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.

Embracing digital, diversifying products and services and accessing emergency finance – particularly Bounce Back Loans - were found to be the top ways small firms have survived the covid-19 crisis so far, according to a new report from Small Business Britain that offers firms advice on how to be resilient in a crisis.

If we learned anything from 2020, it's that the world is changing faster than expected and that new trends are shaping our realities. For businesses, this means increased pressure to adapt and remain relevant to their customers.

As I write this, from my living room floor (don’t judge me, since lockdown started I’ve noticed it helps me get creative when I’m writing) we’re still in a global pandemic and I’m just about getting used to all that isolation life has to offer. But as I interview the two brains behind a luxury British accessories brand that specialises in creating stylish contactless payment accessories, Tovi Sorga and Agnes Davis, I can’t help but think about how timely this interview is.

Here’s how you can get off to the right start. Just because the world is more unpredictable than now than it has ever been in our lifetimes, it does not mean that you can afford to let your business opportunities get away from you.

GoDaddy, the company that empowers everyday entrepreneurs, has released new research which finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a surge in young people starting their own businesses in the UK.

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.

Otta, a startup that helps job seekers find roles at fast-growing companies, has revealed the most innovative companies in London to work for in 2021. Fifty startups and scaleups appear on the Rocket List, including tech unicorns Cazoo, Hopin (now a ‘double unicorn’) and Gousto, along with fintech firms, Revolut and Checkout.com, which are hiring for the most roles right now (79 and 68 respectively).

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.

It’s official – London is Europe’s global tech city, with London based technology firms having raised more than $10.5bn in new investment from venture capital firms in 2020. As good as that is, the good news just keeps on coming, as 2021 looks to be even more promising given that London based VC firms have raised record amounts of fresh funds ready to deploy this year.

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.

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.

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.

CREY is a new gaming platform designed specifically for Gen Z and with social at its core. With the gaming industry going from strength to strength, we decided to catch up with Fabien Rossini, CEO at CREY about how they have broken on to the scene. 

Ales Spetic, the now CEO and Co-founder of Klevio, a smart intercom and smartphone app that lets you open doors and share digital keys using your phone, from anywhere in the world, could be described as a serial entrepreneur. Prior to co-founding four different startups, he was a software engineer before switching to business, where he achieved an MBA from California State University and has also written a book on database programming.

London is at the centre of Europe’s burgeoning tech scene, with new research from Dealroom.co and London & Partners showing that London tech companies helped Europe to reach record levels of tech venture capital funding in 2020. International investors continue to look to London, with the findings revealing that the UK capital received more tech VC investment than any European city in 2020.

To help businesses capitalise on shoppers’ appetite to buy local, web development and digital marketing agency, digitalbeans, releases advice on key areas for online investment.

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.

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a difficult year for many businesses out there. Many have been faced with unexpected hurdles and challenges that have made them rethink their advertising efforts and direction.

British businesses have had a tough 2020, with almost all small businesses reporting they had been dramatically affected by the pandemic but with January being historically one of the hardest months in the working calendar, it is important we work together to beat those blues and be the best we can be. 

2020 has redefined healthcare for good. In the same way that every company wanting to thrive has had to become a tech company, every company’s become a healthcare business too; safeguarding people and customers is at the core of everything. 

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.

Staying on track financially can be one of the most challenging aspects of creating and managing a startup. If it wasn’t hard enough, the global pandemic has added another dimension of difficulty which even the most robust of businesses have struggled to navigate. However, there are a few key things that startups can do to stay on top of their finances. Below are five tips for startups aiming to become a thriving and profitable business.

New research conducted by Accountancy and Finance, HR and Data Analytics recruiter, Wade Macdonald has found that 44% of employees are finding working from home much harder, physically, mentally and emotionally, than being in the office.

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.

Duolink wants to build a future where music finally adapts to you. No matter whether you are on the go, listening alone, or socialising with others, it wants you to enjoy music to the fullest. So who are Duolink and what are the SpeakerBuds? We spoke to Founder Victor Liu to find out more.

Can we blame COVID entirely for startups failing or is it the investor system failing them? Stats from Beauhurst show that maybe now isn’t the worst time to be a startup?

In an ever more digital world, we find ourselves less connected. As our society continues to evolve, otherwise welcome advances can also increase the risk of loneliness exponentially. It is time to address the elephant in the startup and entrepreneurship room: loneliness.

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.

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.

“What will the new year bring us?” “365 opportunities!” This was the question and answer in a cartoon that was sent to me a few days ago, showing two people sitting on a hill looking into the distance. New Year’s eve this year was not so much a celebration in the normal sense so much as a “Great, 2020 is over so now let’s move on!” But the cartoon perfectly matches my own mood and that of many of my clients and other contacts.

As we approach the end of an unusual year it is safe to say what a year we have had! Although not as we expected, I am a positive person that likes to look on the bright side of life, and with everything going on this year it has been a silver lining seeing a lot of startups and small business, adapt, pivot and even excel.

This year has seen the biggest increase in reliance and need for connected education technology within the education sector in the past decade, and so we spoke to Rahim Hirji, UK Country Manager of leading online learning platform and app, Quizlet, who reflects on the past year in education and looks forward to 2021 to offer expert insight into the future of the education sector.

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.

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.

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.

In today’s world, stress has become an inevitable part of professional life. According to a survey conducted by the Regus group, across 15 different countries, the levels of workplace stress have risen over the past two years. Employees all over the world are getting exposed to excruciating levels of work stress. The sad state of employees calls upon employers like you, to take actionable measures for employee stress management. It is essential, both for the well-being of your employees and your organisation.

