their local supermarket, pet store, doctor, restaurant, gym, the list goes on — particularly as lockdown restrictions begin to ease.  

Features 5 months ago
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Every revolution needs an enemy – why brands need to identify that foe

Knowing your enemy is more important than ever. Whether as an individual, a consumer or a brand, defining your enemy creates momentum and can be the catalyst for positive change.

Features 5 months ago
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Why FemTech might be the sustainability saviour we have been waiting for

Taking single use plastics out of circulation is no easy feat, but the answer might lie closer than we think.

Features, Diversity 5 months ago
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Are you ready to re-open your office?

As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, many employers are having to think about how they go about bringing back employees to the office, and what this might look like in the future. Anthony Rose, CEO and co-founder of SeedLegals here gives his take on what London's top startups are saying about the office.

Features 5 months ago
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How COVID-19 has led to a review of event strategies

Coronavirus has caused businesses around the world to face the most impactful shake up in traditional operations many of us have ever experienced, one person who knows a lot about businesses is Business Development Director at The Translation People, Alan White, so Startups Magazine spoke to him about the current climate.

Features 5 months ago
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Are you ready for a post-Brexit business expansion?

The coronavirus crisis and the impact it has had on businesses and financial resources has made the prospect of growing a business seem like a distant reality for some organisations. But for British small and medium-sized B2B organisations, Brexit is an opportunity to look beyond the EU to new geographies.

Features, Brand 5 months ago
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Why SMEs need to double down on data and digitalisation

The coronavirus pandemic has sent shockwaves through the global economy. Businesses of all sizes are reeling from a crunch on both supply and demand. Staff members off sick or having to look after small children, disruption to supply chains, a significant drop in revenue due to lockdowns and a reduction in consumer spending have presented challenge after challenge.

Features 5 months ago
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How one global tech firm has thrived throughout the pandemic

As society is beginning to adjust to a new ‘normal’, businesses across the country have been working hard to ensure they keep their services up and running and continue meeting their customers’ needs throughout this uncertain time.

Features 5 months ago
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Helping businesses work out what they really need post-lockdown

Many businesses are looking at their current office space in the light of COVID-19 to accommodate staff rotation, flexible working hours, working from home and commuting restrictions.

Features 5 months ago
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Five ways to keep your personal data safe from hackers

New research reveals that nearly half (49%) of UK adults have not installed or didn't know whether their mobile phone has security software. So keeping personal data safe from hackers has never been more important.

Features 5 months ago
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Location, Location, Location!

In 1944, as the WWII was drawing to a close, a gentleman called Harold Samuel decided to start buying houses which had basically been demolished due to the bombing. The idea, seen crazy by many (after all, what is the value of a pile of rubble?), did work, as his company - Land Securities - went on to become the UK’s leading property company: a position it still holds today.

Features 5 months ago
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Top tips to scaling

As with everything about starting a business, different people do it for different reasons, and they have different levels of ambition. Some people want it to remain a side hustle or a very modest lifestyle business whilst others have plans from day one to scale and grow it into a multi-million GBP international operation.

Features 5 months ago
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Founder Focus: Apprentice winner spills the beans on startup success

When it comes to tapping into the entrepreneurial mindset to mine some golden nuggets of inspiration for business growth, who better to speak to than a winner of the BBC’s Apprentice. Therefore, when we had the opportunity to speak to 2014 champion Mark Wright, founder of Climb Online and the CLIMBCON business event, we jumped at the chance.

Features 5 months ago
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Startups Launchpad – Infineon Technologies

Semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies has always been keen to work with startups and entrepreneurs and has done for many years. However, a year ago the company took the decision to make this collaboration more structured and more visible to the outside world, and so introduced its startup cooperation programme, Inno.Wafer. We spoke to the man heading up that programme in EMEA, Lamin Ben Hamdane, to find out more.

Features 5 months ago
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How to survive and thrive online

Over the past few months, most businesses have had to rethink how they operate and how they reach their customers. At the same time, there’s been drastic changes in customer behaviour, with huge increases in online purchases. For example, Shopify saw a 68% MoM growth of UK consumers estimated to make a purchase online from a UK Shopify merchant for the first time in April 2020.

Features 5 months ago
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Why WSC Sports’ AI has been a saviour for sports fans in 2020

Following the global sports hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic many sports have now returned to action, much to the delight of fans worldwide. We’ve recently seen the likes of Europe’s top football leagues finish up the remaining games of their seasons and now eyes are well and truly stateside with the NBA, MLB and NHL returning over the past few weeks.

Features 5 months ago
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Five steps to building a sustainable startup

Lysander Bickham, Founder and CEO of Loving Earth’s Oceans (or Leo’s Box for short), shares his story of setting up an eco-friendly subscription startup while still at school, and offers five simple steps any business can take to improve its sustainable practice.

Features 5 months ago
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How digital meal planning can save schools time and money

Talking all things AI and new and emerging technologies at the moment, as we prepare for our next issue - out tomorrow! Startups Magazine spoke to Andy Baggott, Marketing Manager at Kafoodle - a fast-growing food tech company launched in 2016 with the goal to simplify food safety and kitchen compliance, helping the hospitality industry manage their ingredients, recipes and allergen information.

Features 5 months ago
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AI's role in accidents and disasters

To celebrate Startups Magazine's latest issue release (this week), which is focused on AI and emerging technologies, here at Tractable, recent winner of Best UK startup in the Hustle Awards, we decided to explain a bit about how we're bringing AI to the world on a commercial basis. Accidents and disasters affect millions of people every year. And the recovery process always starts the same way - assessors inspect the damage, approve an insurance claim, and unlock the funds to begin the rebuild. 

Features 5 months ago
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The sharing economy offers the best opportunity to grow a business

Attitudes towards sharing are always intriguing to observe. What we will and won’t share with others has changed continuously over the years and in line with broader consumer trends.

Features 5 months ago
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Why it’s Virtual Reality’s Time to Shine

When iconic computer game, The Sims, was first published in 2000, few knew that one day entire industries would be conducting business within a virtual Sim-like environment. And yet, in the world of wholesale fashion that’s exactly what’s happening in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Features 5 months ago
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Micromanagement and why it may be dangerous for your business

You maybe already believe that micromanagement is dangerous for you, your staff and your business. And it certainly is. But maybe not for the reasons you think.

Features 5 months ago
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Why hospitals need to embrace IT projects post-COVID-19

UK newspaper, ‘The Guardian’ reported last month that hospital trusts across England urgently need more equipment to prepare for an upcoming wave of operations and procedures deferred by COVID-19. The article highlighted that hospitals need 'staff and space to deal with a huge backlog of scans for cancer and other conditions, as more than 600,000 people await CT, MRI and other scans amid the coronavirus crisis.'

Features 5 months ago
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Virtual networking in lockdown and its role in economic recovery

The coronavirus pandemic has sent shockwaves through the business world and left many struggling to stay afloat and, with the future still uncertain, many business owners are turning their attention to how they can pivot their way through this difficult time.

Features 5 months ago
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Everything Your Business Needs to Know About Carbon Offsetting

Global pollution levels continue to be an issue that needs addressing. While the worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may have lowered our air pollutants, before the outbreak there were seven million deaths each year due to pollution.

Features 5 months ago
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AI is no match for human kindness, but it can certainly bring it to life

The debate around the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what it means for humanity is very much alive. It probably has been since 1927, the year Metropolis was released. If you haven’t seen it, the film stars a humanoid robot intent on world domination and human slavery. As you can imagine the robot doesn’t go down too well, and so began our difficult and ever-evolving relationship with AI.

Features 5 months ago
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Four tips for wellbeing in the new workplace

With productivity and profits affected, businesses might not be considering wellbeing as much as how to move fast and regain ground, from a quarter that was terrible for much of the economy. There are some under-used but patently obvious wellbeing tips that will help boost productivity, reduce employee turnover and increase engagement that are well worth looking into.

Features 5 months ago
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Top tips to strengthen your recruitment process with video

As employers embrace video call tools such as Zoom and Skype for day to day work communication, recruitment is no different as recruiters turn to virtual interview processes to source out the best talent. For recruiters looking for a way to build a more engaging recruitment process video, Laura Webster, Global Marketing Manager at HAYS Talent Solutions shares tips and advice into how employers can build a seamless virtual recruitment process through video.

Features 5 months ago
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How Startups Can Maintain Culture and Values Across Satellite Offices

In many ways, startup leaders are the envy of the business world. They are able to create an appealing workplace culture that works employees across different generations, and can attract the best talent. Problems are often solved through creative thinking while there’s typically a flat hierarchy and open communication channels.

Features 5 months ago
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Offering support to small businesses

Sterling Networks was founded in 2014 facilitating networking events for businesses across the Midlands, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and the South West. Over 300 members attend its fortnightly breakfast and lunchtime meetings, and the company has also undertaken the very important role of providing emotional support to business owners at a very challenging time. Startups Magazine caught up with founders Neil and Tracey Davis to find out more.

Features 5 months ago
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Working From Home Essentials: The Best Docking Stations

If you have purchased a new computer within the last few years, you likely lack something - ports. You know, places to plug in your stuff. With streamlining and consolidation, many modern computers (including the entire MacBook family) have shifted to utilising only USB-C and Thunderbolt 3. Because of this, a dock or hub is essential when you Work From Home.

Features, Life 5 months ago
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The end of Privacy Shield and the problem facing the tech world 

Can personal data from the EU being transferred on the basis of Privacy Shield to the US, guarantee an adequate level of data protection as per the GDPR? Head of Marketing for SmartSurvey, Neil Stone, offers some thoughts and guidance around this issue, while looking at the potential impact of the Privacy Shield’s invalidation for the technology sector and prospective customers.

Features 5 months ago
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Five ways to ensure business growth, not just recovery, post COVID-19

I’m going to focus on digital products/services in this article, increasing the contribution of digital products/services only makes more sense for any business in a COVID-19 and post COVID-19 world. All things being equal to grow post COVID-19 we need to manage at least one aspect of the digital customer life cycle better than we were doing before COVID-19.

Features 5 months ago
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Revealed: Gen Z Is the Most Saving-Savvy Generation

Each generation handles money in a different way. Afterall, people have grown up in different eras, they place value on different commodities, and some are busy saving for retirement while some are squirreling away their pennies in order to see the world one day. Attitudes towards saving money are most certainly generational, and there are plenty of assumptions people tend to jump to about these attitudes.

Features 5 months ago
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How to run a better business from your smartphone

It seems like there’s now an app for everything - but which of the millions of smartphone apps are most useful if you’re trying to run a successful business? And how can you use your smartphone to improve productivity?

Features 5 months ago
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10 tips for small business owners to COVID-proof the office

Lockdown rules in the UK are easing up and Brits are slowly starting to go back to work in their offices. So what can employers do to ensure their office space is a safe working environment and keep their employees comfortable and safe during this time?

Features, Life 5 months ago
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The new norm post-COVID means redefining home working

At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown has caused large-scale disruption to businesses worldwide, remote working has been a shining example of how to ensure ‘business as usual’, particularly in areas such as customer service. If Gartner predictions are correct that over 40% of all employees will continue remote working post-COVID, businesses must redefine remote working by ensuring customer service staff - contact centre agents and supervisors - are equipped with fit-for-purpose technology to ensure they deliver a truly first-class service to the customer. Anne-Meine Gramsma, Chief Commercial Officer at ContactCenter4ALL, explains.

Features, Life 5 months ago
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How to scale a business with freelancers instead of investors

As firms look to re-launch projects and resuscitate their business beyond COVID-19, the importance and value of freelancers as a critical requirement to retain skill at an affordable rate is essential for recovery. Someone only too aware of the importance of this is the CEO of The Future Strategy Club (The FSC), Justin Small; this is a benefit he has been aware of for a long time.

Features 5 months ago
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The lessons of COVID-19: Connecting entrepreneurship and the environment

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.

