Unfinished business: Serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson talks sentimentality, curves and the General Election April 19, 2015 It's a big wide world, and there’s a lot to be done. It’s important to have a sense of urgency.” This is business polymath Luke Johnson’s answer to why it is that he has quite so many business interests – his industriousness is astonishing. Johnson, who waded into the world of business after getting a [...]
“Uber for marijuana” startup raises $75m from Snoop Dogg and other investors April 15, 2015 A marijuana delivery start-up has raised $10m (£6.8m) in a funding round which included investments from Snoop Dogg's Casa Verde Capital and Silicon Valley firm DCM Ventures among others. Eaze, which has been dubbed the "Uber for weed", does not directly supply marijuana, but instead connects California medical marijuana card-carriers with local dispensaries, claiming it can [...]
From flights to philanthropy: Ebookers founder Dinesh Dhamija talks luck, Romania and why Britain’s entrepreneurs shouldn’t be too bothered about the General Election April 12, 2015 We often hear that the startup landscape of today lacks funding opportunities: the banks still aren’t lending to small businesses, and despite pockets of cash existing, unless you’ve got the inside track, it’s difficult to know how to access them. But Dinesh Dhamija, the multi-millionaire son of an Indian diplomat who, in 1999, founded online [...]
Investec Comment: How cheap oil is boosting small businesses April 12, 2015 THE extraordinary decline in the price of oil has been one of the most important economic stories of the past year. Brent Crude fell from over $110 per barrel in June 2014 to below $50 in January 2015, slumping to multi-year lows. Prices have increased marginally since then, but with factors like the interim deal [...]
Gimme 5 April 12, 2015 …BLOGS FOR ENTREPRENEURS Richard Branson’s blog The business heavyweight shares his expertise on everything from how to write a complaint letter to why a three-day week could work. He’s happy to share personal stories and ways of working, to help you on your way. www.virgin.com/richard-branson The Entreprenurial Mind This is the blogging home of Jeff [...]
The investment democrats April 6, 2015 Harriet Green talks investment gurus, Asian expansion and putting £1m of your own savings on the line with the founders of meetinvest, Michel and Maria Jacquemai LAST summer, Michel Jacquemai found himself under a pile of books by investment gurus. The portfolio manager, former Credit Suisse vice president, partner of investment manager Partners Group and [...]
What pension reform means for small firms April 6, 2015 Yesterday, the most important reforms to UK savings policy in a generation came into force. Anyone aged 55 or over is now free to use their pension pot as they wish. They no longer have to buy an annuity, and can even take out some or all of it in cash. Whereas previously only those [...]
Data deluge: Microsoft boss Dave Coplin on how SMEs can best harness technology March 29, 2015 What if, instead of making us smarter, the technology we surround ourselves with was actually making us less efficient? This perhaps unpalatable suggestion becomes even more surprising when made by a man entitled “chief envisioning officer” of one of the world’s largest technology companies. But Microsoft’s Dave Coplin made just this point when speaking at [...]
Interview: City A.M. talks to Marcelino Castrillo, MD of SME UK banking at Santander March 29, 2015 Why has Santander decided to refocus its Breakthrough programme to include all ambitious SMEs, and not just fast-growth businesses? The fast-growth businesses we’ve been working with were seeing great results: they were growing their workforce, launching new products and entering new markets. But we understand that not all ambitious businesses are necessarily fast-growth. Business ambition [...]
Uber expansion: Lessons on how to rapidly scale March 29, 2015 How does a business scale in five years, from operations in one city to a presence in over 280? Uber, the Silicon Valley tech firm, has done just that – in the meantime disrupting the entire private car hire industry. What lessons does it offer other ambitious firms? Uber is a local service operating on [...]