Edtech marketplace, Preply, has secured an additional $35m of funding, a sum that exceeds the platform’s cumulative fundraising efforts since 2013. The round was co-led by Owl Ventures and Full In Partners, with participation from previous investors Point Nine Capital, Hoxton Ventures, as well as EduCapital, All Iron, Diligent Capital and Evli Growth Partners.

The past year has demonstrated how important deeptech innovation is to solving some of the greatest challenges faced today, from finding vaccine candidates for the COVID-19 pandemic through to solving climate change and transforming healthcare. The UK’s deeptech sector is a critical part of the Government’s post-Brexit ambition for the UK to become a global ‘Science Superpower’. 

A year into the pandemic, the vast majority of companies have had to adapt to new methods of working. Prior to the first lockdown in the UK, working from home was reserved for freelancers or viewed as a nice occasional perk.

Guess who is back, back again with bigger and better plans than before. The Hustle Awards is returning for 2021, with a super exciting hybrid format, so not only does this mean we plan to actually network and celebrate with some of you in person; if that does not sound as exhilarating to you as it does to us, you can still enjoy this year’s awards from the comfort of your own home!

Influencer marketing. An ideal channel for a brand looking to raise awareness and grow its consumer base, but can influencer marketing work in a B2B setting? According to Yorkshire-based tech startup, socialsendr, yes it can, with the business seeing an immediate increase in platform sign ups following a campaign with a nano influencer on TikTok. 

After another record-breaking year, in which VC investment surpassed more than €38bn in Europe, Dealroom has released its annual ranking of the Most Prominent Venture Capital Investors for 2021 - and this time, it’s gone global. 

FemTech Lab - Europe’s first independent accelerator that helps the rising stars of FemTech take their products to market - has announced its carefully-selected spring 2021 cohort of startups within the women’s healthcare and wellbeing space.

The success of your endeavors depends on your approach and perspectives towards things. Ultimately, it is all about how you train your mind to be at the helm of your pursuit. Yes, passion is a lot synonymous with following the heart, but you also need to develop a positive mindset. It is all about the mindsets after all! Positivity, confidence, persistence, and possibilities are all attributes of your mindset. Besides, it is a well-established fact that the prowess of our minds shapes our lives. Being in the right frame of mind is paramount.

Debra Clark, Head of Specialist Consulting at Towergate Health & Protection makes a frank warning to employers: “If you do not engage with your staff, you will lose them.”

To mark International Women's Day, University of Bristol-led tech incubator, SETsquared Bristol, are opening applications for Enterprising Women 2.0, a pre-incubation programme for women-led businesses, in partnership with NatWest.

Following the government’s latest support measures for SMEs, new research from Xero shows that many firms acknowledge they will make more use of technology to capitalise on the post-lockdown bounceback, with the potential for a £16.6bn productivity boost.

Innovative property technology company, Vouch has confirmed that their team has more than doubled since March 2020, marking a 118% workforce increase despite the lockdown. Designed and built by letting agents for letting agents, Vouch delivers a referencing solution designed for the 21st century. 

New ideas are overrated, you can find them on every street corner. We’ve been in a holding pattern for a year, where everyone you meet is an expert on COVID and has their own ideas about what should happen. I’m sick of hearing them.

2021 sees the continuation of much of the UKs workforce setting up office at home.  However, as the government reveals its roadmap for the lifting of lockdown, workers are considering when to return to the traditional office setting.

Angel Business Club will lift the lid on the secrets to investment success when the club’s Insights Series returns on Wednesday 17th March.

A London-based business growth agency has set up a neural network to help enhance its Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services.

Xero accounting and bookkeeping practices and app partners across the UK and Ireland were honoured at the annual Xero awards. Hosted by Gary Turner, Xero UK & EMEA Managing Director and comedian, Henry Paker in an online ceremony, the awards showcased the achievements of those supporting small businesses through one of the toughest years. 

UK businesses are at risk of losing employee trust through choosing to abstain from reporting their gender gap figures, following on from the EHRC’s second deadline extension. Government figures show that nearly half of 10,000 eligible employers chose not to submit their pay gap figures last year - equalling to nearly 5,000 businesses that possibly have something to hide.

Despite the global growth of women-led businesses, funding continues to be a significant challenge. Having gathered multiple data and research, Instant Offices revealed 35% of female business founders still face gender bias when raising their business capital. Female entrepreneurs also receive an average of 5% less funding than their male counterparts.

The founder of LatchAid, a FemTech startup using innovative technology to revolutionise breastfeeding and early parenting support, has won the prestigious Women in Innovation award.