Features 5 months ago
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MOT your business and save it from COVID-19 collapse

While car MOTs were scrapped during lockdown, taking the same approach with a business could be a mistake that leads to catastrophic consequences. Just as leaving unchecked, unroadworthy vehicles on the road is potentially dangerous, by not taking control of a business and leaving success to chance is a gamble at the best of times, but right now that approach could be the beginning of the end.

Features, Life 5 months ago
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The co-founder ‘pre-nup’ - why every business needs a breakup plan

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.

Features 6 months ago
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Why fast-growing retailers need a ‘think big, plan ahead’ mentality

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.

Features 6 months ago
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Back to work: Safety and Productivity in a Post-COVID Office Space

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.

Features, Life 6 months ago
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How to scale your business without a factory

With more than 266,000 small businesses having reopened since the end of April, kitchen worktop businesses and Instagram marketplaces have seen an entire new generation of entrepreneurs to be able to get their products lifted off the ground. However, for many individuals and micro-businesses, the prohibitive costs associated with the rapid and accurate production and manufacture of their creations often prevents them from scaling up and making considerable profits.

Features 6 months ago
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How to successfully message a recruiter for your dream job

Following the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, we have seen widespread business closures, pay cuts, reduced hours, and redundancies, resulting in many workers looking for a new venture. Today, LinkedIn is one of the go-to platforms for budding job hunters searching for a new role, therefore the competition is high. To help those looking to enter a new career field, online educational platform, Preply has provided tips on the things to consider when messaging a recruiter on LinkedIn.

Features, Life 6 months ago
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Lessons learned during the journey from CISO to CEO

Startups Magazine caught up with Flavius Plesu, Founder and CEO of OutThink, the world’s first Predictive Human Risk Intelligence platform (SaaS), aimed at revolutionising security awareness and giving security teams the power that comes with identifying high risk users – fully understanding who is not behaving securely and why. 

Features 6 months ago
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How startups can protect their websites from cyber attacks

What do startups need to know to ensure that their website is secure and safe against cyber attacks? Innovators, investors, and entrepreneurs, launching startup companies have hundreds of issues to deal with. Often setting up their website and internal communications drops in the list of priorities. And usually, at the bottom of that list, is ensuring that the company’s communications and website are secure.

Features 6 months ago
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Five tips to taking your organisation virtual for long-term flexible working

Having formed new habits around remote work, many of us have settled into new routines and habits, adjusting to the shift and integrating this new way of working into our lives. But, bigger organisational processes might have been missed in the scramble to equip teams with the day-to-day tools needed to maintain business continuity.

Features 6 months ago
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360 Pivot: How Covid-19 disrupted then propelled YHANGRY

YHANGRY is a London-based startup providing private chefs for social get-togethers at home. We launched our beta website in May 2019, when Siddhi Mittal and I were still working on the trading floor at Barclays in Canary Wharf. We were 10 months into our startup journey when COVD-19 brought our business to a grinding halt.

Features 6 months ago
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Complementing Your Content Marketing Using In-House Resources

In this day and age, building the right content marketing strategy can either make or break a business. Content marketing has the power to shape the way audiences perceive and engage with your organisation.

Features 6 months ago
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Top tips to developing a website

Having set up a business there are some very logical next steps that have common features irrespective of what your business will do. Any business needs to sell its product or service and make a profit so that it can reinvest in its future and pay the shareholders. 

Features 6 months ago
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What is CRM and how can it support my startup sales?

When starting a business, the implementation of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system may seem like an additional and unnecessary expense, but committing to it from the outset will realise a number of benefits including the development of a clear and focused sales strategy, together with the opportunity to strengthen new client relationships.

Features 6 months ago
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The Twitter Hacks and Battles of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle

Over the years we’ve seen Twitter celebrities get their accounts hacked. But this recent hack goes way beyond anything we’ve seen before. This latest security breach calls into question the security of Twitter and social media platforms and even the foundation technology they are built upon.

Features 6 months ago
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How can business technology help to manage stress in the workplace?

Whilst social media and too much screen time can increase the risk of depression and anxiety, technology can also have positive outcomes on our mental wellbeing too - even in our busy digital world. Many us will be familiar and fond of clever apps like Headspace, Calm and Stop, Breathe & Think which can offer support with a number of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Here Natasha Bougourd from TSG, chats to Startups Magazine about tech aiding stress in the workplace.

Features 6 months ago
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The crisis has shown us how innovative small British manufacturers can be

This crisis period has proven what so many of us in our industry already knew. The UK manufacturing industry is and always has been resilient and adaptable, and has continued to grow even in times of trouble. Overall, the UK’s industrial sector has increased by 1.4% a year since 1948, according to the ONS. Much of this has been down to the fact that we always adapted and moved forward fast; year on year we shifted production from low to high productivity goods, invested more in research and development and adopted automation and technology.

Features 6 months ago
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How to refocus on sustainable growth during a crisis

A crisis seems an unlikely time to use for improving growth, but for many startups there’s an unexpected opportunity to slow down and refocus their growth and marketing plans on their fundamental, long term growth opportunity. It’s crucial for startups to build resilience and a path towards sustainable growth by building the right growth marketing framework and strengthening customer relationships.

Features 6 months ago
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What is the key to successful innovation?

What's the secret to innovation? Is it all about having work spaces peppered with chill-out zones, ping-pong tables and climbing walls? Actually, the truth is far more down to earth.

Features 6 months ago
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How to de-clutter your virtual space to improve productivity

In the COVID-19 era many people are taking the opportunity to organise and simplify their home working spaces, making good use of the ample time at home. But de-cluttering your virtual space - including your computer/laptop, phone, cloud storage, etc - is just as important as de-cluttering your physical space.

Features, Life 6 months ago
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Top 10 iconic buildings for tech companies in London

In the wake of London being named one of the best technology ecosystems in the world, according to Startup Genome’s Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020,  First Office Hub, the global workspace broker, has picked its top 10 iconic buildings for tech companies looking to make London their home.

Features 6 months ago
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Finance recruiting: 8 tips to give you a hiring edge

To find the right individual for the job will be a challenge for employers as well as hiring managers. With several companies intending to enhance their hiring efforts this year, it's necessary that you put extra effort and time into how you attract the most effective prospects feasible. With more possibilities for talent comes even more competitors for you, as well as making the ideal hire currently is crucial to strengthening your firm today as well as into the future.

Features 6 months ago
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What Should SMEs Consider When Investing in a Website?

The current situation has taught us a lot of valuable lessons, particularly about the true power of digital. With brands like Primark reducing their revenue to zero as a result of having no e-commerce strategy and B2B businesses that previously relied on trade shows forced to transfer online, the value of having a strong digital brand presence is now more important than ever before.

Features 6 months ago
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The secret to digital transformation: emulating human behaviour

Today, many businesses are executing large-scale digital transformation efforts to keep up with the changing market demands and fast-paced competitors. In fact, a global survey conducted by McKinsey discovered that more than 80% of respondents stated their organisations have undertaken such efforts in the past five years.

Features 6 months ago
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Preparing for the new normal and building a financial plan

There is some light at the end of the tunnel for small businesses. As the lockdown continues to ease many retailers and hospitality businesses are now opening up again, or preparing to return soon.

Features, Life 6 months ago
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The UK must do more to promote paid media

It’s always refreshing when policymakers break with the status quo and do something genuinely left-field and unexpected. The current pandemic has certainly produced its fair share of bold initiatives. In the UK we’ve just had the announcement of Government-subsidised meal deals throughout August to boost the ailing hospitality sector. And, sitting slightly higher on the impact scale, earlier this month the French Government announced that it was making tax credits available to any citizen prepared to take out a subscription to a current affairs newspaper or magazine.

Features 6 months ago
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SMEs must utilise AR to make an impact post-COVID

As lockdown restrictions begin to ease, SMEs need to look into engaging potential customers immediately in order to drive sales and awareness in the difficult months ahead. As the majority of the public continue to live and work remotely, however, companies must seek out new methods of marketing in order to attract better engagement. The online space has, thus, become crowded with brands attempting to cut through noise to truly make an impact on consumers. 

Features 6 months ago
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Five risk assessment steps for the workplace after lockdown

Whilst the UK implements strategies to gradually return to life as normal, the question on everyone’s mind is how we plan to do this safely and effectively. With the process of working from home potentially coming to an end in the foreseeable future, regardless of what sector individuals work in, new safety precautions are essential to put in place to ensure the health and safety of employees and customers remain strong. 

Features 6 months ago
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How to thrive as a woman in fintech

What’s sexy about financial technology? When I joined a fintech startup called Littlepay, I could see some of my friends and peers struggle with why I had left an uber-cool venture role to do something they didn’t understand in the fintech space.

Features, Diversity 6 months ago
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How SMEs can thrive post-lockdown

Lockdown is beginning to end, but changes in how we do business have only just begun. One country that might be able to shed some light on the upcoming unknown is  Germany - having had their ‘Super Saturday’ back in April. Germany has already tackled the next economic phase that small businesses (SMEs) in the UK will have to adapt to.

Features 6 months ago
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Making the lockdown digital switch to permanent

A few years back, there was a two-day tube strike in London. As with most tube strikes, it forced stressed commuters to change up their route into work at short notice. When it was all over, economists who looked at Oyster Card data made a surprising finding. About one in twenty commuters who changed up their route on the days of the strike stuck with their new route.

Features 6 months ago
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Five steps for becoming a furlough-preneur

Even in the bleakest of times, entrepreneurs have found a way to innovate and create disruptive products that have enhanced our daily lives or solved a problem. Take the humble chocolate chip cookie, baked for the first time after the Great Depression. During a period of severe economic hardship, this new treat offered some richness and comfort and remains immensely popular to this day.

Features, Life 6 months ago
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How to maintain customer confidence during times of uncertainty

Over the past few months, the world of business has been turned upside down due to COVID-19. During such unprecedented times, maintaining customer confidence and loyalty is a key focus for companies. The way in which businesses manage its customers throughout uncertain times is often the difference between losing or retaining clients, and ultimately business survival.

Features 6 months ago
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Five tips for recruitment trends in 2020

Those of us in the recruitment services space are pausing, with a significant heap of excitement and a little touch of alert to perceive how the scene is going to change for us in the coming year. Is it true that we are prepared for 2020?

Features 6 months ago
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Four simple steps to protect your website

Until recently, for many smaller businesses, their website was purely a shop window with few, if any, transactions done through it. However, thanks to social distancing measures it has now become the primary means of business for almost every company. Ensuring your website is not vulnerable to hackers and other criminals is therefore more important now than ever. The crippling reputational and financial cost of a cyberattack can put a small company out of business.

Features 6 months ago
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Lockdown and other revelations

At the start of 2020, my aspirations looked very different. In January 2020, I was geared up to go to the gym three times a week. The year was looking bright and I was ready to step things up. Now, I just want to get the battery on my watch fixed.

Features 6 months ago
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What does it take to build a great company culture?

Every company has its own culture, defined by its values, and governing principles that the leadership and employees equally share. While most people consider culture an unimportant element, it has a real impact on performance, retention and the company's ability to adapt to changes. A disengaged team will leave founders staring into the horizon alone.

Features 6 months ago
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Black Tech (has always) Mattered

In the weeks following the brutal murder of George Floyd and the global protests it sparked, we saw hundreds of companies posting a black square on social media as part of #BlackOutTuesday - an outward display of support and solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement and the black community.

Features 6 months ago
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How to start a tech business

Have you been toying with the idea of building up a tech company that could one day match the likes of Google, Apple, or Facebook? Well, this may seem a dream too far-fetched, but nothing is impossible with the right strategy, skill, and vision.

Features 6 months ago
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What’s the best type of employee share scheme for startups?

Many progressive startup founders choose to incentivise and reward their early hires with equity. The key benefits of a share scheme are that employees become more productive, more loyal, and more aligned with the company’s goals.

Features 6 months ago
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How on-demand services became our lockdown saviours

The UK’s recent lockdown has seen a surge in demand for on-demand. By addressing one of the most challenging aspects of lockdown, food delivery services alone have experienced a 29% increase in popularity, and even industries historically steeped in tradition - such as theatres, pubs and restaurants - have had to embrace on-demand options. Digital businesses, in collaboration with more traditional high street counterparts, have kept access to services viable during the pandemic.