The 2020 festive period is now in full swing. However, with the UK coming out of lockdown to tighter tier restrictions, it’s fair to say Christmas will look different this year. A work Christmas party is often a great excuse to let your hair down and celebrate the festive season with your colleagues. After a year filled with lots of change, ups and downs and staying at home, now more than ever it is important to celebrate all we have achieved.

This is a question we ponder often at Seed, the readers of Startups Magazine no doubt question and every new Entrepreneur needs to consider. How the hell do you fund this great idea of yours.

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.

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.

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?

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. 

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.

A fifth of bosses are looking at using software that allows them to spy on employees working from home and monitor productivity. A survey of over 2,000 found 20% had already introduced 'remote tracking' or were considering bringing it in.

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

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.

Founded in 2011, by two Finnish entrepreneurs who were looking for a way to manage their finances, Holvi is digital banking service for freelancers and entrepreneurs. Combining money management tools with an easy-to-use business account, Holvi offers an innovative banking experience that helps you run your business.

The R&D tax relief schemes and R&D expenditure credit (RDEC) have driven greater innovation in the UK, according to analysis by HMRC. A review of these schemes, as well as the Patent Box, highlighted that there were both positive direct and indirect impacts on business for those that utilised the schemes whilst also spurring on innovation.

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.

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?” 

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.

As a startup, you’ve got loads of goals, problems and opportunities to think about, but make sure you carve out some time for some PR activity that will help raise your profile and grow your business. 

There's no doubt about it: leadership has been put to the test this year. Over the course of 2020, leaders of businesses everywhere have had to step up to a monumental challenge. Not only have many businesses had to fight to stay afloat, but company leaders have been required to find new, creative ways to work remotely, motivate their team in the face of extreme adversity, and achieve their goals.

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.

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.

In the first part of this series I looked specifically at why women aren’t investing. This time, I’m exploring what’s stopping everyone else.

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.

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.

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.

In a recent study of 2,100 UK adults, undertaken by global affiliate network, Awin, it was found that as many as one in five Britons (19%) are planning to carry out their Christmas shopping online for the first time this year.

A new survey by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) has found that brands have become more compassionate in 2020. The majority of senior marketers (74%) surveyed said their brands or clients have shown more compassion and thoughtfulness amid the pandemic - this included 14% who said this increased, with just 6% reported this happening less.

myGP, the UK’s largest independent GP booking and healthcare management app that connects patients with primary care, has announced its intention to provide the people in England with a simple, clear means of communicating their verified vaccination status, via their Smartphone.

Accenture & Ponemon’s 2019 Cost of Cybercrime Study indicates that the right approach to cyber threats might save companies up to $5.2tn of future revenues in the next few years. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are among the most vulnerable as they only recently became more conscious of clear and present cyber threats. 

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.

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.

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.

Almost half of UK businesses have seen an employee move on because their mental wellbeing wasn’t being looked after, with a quarter losing a key member of their workforce, according to new research from not-for-profit healthcare provider, Benenden Health.

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.

Virgin StartUp and Crowdcube have partnered to help the next generation of purpose-driven founders grow their businesses and achieve real change through their Collective Impact programme.

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.

All hope abandon ye who enter here. If 2020 had a tagline, that would be it. It's been a rotten year for the startup community. The Coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented economic damage, imperilled revenues, and poured cold water on investor confidence.

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?

This has been quite a year and if 2020’s taught us anything it’s that we need to take very good care of ourselves, as our business’s biggest asset. Your wellbeing is the source of energy and creativity that your business needs.

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.

“I’m starting to think my profile could be an asset for the business,” a brilliant female founder confided over a virtual Zoom coffee a couple of weeks back (I miss real life, barista made flat whites and hugging clients hello but that’s a sidebar). “I always want to make it about the business but I think I could be a bit of an asset.”

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.

As the UK emerges from lockdown for a second time, it’s crucial we keep up the conversations we’ve been having about the importance of a healthy work life balance. The majority of people who I’ve spoken to have enjoyed the freedom of remote working and are keen to retain some of this newly-discovered flexibility in the future. With this new mindset and the ongoing restrictions, I certainly don’t anticipate an immediate rush back to offices.

Winter alone can have a negative impact on anyone’s mental health. Couple this with spending the best part of the year dealing with a pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns and it's no surprise that according to ONS statistics, the weeks after the clocks went back saw record levels of loneliness in the UK.

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.

Brits are being called upon to offer vital support to small businesses as high streets reopen in time for Christmas. It also hopes to tap into soaring public affection for small businesses, as research from the campaign and its principal supporter American Express shows 59% of Brits support small businesses more than previously, following the major role firms played in communities during coronavirus lockdowns.

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.

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?

Considering introducing an employee wellbeing programme in 2021, but concerned about the financial outlay and where to begin? Fear not, as it does not take a huge chunk of cash to create a successful wellbeing programme for your staff. However, you do need to invest some time to plan an initiative that will best suit your team. Here are four cost effective suggestions to get such schemes up and running, and to maintain momentum. 

Small businesses in the UK still aren’t offering their people enough flexibility, according to new research from Tiger Recruitment. While the pandemic has required many to work more flexibly from home, more than a quarter of employees questioned say they still aren’t happy with the flexible working options available to them, and men are just as dissatisfied as women.

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.

