Why I still choose Britain to build a business
Britain has become remarkably good at telling entrepreneurs why they should leave. America offers deeper pools of capital and a greater appetite for risk. Other markets offer attractive tax regimes and cheaper access to talent.
Those advantages are real and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. But when I started Lateral, a health insurance business for people over 60, Britain was exactly where I wanted to build it. Not because of patriotism, but because I could see a significant commercial opportunity here supported by an ecosystem that is unusually well suited to building a business at the intersection of healthcare and financial services.
There are enormous opportunities on our doorstep
In the excitement for international expansion and global champions, I think we sometimes overlook the scale of the opportunities within our own market. There are multi-billion-pound problems to solve without ever leaving our shores.
Britain has a substantial consumer base and plenty of areas where existing products and services have failed to keep pace with changing needs.
Our ageing population is a particularly good example – too often it is discussed as an economic burden but it is also creating enormous opportunities for businesses prepared to rethink how they serve older consumers. At Lateral, we saw a significant gap in the financial services market for people over 60, many of whom are healthy, active and financially comfortable, but poorly served by products that become increasingly expensive or restrictive as they age. Our first product to market is health insurance designed specifically for over-60s and intended to complement the NHS. This is a very British opportunity, shaped by our ageing demographics, our state provided healthcare system, and the limitations of the existing insurance market.
Britain has some useful advantages
For healthcare entrepreneurs, the NHS is an interesting and unique opportunity. As one of the world’s largest publicly funded healthcare systems, it offers extraordinary depth of clinical expertise, infrastructure and health information, with significant potential for research and innovation at scale. Accessing that potential isn’t always straightforward, but there is enormous scope for businesses that can improve how people access care, navigate the system, and manage their health.
The UK’s position as a global financial services centre is another significant advantage. London brings together insurers, investors, technology specialists, regulators, and experienced operators in a way that few cities can match. For a business like Lateral, operating at the intersection of insurance, healthcare, and technology, that collective expertise has been invaluable.
We also have genuinely effective mechanisms for supporting early-stage businesses. EIS and SEIS aren’t just obscure tax incentives. When you’re asking someone to back a company with limited trading history, they can materially change the risk-reward equation and make a meaningful difference. Combined with London’s network of angel investors, venture capital firms and experienced founders, it creates a powerful ecosystem. It’s one I’m proud to be part of, and one that even led to a serendipitous introduction to my co-founder, Steven Mendel.
Regulation can be an asset, not just an obstacle
It’s fashionable for founders to complain about regulation, but my experience in financial services has been more nuanced. The FCA provides a well-established framework with relatively clear expectations around consumer protection, governance and how financial products should be designed and sold. Meeting those requirements takes time and expertise, but they also provide useful guardrails. In insurance, where customers need to trust that a company will be there when they need it, strong standards are fundamental to building a sustainable business.
We’ve had a constructive experience building Lateral within the UK’s regulatory environment, and the FCA’s increasing focus on innovation is encouraging. That doesn’t mean every requirement is proportionate or that the system couldn’t be more efficient, but I firmly believe good regulation and genuinely innovative products can coexist here.
Let’s back the people willing to take the risk
Britain has the market, talent and expertise to build enormously successful businesses with plenty of opportunities for those with an entrepreneurial mindset.
What we need to work on is creating an environment that encourages more people to back themselves and have a go. We celebrate our “bloody-minded entrepreneurs”, but we should be thinking just as hard about how to make entrepreneurship a realistic choice for more people.
Britain can be a great place to build a business. Our next challenge is making it a place where more people are willing and able to start one.
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