Features 6 months ago
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Contingency planning: 3 key lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has massively accelerated the pace of change in the business world. Leaders and employees have had to adapt to operate in a challenging environment, where the only certainty is change. Not only have organisations had to rapidly adjust to the changing needs of its people, customers and suppliers, but it has also navigated the financial and operational challenges. This has led to many businesses prioritising the now, focusing on reshaping its operations to stabilise revenue and align with short term demand.

Features, Life 6 months ago
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Solutions for customer success in an economic downturn

One of the biggest trends in software development has been the rise of Software as a Service (SaaS). With SaaS, vendors and customers follow a pay-as-you-go subscription model, which eliminates the large upfront payment and aligns their incentives more easily: vendors get more recurring revenue while customers are freed from having to host and maintain their own applications.

Features 6 months ago
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Mistakes I learnt from a family of entrepreneurs

I was young when I realised I came from a family of businessmen. At the age of eight, my paternal grandfather had been engaging in business deals between Africa and Belgium. One of my uncles had also started an import-export business based in Brussels. Then when I was ten years old, my father jumped on the bandwagon and launched a business engaged in the export of exotic meats from Botswana to the EEC. This is what began to pique my curiosity in business. 

Features 6 months ago
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Taking a deeper look into AI and Blockchain

Technology, especially new technology, has always had something of a divisive effect; that is it can be seen as black or white, working in good ways or bad. If we look back in history, any technological advance is greeted with great enthusiasm by early adopters and shunned and ridiculed by those with a more traditional outlook on life.

Features 6 months ago
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How to monetise your space in VR

Just as monetising mobile was the biggest opportunity of the previous decade, monetising the 3D worlds is the biggest opportunity of the next decade. It’s time to get onboard. From radio to telephone, TV to desktop computer and now mobile, the last 150 years have been filled with technological progress that has transformed our private and professional lives. Today, we are approaching another media transition: spatial computing - commonly known as immersive technology, XR or VR/AR.

Features 6 months ago
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Considering becoming a remote working business?

While more established businesses might be unnerved by the prospect of homeworking becoming the norm, startups are in the privileged position of being able to adapt to a ‘virtual’ workplace with relative ease.

Features 6 months ago
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Bulgaria’s knocking: there's a new startup hub in town

The 23rd of June this year marked four years since the UK's EU membership referendum, and the rest of 2020 will likely see some decisive action on the UK's intention to leave the EU as a result. Much has been written over the last four years about the UK's currently gilded status as the preeminent global hub for financial services and fintech, and the risks of the UK losing this status to another European competitor once Brexit happens.

Features 6 months ago
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Who is Scoop Loop?

Scooploop is a social media neighbour and community networking site. It is a platform that you can use for your business, charity or personal use, and lets you join in with conversations, find out local information and get to know people that you may not have met yet.

Features 6 months ago
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The three ways to identify your ideal client

Identifying your ideal client is one of the most difficult things, and yet the most important thing to do for your business. Before I start going into the how, let us spend a few minutes thinking about the why. Why does everybody bang on and on about this ideal client business!? Believe me I used to feel the same way. Then one day it clicked into place.

Features 6 months ago
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Helping businesses embrace the ‘new normal’

In April 2020, the UK’s Office for National Statistics revealed 49.2% of the UK’s workforce were operating remotely as a result of COVID-19.

Features 6 months ago
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Why millennials are the ultimate investment to the technology industry?

Millennials are the first generation to be truly comfortable with digital technologies: most own a smartphone and use it for a host of activities ranging from social networking, playing games, watching TV and mobile banking.

Features 6 months ago
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Where’s the money gone?

Recently I connected with a non-profit civic engagement company called New Union to create a 'tactical urbanism toolkit.' Its aim is to bridge the gaps between governments and their citizens, starting conversations, and ultimately teaching communities that they can and should enact change within their communities – often for little or no cost.

Features 6 months ago
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‘If you build it, they will come’ (and stay)

We’re ending our leadership series by taking inspiration from the 1989 film ‘Field of Dreams’ and focusing on your role as a leader in creating a place where people love to work. If you’ve got a vision for what you want your business to look and feel like, you play a significant part in helping to create the environment so that people can deliver that vision and more.  

Features 6 months ago
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Four business positives to come from the pandemic

Before the dreaded c-word hit the UK, and the rest of the world, most businesses were just planning for a busy Q2. With everything turned upside down and a full lockdown, it’s forced many SMEs and startup businesses to completely pivot and significantly adapt strategies.

Features 6 months ago
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"Where do I go from here?"

We live in changing times. Rapidly changing times. Times always change and move forward but what has been remarkable recently has been the fact that the speed of change continues to increase year on year. It is no surprise, therefore, that many founders, both first time entrepreneurs and serial entrepreneurs, often ask themselves, and me, ‘where do I go from here?’

Features 6 months ago
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Five ways to encourage collaboration while working apart

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way the world works, and with some UK workers beginning to return to the office, some anticipating a phased return in the coming weeks and others working at home for the foreseeable future, it can be difficult to connect the workforce together.

Features 6 months ago
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China, COVID-19 and UK work life quality: is there a correlation between the three?

Within the context of the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, Trump has accused China of being the cause of the virus. If this were true, Beijing would have eliminated 91% of UK exports to China over the past ten years in one fell swoop.

Features 7 months ago
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The future post-COVID-19 is within local communities and partnerships

The world is changing and what we witnessed in the last months all over the world is the creation of a stronger sense of community: people supporting each other and companies getting together to fight the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The old world is over, as its rules. The new world is going to be different, with new rules.

Features 7 months ago
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Is coronavirus going to be a great leveller?

The coronavirus pandemic is having a significant and painful impact on work, livelihoods and the economy. Recent reports suggest around 600,000 jobs have been in lost during lockdown in the UK alone, while over 40 million people have become unemployed in the US.

Features 7 months ago
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May the Leadership Force be with you

Apparently Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t actually say the famous line himself until Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones which we all know is the weakest of the series, however plenty of star characters encourage Luke to 'use the Force' throughout his journey to Jedi.

Features 7 months ago
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How Can Businesses Use CRO to Understand Changing Customer Demands?

The business landscape has transformed like never before in just a matter of months. I've seen first-hand how the current climate has impacted global enterprises. As business leaders, we need to instil trust within our teams while also having a clear strategy on how to navigate these challenging times.

Features 7 months ago
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How to champion business intelligence in remote teams

The coronavirus pandemic has shaken up the way we work – and the seismic shifts it has brought about could be long-lasting. According to a Gartner survey, 74% of CFOs intend to shift some of their employees to remote work permanently.

Features 7 months ago
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The future of work is local co-working

The role of the traditional office has been profoundly undermined by the recent pandemic - and with companies like Twitter granting employees indefinite leave to work remotely, coworking should be set to boom.  

Features 7 months ago
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Which changes from COVID-19 will be permanent?

In the world of work, the effects of social measures that governments are being forced to take have proven to be incredibly challenging for businesses and employees. However, for many business leaders around the world, they are now starting to turn their attention to the potential long-term implications of the pandemic on the next era of work.

Features 7 months ago
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Getting on board: what you need to know about tech advisory boards

Driving disruption, embracing change and new ideas and generally just jostling for place at the bleeding edge of innovation has always been part and parcel for any company in the tech industry, particularly at the startup stage. But how do tech companies ensure they’re always one step ahead, and how do they create agility and disruptive thinking at the strategic leadership level?

Features 7 months ago
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4 top tips for founders looking to onboard a government

So far, the first half of 2020 has felt like six years, not six months. Every new month seems to bring with it global challenges and the threat of coronavirus still looms. The knock-on effect of COVID-19 has been significant, with the FTSE100 losing nearly a quarter of its value in late March - the biggest drop in history.

Features 7 months ago
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The inside track to how businesses can find investors and grow

For many businesses, scaling up and sustaining growth often seems unachievable, even when the brand has a profitable product or service. Investor and advisor, Sharon Brown, principal of Amplify Equity Inc. has recently adopted a laser focus for helping businesses step-up to the next level by leveraging investor expertise, industry experience, networks, and connections to help them grow faster.

Features 7 months ago
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As lockdown lifts will working from home be the new normal?

A new survey from HJS Solicitors has found that more than two thirds of employees want to carry on working from home. As the Government continues to lift lockdown restrictions a poll of nearly 2,000 workers shows 68% would like to continue with life in a 'remote' office. 

Features 7 months ago
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The changing face of the workplace

When (or indeed if) office-based employees make a return to work, now that lockdown restrictions are slowly beginning to ease, they are likely to find a very different world to the one they left behind. Startups, by their very nature, are inherently innovative, adaptable, flexible, and more willing than most to embrace change.

Features 7 months ago
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Does design thinking hold the key to business growth during COVID-19?

With the IMF warning that the ‘Great Lockdown’ global recession will be the worst since the Great Depression, organisations are being forced to reset and reinvent faster than ever before. The race is on for entrepreneurs and business owners to craft new plans, develop new products and deliver new solutions in order to survive.

Features 7 months ago
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Mama said leadership is like a box of chocolates…

….you never know what you’re going to get. Although Forest Gump didn’t technically say that, there is some truth in it: no two leaders are ever the same. Think about the people you’ve been led by in the past -  maybe they were a crunchy-coated, brittle leader, they might have been soft and gooey, or chances are you’ve probably had a few nutty ones as well. You never know what you’re going to get.

Features 7 months ago
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How a pandemic made us rethink the way we deal with death

Death. A big topic, and generally as much a part of the everyday news cycle as politics or celebrities. From natural disasters to major atrocities, the subject never really goes away. That being said, it feels quite different at the moment. With death tolls now a media centrepiece, it’s playing a much bigger part in public conversation. At Farewill, where our 90-strong team of designers, engineers and psychologists are working to bring the death industry into the 21st century, we’ve noticed a real change in the way people are discussing and dealing with it.

 

Features 7 months ago
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How to return furloughed staff back to work

With almost 11 weeks of lockdown in the UK, we have only just got to grips with our new working conditions. Now, with lockdown restrictions slowly beginning to ease, offices are planning for reopening. A new ‘blended’ model of working will become the norm, with some employees always working from home, in the office or a combination of both. 

Features 7 months ago
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The benefits and challenges of relying on wearables for health

Wearables allow users to monitor their health, receive alerts for potential health issues, and preemptively contact a doctor. With many people housebound during COVID-19, wearables help people track daily exercise habits and maintain a healthy lifestyle while many gyms remain closed. Here, Emily Clark, Content Developer for The Manifest looks at the market for healthcare wearables and discusses how people use wearables for healthcare and the limitations of these wearable devices.

Features 7 months ago
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UK startups are leading the way in AI

Europe’s AI ecosystem is consistent with many of the continent’s other expanding startups, with the UK emerging as the most dynamic country for AI: that’s according to new research from PNY Europe in collaboration with 33INSIGHTS. The UK leads the pack with 529 incorporated companies (27%), followed by France with 424 (21%) and Germany with 182 (9%).

Features 7 months ago
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Half of all the Fortune 500 companies were created in a crisis

I read once, 'most people are starting from a disadvantage and do just fine'. I find these words encouraging and motivating. The reason being, they don’t know they’re disadvantaged because they simply, just get on with it.

Features 7 months ago
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Growing with Blockchain - from disruptive potential to operational reality

Following lockdown, the digital trust that blockchain creates for networks of remote users started to re-define relationships between customers, suppliers, partners and funders in earnest.

Features 7 months ago
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5 ways to strengthen company culture during a crisis

When you are trying to navigate the management of a business in the midst of a global pandemic, it’s all too easy to neglect the maintenance of your company culture. Yes, it’s true that other priorities might seem more pressing right now; after all, your clients and suppliers won’t be sending you impatient emails demanding to know how you plan to safeguard your internal team relationships.

Features, Life 7 months ago
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To Lead… and Beyond!

