This five step Business Strategy plan is called the FFS (The Fraser Five Step) and is a simple way to create a clear and actionable business plan for your startup.

Sustainable finance is not just a box-ticking exercise - it must be a marriage of environmental and social impact. It has become a popular buzzphrase for investors as they seek to put their funding into companies that aim to solve the world’s biggest problems, most notably climate change.

May 2022: The key to increasing investment in more female-founded companies is by increasing the representation of female VCs, suggests VC-backed, female-founded retail technology app Slip. Although less than 20% of investors in Slip are female, Co-founder and CEO Tash Grossman believes that increased female investor representation would support the growth of more female-founded businesses. 

Getting the backing of a Venture Capital Fund (VC) is often a key milestone for any growing business, it is, therefore, important to strategise both your preparation and approach.
 

There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding whether to rent or buy your business premises. Both options have their pros and cons, and it can be difficult to decide which is the best option for you. In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of renting vs buying business premises so that you can make an informed decision about what is best for your business.

From seven-second TikTok videos on our phones, click and collect McDonald’s orders and generous returns policies on our clothes, our modern existence is characterised by the need for speed, ease and flexibility. Convenience is what we expect and what we now demand from technology providers. There was a time when consumers were prepared to wait a year for a software update and willing to pay extra for new features. Today, expectations have changed and been replaced by an expectation of flexibility and the convenience of pay-as-you-go subscription billing methods.

Over the last 18 months, we’ve seen an unprecedented number of new startups being incorporated despite the backdrop of the COVID pandemic increasing business uncertainty. In fact, the first half of 2021 saw nearly 80 new businesses were created every hour, leading to over 340,000 startups registered in the UK between January and June 2021.

In the last two years the digital payments landscape has experienced rapid evolution, which has largely been driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that the UK economy begins to recover from the last two years, it’s evident that consumer expectations around the ease and choice of payment options have changed permanently, and it is essential that SMEs are aware of their demands.

Obviously as a startup there are a million things that you should be doing. But here is a checklist of ten that you need to prioritise from your never-ending list. 

The metaverse is a growing phenomenon. It has a huge variety especially when it comes to investing in the metaverse. We spoke to Grant Blaisdell, CEO of Copernic Space and asked his expert opinion on what we can expect to see with trends in the metaverse and investment. 

Apple propelled Tap to Pay to the forefront of payments and fintech news, with their new Tap to Pay feature effectively turning iPhones into payment terminals. In theory, this could be a gamechanger for small businesses in the UK, helping them avoid high fees and clunky tech. What’s more, it’s not just Apple who’s bringing out new solutions here. Plenty of new entrants to the market are making a play for the Android users who make up 45% of the market. Now, let’s look at whether this is a technology which will really take off.

Creating and presenting a pitch deck is always a daunting prospect. Especially when you’re new to the process. Just knowing what information to include can be a minefield, let alone how to present it. And while tech advancements have opened the way to multimedia presentations, the question remains whether the likes of GIFs, emojis, and animations are appropriate in a business setting. Can they be used to make your business stand out in the right way?

Cross-border commerce has created a new digital age of endless possibility. Brands and companies can expand into untapped markets, as well as grow their visibility with potential new consumers who aren’t dependent on localised commerce.

Whether this is your first business, a new enterprise, or a brand within your existing company, choosing the right name is a vital part of its success. There are many factors to consider and, as IP and business name experts, we’ll take you through the process to ensure you’re off to the best start.

While hearing the term 'icebreaker' may make many employees want to run for the hills, team building is an important activity for startups to utilise.