Thursday 3rd December marks International Day of People with Disability (IDPD), originally created by the United Nations and designed to bring awareness and celebrate the diversity of the global community. This years’ theme is ‘not all disabilities are visible’, something Leeds-based behavioural research and UX consultancy, SimpleUsability, is keen to encourage businesses to consider when interacting with their customers.

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.

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.

Co-op CEO Steve Murrells opened a round-table on 26th November with representatives from the Department for Education, National Apprenticeship Service, National Society of Apprentices and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The conversation focused on a brand new report, commissioned by the Co-op group, into the national apprenticeships programme with recommendations on change to government policy.

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.

As Britain’s high streets prepare to return to life in time for Christmas, small business owners have been given tips for coping with a still uncertain winter. This year’s Small Business Saturday - an annual celebration that encourages consumers to 'shop local' - couldn’t be better timed, with 5th December falling three days after the English national lockdown lifts.

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.

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?

YouPic is a free-to-use social platform from Sweden transforming photography-sharing by enabling a global community of over 3.7 million users to build an audience, gain insights about their portfolio, and share their passion for photography.

One of the rules of a startup is that there’s always more to do than there are people to do it! Even when you are hiring, you have to remain lean and startups are usually moving from one round of funding to another. That means you cannot always deliver what you want, and usually, marketing is at the bottom of the list.

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.

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.

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.

We are in a new world war, with a common enemy. However, the frontline is not on the beaches of Normandy, the plains of Russia or the Pacific islands but in the homes, offices, hospitals and care homes of every country in the world. 

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.

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.

Mobile phones have become a basic necessity for everyone. With more than 3 Billion smartphone users in the world, equating to 4 out of every 10 people being equipped with smart technology, apps have become one of the fastest-growing markets in the IT industry. This creates infinite opportunities for businesses looking to break into or expand into the mobile realm.

Healthtech startup, Mindset, is on a mission to make neurological care more accurate and accessible by building clinical tools through exciting, app-based campaigns. Startups Magazine spoke to Hamzah Selim, Founder of Mindset to find out more.

Deloitte has announced the winners of the 2020 UK Technology Fast 50 awards. The awards recognise and rank the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the UK, based on the last four years of revenue data, and are sponsored by DLA Piper and Oracle NetSuite.

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.

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%).

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’.

The payment practices of big businesses during the pandemic have been revealed in a new report which calls for legislated 'fair buyer' 30 day payment terms, as part of a plan to support SMEs in their economic recovery.

With CES 'going virtual' for 2021, one might think that opportunities for startups to launch their public and media presence in conjunction with the world’s largest showcase of consumer technology might fall by the wayside, but according to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), just the opposite is true.

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.

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.

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.

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.

London is quickly cementing itself as a top global hub for impact tech, according to the latest data from London & Partners and Dealroom.co, showing that VC investment into London’s purpose-driven tech companies has increased by almost eight times between 2015 and 2020.

During lockdown, the UK Government awarded over £130m of grant funding for Research and Development (R&D) activity to innovative businesses and their collaborators in the United Kingdom. The awardees were from multiple sectors including creative, engineering, digital health, education and sustainable energy.

OVHcloud have announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate French and European organisations’ ability to digitally transform and reimagine their business. The partnership aims to bring cutting-edge technologies, built on trusted infrastructure, to European organisations to help them meet their growing needs for strict data controls, security, transparency and privacy while deploying cloud native applications. OVHcloud will introduce a new Hosted Private Cloud offering by bringing Google's open source-compatible Anthos technology to its own highly scalable dedicated infrastructure, fully operated and managed in Europe by OVHcloud teams.

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.

To celebrate a decade in business this month, digitalbeans is supporting local businesses to invest in digital and keep growing in spite of tightening COVID restrictions.

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.

Recruitment platform, Tempo has conducted extensive research into hundreds of amazing companies to create the Super Startups list - the 20 best startups to work in Manchester in 2021.

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.

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

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.

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.

Hitachi Capital Business Finance recognise that the resilience and strength of the small business community lies in its diversity. We all too often read about how the average UK business is performing, how they are reacting to issues or planning for the future. In truth, there is no absolute average - rather the range and diversity of people setting up and running small businesses is what makes the sector so fascinating.

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.

A 32% increase in downloads in the last  four  weeks is a tangible  indicator that  planning is back at the  top of the business agenda  according to  Plandisc,  the world’s first digital,  shareable and interactive circular planning tool.  Usage has soared  this  Autumn with 60,000 customers across twenty countries worldwide.  

The majority of small and medium-sized businesses believe there are financial opportunities in the shift to a greener economy and that they personally can benefit from them, according to new Opinium polling commissioned for a new report by The Entrepreneurs Network and the Enterprise Trust. The findings from the report, Green Entrepreneurship, challenge the historic assumption that pursuing sustainability is a hindrance to businesses and the economy.

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.

A third of employees are too busy to take holiday, with another 63% stating 'there’s nowhere to go' when asked why so many had the majority of their holiday left to take.

Traktion, a London based startup that connects businesses to on-demand digital marketing talent, has secured early-stage angel investment from marketing and technology entrepreneurs Nigel Morris (ex Dentsu) Nimrod Priell (ex Facebook).

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. 

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.

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.

AgileDisinfect is a new startup founded by graduates from the MBA programme at ESMT Berlin. It aims to tackle COVID-19, by disinfecting indoor spaces by using autonomous robotics and other advanced technologies. Startups Magazine spoke to Mouin EL-Khechen, Co-Founder and COO of AgileDisinfect to find out more.