Buzz Lightyear might not be the obvious choice of great leaders but we’re taking inspiration from his famous catchphrase in this article to encourage you to think big and define the vision for your organisation or team.

Features 7 months ago
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So you’re out of work? How to pick yourself up during the pandemic

Being out of work during ordinary times is not fun. It can weigh a heavy impact on one’s confidence and sense of wellbeing, as well as being demoralising. This applies to people whose employment has been put on hold through, as they have been in the United Kingdom, furloughing schemes designed to prevent mass redundancies. It also applies to students whose future employment and careers have become uncertain after in-person lectures and exams were put on hold. The breath of fresh air is that some lockdowns, including the one in the UK, are beginning to ease.

Features 7 months ago
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Quick fire mentoring tips for startups, with Kevin Smith

Startups Magazine has been lucky enough to interview Kevin Smith from Boom & Partners, a business that offers bespoke mentoring for startups to help them grow and thrive. Having teamed up with Kevin and Boom & Partners many times already, we thought it was time to get his expertise on some of the most pressing conundrums for startups

Features 7 months ago
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Is this global pandemic time for the planet to pause?

In the midst of a global pandemic our leaders are necessarily focused on the immediate.  Survival - in life and in work. Entrepreneurs and executives alike are shoring up business, optimising current operations and cashflow; the need to stay afloat taking precedence over the long view. But with the passing of this crisis, may there come a sustained shift in values?

Features 7 months ago
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"Should I be a sole founder or a co-founder?"

For those founders at the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey, whether for the first time or as a serial founder, there is a question that I overhear time and time again and that question is ‘should I be a sole founder or a co-founder?’

Features 7 months ago
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Steps accountants are taking to support small businesses

Over the past three months, small businesses have faced intense struggles, with only those deemed ‘essential’ by the government able to stay open due to the lockdown. Although these restrictions are now beginning to ease, the financial impact will have been significant.

Features 7 months ago
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Tailored customer journeys hold the key to success in the digital subscription economy

For all businesses operating in the digital arena, there has long been an advantage to be gleaned from better understanding how your customers behave online. Can you identify which website visitors are on the verge of clicking ‘buy’? Can you spot a disgruntled customer desperately searching around an online FAQ for the product support they require? Is it possible to determine whether a prospective subscriber is ready to commit, or whether they need further incentives to push them over the line?

Features 7 months ago
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How introverts in tech startups can help build strength

Given that up to 50% of any population identify as introverts, organisations with an unbiased recruitment process will have a fair proportion of introverts in their workforce. If their promotion panels are fair and equitable, some will reach positions of leadership. However, many introverts spend much of their working life pretending to be more extraverted in order to fit in and be accepted. This comes with a heavy price tag; overwhelm and burn-out. Introverts need strong, well-defended boundaries and a personal strategy for replenishing.

Features 7 months ago
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Five top tips for using equipment correctly

Over the last few years, I’ve been teaching business owners and their staff to set up a few simple pieces of equipment to film their own smartphone videos and get comfortable in front of the camera.

Features 7 months ago
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Giving your team the skills to navigate SEO and PPC

As companies across the globe are closing their physical offices, the business world has transformed dramatically within just a matter of months. More emphasis is placed on business being conducted online. For example, retailers, IT service providers and even personal trainers are utilising their online platforms and video chat software to remain engaged with their customers.

Features 7 months ago
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The art of a briefing (according to the analysts)

Analyst relations. For many startup founders and marketing teams, it’s still a bit of an unknown. There’s no question that it’s a valuable marketing strategy, but there’s a surprising lack of literature advising startups on how to make it work for them, when to start, and what to do in a briefing. This article looks to state the case for analyst relations in a startup context whilst providing some valuable insight from the analysts themselves.  

Features 7 months ago
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At the vanguard of an ethical business

When starting a business it’s easy to get consumed by P&L and that all-important bottom line (understandably so), but as Sezer Sherif, Founder and CEO of brokerage and investment advisory firm Vector Capital Group explains, that doesn’t mean you can’t build a business with a strong code of ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Features 7 months ago
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Global pause button

Alongside a few others, I recently gave a talk to a university conference where I explained my progress in the past year, successes and changes, and my plans. What was interesting, hearing my own answer alongside the other start-ups called in to do the same, was that things have generally 'paused.' We have stopped every financial outgoing we possibly can and are reaching out to investors and clients alike only to be told that they are in the same position – 'expect nothing soon.'

Features 7 months ago
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Who will win the AI ‘arms race’?

An important global competition is under way that will determine the fate of many nations. By this, I am referring to the global artificial intelligence (AI) ‘arms race’ which has seen countries battle to develop the next generation of intelligent technologies.

Features 7 months ago
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A guide for UK startups looking to launch in Europe

Law firm Taylor Wessing’s work with the Mayor's International Business Programme, and its work day-to-day with VC-backed tech companies has shown that most UK companies look to the US or Asia before Europe when looking at new markets. However, Europe is on our doorstep, and has its own advantages which shouldn't be ignored. This article by Mark Barron, a corporate technology partner at Taylor Wessing, will cover what you need to think about in choosing Europe as the first stop in your international journey, and a few of the key advantages in doing so.

Features 7 months ago
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The lockdown has exposed tech gaps within organisations

Thanks to coronavirus, our working culture has swiftly moved into sharp focus.

Features 7 months ago
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"What do we do and how do we go about it?"

As spring turns into summer and the fears of lockdown turn into the uncertainties of release, many early stage companies are effectively having to start all over again, either because they have been temporarily closed and have been in something of a coma like state, or because they have pivoted and the business plan has changed from the original. The question being asked by so many, is ‘what do we do and how do we go about it?’ and is focused around the fundamental question that takes all founders back to the origins of their business.

Features 7 months ago
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Introducing the Analog Garage

The world is embarking on a period of great technological innovation. This means that innovators themselves need a place where they can grow their ideas. Technology startups are fast becoming a growth area for semiconductor manufacturers, as they are often at the coal face of design innovation, pioneering the journey towards the fourth industrial revolution.

Features 7 months ago
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How coronavirus is affecting the future of work?

The world feels upside down, right? Mankind is not meant to stay locked inside. We need wide spaces, open-air, opportunities and horizons. As the world stopped and placed us in a timeless lethargy we find it hard to remain optimistic. The same question goes round and round in our heads as we stare at the azure of the sky through the window: How is Coronavirus affecting the future of work?

Features 7 months ago
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Building digital culture in your startup

Many startups know what building a culture means in their startup, and most founders will - smartly - work to prioritise that closely to ensure their company culture is warm, positive, and creative. But few know what building a digital culture means. Without a digital culture, your business will struggle to scale, and will struggle to expand internationally. It’s often ignored and that means you can make it a real positive difference between you and your competitors.

Features 7 months ago
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Nobody puts leadership in the corner

OK, we admit it. We’re nuts about leadership. We could talk about it till the cows come home and then we’d settle them in for the night and tell them a bedtime story about it.

Features 7 months ago
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Meet The Hustle House

Like many good things in life, The Hustle House started out over a couple of G&T’s. Free ones at that. Maybe it was because Fiona had her laptop out in a restaurant on a Friday night, or maybe it was because the waiter felt bad for seating them late. Whatever the reason, the free G&T’s set the tone for a discussion on possibilities, on the notion of leaving behind the comfort blanket of corporate life and taking the plunge into the start-up world.

Features 7 months ago
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4 cashflow tips to help you keep ahead

For many businesses, cash in the bank is often a concern especially during periods of uncertainty. Making sure you know exactly what’s going in and out and when has never been so important.

Features, Funding 8 months ago
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Pivoting your startup can impact your IP - here’s how

Agile startups have proven that they are able to help in a crisis. Access to bright thinkers and technical experts means they can come up with creative solutions quickly in response to changes in circumstances - and many have been helping in the fight against COVID-19.

Features, Life 8 months ago
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How to choose the right SaaS architecture for your startup?

Having worked as a solution architect and designed multiple SaaS applications over the years, I could see most startups struggling to choose the right SaaS architecture for their product offering. In this article, I’ve compiled all my learnings into a cheat sheet to help startup founders, who’re looking to build SaaS applications, make a pragmatic decision backed by proven facts and data.  

Features 8 months ago
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The future of the office

The concept of co-working has become synonymous with tech ecosystems across the globe. It came to prominence around the same time as the birth of some of the biggest tech companies you’ve heard of, as well as those you haven’t. 

Features 8 months ago
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Future Networks Lab Challenge – The future for startups

One of the biggest trends right now is IoT, especially Industrial IoT (IIoT) and the security around data. Having taken off massively in the past few years, in the tech startup industry if you were going to create a business, these areas would be two of hottest in the current climate. Innovative startups or scaleups with cutting edge IoT hardware technologies capable of securely retrofitting industrial facilities for predictive maintenance, are extremely sought after and very desirable to investors and businesses. Also we have seen a rise in the number of startups working within data security at sensor level to avoid data breaches.

Features 8 months ago
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"Should my business pivot?"

Many businesses ask me many questions but one of the questions that has become more common over the last few months is whether their business should pivot. Regular readers will know that many of the answers to questions I overhear are often prefaced with ‘well it depends’ but this question can in many ways be easier to answer than that.

Features 8 months ago
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Why every business should take employee mental health seriously

There’s no denying that living in lockdown amid a global pandemic is something new to us all. And for millions of workers across the country, they’ve spent the last few weeks working from home as a result of social distancing. Here, Parin Ashra, UX/UI Designer at Perlego for mental health awareness week, delves into mental health within businesses, and why we should be doing more.

 

Features 8 months ago
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It's not just startups that can pivot and adapt to help

SharkNinja although known for producing vacuums, have been doing some very different work during the COVID-19 crisis, as they had some more time on their hands, and wanted to help. We spoke to Mohammad Hatia, SharkNinja Prototype Lead Workshop Manager and asked him a few questions as to what SharkNinja have been up to.

Features 8 months ago
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How can AI help us tackle climate change?

Global efforts to combat climate change have been stifled recently, with an unprecedented crisis shifting the focus of governments, businesses and consumers away from the plight of the planet. We’re engaged in a war against an invisible enemy; and COVID-19’s dire importance has placed many environmental initiatives on hold.

Features 8 months ago
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How entrepreneurial attitudes and motivations influence business success

Are there specific entrepreneurial attitudes and motivations that influence business success? For investors, founders, business leaders and boards alike this is the million or even billion-dollar question.

Features 8 months ago
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The where – creating the right environment for start-up collaboration

The model and motivations are in alignment and all bodes well for the energy company’s collaboration with a startup. Excitement is high, as are expectations. There is one thing left to attend to though: the environment you create. Will it be a space where collaboration can thrive? Or where it will wither on the vine?

Features 8 months ago
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How to survive 2020 as a new business owner

Being a business owner is now more stressful than ever, with the outbreak of COVID-19 seeing companies both big and small shaken and left to find new ways of working. For small businesses and new business owners especially, this is a particularly daunting time with cash flow and employment being some of the biggest worries to face over the coming months.

Features 8 months ago
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Reflecting on tech and the current COVID-19 landscape

Throughout history there have been several significant events which have led to mass deaths defining the course of civilisation. Among these are World Wars, plagues, pandemics, and epidemics including the black death, flu pandemic of 1889-1890 and more recently Swine flu, Ebola, and our present challenges with COVID-19. They are all examples of major historical outbreaks that have taken lives and steered the course for public health development, social and medical innovations some which still being used today. 

Features 8 months ago
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Scaling your business from startup to enterprise

Modern day advancements in technology and resources, as well as a much wider range of funding options, mean taking an idea from initial concept to startup has never been easier. One thing that you can’t create a shortcut for, however, is understanding the fundamentals of scaling a business - and getting it right. 

Features 8 months ago
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Team tips and cloud skills

This Startip provides a concise list of skills needed to migrate to the cloud or from one cloud provider to the next, so that you can fill the gaps in your team’s expertise. Startups have to have a cloud migration strategy or know how to build cloud-native products, and therefore need the skills to do so.

