Women throughout history continue to make their mark creating innovations and discoveries that impact our lives today. To celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, Miranda Kent, Managing Associate at intellectual property firm, Mathys & Squire, reflects on inspiring female inventors in each decade since 1910 - when the firm was first founded - to demonstrate the significant value that realising new ideas and inventions can bring.

Disputes in business are inevitable, but they don’t have to cost the earth or damage your reputation. Here are some tips to avoid commercial disputes from escalating.

The Digital Women’s Day, JFD in French, was started up by Delphine Remy-Boutang back in 2013, (back then just an annual meeting), but has since evolved into so much more. It is now a platform for the promotion of digital entrepreneurship for women, and JFD has brought together and celebrated a large number of women who all share the same goal - to revolutionise the world digitally both in Europe and Africa.

Today is World Book Day and primary school children across the UK will be dressed as their favourite fictional characters in front of laptops with their classmates.

Employees are at greater risk than ever of suffering burnout and employers should consider putting in place preventative and curative measures. For startup employers in particular it is important to look at tackling burnout in a sustainable way, eradicating the factors and issues before they take hold.

China can be a tough market to enter, however it is far from being as impenetrable as some startup leaders may believe. Yes, there are cultural attitudes and government roadblocks to overcome, but new sectors and opportunities are opening up in China all the time.

The Government is exercising extreme caution when it comes to easing lockdown restrictions. This is a sensible approach. After all, the UK is in its third national lockdown, and the Prime Minister will be keen to avoid another. That said, the slow road out of lockdown will likely frustrate many UK businesses. Many non-essential, retail and leisure businesses must now remain closed until 12th April, and even then, many will be unable to operate at full, pre-pandemic capacity.

The education sector is facing some of the toughest years in its history. But how can it position itself to handle the demands of the modern-day learner? Here we take a look at what’s driving a return to the classroom and how providers can best respond by offering new digital learning methods. 

There is nothing more important to company growth than employee productivity. That is why employers have to ensure that their workers are happy, educated, and motivated enough to give more than 100% on the job, on a daily basis. They strive to inject more office efficiency every single day.

As of this week, the government has put into effect a VAT Domestic Reverse Charge (DRC) for building and construction services. The reverse charge VAT procedure is an anti-fraud measure designed to counter sophisticated criminal attacks on the UK VAT system.

Value propositions can seem like a load of empty words to many entrepreneurs. "Leave it to the marketing team to get people to buy our product or services," they tell themselves.

Last year businesses were quickly forced into new ways of working, kickstarting one of the largest unplanned changes in operations the modern workplace has ever seen. It’s become clear that many of those changes are here to stay — for a long time to come, business as usual will not be an option. When we eventually return to the office, we can expect the workplace to be very different to how we left it. Typical office practices like hotdesking and crowded meeting rooms will no longer be viable as workplaces reduce onsite headcount and adhere to social distancing practices.

If you’ve dipped a toe into marketing, you know that every business needs social proof to grow. You must reassure potential customers that they’re right to pick you, because other people have done so before.

Right now it might feel harder than ever to cut through the noise and get your brand featured in the press. You might also feel that you'd like to secure media coverage but you don't have the budget to employ a PR agency, or perhaps the time yourself to knock up a press release or work out which journalists you should be targeting.

Over the last 12 months, video conferencing tool Zoom experienced exponential growth, B2B social media platform, LinkedIn, saw a 60% increase in user content creation and 55% of UK buyers revealed they will continue to shop online even when the high street re-opens its doors.

Last year was an incredibly challenging one for entrepreneurs and small business owners. According to a survey from Alignable, 45% of small businesses reported earning less than half of their pre-pandemic revenue. Statistics like these can scare you away from starting a company in 2021, but they shouldn’t.

There’s one tool that’s underused to address the gender diversity gap in startups - education.

Businesses in a wide range of industries rely on stock procurement to thrive, and issues with supply lines will always have a hugely detrimental impact on profits. Ultimately, companies cannot consistently sell their own goods if they’re struggling to procure the products and materials needed to manufacture them.  

At the moment, co-working is in jeopardy, and it may be time for the industry to change once again.

Website design accounts for up to 95% of a user’s first impression of your company. A good design can keep visitors on your site, which goes a long way in converting leads into purchases. For this reason, it’s increasingly important to make great website designs part of your marketing strategy. Here are eight of the best website designs to inspire you in 2021.

The world is undergoing huge changes at the moment. Between coronavirus pushing the economy to the limit and a group of Redditors challenging the financial market hegemony, people are questioning the role of established institutions. If finance doesn’t work to enable the economy, businesses or individuals, then who is it for?