Ahead of Stress Awareness Day, which takes place on November 4th, Cheryl Lythgoe, Matron at Benenden Health, shares her tips for employers on how to support employees coping with stress as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives.

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.

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?

In our recent Women in Tech issue, we asked one of our partners Fiverr to chose 'Fiverr's Top 5 Female Founders'. Of course, a very hard job knowing how much talent there is out there, but nonetheless her are the wonderful Founders, in no particular order that made that five! 

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.

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.

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.

British Airways was last week fined £20m by the Information Commissioner’s Office over a data breach which saw the personal details of 400,000 of its customers being accessed by hackers.

With many still working from home in light of recent events, Interior Style Advisor at Furniturechoice.co.uk, Rebecca Snowden, offers her top tips on how to create the most productive home office space.

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.

Over a third (37%) of business leaders are considering downsizing their primary office space - amid a long-term shift to remote working.

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.

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.

New research from Tech Nation and Dealroom reveals that investment into UK impact startups increased 9.5x between 2014 and 2019. UK impact startups have raised €1.4bn so far in 2020 with Cleantech and Climate tech companies raising the most capital of all UK impact startups.

The number of partnerships between established corporates and new startups has rocketed in recent years, yet few are delivering what these companies were hoping for. 

In April 2020, the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that 49.2% of adults in employment were working from home because of social distancing measures introduced following the COVID-19 pandemic. With remote working now a necessity for many, companies can adapt by staying on top of the latest trends. Here, Ashmita Das, CEO of Kolabtree, the freelance platform for scientists, discusses some of the trends in remote working.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Grabbing attention wherever possible is vital as a startup, particularly when it comes to your online marketing efforts, so it’s no surprise that you’re thinking about PPC — or pay-per-click — advertising. Unlike SEO, which takes time to produce results, PPC helps to create instant brand awareness and, when done well, generates all-important clicks. This can be an especially valuable part of your marketing strategy but not an easy one to pull off, and if you don’t put the work in, disappointing campaigns can be incredibly costly.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rising Stars 3.0 is the UK’s most exciting competition for innovative, early-stage tech companies. Designed to showcase the best the country has to offer, we provide the platform for businesses from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to shine bright. Startups will benefit from significant profile raising on both a national and international level, as well as the opportunity to put their business in front of leading investors, influencers and corporates.

Investors are continuing to pump money into London’s fintech companies despite the pandemic, according to latest data from London & Partners and Dealroom.co today.

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.

When the term unicorn emerged back in 2013, there were only 40 private companies with a valuation of $1bn in the world. Since then, the number of these financial giants jumped 12.5 times, reaching around 500 in September.

Startups Magazine and Fiverr have come together to bring Female Founders a Micro-Grant, to win £5,000 Fiverr credit. This competition has now closed for new entries.

Powered by Barclays Eagle Labs, the P4 programme curates a unique ecosystem to support precision medicine SMEs develop research into world leading technology, gain regulatory approval as well as adoption into the UK and international healthcare systems.

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

A woman’s work is never done. This phrase is now more poignant than ever as we grapple with the new realities posed by the current pandemic. It is, however, especially true for successful female entrepreneurs who are left dealing with the struggles of everyday life whilst trying to run a thriving business.

Code First Girls, the UK social enterprise working to close the gender gap in technology, has today announced it has surpassed its 2017 campaign goal to teach over 20,000 young women how to code in the UK and Ireland. Over the past three years, Code First Girls has become the largest provider of free coding courses for women, having delivered over £14m worth of free technology education. The announcement comes at a critical time to close the IT skills gap, only 19% of those pursuing Computer Science at higher education level are women. 

2020 has been the most stressful year in history for the global workforce and people want robots to help, according to a new study by Oracle and Workplace Intelligence, an HR research and advisory firm. The study of more than 12,000 employees, managers, HR leaders, and C-level executives across 11 countries found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased workplace stress, anxiety, and burnout for people all around the world, and they prefer AI robots instead of other people to help.

Evidence suggests street and sexual harassment have worsened during lockdown. The majority of that harassment will go unreported so there will be no response and little can be done to fight it. Something has to change if increased harassment is not going to be part of the ‘new normal’.

The international outlook for R&D is remarkably promising despite strong headwinds, according to research released today by Ayming Group, the business performance consultancy specialising in innovation. Ayming’s second annual International Innovation Barometer (IIB) reveals that R&D departments are being empowered by the creation of innovation ecosystems, new funding methods, and the deployment of technology.

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.

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.

Small and medium-sized companies from the UK’s health, beauty and wellness sectors could gain a big business boost in 2021, thanks to a new mentoring and marketing initiative from Seenit, the user-generated video company.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

Only one in five women in the UK hold investments... why? In the first of this three-part series I’ll be exploring this question and sharing some of my experience working in the male-dominated world of finance.

The coronavirus pandemic has created a mental health crisis in the UK and the outbreak is now having a significant impact on our workforce says psychotherapist, Noel McDermott.

2020 has required businesses, specifically young startups, to evolve and adapt in so many ways to successfully navigate such unprecedented challenges. With the world shifting towards remote working, company culture has become more important than ever. VC-backed startup HomeHero is on a mission to transform how people manage their homes, all whilst juggling the delicate challenge of retaining company culture when the team is growing fast and personalities are joining HomeHero, remotely, every other week.