Features 8 months ago
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Eight things for startups to tackle right now

The UK government’s announcement of a £500m co-investment Future Fund to help startups navigate Covid-19 is a positive step. It recognises the innovation and job creation startups bring to the economy, while addressing their most pressing issues – cash and safeguarding talent.

Features 8 months ago
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How to speed up the enterprise sales cycle

COVID-19 is affecting every area of our lives. As well as the immense personal cost of this global health tragedy for so many, there are likely significant business implications for your customers as well.

Features 8 months ago
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The how – different collaboration models and when to deploy them

Once its motivations are clear (see part two of this series), an energy company looking to collaborate with a startup must establish how exactly it will do so.

Features 8 months ago
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Dealing with demand for digital services in the banking sector

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on businesses and the economy in the UK. Access to finance for business, as provided by banks and financial services institutions, is imperative in these trying times. Whether you’re a shopkeeper, sole trader or multi-national company, the chances are you need help right now, and getting access to that support is a top priority. 

Features 8 months ago
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"How will we adapt to the ‘new normal'?"

As we emerge blinking into the light post lockdown, what will the ‘new normal’ look like? The questions that I am overhearing have changed very recently, from those covering how to survive during lockdown, to those focused around how to get back to normal working? In truth, the questions vary from the theoretical to the practical, but in essence they all ask, ‘how will we adapt to the ‘new normal’?

Features 8 months ago
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Building a business in 2020

Depending on who you pay attention to, the current crisis is either a great time to be starting a business, or a pretty terrible one. There are growth opportunities out there, for sure, but there is also a huge amount of uncertainty with which to contend.

Features 8 months ago
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The four critical things within the organisations

Leadership is required more than ever in this COVID-19 world and according to Gallup and their extensive surveying of the US workforce, a very specific type of Leadership is required in times of crisis. 

Features 8 months ago
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It was the worst of times, it was the best of times

Covid has dominated our lives for the last month. Business models that have existed for years have disappeared overnight. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for startups. Covid has also created a huge opportunity for us to serve people in new and surprising ways. 

Features 8 months ago
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Is the UK’s startup ecosystem under threat?

It is certainly a testing time for the UK’s startup ecosystem. No sooner had small businesses put in place contingency plans to get them through Brexit, when a new, and bigger, challenge arose in the form of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

Features 8 months ago
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Advice for SMEs seeking financial support amid coronavirus pandemic

The process of obtaining a business loan can be challenging at the best of times. Normally, though, the loan is part of a larger restructuring or growth plan, whereas at present companies across the UK are requiring financial support just to survive.

Features 8 months ago
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Why startups must stay positive and think big to survive the coronavirus crisis

The world has been turned upside down and shaken vigorously. Businesses are now scrambling to pick up the pieces and regain a handle on how they can push ahead during these difficult, uncertain times.

Features 8 months ago
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How can technology help people overcome the COVID-19 pandemic?

There is no part of society that has been unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On 12th April, the UK sadly became the fifth country to record 10,000 deaths from the virus, with the Government expected to continue its tough lockdown measures for many weeks to come.

Features 9 months ago
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The eight ways to attain growth mindset

Growth mindset rests on the idea that essential things such as talent and achievements can be developed through hard work and practice. Also, the concept of growth mindset explores how passion and training can help a person develop skills that people don’t originally have.

Features 9 months ago
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From fired to founder

It may surprise some, but there are many similarities between the best attributes of an immigrant and a tech entrepreneur. We speak to Manoj Ganapathy about his journey from humble beginnings in his native India, to CEO of business travel and expense management system, SalesTrip.

Features 9 months ago
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Effects of the current pandemic on the insurtech industry

The current global situation has affected many different industries, businesses and individuals and it is safe to say we are only just getting into the real mix of it. A lot of people have been talking recently how this could change the world in some way forever. One area that is has affected in an interesting way in the insurance technology area. We decided to catch up with and ask a few questions to Christian Wiens, CEO and founder of Getsafe about the insurtech space, and the current situation for them. 

Features 9 months ago
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What will the next decade hold for female founders?

Prior to the UK-wide lock-down, Startups Magazine attended a London-based panel discussion, hosted by business advice and consultancy company Invigorate, to address some of the barriers, misconceptions and challenges facing female founders and what the future has in store over the next ten years.

Features 9 months ago
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Helping female founders to blossom

When we speak of gender equality, we like to think, in 2020, that we’ve come a long way from the patriarchal society of days gone by. Which is of course true, however, when it comes to business there are still battles to be won and barriers to break down.

Features 9 months ago
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The STEM journal for young minds aiding scientists of the future

Home learning? As governments worldwide announce school closures in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, it is important parents and teachers seek out and have access to fresh and pioneering new ways to keep young minds learning and stimulated in the months ahead.

Features 9 months ago
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Cocreation bridges the gap between startups and the public sector

There’s no shortage of fantastic startups in the UK but introducing their technologies and solutions into the public sector presents a challenge for both sides.

Features 9 months ago
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Is multi-cloud right for SMEs?

Cloud computing might be a relatively mature technology now, well-adopted by many types of SMEs, but changing your cloud strategy can still be daunting. Do the benefits of multi-cloud outweigh the costs? Is it worth the additional time spent managing multiple services, especially for a smaller business? I think that it is, and here’s why.

Features 10 months ago
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Startup success in 2020 and beyond

Jo White, Marketing Manager at customer relationship management software specialists Capsule, looks at the top sectors destined for startup success in 2020 and beyond. She explains how startups can leverage the latest technology to build lasting and meaningful personal relationships to deliver the excellence in customer experience needed to make it big.

Features 10 months ago
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How early corporate governance mistakes can become deal-killers

At the start of a company’s life, building a business is all-consuming, especially for founders going it alone. For those with an entrepreneurial background, juggling the quest for investment, continuous product or service development and a huge amount of administration is taxing.

Features 10 months ago
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We have reached a tipping point

To remain competitive, every company across every industry is now compelled to rethink its established ways of doing business. Change is set to continue, the ride is only going to get faster and the differences more fundamental. The risks of not adapting are now outweighing the risks of staying the same.

Features 10 months ago
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Five ways to accelerate (and manage) business growth

Many companies collapse after expanding too quickly and spending more than the new business brought in. The sales figures can be high, but the profit may not be there. Or, an unexpectedly large order may put extra pressure on employees – if they deliver a positive experience, a business can be propelled into the next stage of growth.

Features 10 months ago
Why do startups fail?
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Why do startups fail?

If you are considering beginning a new startup business, you will not be happy to hear that 90% of start-ups fail; according to the Startup Genome Project. However, if you understand the reasons why new companies fail to become successes, you can avoid falling into those pitfalls.

Features 10 months ago
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Workplace attitudes towards periods: is your startup period-savvy enough?

The stigma attached to periods manifests in many ways and in the workplace, it can often prove quite a difficult obstacle to overcome. In 2018, there were 15.3 million women aged over 16 in employment, with the total female employment rate being 71.4% — the highest ever figure since 1971, when records began.

Features 10 months ago
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Why startups need to think about political risks to their business – and how to do it

Many startups are born of a desire to fix a social or environmental issue that the founders believe has been poorly addressed. Many governments, councils and politicians believe the same, enacting policies to hopefully enable these solutions – either through public funding, tax breaks or regulatory requirements (to recycle or meet emissions targets, etc).

Features 10 months ago
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WESAF – A sustainable solution

The road to developing, catalysing and scaling a sustainable energy business is an eventful, long and can be a frustrating one. I know because I am travelling on that journey right now. For me it started four and half years ago when I purchased a 322 hectare site in Cameroon with a vision to establish it as a production park for biofuels.

Features 10 months ago
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Telling a good story
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Telling a good story

The third in our six part series of articles harnesses our Associate and Partner network and focusses on narrative and storytelling.  How you talk about yourself and your company is literally the front door key to everything else.

Features 10 months ago
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How can you make your business greener?

The issue of ‘why’ small businesses should be more environmentally-friendly is well-trodden ground – perhaps less so is ‘how’. There are, of course, a number of practical things that businesses can do to go greener. Here are my top tips for tackling the climate issue head on:

Features 11 months ago
The six most inspirational start-up business books for 2020
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The six most inspirational startup business books for 2020

The shortlist for the Business Book Awards 2020 has just been announced and we’ve cherry picked the titles that should be on every entrepreneur’s bookshelf. Here are the top six picks…

Features 11 months ago
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#1 Burnout

Mental health is a topical concern. It’s also sensitive, delicate and for entrepreneurs specifically it can be sore, often kept secret. At the end of 2019, while running my men’s mental health magazine MAN_AGE, I found I work the equivalent of four, maybe five jobs. 

Features 11 months ago
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What is innovation?
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Innovation Insights: What is innovation?

Virtually every startup thinks of itself as innovative, but are they really? Every day I help companies claim cash for innovative activities through the R&D tax credit scheme. Most of these companies are somewhat innovative, however, to be truly innovative is really tough. In this column, I want to explore what innovation means and how you might apply it to your business.

Features 11 months ago
8/26
"What Exactly Is SEIS and EIS Tax Relief?"
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"What Exactly Is SEIS and EIS Tax Relief?"

Some questions in life are more fundamental than others and some are more specific or technical, and so it is in the world of early stage businesses. But for the person asking the question, each carries the same weight, and each is of the same importance because at the time of asking it is that point that is not understood. 

Features 11 months ago
Joining accelerators
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What you need to know before joining an accelerator

I have always believed in the power of accelerators and, as a founder of my own startup, I experienced how beneficial they can be.

Features 11 months ago
7/26
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"Why do most businesses fail?"

For anyone starting a business there is that delicious and intoxicating mixture of excitement tinged with fear. That is partly the fear of the unknown but it is also very much the fear of failure. 

Features 11 months ago
How to fake experience when things go wrong
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How to fake experience when things go wrong

Whether it’s a member of your senior team getting poached, seeing your cash run out sooner than you were expecting, or facing a crisis situation, such as a data breach or privacy issue, startups will always face moments when the world seems to be conspiring against them.

Features 11 months ago
Should We Be Teaching the Next Generation of Kids how to Code?
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Should We Be Teaching the Next Generation of Kids how to Code?

The world constantly embraces new technologies - as does our education system. Since the changes in the UK curriculum in September 2014, kids as young as five have begun to embrace branches of education that seem completely alien to many adults.

Features 11 months ago
6/26
How Big Should I Aim to Grow My Business?
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"How Big Should I Aim to Grow My Business?"

When anyone is considering doing anything important and potentially life changing in their lives it always pays to think hard, do as much research and gather as much information as you can, and also to speak to as many people as possible. 

Features 11 months ago
Book 'Entrepreneurial Sales' a sales guide for success
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Book 'Entrepreneurial Sales' a sales guide for success

According to research by 123Reg.com, business savvy Britons are 10% more likely to start a new venture in January as part of their New Year’s resolutions, than any other time of year.

Features 11 months ago
Startups in the dark about how to attract new customers
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Startups in the dark about how to attract new customers

The majority (71%) of UK SMEs are either too busy or don't know how to attract new customers, according to research by business leadership organisation, Entrepreneurs Circle.

Features 11 months ago
70% of Millennials make a purchase after seeing branded content online
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70% of Millennials make a purchase after seeing branded content online

Nearly 70% of Millennials have advised they will make a purchase after seeing branded content online, according to new research by brand publishing specialists, Green Park Content.

Features 11 months ago
How SMEs can capitalise on sunnier economic outlook
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How SMEs can capitalise on sunnier economic outlook

If there was one word to summarise the last few years, it would be “uncertainty” – and studies suggested this was being felt by SMEs across the country.

 

Features 11 months ago
Why startups (sort of) don’t need PR agencies
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Why startups (sort of) don’t need PR agencies

Turkeys don’t have votes, and even if they did, they wouldn’t know what Christmas is. But it turns out PR people do have votes and we do know what Christmas is, so please, dear startup executive/founder/creator, don’t use our services.

Features 11 months ago
The best locations for startups in the UK, and why
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The best locations for startups in the UK, and why

Location, location, location. Sure, it matters if you’re picking where to buy a house with your partner, or where you want your children to go to school; but what if we told you it matters a lot for a startup business too?

