The testing and development phase, can either be one of the most enjoyable experiences when it comes to creating a hardware product, or one of the most difficult that makes you question and change everything you have worked on so far.

What can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer by up to 50% and lower your risk of early death by up to 30%? It's free, easy to take, has an immediate effect and you don't need a GP to get some. The answer? Exercise. So says the NHS website anyways.

My journey as an entrepreneur began, like many other entrepreneurs, with the realisation of a major and entrenched problem. In 2014, while working in the Medical Devices team at the World Health Organisation (WHO), I became aware of the magnitude of the  global childhood pneumonia challenge. I was shocked that in the 21st century, a treatable condition still takes the lives of 1 million young children every year and is the number one killer of children under five years old globally.

After spotting a gap in the market, Stu Jolley and Simon Forster started a beauty brand with a difference; instead of creating products based on people’s insecurities, they would meet people’s genuine needs. They launched their first products in 2016 – a range of tattoo skin care now called Stories & Ink, and The Others Beauty Co. was born. We caught up with Stu and Simon about why they started their beauty business, the gap they saw in the industry, and why they recently pivoted to DTC despite successfully being stocked on retail shelves.

Taking a look at how one startup navigated the challenges of COVID by adapting and refining their product and service and came out on top, we spoke to Priya Downes, CEO & CO-Founder of Nudea.

Startups Magazine recently spoke to Adi Mula and Mohammed Shakil, Founders of Foodhub, a fast growing takeaway delivery app.

New AI platform Findr works as a ‘commercial partnership matchmaker’ to help startups grow and innovate - something especially crucial as we emerge from lockdown into an economy that has already contracted by a fifth.

Social Good Connect is a unique digital platform connecting employers and their employees to volunteering opportunities. Charities need skilled help day in, day out, but they haven’t always got the time or resources to find it. Motivated, skilled volunteers are hard to come by. However, in any one city there are hundreds of businesses with potentially thousands of skilled volunteers who could solve that problem.

Vectorious is a Tel Aviv based healthtech startup which has developed the first wireless and battery-less in-heart microcomputer. The device, called the V-LAP, identifies deterioration in heart failure patients  even before the onset of symptoms. We spoke to Oren Goldshetin, CEO at Vectorious to learn more about them.

Did you know that the first Saturday in October is traditionally Ostomy Day? You probably wouldn’t unless you or someone you love has an ostomy. According to an NHS report, it is estimated that over 13,500 people in the UK have stoma surgery each year. The most common conditions resulting in stoma surgery are colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and accidental injury.

Frog Systems has developed the first dedicated mental health and wellbeing video platform to utilise the power of the lived experience to communicate positive messages of hope and support, from those that have survived dark times, to others who are facing their own personal challenges.

The crowdfunding campaign for Augmented America, a pair of augmented reality playing card decks inspired by the history and future of the US, is continuing with more than 60% of the initial goal of $7,500 achieved in the first 48 hours.

Midlands-based entrepreneur, John Whitbread, launched The Spotted App in early 2020 to allow businesses to connect with consumers without having to rely on social media alone or the interference of predictive algorithms.

CyberShell provide comprehensive and understandable support and education of cyber-threats(Interactive application security testing-IAST) to software development team to prevent and mitigate cyber-threats. They give their clients confident and resilient in the digital age against cyber-attacks with securely develop products that reduce their risk of getting hacked with competitive advantage.

For any startup founder one of the hardest stages of the whole journey is developing a product to the testing phase, and then finding out if what you created can achieve what you had envisaged, and if not what changes need to be made.

It seemed only fitting that three year old startup, Florence, an online platform and app that connects care homes directly to nurses looking for extra shifts, be named after the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, otherwise known as the ‘Lady with the Lamp’.

Futrsm.pl is a tech-for-good platform designed to empower purpose-led entrepreneurs to do marketing better through a series of online tools and affordable expert support. It is an online Saas platform designed to empower purpose-led entrepreneurs to develop and deliver their own marketing strategy through a series of online tools and affordable expert support. The core package focuses on supporting socially-minded businesses that are bringing in a junior marketer as their first marketing hire. Providing a framework for both the company and the new start based on 90 days plans. The two inclusive monthly support sessions with a dedicated marketing expert to provide director-level practical strategic guidance throughout. A helping hand to get community changing businesses the brand presence they deserve.

Father and son duo, Liam and John Murphy have created mindfulness products for children with ADHD, after Liam’s family member developed it, and as a family they didn’t want to put him on the standard medication doctors usually prescribe to treat the problem.

Konglomerate games is a video games company specializing in providing healthcare and other serious game development or gamification services. What that means for us, is taking the best bits of video games and applying them to other non-video game scenarios like education, where the main focus isn’t only entertainment. Our current project is a video game designed around the physiotherapy care of children with cystic fibrosis.

As part of our 'Women in Tech' focus we got the chance to speak to Lisa Krapinger, CMO at breathe ilo, who started working in marketing at Red Bull, leading the sampling and promotion team in order to combine her passion for sports with her career. Krapinger then moved to Heineken in brand management, where she was responsible for promoting the cider brands in Austria through sponsorships and events. Krapinger said: "What I realised from these two roles was that I loved working to build new brands and products up from scratch - hence why Carbomed Medical Solutions GmbH was the perfect next step in my career path."