There was a bullish attitude amongst attendees at this year's online version of the Arctic15 startup event that investment in Northern European startups was picking up despite a second wave of COVID-19 across the region.

Since its launch in 2012, leading global e-learning platform, Preply has experienced huge global growth, especially across the last 12 months during the peak of the pandemic.

UK businesses have lost over £6.2m to cyber scams over the past year - with a 31% increase in cases during the height of the pandemic (May-June), new research shows.

Taking a look at how one startup navigated the challenges of COVID by adapting and refining their product and service and came out on top, we spoke to Priya Downes, CEO & CO-Founder of Nudea.

A company's values and culture are becoming increasingly important for the modern worker, quashing even the number on their paycheck. This has never been clearer than today, with the global pandemic both shifting and confirming priorities for workers around the world. 

One of the major issues with most business websites is that they're largely lifeless in more ways than one. Not only do they come off as feeling cold and calculated, but they're updated infrequently - thus leaving a lot of people wondering why they should be paying attention to you at all.

WeWork, the global flexible workspace provider, has this week opened applications to its new Diverse Founders Programme in collaboration with award-winning social enterprise, Foundervine. The programme, available to both existing WeWork members and non-members, will provide founders from ethnically diverse minority backgrounds access to 100 WeWork Labs memberships through its community Labs platform, as well as hot desk spaces, starting in January 2021.

Last month, in the run-up to World Mental Health Day, I joined a panel webinar at Orbit 20 - an online festival organised by WeCoffe - to discuss this topic. 

Quinyx has announced it has acquired Widget Brain, a company that leverages AI to help automate and optimise workforce scheduling.

There aren’t many positive stories to emerge from the current global pandemic crisis but perhaps one was the beneficial impact that ‘lockdown’ had on areas of the environment.

The line between dreaming about your perfect business and actually running a killer corporation is not a huge gap - it is a simple step. Sadly, a lot of people get stuck on their idea. They dream about what could be, without ever focusing on achieving their goals. If you also have a great passion and an amazing idea, then make sure not to be one of these people. All you need is to divide your process into smaller, easier to handle bits. Doing so will help you tackle them more eagerly, and deal with the tasks as they come. Today, we take a look at five essential steps needed to stop dreaming - and start doing.

With varying government guidelines in place across the country, many will find themselves working from home. Exploring the nation’s relationship with their sofa and desk chair, FurnitureChoice.co.uk polled Brits to find out how many suffer from back pain. Using this insight, experts reveal the best and worst seating positions for your back, whilst we spend more time at home on the sofa.

Officially launching this month, Earthly is a tech platform providing businesses with a new way to lead the fight against climate change. Businesses already partnered with Earthly include Garnier, Planet Organic, JoJo Maman Bébé, WhatAMelon Water and Neal’s Yard Remedies.

WorkClub workspaces support hospitality venues, co-working hubs and pubs, to drive more footfall during day-time hours. These venue hosts become neighbourhood workspaces, allowing WorkClub members to work closer to home, supporting the local ecosystem around the corner from their homes. We spoke to Nick Donnelly of WorkClub to find out more about them.

Startups Magazine recently spoke to Adi Mula and Mohammed Shakil, Founders of Foodhub, a fast growing takeaway delivery app.

There is a lot of wisdom that comes from having built up a successful sustainable business from the ground-up. Although I can now attribute them as 'learnings', many purpose-led start-ups perceive them to be modern-day taboos. The truth is, for your startup to not be a part of the 20% that don’t survive beyond their first year, or the 60% that go bust within their first three years, you need to be able to dispel the following five taboos for your startup to thrive.

With the sudden shock and panic now over from the COVID crisis, we are now settling into the ‘new normal’ of on-and-off-again lockdowns and formulating new habits for our businesses, all the while, bracing ourselves for the next crisis; the quietly creeping recession and wondering how our brand can survive.

You never know where inspiration can hit. This was the experience of Jonathan Merry, founder, and CEO of MoneyTransfers.com. While traveling the world, he struggled to avoid accruing fees on his travels - so the idea for a better money transfer experience was born.

Gradfuel, the innovative data-driven graduate hiring platform, has successfully secured £200k in seed investment amidst ongoing market uncertainty in light of COVID-19. The graduate recruitment platform, valued at £1.05m, has fuelled interest from investors and top-tier employers alike. Investors from a range of backgrounds, including ex-Managing Directors from J.P Morgan, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, as well as early investors for Patch Plants and Mindful Chef, have backed the company in its seed round.

As the ongoing economic impacts of COVID-19 continue to be felt, there is an often-forgotten segment that has the potential to spearhead the UK’s re-growth in years to come. Pre starts, startups and SME’s hold the potential to move at pace and expand quickly to support a fledgling economy, provided they receive the right support at the right time and most importantly, at the right price.