Raising funds for your startup can be challenging at the best of times. Throw a pandemic into the mix and you’re faced with an even bigger mountain to climb.

Startups begin with a great idea, but it’s the people behind that idea that make sure a business gets off the ground in the first place.

To understand the how the role of leadership has changed in modern society, you need to look at how our perceptions of ‘the job’ has evolved. 

With the rise in popularity of cryptocurrency, many people are becoming more and more interested in this brand new form of investing and money-making. Since 2009, when bitcoin was first released to the public, cryptocurrencies have completely shaken up the world of finance, and have now become a mainstream form of investment. What once was a part of underground internet culture, has in recent years become something that the people we meet in everyday life discuss and are interested in. But, just what is cryptocurrency?

We spoke to Rahim Hirji, UK Country Manager of leading online learning platform and app, Quizlet, who reflected on education in 2021, looked forward to 2022, and offered expert insight into the future of the education sector.

A lot goes into running a successful ecommerce business. And with the rapid adoption of online shopping, the ecommerce market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16% during 2021-2026.

Automotive technology at CES has grown so much over the years that for 2022, the show devoted the entirety of its new Las Vegas Convention Centre West Hall to what is now widely recognised – if it were a stand-alone event – as one of the largest auto shows in the world. At the recently concluded celebration of technological innovation, show attendees witnessed the launch – or the visionary introductions – of such features as the color-changing BMW iX Flow, Cadillac’s InnerSpace automotive theatre (for when self-driving cars become a reality), LG’s Omnipod 'office in a car' and more.

With COVID-19 already pushing the narrative across the globe, it came as no surprise that healthcare technology emerged as one of the top areas of focus at CES 2022.

No organisation wants to think that it will be subject to a negative reputational issue – a crisis – but the truth is that every business should be considering this possibility.

The dawn of the contract marketplace spelled a period of relative simplicity for startups. It meant the easy accessibility of a whole range of talent.

The UK’s energy industry is under ever increasing strain. From rising wholesale energy costs, the impact of Covid and uncertainty around Brexit, providers and consumers are facing pressure from multiple fronts.

Founded in 2017, by 2021 Primephonic boasted over three and a half million tracks, and was considered the world’s largest specialist library of classical music. It had become so successful that when Apple was looking to extend its music offering into classical music the obvious solution was to acquire Primephonic.

With more customers shopping online than ever before, retailers are being forced to either debut online or significantly increase their online presence. There are obvious and significant costs involved in moving online for retailers of all sizes. The opportunity to make up for lost sales by expanding or launching online has been a lifeline during COVID, but have retailers done enough to identify and tackle the hidden costs of eCommerce?

Customer data decays at an alarming rate (approximately 37.5% every year), with thousands of people moving home or passing away daily.

For the past eighteen months, economic uncertainty has frozen a vast proportion of the world’s workforce to the spot. It didn’t matter whether employees were content with their jobs at the onset of the crisis: the prospect of losing rights to redundancy pay, falling foul of the ‘last in, first out’ method, or joining a new company that could have a less certain outlook was enough to delay any major career decisions.  

Having a strong relationship with the media can help your brand to increase its reach without spending millions in advertising. By making connections with the right journalists and organisations, fast-moving companies can get themselves noticed, building awareness that can help them reach their goals in a number of different ways. 

Over the past two years, the pandemic has forced many businesses to rely far more heavily on technology than ever before, as lockdown and other restrictive measures caused persistent disruption to day-to-day operations.

When investors make the decision to give funding to a startup they are effectively saying ‘I believe that the vision of this business will manifest itself in tangible value in the future.’ Data sometimes back up this belief, but often it isn’t. This means that an investor's decision to invest in a startup is more emotional than rational in the early stages. For this reason, investors must believe in the value that the startups create not just for themselves as ROI, but for everyone that is and will be using the product.

While the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic unravel, there has been an increase in the number of claims being made on personal guarantees against directors or other individuals who have guaranteed business debts.

When starting a new business, the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of budding entrepreneurs are underpinned by the desire to secure a bright and prosperous future. Positivity, adrenalin and energy combine to drive them forwards. Hurdles are overcome, goals are pursued, and time flies by in a whirlwind of activity and excitement – at least, that’s the plan.