The past twelve months have been especially hard for the UK’s many businesses. After several years of negotiations, the UK finally departed from the EU with a deal that had been finalised merely eight days before the formal withdrawal.

Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are essential to the UK economy. The government has noted that they contribute to 99.9% of all private sector business in the country with a turnover of £2 trillion.

Last year, the Government introduced a new grant via the Kickstart Scheme to support the creation of new jobs placements at businesses across the UK. Unfortunately, the rules of the scheme meant that businesses needed to create a minimum of 30 job placements to apply directly for a grant.

As a social impact entrepreneur and investor, I like to think I know a business opportunity when I see one. The 2030 ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars provides us with a massive opportunity. Entrepreneurs and investors should be incredibly excited about this new technology and the potential to innovate. As far as I’m concerned, Electric Vehicles (EVs) are the new smartphones.

In today’s fast-paced, technological environment,  people are constantly retaining information through the internet and social media. There are many opportunities for individuals to access expert advice from all sorts of industries through the likes of online interviews, podcasts and Twitter feeds. Still, does this mean that all the advice that we have access to is useful?

Why do startups fail, and what can founders do to prevent it? Many entrepreneurs and investors opine on this question, but few offer data-driven answers. Our goal is to identify and share clear learnings on this, and the timing could not be more critical.

Social media will always be an integral part of your small business’ digital marketing strategy, whether you’re using it to alert fans and followers about new offerings, industry news, or showing how things work behind the scenes in your company

Launching a new startup is always a huge risk, but with effective user research and testing, product leaders can gain valuable insights from end users to reduce risk from the outset and build a culture of learning from their customers. We recently held a virtual event titled ‘From Idea to Launch: How startups succeed with UserTesting’ and we were joined by product and startup experts, including Arielle Kilroy and Justin Berkovi, to get their top tips for ensuring success.

In this article, Andrew White, Partner and UK & European patent attorney at intellectual property firm, Mathys & Squire discusses how building a strong Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio puts you in a better position to secure business investment when you need it and why linking your IP strategy to your business goals - including investment plans - is crucial for making it all come together effortlessly.

Online learning has become the new normal since last March, and since the most recent lockdown was announced, searches for how to learn new skills online have increased by 218%, suggesting more people want to utilise their spare time at home to learn.

Some unique ideas sound awkward but have continued to thrive in today’s world because they are rendering services that other traditional businesses are not. Below are some of the top unusual businesses that you can choose to explore:

It’s still common that businesses use manual and time-consuming processes as a force of habit. If you have never been exposed to the benefits of technology, then how would you know any different?

Side hustles continue to gain popularity. Whether it’s for a personal challenge or you want another source of income, starting a side project makes a lot of sense. After all, we’ve witnessed so many side projects evolve into million-dollar companies in the 2010s.

Being an entrepreneur is about more than just starting a business. Setting up business in an existing market has been done many times before. It comes with its own risks and challenges, but you’ll be able to find some good advice and guidance to steer you down the right path.

In this article, I will discuss the best ways to effectively implement a mental wellbeing policy in the workplace.

As Boris confirms lockdown will last until 8th March, and the idea of homeschooling continues to overwhelm working families around the UK, it is important employers are providing extra support and care for those suffering after nearly a year of remote working.

Starting a business is one of the most rewarding paths in life. The moments of elation will of course seamlessly morph into moments of aggravation and despair. But ask any entrepreneur, and there’s nothing they’d rather be doing.

According to the World Health Organisation, 66% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities by 2050. This makes cities a perfect hub to transform society and rebuild a world with rich biodiversity and a balanced climate.

Enterprise blockchain has seen huge advances in its application over the past year, and as we enter 2021, startup founders in virtually every sector are considering whether they should be incorporating this technology into their product.

For many of us, 2021 could not come fast enough. I will not expound on the world’s collective gratitude in 2020 being finished, you can watch Netflix’s Death to 2020 for a much more humorous take on this! As we continue in yet another lockdown, I’d like to frame some of the work that Allia will be working on this year to support the impact start-ups and local businesses that are getting ready to step up and make a difference.

In the time of COVID-19, the unheard victims are those entering the jobs market or hoping to build a career. The loss of life is tragic and deserves to dominate the headlines. Yet, we should not ignore the longer-term consequences to the confidence of our young people. 16 to 24-year-olds are the most likely to lose their job or be made redundant. It is also impossible for those fresh out of university to find a position. It is hard to win that first step on the ladder in the best of times, and these are not those times.

