A business partnership can be one of the most rewarding ways to build something lasting and tangible by pooling skills, sharing risk, and aligning ambitions. Partnerships, however, are not without risk.

Sitting in a smoky Moroccan casino at 4am, pregnant and staring down a room of 200 men, I wasn’t just playing poker, I was proving I belonged. Every decision mattered. Every calculated risk, every moment of restraint, every read on my opponents determined whether I’d walk away victorious. That night, I won my first major tournament, and it hit me, poker isn’t just a game, it’s a crash course in business, leadership, and high-pressure decision-making.

Launching a startup is a thrilling endeavour – it’s the dream of building something from nothing, fueled by passion, grit, and ingenuity. But amidst the hustle of product development, pitching, and building a brand, many founders overlook one of the most critical elements to long-term success: legal infrastructure.

For most Amazon sellers, customer insight is more limited than they’d like. Data is scarce, direct interaction is not an option, and product decisions are often based on trial and error. But a startup called ProductPinion, co-founded by e-commerce entrepreneur Andri Sadlak, is working to change that by bringing real user feedback into product development and Amazon listing optimisation.

Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it emerges in ecosystems where talent and exploration are nurtured and celebrated. This is why startup founders and investors should be paying attention to policy changes in global academic research.

In the evolving landscape of health tech, a paradigm shift is underway. We're moving from isolated product development to the creation of comprehensive systems that prioritise longevity, mental health, and overall well-being. This transition is not just a trend but a necessary evolution to address the complex challenges of modern healthcare.

AI is rapidly reshaping how people discover and evaluate companies online, fundamentally altering the rules for what makes a website succeed. To stand out in this new era, organisations must begin to gear their strategy toward the AI models that will recognise and recommend them.

When most people think of running a PR agency, they think glamour, events, champagne, and paparazzi. But the truth is, that couldn't be further from the everyday reality of what actually happens.

With a background in building and selling major payments businesses, Justin Pike is no stranger to transforming how money moves. Now, as CEO and Founder of Burbank, he’s leading a new venture from Wales that aims to bring familiar, in-store card-present security to the online checkout process. It’s called Card Present over Internet, and it could just change the balance of power in digital commerce – reducing fraud, restoring trust, and even lowering costs for merchants.

It’s adaptive, data fuelled, and capable of transforming in real time, shifting voice, visuals, and value propositions based on who’s watching, where, and why. For startups and established companies alike, this shift offers both clarity and a challenge to core identity.

Here is the truth that most founders will not say out loud. You did not start your business to stay stuck in survival mode. You started it because you saw a better way. Because you had a vision. Because you wanted more on your terms.

Laura Kankaala, Head of Threat Intelligence at F-Secure, explains why everyone from government to service providers, schools to consumers has a role to play in online safety.

Gen Z, the digital natives driving a surge in startups, often prioritise innovation and marketing. However, financial literacy is a crucial, often overlooked element for sustainable success.

Across global innovation hubs – from the UK and US to key markets in APAC – university spinouts are capturing investor attention like never before. These research-rooted ventures are now seen as high-potential engines of scalable growth, sparking an emerging hiring boom focused on transformative leadership.

As we begin the second quarter of 2025, the first companies with 12-month accounting periods are preparing their latest research and development (R&D) tax relief claims under the new merged R&D Expenditure Credit (RDEC) – and the Enhanced R&D Intensive Support (ERIS) scheme. But what are the key considerations early claimants need to be aware of?

The sales game has changed, and if you're still relying on outdated methods, you're already falling behind. Conversational AI isn't just another buzzword – it’s a powerhouse for sales teams looking to scale their outreach, close deals faster, and operate with efficiency.

I used to think progress looked like more women in leadership. More women at the table. More women at the top.

And for a while, that felt true. After all, in a world where men are still holding quite a substantial amount of leadership roles – 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs to be exact – any shift felt like something worth celebrating.

Rob O’Connor, EMEA CISO at Insight explores why businesses must overcome the fear of adopting new technologies to truly protect themselves from evolving cyber threats.

I spent years as a physio on the pitch at Birmingham FC, juggling sports injuries and million-pound hamstrings. The workflows were slick: an ache reported in the morning was scanned, triaged, and rehab could be planned by lunch. It struck me that the lower back pain that benched a striker for two weeks was akin to the pain keeping a warehouse worker off the job for months – yet outside elite sport, the pathway was anything but slick.

A growing number of PE firms are using advanced data analytics techniques to assess their potential investments. As a result, they require more complex data from their prospects to build a much more holistic picture of how a company is performing now, and, with predictive analytics, will potentially fare in the future.