Challenger supplier and Which? Recommended Provider, So Energy, has today topped Citizens Advice’s latest domestic energy supplier rankings with a score of 4.6. The quarterly rankings table (covering Q2 2020) scores suppliers out of 5 for overall customer service and considers complaints data, call waiting times, bill accuracy, bill timeliness and switching timeliness.

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.

Our latest issue, Women in Tech and Female Founders is just around around the corner, so for our next event, which is now going to be held digitally on Thursday 15th October, we will be donating all profits to the Young Women's Trust a feminist charity set out to help young women. We spoke to Laura Perkins, Director of Fundraising at Young Women's Trust to find out a little more about the organisation. 

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

Entrepreneurs: let’s be honest, all of us probably spend a little too much on social media. It’s easy to get lost on Twitter or on LinkedIn, scrolling through and seeing what everyone else is sharing, what is trending, and posting your updates.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Flexible office specialist, Workthere, has created a Spotify playlist for people to listen to whilst working from home to help boost their mood and increase their productivity levels.

According to research from outsourcing provider, Woven, more than three-quarters (78%) of consumers trust online reviews when it comes to making a purchase. As UK businesses continue to manage the fallout from lockdown, customer service experts from Woven have revealed the significant impact that positive reviews could have in helping small businesses recover.

In September 2020, Citigroup bank appointed a female CEO. Why is this big news? Because in doing so, the firm became the first big Wall Street bank to do so. Barriers are being broken down by female trailblazers in all walks of society and even traditionally masculine environments are being transformed into more balanced ones where everyone, regardless of their gender, has an equal chance at success.

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.

Boris Johnson addressed the nation at 8pm last night, and announced a myriad of new restrictions - including a new urge to work from home if possible.

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!

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.

Bounce Back loans, the most popular HM Treasury support measure, used by SMEs are running low, finds the latest insights1 from fintech business lender, MarketFinance. These SMEs are aware they can get more HM Treasury support by applying for larger loans through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) but did not know the deadline was end of this month.

Just when the lockdown period seemed to be drawing to a close, cases of Coronavirus took a sharp upwards turn and local lockdowns were enforced. Already, almost ten million people in the UK have been confined to their homes once again. Nationally, too, restrictions have tightened and fears of a second lockdown period are circulating as Health Secretary Matt Hancock refuses to rule out the possibility of another strict set of restrictions being brought in.

With the travel industry under threat and the off-peak season looming, the travel platform behind the ‘daycation’ trend is pioneering an innovative way to breathe life into empty hotels: turning hotel rooms into flexible offices that people can work in for the day.

In a recent survey, over half of customers polled revealed that they tend to buy from a brand with a big personality. The study found that 57.5% of customers buy from brands with strong personalities, whilst 51.2% of people have purchased from a brand because of the way they spoke online.

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.

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?

The automatic saving app offering access to market-leading returns, Chip has raised a total of £10.7m from the crowd and the government-backed Future Fund, as part of the company’s series A round.

When you’re building something from the ground up, it’s essential to have a strong foundation for support right from the start. Your business needs to have one main idea you can use to create a brand identity, to generate strong branding and to produce an effective brand development strategy to reach your goals.

Xero is calling on the government to step in on tech adoption for small firms after its report reveals the impact on the post-pandemic recovery. The resilience and recovery of a small business is acutely impacted by how digitally enabled they are, according to Xero’s new report on the global impact of COVID-19.

London Tech Week has announced plans to definitively map the UK tech scene highlighting and promoting the best businesses, innovators and thinkers operating across the country.

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.

Hydration and fluids are argubaly not spoken about enough, and can be really serious issues relating to humans. Aquarate has been designed and founded by Rebecca Taylor, to redefine the way fluid balance is monitored within care to reduce hydration related illness and improve wellbeing.

As we carry on focusing on female founders and women in tech, we decided to catch up with Kristy Chong, CEO & Founder of Modibodi, a femtech startup that provides people of all ages and body types all around the world with access to reusable and sustainable underwear, swimwear, active wear and maternity wear.

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.

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.

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.

 One of the most regular questions many entrepreneurs ask themselves: 'Why do some companies succeed and stay longer on the market?' and 'Why do some of them not?' 

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?

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.

Birmingham Tech Week is set to return digitally this year, from 12th-16th October, offering a series of inspirational and thought-provoking events championing new technologies and modern business strategies for a changing world.

Aberdeenshire startup company, Legasea, has now been nominated for three business awards in quick succession. 

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.

In this era where life is fast-paced, customers’ demand and needs keep changing at a rapid rate. If your company is to consistently meet these needs, then it must be equipped to keep changing as the market dictates. In addition, competition is tough, and others are waiting to take advantage of where you are slacking off. If you are to survive the competition, remaining innovative is the only survival tactic. In fact, you should always anticipate future demands and work towards meeting them. That way, you stay a step ahead of the competition.

Here, Startups Magazine’s Lanna Cooper speaks to former NHS surgeon, Dr Owain Rhys Hughes, who handed in his stethoscope after 18 years in medicine to tackle the UK’s broken referrals system, which he noticed was costing the NHS valuable time, money and resources and was contributing to long waiting times.

One hundred of the UK’s most inspiring small businesses have been chosen to mark the official countdown to Small Business Saturday, which takes place across the UK on 5 December 2020.

A campaign to identify Britain’s 100 most inspiring and multi-achieving female entrepreneurs has officially kicked off, with dynamic businesswomen across the country encouraged to apply to join the ranks of the f:Entrepreneur #ialso 100.

