As companies across the globe are closing their physical offices, the business world has transformed dramatically within just a matter of months. More emphasis is placed on business being conducted online. For example, retailers, IT service providers and even personal trainers are utilising their online platforms and video chat software to remain engaged with their customers.

When starting a business it’s easy to get consumed by P&L and that all-important bottom line (understandably so), but as Sezer Sherif, Founder and CEO of brokerage and investment advisory firm Vector Capital Group explains, that doesn’t mean you can’t build a business with a strong code of ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

An important global competition is under way that will determine the fate of many nations. By this, I am referring to the global artificial intelligence (AI) ‘arms race’ which has seen countries battle to develop the next generation of intelligent technologies.

Echo is an online NHS pharmacy which allows patients to order prescriptions directly to their door - and during COVID this has been invaluable for people who are self-isolating and can't risk a trip to bricks-and-mortar pharmacies for the sake of their health. Ana Maria Ciubotaru, Operations Manager at Echo spoke to Startups Magazine about how the team have had to work extraordinarily hard, shifting dispensing and dispatching operations to 24 hours a day, six days a week. 

If I was to tell you that water is the most used material in the world, I doubt you’d be surprised. However, if I asked you what material comes second in that list you may be left scratching your head. Plastic? Copper? Carbon Fibre? Good guesses all. However, you’d be wrong – it’s actually concrete.

The number of businesses with a positive outlook for the next 12 months exceeds the number with a negative outlook for the first time, in the clearest sign yet that parts of the economy are slowly springing to life, according to the latest wave of the Opinium-Cebr Business Distress Tracker.

Kindness - a word used so frequently. Social media feeds are covered in quotes including: "In a world where you can be anything, be kind" and many more. Especially now, given our current Corona-climate, we’ve all realised the power of kindness.  

The founders of Bulb, a green gas and electricity supplier, met five years ago when they were both working in the energy industry and disillusioned with the way the industry treats its customers and how much businesses were charging for renewable energy. Hayden Wood and Amit Gudka are aiming to make the industry better with Bulb by making energy simpler, cheaper and greener.

You know you need cloud skills within your startup, you have prepared the job spec for the right person (see our Cloud Skills Startip for details), and now you want to make sure that the world knows you are looking for this person and that your startup is the best place to work on earth. And preferably, you don’t want to spend a penny finding that person, because your startup is a lean startup. So how do you do this?

We’ve all seen ultrasound images, undoubtedly so if you’re a parent. And while the technology is used for a multitude of other healthcare-related reasons, the procedure has traditionally been the same, involving the patient having to pay a visit to a hospital. However, this could be about to change with the growth of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). Here, Startups Magazine speaks to Nevada Sanchez, Co-Founder of Butterfly Network, a company pioneering such technology.

The world is embarking on a period of great technological innovation. This means that innovators themselves need a place where they can grow their ideas. Technology startups are fast becoming a growth area for semiconductor manufacturers, as they are often at the coal face of design innovation, pioneering the journey towards the fourth industrial revolution.

Sage has published its SMB Tracker highlighting the latest sentiment from the UK’s small and medium sized businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Many startups know what building a culture means in their startup, and most founders will - smartly - work to prioritise that closely to ensure their company culture is warm, positive, and creative. But few know what building a digital culture means. Without a digital culture, your business will struggle to scale, and will struggle to expand internationally. It’s often ignored and that means you can make it a real positive difference between you and your competitors.

ÜberEnergy develops artificial intelligence algorithms that predict energy requirements for residential and commercial buildings. The artificial intelligence engine uses information such as weather patterns and forecasts, current indoor and outside temperature, human building occupancy, electrical usage patterns, along with a myriad of other data points collected by the system to produce predictions of future energy consumption requirements.

For many businesses, cash in the bank is often a concern especially during periods of uncertainty. Making sure you know exactly what’s going in and out and when has never been so important.