With the transition into the new era of digital marketing precipitated by the COVID-19 related shopping disruptions, the SEO landscape in 2021 looks like nothing before. With eCommerce sales expected to jump from 14.1% in 2019 to 22% by 2023, mobile shopping dominating the online retail and UX becoming a ranking factor.

For many, the New Year is a time to focus on personal resolutions such as getting fit, organising the house, or saving money. This year, what if we focused on putting our work life in order too - effectively gaining more space to cope with the demands of super-busy modern business life, make working in start-ups a bit easier or even get that next promotion? 

The amount of waste we produce has come under intense scrutiny in recent years, with global annual waste generation expected to jump to 3.4 billion tonnes over the next 30 years, up from 2.01 billion tonnes in 2016, according to report published by World Bank. Businesses and consumers alike are now faced with the challenge of reducing how much landfill our actions generate. With conflicting interests making for slow progress, the circular economy model could change our fortunes. Here we explore why the circular economy is here to stay and why it is set to play a vital role in a low-carbon future.

After being diagnosed with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (a rare genetic disorder) at the age of 22, former investment banker Angus Drummond, was told his mobility would decline over the next few years until one day he would require a wheelchair. Determined to experience the best of what the world had to offer, Angus quit his job in London, and set off with his wife to explore 35 new countries.

The UK edtech market was predicted to increase to £3.4bn by 2021. With £90.9m invested into edtech companies in 2018, up from just £9.9m in 2013, this market is clearly growing. However, when schools first closed due to COVID-19, and again at the start of this year, it became clear that many were understandably underprepared for the enforced radical shift to tech-led remote learning. Teachers struggled with the transition to online work, and many students lacked the necessary devices and connectivity to engage effectively online.

The impact of innovation from the technology sector permeates our everyday lives. No sooner has one technology gone mainstream, but speculation begins on where the next big thing will come from, or what it will be.

All businesses, growing or not, should be actively looking at ways to attract new customers all the time. Those companies that ignore new business, believing that their established customer base is enough to keep the business ticking over nicely, will usually get a rude awakening.  

Music has proved to have a special place in all our lives given how we play it when we are happy or sad. This is because it is a universal language that speaks to people on various levels. If you want to prove this, think of the memorable times when music made you feel special such as during your graduation, wedding, or after heartbreak. It is also said that music impacts your mental performance and productivity at work.

Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) has become significant force in the venture capital market. In Europe, CVCs participated in 1,325 deals worth €19.4bn in 2020 and are active in virtually every sector, and across all stages from Seed to growth equity. In the UK, CVCs participated in some of the biggest deals of 2020 - Hopin, Carzoo, Arrival - and despite significant headwinds due to COVID-19 deal activity remained strong, defying critics who had anticipated a slowdown as corporate balance sheets came under pressure.

In an ever-changing landscape, marketers and digital businesses alike are forced to adapt with the times as new opportunities arise and existing strategies become redundant.

Businesses, industries, consumers and communities are all reeling under the pressures that the global pandemic has forced upon them. It’s easy to assume amidst so much uncertainty and doom and gloom that prospects are grim and that the best option is to hide under a rock until the situation passes.

As the pandemic continues to impact businesses - both small and large - across the globe, I meet with four diverse founders based in the UK, who are taking part in WeWork's Diverse Founders Programme in partnership with UK social enterprise, Foundervine.

With men being twice as likely to become entrepreneurs than women, the business world has a long way to go to address the barriers which stop women from starting companies, and help to create a more equal society.

When you’re heading up a startup, it can be understandable to think that, for now, some of the things your firm might need can be left off the table.

You wouldn’t necessarily think that technology and fashion go hand in hand, but virtual clothing is growing in popularity, and new digital marketplaces are cropping up as a result. As the younger generation addresses a concern about sustainability, whilst maintaining a love of fashion it seems like such a logical way forward - satisfying the fast-fashion urges without any (or extremely minimal) damage to the planet.

Over the last twelve months companies have had to adapt quickly to new situations they may have once been unfamiliar with. If these experiences have taught us anything, it’s that if you respond quickly and efficiently to changing surroundings, you can continue to excel.

If we learnt anything from the past year it’s that having control over cash flow is the cornerstone of business health. The impact of COVID and other external factors like Brexit mean that things are constantly changing for small businesses, meaning they have to continuously adapt. This means that you will need to consistently map your cash flow and review your forecast  as things change. For example, things like furlough coming to an end in April will need to be factored into forecasting.

With COVID-19 restrictions rushing businesses to channel their resources online, 2020 marked an unprecedented turn in building an efficient marketing strategy with great emphasis on premium website content.