Marketing journey for startups isn’t an easy task, no matter how excellent your idea is or how hard you’ve worked to implement it. Until none knows about your project, you are not there in the game.

Seagate Technology, a world leader in data storage and management solutions has announced the results of a global survey of 3,000 small and medium sized business (SMB) decision-makers.

London’s entrepreneurs have been given a welcome boost thanks to funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Virgin Group. The funding will support the not-for-profit organisation - Virgin StartUp – to run its Ready Steady Grow programme which is aimed at supporting London based founders. The funding is valued at £1.7m over three years, half of this will be funded by the Virgin Group with the GLA funds matching the contribution. The extension is distributed by the GLA from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).   

ATI Boeing Accelerator has opened applications for its second cohort, to invest into sustainability-enabling startups that will benefit the UK aerospace industry across three key areas of focus: Industry 4.0, Lifecycle and Resilience, and Energy. Launched last year, the accelerator was created in partnership by the Aerospace Technology Institute and Boeing, and is delivered by European accelerator Ignite. GKN Aerospace is a corporate sponsor and more partners will be announced in the upcoming months. 

A German-Dutch startup is testing a unique business model in Mbita, a small fishing town in Kenya. Torqeedo electric motors are hired out to the local fishermen for a monthly fee that includes training, maintenance, and a solar powered battery charging service.

British startups Jiva Materials (featured recently on Startups Magazine) and SoluBlue have been awarded a place in the final for the 2020 Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge. The two startups, working to tackle some of the most challenging types of waste pollution, have won at least €100,000 each and are now in the running for the €500,000 grand prize.

It is often said that turnover is vanity and profit is sanity. But, even more importantly, do not forget that cash is king. Put simply, businesses fail because they do not have enough cash or other liquid assets to pay their bills or meet their immediate obligations. So, whilst increasing turnover and growing profitability are what every business owner is aiming to achieve, it is crucial to still have a very strong focus on cash flow and the levels of cash in the business.

With more and more employees working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of employee benefits has arguably never been more important.

Around the world, fertility rates are falling dramatically. Researchers have described the decline as “jaw-dropping” and the impact that it is going to have on societies is difficult to fathom. According to their research, nearly every country is set to see a serious decline in the number of babies being born. To make the shift even more monumental, the worldwide population is also ageing dramatically, and many countries are likely to see as many people turning 80 as there are being born.

A lot of startups require funding to gain momentum and sustainable growth. For many entrepreneurs, they might start by investing out of their own pockets, or some prefer to use a business loan, bank loan or through a venture capital firm to raise several millions.

Your face can be developed in a natural way from the comfort of your couch. It is no longer determined only by genetics! 

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.

Bridging volumes fell by more than half in the second quarter of 2020 and by 45% over the first half of 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown hit activity.

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.

Before any business is established the founder will of course have spotted a gap in the market, thought of the original idea, conducted research, and come up with the MVP. Taking these basic thoughts and then forming a business around them, with all the necessary steps that regular readers will now be very familiar with, does of course take considerable time and effort. 

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.

Superstrata’s 3D printed e-bike, and traditional bike has soared past the company's initial crowdfunding target, hitting £3.3M in pre-orders as more than 2,800 backers from 66 countries have supported the project so far, and due to demand has decided to extend the campaign until Saturday 12 September 2020.

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.

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.

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.

aeris health, a Swiss startup that creates commercial and residential air purification systems that are improving health globally, is facing huge demands on its manufacturing, as sales have doubled month over month since January.

The words ‘martech’ and ‘Marketing Technology’ constantly get thrown around a lot. According to research conducted by the martech Alliance, they’re used some 678.7k times a year - but it begs the question… how often are they being used correctly? For anyone who is unfamiliar with the word ‘martech’, it is otherwise known as marketing technology, and it is the term for the software and tech tools that marketers leverage to plan, execute and measure marketing campaigns.

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.

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.

It is that time again! Here is the next article in our series with Liverpool-based tech cofoundery Nova, and this week's startup in the spotlight is picturepath - a digital visual timeline developed to be used by children with Special Educational Needs in classrooms and at home. We spoke to Founder Richard Nurse.

According to a new report by global recruiter, Robert Walters and data provider, Vacancysoft - 'Cybersecurity: Building Business Resilience' - UK SME’s are at risk of 65,000 cyber security attacks daily - with around 4,500 of these being successful - and the figure could be much higher since the beginning of COVID-19.

When you consider just how much of our daily lives is now dominated by electronics, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that globally, e-waste is now the fastest growing waste stream – a problem exacerbated by the fact that we are living in an increasingly ‘smarter’ world where electronics are now integral and essential to daily life, while at the same time, are infinitely more disposable.

I’m sad to say that I have reached a certain age where I’ve started to make noises when sitting down and standing up (the ravages of time catches up to us all I’m afraid to say). However, I can at least take solace from the fact that I’m most certainly not alone. 

Black Tech Fest (BTF) is a first-of-its-kind digital conference and movement aiming to help Black professionals expand their network and influence while celebrating the boldest innovations created by the Black community.

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.

Artificial Intelligence, VR, AR and machine learning are all some of the hot topics at the moment, especially as our latest issue has a strong focus on AI and emerging technologies, so we thought there isn't a better time to catch up with Andrson, a sound-driven A&R platform, which is a brand new AI and machine learning-powered tool using sound-based search to connect emerging artists to the right industry professionals.

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.

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. 

This smart mouth guard protects more than just your pearly whites, it unlocks real-time feedback to protect players on and off the rugby pitch.

