More than a year after COVID fuelled stockpiling of necessities and grocery staples, we still see empty supermarket shelves. Many assume this is because of an increased focus on online sales by the large grocers, especially in the US.

When my business partner, Jack, and I started UnderPinned in August 2018, we had countless images of what running a startup would look like. Time has shown that many of them were poorly conceived. Some, downright fanciful. It’s only been two and half years, but it feels like aeons ago now, and I’ve often thought back to that time, wondering what I would tell myself if I could hop into a time-machine and talk to a younger, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Albert.

“Cautious optimism is hugely important,” the CIO of a large coffee shop chain told us at the end of 2020. The sentiment of caution is familiar: the lockdown life we have all come to know is characterised by endless cancelled plans, delayed returns to the office and an underlying sense of uncertainty. Any optimism that we entertain must be held up with the slightest suspicion that our well-laid plans may indeed fall apart.

As a 90s kid I wanted nothing more than a glittering career in the music industry. I soaked up the Spice Girls’ confidence and felt like I could summon the power within myself to become famous. When TV shows like X-Factor and Popstars gained popularity in my teen years, a career in music seemed within arm’s reach. I believed that if I worked hard and didn’t give up, success would be there for the taking.

As a business owner - Identifying barriers and overcoming them is key to success. Jessica Williamson, successful entrepreneur and business coach has identified the three main challenges that create barriers in businesses.

As we emerge into this new, post-lockdown, post-brexit world, many businesses feel it's time to take the next big growth step - international expansion. Huge opportunities await across borders, but no doubt everyone's aware that new market entry is a time and labour-intensive process, and can be very costly if not successful. 

The latest research shows that employees' mental health is being affected by COVID and that this is having a knock-on effect on their working life. For Mental Health Awareness Week, Towergate Health & Protection urges employers to look after employees at all levels.

One of the few silver linings to come from the pandemic has been the rapid adoption of innovation in healthcare. The race to develop vaccines in less than one year is a prime example - taking anywhere between 10 and 15 years in normal circumstances. Other technologies such as telemedicine for virtual appointments, and Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) that provides lifelike remote training for medical staff, have broken through with great pace.

Martijn De Wever’s venture capital fund Force Over Mass has raised €103M to back the UK and Europe’s most promising tech startups. One sure bet in this pandemic has been the accelerated growth of tech, including the record returns seen in venture capital.

A little over a one year ago, CES just made it under the wire. One of the last of the major trade shows to 'go live' prior to the onset of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the mammoth showcase for emergent technology attracted its normal lineup of 1,200 startups, 4,400 total exhibitors and 170,000 attendees while delivering more than a hundred panels, seminars and presentations. 

Mobile app adoption has skyrocketed during the pandemic. Consumers downloaded a staggering 130 billion apps in 2020, and consumer spending in app stores rose by 25 percent. Yet, app abandonment has also soared to 25 percent.

Systems and procedures are crucial to the running of every successful business. Some company structures are inevitably simpler than others, and the complexity of the business does of course dictate the type of systems and procedures required, as well as the level of need. But whatever the size and complexity of the business, procedures are always needed.

Musicians reportedly lost out on two thirds of their income in 2020 with the doors to live music venues closed and festivals cancelled across the board. With live music taking a backseat, innovations in the sector came to the fore, with collaboration and creation taking on a truly digital-first approach.

This week Alphabet Inc, parent company to Google, saw record profit earnings during its first quarter, with its net profit jumping by 162% in three months. This success has been unsurprisingly attributed to the pandemic, with more people at home using online services to stay informed, connected, and entertained, as we continue to work remotely under lockdown.

According to the latest statistics, the average business spends between 5-12% of their annual turnover on marketing. While millions of organisations - particularly those operating in B2C sectors - perceive digital marketing as fundamental to driving sales and resulting business growth, other business owners still need convincing of its value, and often have preconceptions of the Return On Investment (ROI) required to make it worthwhile.

What’s remarkable is that during COVID-19 startup companies thrived even during trying times, while some of the more established enterprises did not. Part of that is because even in the best of times, a startup company needs to be nimble and pivot with the market as it changes.

With research showing that up to 96% of customers would consider switching from a business after a single bad service experience, there can be no doubt that service is a key differentiator for today’s customers. Contact centres have always been challenged by employee productivity and surges in demand, but never more so than now as remote working has brought new and more complex management issues.

A well thought through brand strategy can be the difference between success and failure when you’re starting out. And that’s been amplified thanks to COVID-19. So what steps can you take to drive success and give your startup the best chance?

If you’re one of the many business owners who have made a profit this past tax year you may be wondering how to extract those profits in the most tax-efficient way.

Agility and resilience are qualities we’ve all had to show in the face of unprecedented challenges since March 2020. It has been hard for all of us personally, and it has also been challenging for many professionally, with industries created and destroyed overnight; wild variations in customer demand; and general economic instability. In response, many businesses have had to pivot fast to survive and, in some cases, thrive.