The challenges presented by COVID-19 have been a force for good in some organisations where it has accelerated a digital-first mindset and driven some positive developments.

In the final part of this series, I’m looking right in the eyes of the elephant in the room: risk.

There are many joys that come from starting life as a freelancer or small business owner – the empowering feeling of striking out on your own, the freedom to set your schedule, the sense of accomplishment when your ideas come to life. But one of the biggest headaches is suddenly being in charge of your own finances, from payroll to budgeting to taxes, especially if you have limited experience in these areas.

If you’re growing a business that has a purpose beyond making profit the world of investment might feel daunting. But there is a breed of investors who are looking to see their investments making a social and environmental impact and they are on the look out to back the leaders of the future. This is an opportunity you can’t miss.

The great idea has started to come to fruition. You are excited about the future for your business and yourself. You have a team in place, and you have got the startup started. The investment market has predetermined that you should go and look for investment to drive your business forward. A good majority of startups follow this route without question.

New data from SeedLegals has revealed a surge in investment from family and friends over the last year, which has helped to prop-up new and existing startups.

Included VC, the first-of-its-kind global initiative building diversity within venture capital, has in a collaborative partnership with 11 funds from around the world, kicked off its Fellowship II. It is the only offering on the market that offers a nine-month, fully funded Fellowship to diverse individuals globally who are looking to enter the VC ecosystem.

Workspace accelerator, Huckletree has launched a new quarterly series, Huckletree VC Connect, which sees them partner with leading VC firms to help founders who are looking to raise in the near future with informal and personalised advice. 

It’s official – London is Europe’s global tech city, with London based technology firms having raised more than $10.5bn in new investment from venture capital firms in 2020. As good as that is, the good news just keeps on coming, as 2021 looks to be even more promising given that London based VC firms have raised record amounts of fresh funds ready to deploy this year.

The online world has often been difficult for inventive startups that want to make a living from their passion. You have an idea that you believe consumers want, but getting it to them is hard. Your strength is in the idea, but to get it out there you have to create a website, decide on ecommerce or charging capabilities, plan a marketing strategy, resolve accounting issues and even organise customer service. So before you even get started you are defeated by too many obstacles. However, for the creative person there are a great many platforms and technology solutions that will do all of this for you.

As high street lenders back down amidst the COVID crisis, more and more startups are turning to online banks and startups funds. We caught up with Jeb Buckler, CEO and Founder of Startups Giants on the current situation. 

Staying on track financially can be one of the most challenging aspects of creating and managing a startup. If it wasn’t hard enough, the global pandemic has added another dimension of difficulty which even the most robust of businesses have struggled to navigate. However, there are a few key things that startups can do to stay on top of their finances. Below are five tips for startups aiming to become a thriving and profitable business.

As we enter a new year, and unfortunately another lockdown lets get down to business. Our lastest issue out at the end of January focuses on the different ways to fund your startup.  

One of the advice I always give to founders before they go to investors – make sure you are fundable. But what is a fundable business idea? Having been working with startups for more than ten years and supporting them in the fundraising process I summed up these seven questions that could help you understand whether you are ready to raise funds

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?

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.

In the first part of this series I looked specifically at why women aren’t investing. This time, I’m exploring what’s stopping everyone else.

All hope abandon ye who enter here. If 2020 had a tagline, that would be it. It's been a rotten year for the startup community. The Coronavirus pandemic has caused unprecedented economic damage, imperilled revenues, and poured cold water on investor confidence.

How much do you know about the Kickstart Scheme that was introduced by the Government in September 2020? If you are a startup or early stage business, my guess would probably be, not very much, but perhaps you are missing out on something that could be very good for your business.

Bored of the adage 'If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail'? You're not alone. Sadly, truisms - much like a parent's advice - tend to be worth heeding. When it comes to funding, it's best to do it well in advance. Too many companies leave it until there's a cashflow crunch before acting. As trusted advisers, accountants need to play the role of parent, use their wisdom to identify future funding opportunities, model a couple of scenarios, and help clients find a source of finance that doesn't leave them with unfavourable terms.