In the second episode in our mini-series with Nova, a Liverpool-based tech cofoundery that partners with entrepreneurs to turn ideas into successful, scalable tech startups, in sectors including healthtech, fintech and edtech, Startups Magazine caught up with Bharat Vasandani, Founder of ParentCare.

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.

Business leaders across the UK have experienced one of the most turbulent years on record, as the Coronavirus pandemic surged across the world, Brexit finally happened, and the possibility of an economic depression looms - the world ahead seems uncertain and daunting at best.

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.

BusinessFibre has analysed the top 10 companies across 15 different industries in the Fortune 500 to find which are leading the way in gender equality. In addition, the data highlights what industries pay their CEOs the most and how salaries compare between men and women.

We all communicate every day in both our social and our business lives but, let’s be honest, some do it so much better and more effectively than others. The very word ‘communicate’ can be interpreted in so many different ways, and applied in even more ways.

As lockdown eases, both business and employees are changing their thoughts about the best place to work - for businesses to achieve a cut in costs and favourable flexible agreements. For employees, it gives a vital away from home space.

We’ve all seen it, that moment on a gameshow where the contestant is essentially asked ‘double or nothing’. They’re nervous or excited (although, this is often the same thing), and they’re wondering, 'I can either take the £3’500 I’ve earned or gamble and go home with the jackpot.'

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.

Budding entrepreneurs looking to build something new for social good after COVID-19 could find the ideal partner and supporter via the Impact Central accelerator programme, mentor network and angel investor platform. The six-month programme is designed to help new businesses that will help rebuild society and the environment, as the UK tries to find a future beyond COVID-19.

Blenheim Chalcot, the UK-based digital venture builder, and Imperial College London welcomed its first business members to Scale Space on Imperial’s White City campus this week. This new 200,000ft2 facility, will be home to scale ups and innovative businesses across the technology, digital and life-sciences sectors.

The wireless headphone space is becoming increasingly competitive, but imagine having a pair that when not in use can transform into a portable speaker – so when you are not listening to music by yourself you can listen out loud with others.

As part of a new mini-series with Nova, a Liverpool-based tech cofoundery that partners with entrepreneurs to turn ideas into successful, scalable tech startups, in sectors including healthtech, fintech and edtech, Startups Magazine caught up with Gavin Delaney CEO, of Hy-genie.

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.

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?

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?

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.

New analysis from Xero, the global small business platform, and AlphaBeta (part of Accenture), have revealed trends relating to the recovery of the UK’s small business economy following the impact of COVID-19, showing tentative improvements in revenue and payment times.

New research from Professor Feng Li, Chair of Information Management at City’s Business School has outlined three new approaches that digital innovators can take to reduce the risk of failure and seize competitive advantage in the industry.

Forty nine percent of employers are planning to stagger return to work based on employees’ own health risks related to COVID-19, whilst 46% will be staggering employees return depending on how critical their role is to the business. The next most popular strategy is the creation of smaller work groups (40%), followed by changing work hours (34%), a voluntary return scheme (33%), and splitting shifts (28%).

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.

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.

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.

Growing fears of a no-deal Brexit will prompt an increasing number of British and international investors to move their financial assets overseas out of the UK, believes the CEO of a large independent financial advisory and fintech organisations.

Four in ten (39%) small business owners believe it will take at least five years for the UK economy to fully recover from the impact of lockdown and COVID-19, according to a new poll.

Aberdeenshire startup company, Legasea, has been nominated in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, in the category of Disruptor of the Year.

The drive for businesses to make positive changes around inclusion and diversity in the workplace is now more important than it ever was before. To encourage businesses to take stand against discrimination and drive forward a progressive future, global workplace providers, Instant Offices have gathered and analysed data into what diversity and inclusion looks like around the world.

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.

Action, Allies, Achievements, and Accountability are the cornerstones of a strategy for achieving diversity goals. As the CEO of Hyve Dynamics, Cecilia Harvey works with the leadership team to ensure that diversity and inclusion is reflected in our strategy and operations. She does this, not just because she is passionate about it, or because the tech industry is one of the least diverse, but because it makes both moral and commercial sense.

A new index by Business Fibre has analysed 34 of the world’s Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) capital cities to find 2020’s best cities to be a tech student. The index has analysed each city according to metrics such as the number of universities offering technology and engineering courses, total tech companies and employees in each city, the monthly living cost and the top cities investing in tech-related research. An infographic is available here.

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. 

Online shopping is arguably one of the best inventions out there. Nothing beats that feeling of joy when your parcel arrives! But what about the times when your parcel isn’t successfully delivered and you arrive home to find a ‘sorry we missed you’ card through your letterbox? iParcelBox solves the problem of missed deliveries, providing a smart, secure and weatherproof parcel delivery solution that users can monitor and control from their smartphone.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The amount of information we are exposed to exceeds our ability to process it. Out of the about 70,000 thoughts we have per day, our short term memory can hold no more than seven for only about 20 to 30 seconds. How does this relate to branding? Our long-term memory stores our associations with specific brands which is also ultimately the desired effect of marketing campaigns or PR activities - for people to remember your company (or you as a person!) when in need of the products or services you provide.

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.

The home kitchen and dining area have become the most lucrative money making locations in Britain, that combined are generating £37.4bn to the British economy during lockdown - that’s being coined as ‘Kitchen Table Talent’. The research commissioned by Attic Self Storage, revealed that although restrictions are being lifted, 41% of office workers are expected to continue their jobs from home, with 44% saying it’s the most productive place they have ever worked.