Features 11 months ago
How Digital Nomads are Shaping the Way Millennials & Gen Z Work
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How Digital Nomads are Shaping the Way Millennials & Gen Z Work

Working a 9-5 may still be a norm for many, however, it’s been predicted that the number of digital nomads will reach one billion by the year 2035.  With this new tribe making waves in the world of work, Instant Offices looks into how they are changing the way Millennials and Generation Z think about their careers and travel.

Features 11 months ago
Considerations for Fast-Growing Companies
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Considerations for Fast-Growing Companies

The UK is fertile ground for the world’s fast-growth companies and our firm alone looks after three of the fastest-growing companies as listed in the Fast Track 100. 

Features 11 months ago
IP strategy for early-stage startups to increase growth
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IP strategy for early-stage startups to increase growth

It was recently announced that total venture capital (VC) funding for London’s tech companies rose by an unprecedented 87% last year to reach $9.7bn, over double that raised in Berlin and triple that raised in Paris. 

Features 11 months ago
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"How long will it take?"
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"How long will it take?"

Of all the questions that I overhear or am asked, the one with the most variants is without doubt ‘how long will it take? The simple reason that it has the most variants is because ‘it’ can apply to almost anything and everything in a startup or a business at any other stage. 

Features 11 months ago
A startup guide to entrepreneurial 'psyche and flow'
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A startup guide to entrepreneurial 'psyche and flow'

Co-founder of the MIT Innovation Lab and global thought leader, Dr Dave Richards, shares his a startup guide to 'entrepreneurial spirit'.

Features 11 months ago
Behavioural Economics Tips for UX Design
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Behavioural Economics Tips for UX Design

You would be familiar with user experience design, if you work in the tech industry, or you have a product which has an interface. In case you are unfamiliar with UX design, here is a quick explanation: a user experience design creates a meaningful and relevant digital experience for users.

Features 11 months ago
Gen Z Workforce Drives Tech Purchasing Decisions
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Gen Z Workforce Drives Tech Purchasing Decisions

Global Gen Z research from Nintex reveals how organisations can make the most of the tech skills and experience of digital natives.

Features 11 months ago
Ethical supply chains for startups
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Ethical supply chains for startups

In December, Tesco stopped producing Christmas cards at a Chinese factory after Florence Widdicombe, a six-year-old girl from London, opened a box of cards and found a message inside.

Features 11 months ago
How to be in the 10%, when 90% of startups fail
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How to be in the 10%, when 90% of startups fail

What determines success vs failure? Why do so many businesses fail while others thrive? It is widely reported 90% of all startups fail.

Features 11 months ago
4/26
"Who Should I Ask to Help Me?"
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"Who Should I Ask to Help Me?"

As a Mentor, one of the things that I am often asked about is how to find reliable partners, and indeed who those partners should be. I recently overheard that very point when a lady was asking “who should I ask to help me and what exactly are the best roles for them to play?”

Features 11 months ago
​​​​​​​Whisking up innovation to create a show-stopping startup
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​​​​​​​Whisking up innovation to create a show-stopping startup

If we can learn anything from Great British Bake Off, it’s that nobody wants a soggy bottom. A half-baked idea must stay in the oven for an adequate time to rise to its full potential. The same thinking can be applied to the start of a new business or venture.

Features 1 year ago
3/26
"How Much Should I Research The Market?"
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"How Much Should I Research The Market?"

One of the very common themes that I come across with entrepreneurs and founders is that they are generally over confident. About everything! That goes from the valuation of their business to how quick and easy it will be to raise funding.

Features 1 year ago
8 tips on setting the right price for your tech service
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8 tips on setting the right price for your tech service

It's a funny thing, more often than not, I see companies seeking and getting investment that have a great idea, huge opportunity and a really interesting business plan.

Features 1 year ago
2/26
"But isn’t setting up a company difficult?"
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"But isn’t setting up a company difficult?"

There are many reasons why living in the UK makes life so much easier than living in most other countries. This is in our personal lives and wellbeing but also in our working lives, especially as an entrepreneur.

Features 1 year ago
A read for all the entrepreneurial zeitgeists
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A read for the entrepreneurial zeitgeists

Start-Ups, Pivots and Pop-Ups: How to Succeed by Creating Your Own Business, written by two established entrepreneurs, Richard Hall and Rachel Bell, discusses the key disruptors of the “Start Up Revolution”.

Features 1 year ago
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"Where do I start?"
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"Where do I start?"

Over the years that I have been working with startups and early-stage businesses I have overheard many different things.  The majority of these follow the normal concerns of any entrepreneur that is entering into uncharted waters for themselves but there have also been some comments that I have overheard that have been unique to the individual’s concerns or the setting in which it was said.

Features 1 year ago
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Getting a digital makeover for 2020
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Getting a digital makeover for 2020

Happy New Year! As the newest (currently) columnist at Startups Magazine, I’m here to solve all your digital and marketing problems. Well. Not quite. 

Features 1 year ago
Investing in legal advice as a startup
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Investing in legal advice as a startup

The value of investing in legal advice for your business cannot be underestimated. By receiving proper legal advice early on in the business life cycle, even when you’re a startup, you could potentially make costs savings and allow your business to operate more efficiently.

Features 1 year ago
16/16
Week 17: Et Deinceps Sursum
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Week 17: Et Deinceps Sursum

Last week was of course the last real working week of the year, but whilst many will have found opportunities to celebrate in one way or another it does not mean that most will not still have been working hard.

Features 1 year ago
Our six featured startups of 2019
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Our six featured startups of 2019

Looking back and celebrating the six featured technology startups from each bi-monthly issue of Startups Magazine in 2019.

Features 1 year ago
Ten time management strategies to beat ‘overwhelm’ 
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Ten time management strategies to beat ‘overwhelm’ 

Streamline your day with these time management strategies to beat ‘overwhelm’. Here are ten tips to master time management to spend more time working on your business, and less time fighting against an inbox avalanche.

Features 1 year ago
Celebrating cultural differences with Culture Trip
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Celebrating cultural differences with Culture Trip

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find the process of booking a holiday or city break totally mind-boggling and confusing. While technology has doubtless made the practical process far easier than years gone by, we now have a myriad of choice which I find bamboozling.

Features 1 year ago
Shaping the future of tech responsibly
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Shaping the future of tech responsibly

Catherine Ainsworth, member of the Dot Project spoke at Fireside Summit 2019 to share the organisation's work within the social sector influencing how approaches to technology can become more responsible. 

Features 1 year ago
Week 16: Planning for the year ahead
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Week 16: Planning for the year ahead

The middle of December is a strange time of year for all. Some are already starting to slow down and getting into the full swing of the season’s festivities, whilst others are rushing around even more manically than normal in an attempt to finalise matters before things shut down properly.

Features 1 year ago
The power of collaboration when quitting corporate for startup
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The power of collaboration when quitting corporate for startup

Many of us dream of leaving the corporate world behind and flying solo but there’s always the fear, will it work?

Features 1 year ago
15/16
Week 15: Entrepreneurial Inspiration
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Week 15: Entrepreneurial Inspiration

Different things drive different people in different ways. That is because each of us wants something different from our lives and we are prepared to make different levels of commitment to achieve what we want to achieve and strike that critical personal balance.

Features 1 year ago
Is it time to strengthen your Emotional intelligence?
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Is it time to strengthen your Emotional intelligence?

Do we value emotional intelligence - EQ - more than ever? Maybe value isn’t the right word (have you ever been hired following an EQ test? I’d love to hear about it), but we do recognise its importance in our lives.

Features 1 year ago
Five Steps to Finding the Perfect Office Space
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Five Steps to Finding the Perfect Office Space

A perfect office space makes for productive and happy employees. But given the evolution of the modern workplace, what’s “perfect” now varies by company. When choosing a new office space with your commercial real estate company, consider what your business and your employees need to succeed.

Features 1 year ago
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Week 14: Help required!
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Week 14: Help required!

I am sure that each and every one of us would accept that we cannot be good at everything that we do, or that we do not have time to do everything ourselves. And actually, I would suggest that it is in fact both. 

Features 1 year ago
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Week 13: Hurdles and blinkers
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Week 13: Hurdles and blinkers

In each of our lives, some weeks are more predictable than others. Some people are a little afraid of change and facing new, unexpected challenges, whilst others face the world with a ‘can do’ approach and even relish unpredictability and the need for flexible thinking and action to jump over the hurdles put in our way. And just like the best race horses, this keeps us fit and agile.

Features 1 year ago
From nothing to something: How to build a business
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From nothing to something: How to build a business

Everyone has an idea about how they can create the next big thing, but how do you make that idea turn into a reality? Freelance platform UnderPinned teamed up with Startups Magazine to share knowledge about how to take a business from the idea stage to taking the first steps.

Features 1 year ago
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Tech Trove: Eye-Catching Startups Putting Themselves on the Map
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Tech Trove: Eye-Catching Startups Putting Themselves on the Map

This round-up’s inaugural theme looks at startups that help users incorporate sustainability and sustainable development into everyday living. These companies stand out for how they ask for a nearly imperceptible lifestyle change while providing impressive solutions. These are some startups we stan:

Features 1 year ago
Mentors reveal their top tips for SMEs
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Mentors reveal their top tips for SMEs

Behind every successful leader, is a great mentor. Andy Hall - mentoring relationship specialist at GC Business Growth Hub - gives a taster of insights mentors offer to SMEs seeking mentoring support.

Features 1 year ago
12/16
Week 12: The connection hierarchy
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Week 12: The connection hierarchy

Over the last two weeks I have written special articles on ‘Business Plans and Pitch Decks’ and on ‘The Art of Fundraising’ but this week I return to writing 'The Mentor’s Journal'.

Features 1 year ago
​​​​​​​The Art of Fundraising
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​​​​​​​The Art of Fundraising

As a mentor I get involved in a huge cross section of businesses in different sectors and at different stages of their development. As a result I have been involved in many hundreds of meetings about almost every aspect of setting up and running a business, but it would be true to say that raising money is the most common conversation of all.

Features 1 year ago
The Real Purpose of Marketing
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The Real Purpose of Marketing

There are seemingly hundreds of interpretations of marketing. Most have appeared only within the last decade, driven by the onset of digital marketing and its ever-sprawling complexity and fragmentation.

Features 1 year ago
Business Plans vs. Pitch Decks
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Business Plans vs. Pitch Decks

As readers of either my Mentor’s Perspective or Mentor’s Journal series will know, one of the most common themes that I come across is that of fundraising in all its guises. 

Features 1 year ago
11/16
Week 11: Is your business fit for purpose?
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Week 11: Is your business fit for purpose?

Most of us would associate the phrase ‘fit for purpose’ with a product or service that we have seen or used, but that we do not think actually does what it is meant to do.

Features 1 year ago
Something about R&D tax credits isn't adding up
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Something about R&D tax credits isn't adding up

When it comes to R&D Tax credits, a tax incentive designed to encourage companies to invest in R&D, businesses claim some of these credits back as a part of their R&D expenditure, which can be a process that turns into a bit of a nightmare.

Features 1 year ago
10/16
Week 10: Taking centre stage
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Week 10: Taking centre stage

This was one of those weeks that saw me meeting with business from every possible stage of growth from ‘enter stage left’ to being a massive player that is looking for interesting new arrivals.

Features 1 year ago
Why SaaS startups should care about churn
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Why SaaS startups should care about churn

Churn can take many forms - the dreaded email that's never returned, or worse, the pre-emptive "we are dropping your service" note. But fear not, there are ways to respond to and work with churn which will help you scale and grow.

Features 1 year ago
What Makes Great Products Great?
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What Makes Great Products Great?

How many times have you heard this, “I have this great idea for a new product or service”. And how many times have you seen this person with the “great idea” actually do something? Well, this article will help you understand if the idea is a million-dollar idea or not. 

Features 1 year ago
Week 9: From little acorns mighty oaks grow
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Week 9: From little acorns mighty oaks grow

The old saying that ‘from little acorns mighty oaks grow’ came about to show that sometimes something very large can grow from something very small.

