RateSetter founders Peter Behrens and Rhydian Lewis talk banks, Australia and dwarves November 9, 2014 Ask the founders of a business if they’ve got a good setback story, and they’ll usually give you something fairly typecast. Not in the case of RateSetter. “Pete the painter,” answers Peter Behrens firmly, looking over to co-founder Rhydian Lewis. It seems completely off piste, but it actually shows that rumbling the status quo, [...]
Super-SMEs are Britain’s growth dynamo: They deserve our support November 9, 2014 A NEW report from Octopus Investments and the Centre for Economics and Business Research reveals that high growth small businesses (HGSBs) are the driving force behind recent growth in the economy and employment. The High Growth Small Business Report shows that HGSBs – firms with an annual turnover of between £1m and £20m, growing at [...]
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel talks quarter-life crises and how to tackle the state November 2, 2014 It's not every day that you get to speak to Silicon Valley royalty. And Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, first outside investor in Facebook, fund manager, and leader of multiple firms, is a dynasty heavyweight. Having just published his new book, Zero to One, he’s keen to talk about some of his latest ideas. [...]
Helen Archer, and why the cost of childcare is crippling women’s careers October 27, 2014 When I was a child, Radio 4 was permanently on in the kitchen, and I still listen to it at every opportunity. I have never been a great fan of the Archers, but it has been a constant in my life, despite the banal story lines. One of the current dramas in Ambridge [...]
Outside the box: SpaceWays founder David Fuchs talks unwanted cars, Mexico and sexiness October 26, 2014 Budding entrepreneurs will frequently tell you that it’s heartfelt passion driving them to set up a business. But the substance of many highly-successful companies isn’t all that exciting – think chipmakers, paper shredders, kebab boxes. “It’s not that I always dreamt of owning a storage business. Nobody does that. It’s not sexy to go [...]
Why London’s entrepreneurs are increasingly looking to the East October 26, 2014 LAST week was certainly a good one for the London technology scene. The first half saw TechCrunch Disrupt, Silicon Valley’s largest technology event, come to London for the first time. And this is just the latest event in a strong year for the London entrepreneur community; think of the Zoopla initial public offering, the launch [...]
Gimme 5: London events for entrepreneurs October 20, 2014 Online Marketing Masterclass Small business experts Grow are hosting a masterclass on the nine areas of digital marketing you need for online success. 29 October, 2-6pm £97. £45 with the code “cityam” www.wearegrow.com How to Brand your Business Enterprise Nation’s brief but useful lunchtime webinar is done in partnership with iStock, the image specialists. [...]
Dealing in happiness: Chris Gardner talks Wall Street, Miles Davis and subway revelations October 19, 2014 If you love London, you’ll get on with Chris Gardner like a house on fire. “I absolutely love it. It’s a clean New York. London is cool.” But then you can’t help but feel that Gardner is one of those people who would get on with everybody. You might already know some of his [...]
Millennials are drowning in pessimism: Tech firms have a responsibility to act October 16, 2014 UK UNEMPLOYMENT hit its lowest level for almost six years in the three months to the end of August, dropping to just 6 per cent. This clearly brings some cause for optimism. But this positive sign of the health of the UK economy masks a more pressing concern. Despite some recent falls, the jobless rate [...]
Basking in glory: Why UK entrepreneurs need award ceremonies October 12, 2014 Entrepreneurs have no lack of recognition in popular culture today: there are movies about icons like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, and Lord Sugar has now uttered “You’re fired” over 120 times on our TV screens. Politicians, meanwhile, grab any opportunity to sing business owners’ praises – with David Cameron describing them as “national heroes” [...]