The grant landscape has come on leaps and bounds in the last decade. Not only has the UK broadened its horizon to include societal innovation, but it has strengthened its regional focus to help communities and industries across the country.

Minc is the startup house of Malmö, right in the heart of the city. Established in 2002 by the City of Malmö, Minc has provided a platform for hundreds of entrepreneurs, specifically tech founders, aiming to make a positive impact on the world. Being a not-for-profit organisation, Minc exists for the good of the community, with the founders at the centre of its mission.

In the 1936 classic Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin plays a factory worker whose entire life revolves around tightening bolts on a relentless assembly line. The repetitive work drives him to the brink of madness – literally sucking him into the gears of the machine.

As someone who designs for startups, it’s clear that not everyone knows how to work with this group of founders. 

Let me take you back to 2017 – I stood as a young mother, with a dream to build a business that would change the future for my family. I didn’t have a marketing budget for my new cleaning business, so instead I planned to use social media to build a brand, attract more followers, and make some vital sales.

With the theme, "Step into the future: Experience Swiss AI innovation," swisstech will present two dedicated pavilions at CES at the Venetian featuring Switzerland's leadership in Artificial Intelligence (AI), innovation, and its thriving business ecosystems. An example is the recent debut of one of the fastest computers in the world, the new ethical supercomputer Alps, which strongly contributes to research infrastructure.  

Despite stormy weather conditions hitting the UK last weekend, the nation’s support for small businesses remains strong, according to new research. The study by American Express to mark this year’s Small Business Saturday (7th December 2024) shows that even faced with the force of Storm Darragh, over 10 million Brits shopped small on Small Business Saturday.

In the fast-evolving workplace of 2025–2030, communication in the workplace is becoming increasingly complex. Cancel culture and fear of saying the wrong thing is growing, and in turn it is paralysing human connections and professional relationships.

After two years of excitement and experimentation, 2025 will be the year companies get serious about proving AI’s ROI. The days of flashy demos and vague promises are over. Instead, businesses will need to see hard evidence that AI delivers real results, whether that’s faster processes, cost savings, or something else tangible.

When I was eight years old, I watched the Mexico Olympics on television and thought ‘I want to do that.’ It took eight years and an incredible amount of work, including extraordinary highs and lows, to achieve that goal.

Creating a positive public profile and an engaging story can be the critical difference for scaling businesses, between securing investment to grow and treading water indefinitely while searching for funds.

As the digital landscape evolves, one thing remains clear: personalised, human-to-human connections are the driving force behind successful sales.

Small business owners and solopreneurs are the driving force behind the UK’s economy, fuelling innovation and strengthening local communities. Yet, the pursuit of entrepreneurial success often comes with significant personal trade-offs.

Sustainability is no longer a distant ideal for businesses – it’s a pressing priority and a transformative opportunity. In the face of environmental and economic challenges, a new report reveals how small businesses across the UK are embedding green practices into their operations. These businesses demonstrate how sustainability can drive innovation, strengthen communities, and ensure long-term success.

As startups begin to grow, and projects develop, we find that it can be easy for founders and employees to ensure that every task undertaken by the business aligns with future goals. As part of our Innovation Toolbox, which is a wide range of resources developed for startups, we developed the Strategy Ladder as a way to make sure your mission and vision run through every piece of work you do.