Away from the pomp and pageantry of Donald Trump’s State Visit to the UK, there was real progress made on business. The record-breaking £150 billion Tech Prosperity Deal of US investment in the UK rightly grabbed a lot of attention. This is the largest-ever single package of commercial investment linked to a State Visit.

After a run of double-digit growth, many founders look to bank the momentum and exit. Increasingly, however, others are turning to Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs). For these leaders, the priority is building a company that can sustain growth and stay true to its values. In today’s volatile market, independence matters, and so does a culture that helps teams adapt without compromising standards. An EOT provides both: it secures that independence while keeping long-term goals at the centre of decision-making.

A mother-daughter perspective on AI’s impact on future careers.

After spending 15 years leading teams in one of the UK’s largest retailers, I made the bold decision to put everything into my dream: becoming a full-time magician and speaker. On 4th April 2020, I took redundancy – ready to launch the business I had been quietly building for years.

In today’s fast-moving tech world, customer and user data is no longer optional, it’s essential. How a business interprets, contextualises, and applies this data often determines whether it accelerates or stalls. The companies that succeed are those that don’t just react to change, but anticipate it through intelligent, data-led decision-making.

In the world of sports and entertainment travel, where customers are investing not just their money but also their dreams of unforgettable experiences, trust is everything. Trust is something you cannot place a value on, it’s the foundation on which long-lasting customer relationships are built. Without it, even the most sophisticated booking systems or flashy marketing campaigns fall flat, particularly in an industry where competition is rife.

Once an afterthought in most transactions – except in pure technology acquisitions – intellectual property (IP) is moving to the centre of deal-making. Software, data, and AI shape nearly every product and service, and the know-how, data sets, and IP rights behind them increasingly determine whether a deal delivers its growth story.

Since its UK launch in April 2023, Temu has quickly made a name for itself. Last year it was the most downloaded iPhone app in the UK App Store and it’s getting a great reception from its users.

Running a small business is rewarding, but demanding. From serving customers to managing cashflow and dealing with economic uncertainty, you are constantly juggling different demands and roles. The daily grind can also make it easy to forget about your accomplishments, and our latest research shows fewer than half (43%) of small businesses regularly get the opportunity to pause and celebrate their wins.

Over my career I’ve worked with countless startups – some of which have gone on to become household names. The ones that stand out offer more than great products or clever marketing. They have a beating heart. They create moments that make people feel – joy, excitement, pride, nostalgia.

Small and mid-sized businesses have always won on something enterprise giants can’t copy: the personal relationship with their customers. But now those same customers expect AI-powered experiences as part of the service, and the tools on the market are built for companies with entire AI teams, six-month budgets, and enterprise-scale infrastructure. SMBs can’t afford to build that, but they also can’t afford not to have it.

For startups, there are two important metrics – speed and cost. Most early-stage companies require an app that looks stylish, works without a hitch, doesn’t require an enormous budget or an army of developers, and can be delivered in a tight schedule.

Data from SproutSocial reveals that short-form video delivers the highest ROI over other marketing trends. Generationally, expectations and engagement levels vary, but everyone is consuming short-form content across all platforms. 

If you told me four years ago, I’d be running a thriving creative hub in the middle of Yorkshire – supporting nearly 50 local makers, hosting events, and heading to the House of Lords as part of the UK’s SmallBiz100 – I’d have laughed and said nope not me!

“The companies that thrive in this new era will not be the ones that hand over the keys to an algorithm. They will be the ones where leaders treat AI as a force multiplier,” writes Alexander Walsh, Co-Founder and CEO of Oraion

Ask any AI founder what keeps them up at night, and you’ll hear many of the same stories. Hidden infrastructure costs that blow up the burn rate without warning. Waiting weeks, or even months, for GPU capacity to come online. Scrambling to navigate compliance requirements that feel like a full-time job. These aren’t abstract problems. They are everyday hurdles that can delay product launches, frustrate investors, and stretch teams thin.

Launching a startup is a balancing act. You’re driving product development, fundraising, sales, and recruitment, often simultaneously. But for many non-technical founders, the most challenging area isn’t fundraising or sales. It’s building the product itself, especially when outsourcing to software consultancies.

Irish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the national economy, comprising a staggering 99.8% of all businesses. However, despite their importance, the majority of these SMEs are not exporting.

When you run a small or medium-sized business, it’s tempting to believe that building your own technology is the best way to stay in control. After all, nobody knows your customers like you do. Surely the smartest move is to develop the tools you need, tailor-made for your market.

The startup dream is sold as a sprint to success, a flash of inspiration, a flurry of funding rounds, and an eventual big exit. But the reality? It is a long game that will stretch your resilience, test your decision-making, and reshape who you are as a leader.