Features 1 year ago
Six Steps to E-commerce Startup Success
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Six Steps to E-commerce Startup Success

It is one of the biggest challenges for any small e-commerce startup. How do they find an operating model that supports dynamic growth.

Features 1 year ago
The Seniority Problem With SDRs and outreach in startups
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The Seniority Problem With SDRs and outreach in startups

The typical anatomy of a sales team in a modern tech company is that of Sales Development Representative (SDR) as the front line sales person. The 'warmed-up' lead then gets handed over to a more senior AE (Account Executive) to close.

Features 1 year ago
5/6
The perfect storm for robotics and AI
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The perfect storm for robotics and AI

Global compound growth rates of robotics, automation and AI companies are expected to grow by more than 40% per year, with revenue generated by these companies reaching $237bn by 2022 according to some estimates and $498bn by 2025 according to others.

Features 1 year ago
9/16
Week 8: Why businesses are reinventing themselves
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Week 8: Why businesses are reinventing themselves

When I think about all of my conversations and meetings last week there was a very common thread tying them all together, and that was of people or businesses reinventing themselves.

Features 1 year ago
Climate Crises and Building a Sustainable Digital Industry
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Climate Crises and Building a Sustainable Digital Industry

As highlighted by last Friday’s global Climate Strike, the world is increasingly aware that we stand on the edge of an imminent climate and ecological crisis. It was heartening to see that, around the world, so many people took to the streets to call on government and business to make serious changes.

Features 1 year ago
4/6
The rise of the digital bank
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The rise of the digital bank

Few industries have felt the impact of technological disruption more than the banking sector. Over the last few years several new kids on the block have emerged to take their seat at the top table and muscle in on the activities of the high street giants by specialising in areas that are being underserved.

Features 1 year ago
How to avoid dipping sales throughout the seasons
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How to avoid dipping sales throughout the seasons

The business industry is constantly changing, so it’s imperative to stay at the top if your game in order to keep profits increasing. With businesses always competing for customers, it can be difficult to break through the noise and become a successful and established brand while continuing to grow.

Features 1 year ago
8/16
Week 7: The Next Steps
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Week 7: The Next Steps

Just as last week’s Mentor’s Journal led me neatly into my article, 'The Power of Networking', so this week started off very much in the same vein with all my early meetings either coming from existing relationships in my network, or me utilising my network to join some dots together. 

Features 1 year ago
Startups breaking away from the 'boom-or-bust' cycle
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Startups breaking away from the 'boom-or-bust' cycle

New data from SeedLegals, the UK’s largest legal platform for startups, has revealed a rise in the frequency of smaller funding rounds for UK startups, with a tech-enabled model of ‘agile funding’ enabling companies to raise money on-demand.

Features 1 year ago
The Power of Networking
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The Power of Networking

Welcome to the first of a periodic series of articles that will take a more in depth look at some of the topics that make frequent appearances in my Mentor’s Journal series.

Features 1 year ago
3/6
September's Handpicked: Five startups raising on Crowdcube
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September's Handpicked: Five startups raising on Crowdcube

As part of this weekly series 'Funding the Wonderful' in partnership with Crowdcube, every month we will showcase a handpicked selection of five startups which are raising on the Crowdcube platform.

Features 1 year ago
Driving innovation in the construction sector
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Driving innovation in the construction sector

FK Group, one of the UK’s leading full building envelope specialists, has launched FK Accelerate in partnership with L Marks as part of its commitment to driving innovation in the construction sector.

Features 1 year ago
Seedrs Alumni Awards
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Seedrs Alumni Awards: Celebrating startup success

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.

Features 1 year ago
7/16
Week 6: On Fast Forward
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Week 6: On Fast Forward

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. 

Features 1 year ago
Bringing together innovators at the Malvern Festival of Innovation
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Bringing together innovators at the Malvern Festival of Innovation

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.

Features 1 year ago
6/16
Week 5: An Unusual Mix
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Week 5: An Unusual Mix

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.

Features 1 year ago
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Three startups which raised £1m in one hour
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Three startups which raised £1m in one hour

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.

Features 1 year ago
Same, but different: Scaling your PR from the UK to US
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Same, but different: Scaling your PR from the UK to US

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. 

Features 1 year ago
Africa: a new frontier for startups
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Africa: a new frontier for startups

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.

Features 1 year ago
Calmer Community nurtures mental health of entrepreneurs
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Calmer Community nurtures mental health of entrepreneurs

Calmer launches the digital Calmer Community platform for busy professionals and joins forces with Startups Magazine as Mental Health & Wellbeing Partner.

Features 1 year ago
5/16
Week 4: When 2+2=5
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Week 4: When 2+2=5

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.

Features 1 year ago
Dispelling the myths of university knowledge transfer
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Dispelling the myths of university knowledge transfer

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.

Features 1 year ago
PR and marketing investment for startups: the when, what and why
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PR and marketing investment for startups: the when, what and why

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.

Features 1 year ago
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Through The Looking Glass
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Through The Looking Glass

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.

Features 1 year ago
Google for Startups showcases female founders
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Google for Startups showcases female founders

Google for Startups has announced the latest instalment in its commitment to female entrepreneurs with its first Female Founders Residency programme.

Features 1 year ago
4/16
Week 3: Law and Good Order
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Week 3: Law and Good Order

This week I met with Deputy Chief Constable Jo Shiner at Sussex Police to talk about all the many ways that businesses of any size can work together with the police for the benefit of the company and the community as a whole.

Features 1 year ago
3/16
Week 2: Never too soon to 'go international'
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Week 2: Never too soon to 'go international'

This week, almost to underline my comments in the first of this series about not knowing what each week will bring, was almost entirely different to last week. Last week was full of face to face meetings and there was no particular thread to my week, other than of course the fact that it revolved very heavily around early stage businesses.

Features 1 year ago
How to find your ideal business mentor
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How to find your ideal business mentor

Mentoring is something that everyone will come across in their life, most probably because they need some help and guidance, but also from the mentor side, because they want to help others and both parties always benefit.

Features 1 year ago
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Bringing the wonderful to life
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Bringing the wonderful to life

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.

Features 1 year ago
The Revolut Story: Lessons Learnt from a Unicorn
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The Revolut Story: Lessons Learnt from a Unicorn

The story of Nikolay Stronsky, Founder and CEO, Revolut is a pretty incredible one, in just four years he has seen a rapid amount of success, with the company now being worth $1.7bn. So how did he do it?

Features 1 year ago
2/16
Week 1: A Sounding Board
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Week 1: A Sounding Board

Welcome to the first in the new series of ‘The Mentor’s Journal’ which will look at some of my activities from the preceding week, with a view to turning the theory outlined in my ‘Views of a Mentor’ series into real, everyday situations. 

Features 1 year ago
Ready, Aim Before You Startup
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Ready, Aim Before You Startup

Every day we read about amazing startup successes. We hear about these brilliant 'unicorns'. What we rarely hear about is the many more startups that fizzle and die. The sad truth is, most startups fail. Taking the leap to start a new venture is a tremendous risk.

Features 1 year ago
How healthtech startups can break into the NHS
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How healthtech startups can break into the NHS

Ruth Hallett, a consultant with over 20 years of project and programme management delivery experience for both commercial and public sector clients, demystifies the NHS for healthtech startups.

Features 1 year ago
5/5
AI within the taskforce: Worrying or enhancing?
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AI within the taskforce: Worrying or enhancing?

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.

Features 1 year ago
4/5
Power to the people: A modern work culture
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Power to the people: A modern work culture

The focus on company culture and brand values has become a top-tier priority in the modern workplace, as businesses start to realise the only way to persist isn’t to only keep up with changes in the market, but to keep up with changes in work culture and values.

Features 1 year ago
3/5
Shaping the future with 'Tech for Good'
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Shaping the future with 'Tech for Good'

Unbound Festival this year saw an influx of tech for good innovation, propelling the industry towards a bright and influential future. Spearheading the mainstream market today is a boom in self-care apps from mindfulness to sleep assistance, while location-based apps designed to tackle physical inactivity are making scenic walking as easy to find as getting an Uber is to order.

Features 1 year ago
2/5
See startups as a community, not competition to thrive
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See startups as a community, not competition to thrive

The world of business has changed, from the heyday of household corporations like Ford in the 90s, to the rapid rise of tech-applied products and services born over the last three decades.

Features 1 year ago
Four mistakes startups make when going global
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Four mistakes startups make when going global

Startups have a lot to think about, especially when it comes to going global. There are many important aspects to think of when growing a company. Here are four common mistakes startups often make when going global.

Features 1 year ago
Navigating the tricky waters of PR
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Navigating the tricky waters of PR

The relentless pace of modern day brand communications and marketing means the fight is on for startups to win the appeal of consumers and keep their interest. But when it comes to PR, not all coverage is created equally. It’s hard to know where to start.

Features 1 year ago
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The Mentor's Journal
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The Mentor's Journal

Following on from the nine articles in the ‘A Mentor’s Perspective’ series that I wrote recently that looked at some of the main points that any startup or early stage business should consider, I will now be writing a brief weekly article in a new series – A Mentor’s Journal. 

Features 1 year ago
When is it time to patent your technology?
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When is it time to patent your technology?

Startups working to solve consumer problems sometimes create technology that has the potential to become an industry standard. This may be a de-facto standard, an industry standard approved by a formal standards setting body, or something mandated by law.

Features 1 year ago
Advancing people and the planet at x+why
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Advancing people and the planet at x+why

x+why understands that not every business wants to be overshadowed by a behemoth co-working brand. For those businesses that are looking for a co-working space beyond the norm, and for somewhere more than just a place to sit, x+why welcomes you to its new co-working space in Whitechapel.

Features 1 year ago
1/5
Building innovation ecosystems: Unbound London 2019
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Building innovation ecosystems: Unbound London 2019

Society is currently being shaped by innovation in the tech industries, and once a year thousands gather to network, share and exchange insight in London to shed light on the future of tech, and our place within it.

Features 1 year ago
Top tips to jump start your business plan
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Top tips to jump start your business plan

It doesn’t matter whether a business is for enterprise or not for profit - to create a successful business, you need more than just an idea. You need to identify a problem/need to create an attractive market. It’s much easier to start a business if you have a unique product/solution, and a scalable, profitable model.

Features 1 year ago
5 key considerations when designing an app
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5 key considerations when designing an app

We’re living in a time of incredibly rapid change, where mobile phones are dominating consumer experiences and new technology is constantly being harnessed, turning traditional startup business models on their heads.

Features 1 year ago
Hangar 51 accelerator to help startups fly
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Hangar 51 accelerator to help startups fly

International Airlines Group (IAG) has launched its latest Hangar 51 global innovation programme in collaboration with Iberia, Vueling and IAG Cargo. The initiative will be based in Spain for the second time after the huge success of its previous Spanish programme in 2017.

Features 1 year ago
How do we make cities smarter through transportation?
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How do we make cities smarter through transportation?

As more cities become smarter, and technology grows, what do we need to do to keep with the needs of these smart cities, but also make them sustainable?

Features 1 year ago
Positioning with a purpose
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Positioning with a purpose

Why building meaningful values into your brand leads to the culture you want

Creating and sustaining culture can feel a little bit like a chicken and egg situation in a startup. You need to define your culture early on in order to attract the right employees, but culture itself is largely driven by people, so until you have the people in place, how can your culture be expected to flourish?

Features 1 year ago
Protecting digital assets in a volatile market
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Protecting digital assets in a volatile market

If you’re in the startup space, it is very likely you will have heard the term ‘ICO (Initial Coin Offering)’ thrown around a fair few times, and perhaps even heard it described as an attractive alternative to traditional types of fundraising.

Features 1 year ago
Parisian coliving space captures joie de vivre
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Parisian coliving space captures joie de vivre

A new coliving space for Paris’ entrepreneurs, freelancers and startups has recently opened near to the famous STATION F coworking campus in the centre of the city. The Flatmates space will consist of three coliving towers and can house 600 residents.