Are you working at home and struggling to maintain productivity? For the majority of Brits currently working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and for those looking to do more home working in the future, flexible office specialist, Workthere, has shared 10 tips on how you can create an office space that leads to maximum productivity.

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.

Welcome to a new series of articles where I will provide practical top tips on a wide range of decisions and challenges that early stage businesses have to make every day. Here I will look at everything from start up to scale up and from the more simple to the more complicated.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

Founded by Milo Hill and David Hampshire, DOOZY was built during lockdown and allows people to create free quizzes, share them with friends and play them instantly. And it really is as simple as that - no downloads, no sign-ups, just creating a quiz and sharing it with friends.

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.

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.

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.

London-based startup, RacketPal is on a mission to help more than one billion racket sports players and enthusiasts meet their perfect playing partners. The team is excited to announce the successful closing of its first pre-seed funding round worth £150,000.

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.

No Isolation  was founded with the aim of reducing loneliness and social isolation through the creation and implementation of warm technology. Following the success of its first product, the AV1 telepresence avatar, designed to tackle loneliness amongst children and young adults affected by long-term illness, the company brought its second product, ​KOMP​, to the UK in 2019. KOMP - a one button communication device, designed to connect seniors with their wider family unit - has been bought by 3,300 families across Europe.  
 

The current financial climate is disturbing for technology founders. At the European level, we have over 300 VC funds continuing to actively invest and grant-making programmes in every country, yet founders face many hurdles accessing capital. 

With all the doom and gloom currently out there, especially for a lot of startups and small businesses, Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars created the Summer Startup Fellowship this year in response to obstacles created, and elevated, by the coronavirus pandemic for current college students and recent graduates. The Fellowship program was developed in March of this year in response to the impacts of coronavirus on student job, internship, and entrepreneurship opportunities (50% - 60% of which were dropped or rescinded).

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.

A call has been launched for applications to the Startup Leadership Program London 2021. The Startup Leadership Program (SLP) is a not-for-profit organisation which exists to support entrepreneurs on their path to success and make our world a better place. It is also part of the world's largest network of entreprenuers!

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.

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.

Redundancy is not a modern phenomenon. Recessions date back to the year 1430 and at each occurrence, swathes of hard workers have lost their jobs.

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.

The Central Research Laboratory has teamed up with KPMG Emerging Giants and a group of leading VC firms to create a 3 day bootcamp for startups raising equity rounds between £300k and £3m.

Award-winning startup, e-peas, a supplier of advanced energy harvesting solutions, has just completed its latest funding round.

Made Smarter, the movement helping SMEs join the Industry 4.0 revolution, has reached a major milestone having now funded more than 100 businesses.

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.

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.  

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.

Britain’s small businesses achieved three years of innovation in just three months as they battled to keep trading during the coronavirus lockdown. While such efforts to keep revenues flowing have been successful for some owners, concerns about employment prospects and future investment remain for many as lockdown restrictions begin to ease.

Performance marketing agency, Journey Further, has announced it has teamed up with Europe’s first revenue-based finance provider, Uncapped, to offer performance marketing support to entrepreneurs, startups and scaleups across the continent.

Embracing her entrepreneurial spirit and pursing a new venture, Suzann Bozorgi launched a tech platform designed to make interior design more accessible for clients.

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?’

More than two-thirds of business leaders across the UK have no idea how much employee sickness is costing their business, according to e-days, the absence intelligence platform.

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.

Let’s not beat about the bush: social media has tonnes of benefits. It empowers people to stay connected across huge distances, it has kept people motivated during crises such as the coronavirus pandemic (you thought you could read a blog without that being mentioned?), it empowers quick and simple customer service, and for businesses, it’s a free way to demonstrate your brand values.

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.

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?

Does affiliate marketing have an image problem? Almost certainly. The industry has been dogged with claims of fraudulent practices in the past, and many advertisers have a bad story to tell about ‘data cowboys’ who’ve ripped them off.

The vision for Alexa is to set customers free to do more in life. To achieve this, Amazon is continuing to assist the growing number of startups and entrepreneurs working with voice technology.

2019 was a record breaking year for VC investment in UK startups ($13.2bn, an increase of 44% compared to the previous year) and the amount of VC dry powder in Europe is higher than ever before(more last year’s raises here). Success stories of companies raising millions without a formal pitch deck (Hopin, an online events platform) or still in beta and during lockdown (Clubhouse, a voice-based social media app) do sound inspiring.

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. 

Centaur Robotics is the British technology company behind a pioneering personal electric vehicle, set to usher in a new era of personal mobility.

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.

Quickly responding to the impact COVID-19 and lockdowns are having on tech startups, Capital Enterprise has collaborated with OneTech and Mindful Team, with support from J.P. Morgan, to launch the Startup Resilience programme. Over six months, startup founders will be provided everything from webinars and community slack channels, to mastermind sessions and accountability groups, to be helped through this period of uncertainty. 

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. 

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.

The world is now facing a public health crisis known as Covid-19 and a financial crisis. The crisis on our hands manifests differently for individuals and companies. The uncertainty over our ability to revert to our normal state creates pressures on mental health, relationships, and business performance.

Placing marketing over product, dismissing potential partnerships and overstaying in a single market are key mistakes entrepreneurs should be on the lookout for when building a challenger bank.

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%).

Introducing the Renegade Academy - the programme for new founders brought to you by Huckletree.  

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.