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.