Features 1 year ago
Grassroots investment crucial for UK to grow tech Unicorns
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Grassroots investment crucial for UK to grow tech Unicorns

According to the British Chamber of Commerce, recent figures have shown that the UK economy is predicted to grow at a lot slower rate than expected in 2020 and 2021, and one big reasoning behind this is Brexit and the possibility of a no-deal result.

Features 1 year ago
Showcase your invention at Advanced Engineering 2019
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Showcase your invention at Advanced Engineering 2019

Advanced Engineering is on the lookout for startups to showcase their inventions as part of its Enabling Innovation zone.

Features 1 year ago
A shop window for the sporting talent of tomorrow
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A shop window for the sporting talent of tomorrow

It’s not what you know it’s who you know… The right place at the right time… These are both recognisable phrases that both serve to highlight the element of chance that can sometimes be associated with success. And nowhere is this better highlighted than in the world of sport.

Features 1 year ago
Scotland is fast becoming an entrepreneurial melting pot
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Scotland is fast becoming an entrepreneurial melting pot

The Victoria Embankment in central London might not be the obvious place to find out more about Scotland’s vibrant startup scene. However, representatives from the country’s board of trade, business incubators, educators, R&D partnerships and innovation centres headed south for London Tech Week, and Scotland House, where they spent the evening showcasing the business opportunities north of the border, creativity, the potential of data science and the country’s talent.

Features 1 year ago
Feedr: Defining your culture blueprint to hyper-charge growth
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Feedr: Defining your culture blueprint to hyper-charge growth

For founders looking to start a business it is imperative to get the culture right - as getting it wrong can lead to bad investor, customer and employee experience. At Women of Silicon Roundabout 'Founder Focus' workshop track, CEO and co-Founder of London-based foodtech startup Feedr, Riya Grover delivered a thought-provoking workshop titled 'Defining your culture blueprint to hyper-charge growth', and explained why it is so important to get it right from the start.

Features 1 year ago
Entrepreneurs vs. Intrapreneurs: A growth mindset
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Entrepreneurs vs. Intrapreneurs: A growth mindset

Startups Magazine attended the Women of Silicon Roundabout 2019 (25-16th June) workshop 'Getting an innovative mindset: why the world needs more entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs', and here's what we thought.

Features 1 year ago
Are startups the game of Millennials?
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Are startups the game of Millennials?

At the LeadersIn Tech Summit during London Tech Week 2019, a roundtable was held discussing the benefits and drawbacks of partnerships between corporates and startups. At the table, Anna Jones from FieldHouse Associates, Ryan Haynes from Ryan Haynes Marketing, Ben Rudman the CEO of MMT Digital, and Denise Glee from MagnaCarta Communications, lent their personal expertise to the debate.

Features 1 year ago
A little more conversation
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A little more conversation

Stress is something that can affect everyone and anyone, at any point in your life. Admittedly some things are more likely to bring about stress, for example, creating your own business and trying to get it off the ground.

Features 1 year ago
Will the real entrepreneur please stand up?
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Will the real entrepreneur please stand up?

Common sense suggests that an entrepreneur is the lynch-pin of a startup. At the recent TLA Investor Showcase 2.0 event, for example, investors repeatedly talked about the entrepreneur as being synonymous with startup and scale-up; the person they look to invest in. But are they right?

Features 1 year ago
3/3
Tailor-made: devising an IP strategy for your business
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Tailor-made: devising an IP strategy for your business

Dr Christopher Hartland, patent attorney at leading European IP firm, Potter Clarkson, gives a step-by-step guide to managing your business’ ideas and innovations.

Features 1 year ago
2/3
Why does my business need intellectual property protection?
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Why does my business need intellectual property protection?

In this article, Dr Christopher Hartland, patent attorney at leading European IP firm, Potter Clarkson, explains how robust intellectual property protection can be a valuable asset in its own right.

Features 1 year ago
1/3
What is intellectual property protection?
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What is intellectual property protection?

Dr Christopher Hartland at leading European IP firm, Potter Clarkson explains how businesses can protect their most valuable assets – their intellectual property.

Features 1 year ago
Disrupt or be disrupted
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Disrupt or be disrupted

Disrupt of be disrupted, that's the challenge of innovation in a changing digital landscape. Digital transformation is crucial for business success, but how can you move from talking about innovation to putting it into action?

Features 1 year ago
9/9
Growing from a startup to a scale-up
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Growing from a startup to a scale-up

In this article - the last in this series - I am going to look at scaling your business and the fact that growth is often the hardest part of the startup journey.

Features 1 year ago
The ninja approach to startup succeess
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The ninja approach to startup succeess

“At the heart of what people, companies and everyone does is innovation. Innovation is our focus.” This was the opening line from Gary Shapiro, CEO of CES at last year's unbound innovation festival in London.

Features 1 year ago
Tech x Tech = Startup Growth
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Tech x Tech = Startup Growth

The next generation of aspiring startups are hoping their technology will change the world. But what about the technology that is changing startups? I’ve spent the last few years working with some of Europe’s biggest startup success stories, helping them put in place the right business platforms to support rapid growth.

Features 1 year ago
A concrete idea: a wireless speaker entirely cast in concrete
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A concrete idea: a wireless speaker entirely cast in concrete

Startups Magazine first clapped eyes on Le Pavé Parisien at CES 2019 within the French Pavilion in the Eureka Park and was instantly intrigued to see the world's only high-end speaker cast entirely in concrete.

Features 1 year ago
A hunt for the most renegade idea in the universe
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A hunt for the most renegade idea

As a startup, what would be your Golden Ticket to propel you towards success? Workspace expenses covered? Invaluable mentoring and guidance?

Features 1 year ago
8/9
What to consider with international sales and exporting
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What to consider with international sales and exporting

Having written your business plan, identified your existing and potential market and your target clients, and decided how best to market and sell your product, you should now of course actually be making sales. But how open has you mind been whilst undergoing this process, and how limited are your ambitions? Many smaller companies, whether startups or more mature, have a tendency to only look at selling to the home market of the UK rather than broadening their horizons and selling internationally. 

Features 1 year ago
AO Innovation Lab calls for digital disruptors
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AO Innovation Lab calls for digital disruptors

AO, the online electricals store, and L Marks, leading advisor in applied innovation and experienced investor in early-stage technologies, have partnered in a global search 'for the next digital disruptors who will make online shopping easier and faster for its customers'.

Features 1 year ago
The next nation to be at the centre of startup innovation
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The next nation to be at the centre of startup innovation

When one thinks of countries with a focus on innovation, the true global leaders - USA, the U.K., Canada and Israel – traditionally lead the way based on the strength of their startup ecosystems. Not surprisingly, the next country to gain a foothold is Australia followed by no fewer than a dozen of the top industrialised nations in Western Europe.

Features 1 year ago
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Understanding your market
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Understanding your market

Last week’s article focussed on Business Plans; what should be in them and why you should write one. One of the key pieces of information required is of course sales figures, both actual numbers for historic sales and those forecast for the future. It is also very important to include the assumptions and how you market your goods in order to achieve those sales. It is those subjects that I am going to focus on this time.

Features 1 year ago
6/9
Business planning with the Business Model Canvas
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Business planning with the Business Model Canvas

Over the last five articles I have tried to set the scene in terms of outlining what help is available to early stage businesses, and certain aspects of finance, including a valuable but often overlooked tax refund. In this article and the next I wanted to focus on two fundamental issues that will determine how your business develops and how you grow sales.

Features 1 year ago
The IoT Entrepreneur
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The IoT Entrepreneur

The Internet of Things is an exciting and expanding market. It’s one that many large organisations are already actively involved in, with competition mounting rapidly as a result; but it’s also a market ripe for innovation, with countless unexplored opportunities – across all industries – almost too compelling for an ambitious entrepreneur to ignore.

Features 1 year ago
The Launchpad Awards
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The Launchpad Awards

Subcon is introducing the Launchpad & Launchpad Awards to this year’s event. The Launchpad aims to propel startups and entrepreneurs by giving them a platform to share their innovations with thousands of engineering and manufacturing professionals with the power to influence and guide them to future success.

Features 1 year ago
South-By-Southwest celebrate startups with innovation awards
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South-By-Southwest celebrate startups with innovation awards

South-By-Southwest is an annual assemblage of conferences and festivals that takes place in Austin, Texas in early March to celebrate the convergence of film, music, interactive and other industries. Created to foster both professional and personal growth across multiple levels, the ten-day event prides itself on truly being all things to all people.

Features 1 year ago
Ground Control to Major Tom
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Ground Control to Major Tom

The audience at the Dublin Tech Show 2019 fell silent and slipped into awe as it listened to the man who broke into Mir using a Swiss Army Knife, flew into Earth orbit three times, was Commander of the International Space Station (ISS), has spent 166 days in space and was the first Canadian astronaut to walk in space: NASA Colonel, Chris Hadfield.

Features 1 year ago
Fireside Chat: How to succeed with a startup
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Fireside Chat: How to succeed with a startup

Moderated by Graham Hussey, Co-Founder of The Startup Van, this panel at the Dublin Tech Show 2019 (DTS) made up of celebrity companies in the startup arena, Expon Capital, 500 startups, Valor Ventures and Techstars, broadly discussed the ways in which a startup can succeed. 

Features 1 year ago
Let's stop glorifying failure - Willie Morris
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Let's stop glorifying failure

On the ScaleX stage at DTS 2019 (Dublin Tech Summit) Willie Morris got real in his talk about startup failure.

Features 1 year ago
Behavioural economics
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Behavioural economics

Behavioural economics is the combination of human psychology, decision science, and economics. It is an innovative and scientific approach to understanding how humans make decisions.

Features 1 year ago
5/5
Engineering vs. Technology
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Engineering vs. Technology

If you are an engineering startup and proud raise your hand! It is nearly a year since the first issue of Startups Magazine, and if it has opened my eyes up to one thing, it is that there are a lot of you startups out there – which is a great thing!

Features 1 year ago
2/5
The Year of the Engineer
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The Year of the Engineer

2018 was 'the year of engineering', and arguably a year that allowed more women to make even more of a breakthrough in the industry.

Features 1 year ago
The business of engineering: startups on startups
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The business of engineering: startups on startups

Successful tech entrepreneurs share the lessons learned from starting a new business.

Features 1 year ago
2/9
Choosing a Mentor
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Choosing a Mentor

In the first of this series of articles we looked at the fact that there was actually quite a lot of help available to you when you set up your own business, and specifically we started to look at entrepreneur accelerators and the roles that Mentors play within that overall service. This time I wanted to take that further and start to explore the actual role a Mentor plays, how best to choose one, and then how best to maximise that relationship.

Features 1 year ago
Indiegogo and Bose
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Indiegogo at CES 2019: A fireside chat with Bose

Brian Mulcahey, Category Director, Wellness at Bose Corporation, discusses the company's
breakthrough into wellness tech at 'Indiegogo Enterprise: A Fireside Chat with Bose.'

Features 1 year ago
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A Mentor's Perspective
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A Mentor’s Perspective

In this, the first of an occasional series, I will be passing on my thoughts and observations in my capacity as a Mentor and how accepting the help that is available to startup business can help transform them.

Features 1 year ago
Highlights at CES 2019
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Eureka! The highlights at CES 2019

The French pavilion has dominated the Eureka Park at CES, and 2019 was no exception with the country represented by no less than 414 startups. However this year's CES saw Britain step up to the plate alongside its global counterparts, bringing along over 100 UK companies.

Features 1 year ago
Qoitech
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Startup fully charged

We all know the feeling of buying the latest gadget, boasting two years of battery life, only to see it breaking down before the first year is up. 

Features 1 year ago
Don't Believe The Hype
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Don't believe the hype

Virginie Berger, previously employed at Microsoft and MySpace, knows the music tech industry better than most.

Features 1 year ago
unbound London
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Scouting for startups

Camille Venot, Innovation Manager for Unbound, helps startups bloom from London to Miami, Singapore and Bahrain.

Features 1 year ago

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