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that change and disruption on this colossal scale, really has the potential to highlight the pros and cons of big business vs startups. While the startup cons no doubt include a vulnerability to externalities, through factors such as short cash flows and unreliable customer books, the flip side is the flexibility with which to grasp the new opportunities.

In the current pandemic, many businesses are facing financial hardship. A survey conducted by The Federation of Small Businesses show that just under 5% of 1,400 firms taking part in the study expected to close this year, equating to 250,000 small enterprises nationwide.

The Christmas ads are now a distant memory but what we learned from the 2020 line up was that brands were, more than ever, vying for consumer attention at the end of what was a brutal year for business.

The first lockdown had a profound impact on education as students were told to study at home - a location that doubled as the new office of their parents, ultimately creating a co-working cocktail with a sharp aftertaste. Children were unable to learn in classrooms or see friends while parents were acting as teachers during working hours.

Parenting in 2021 is not easy. Even before the arrival of the pandemic, juggling work and childcare was a challenge and as we spend more time in lockdown, many parents are taking the time to re-evaluate their lives – or come up with ingenious services or inventions aimed specifically at people just like them. According to a 2019 article, Forbes refers to the ‘new mom economy’ as an estimated $46 Billion millennial parenting market, clearly showing it’s benefits and popularity.

As we enter a second year of the COVID crisis, many founders are struggling to manage their finances amidst falling revenues and enforced redundancies. Whilst government support is being made available to businesses, there is plenty of uncertainty about the future and how to navigate through serious economic volatility.

The great idea has started to come to fruition. You are excited about the future for your business and yourself. You have a team in place, and you have got the startup started. The investment market has predetermined that you should go and look for investment to drive your business forward. A good majority of startups follow this route without question.

The negative impact that working from home is having on British office workers’ wellbeing is looking likely to be a key narrative of 2021, as we launch into the new year with yet another lockdown.

This is arguably one of the toughest times to run a small business. The FSB this month published figures that suggest that nearly 5% of UK small companies expect to be forced to close within 12 months, the largest proportion in the history of the Small Business Index. If accurate it would mean that 295,000 companies will shut down this year. How can you be sure that you’re not part of this statistic?

TDK Ventures, the investment arm of TDK, invests in early stage hard-tech entrepreneurs from all around the world to help accelerate their dreams and find solutions for the world’s difficult problems. For this issue’s Startups Launchpad feature, we caught up with TDK Ventures, Managing Director, Nicolas Sauvage to find out more.

If you’re an avid watcher of sport, like I am, you’ll know that there has been great strides made over the last few years regarding the integration of data and technology – whether it be the ongoing debate of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in football, to the humble sports watch that tracks your steps and distance whilst running.

As someone who has sustained their fair share of sporting injuries over the years, I certainly could have done with the Running Pod Pro (RPP) wearable device from PhysiGo, which has the ability to analyse my run and provide actionable insights to improve running form, and crucially, prevent injury. We caught up with CEO and Co-founder, Luke Stephen-Perrett to find out more.

Evidence has shown that consumers trust their energy supplier about as much as they do city bankers or politicians – a damning indictment for the industry. However, in this issue’s Founder Focus feature, we speak to Simon Oscroft, Founder of energy supplier So Energy, who has dared to challenge the status-quo and whose company uses the latest technology to operate as efficiently as possible, keep costs to a minimum and pass those savings onto customers.

For small business owners, 2020 was all about adaptability. You adapted the way you do business, the way your team operates, the way you offer support to clients and employees. A lot was asked of you, but the old answers no longer applied. We learned a lot in 2020, but what’s next? And how can we get ready for the twists and turns that lie ahead? Great HR and remote working practices will be key to being a successful employer in 2021 and beyond.

As the pandemic continues to change how we work, and people working from home find themselves working longer hours and feeling under more pressure, the issues of work time versus down time and overall work-life balance have become even hotter topics than they ordinarily are.

Office relocations are necessary in many situations. You might be outgrowing the current office, or you may need to downsize your office after laying off staff so that you can afford to remain in business. Moving from one location to another may be necessary to better serve your customers or your top clients.

The pandemic has created challenges that many businesses have never seen before. Beyond the initial financial strain many endured, the ongoing restrictions have had a lasting impact on the way the UK workforce approaches the working week.

What a difference a year makes. In the last 12 months, your company has no doubt changed beyond recognition. Long time employees are likely missing each other and may not have even met the newbies hired via Zoom or Teams in the midst of the pandemic.

With the country now in its third and hopefully final lockdown there are many businesses unable to operate from their usual premises under current government guidelines, many employees have reverted to working remotely from their homes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.