Gimme 5 June 16, 2014 …STARTUPS CROWDFUNDING THIS MONTH Chilango Target: £1,000,000 for 8 per cent equity A London chain of seven fast-service Mexican restaurants serving award-winning food. Offers the “Burrito Bond”, a mini-bond paying investors 8 per cent. Raised: £430,500 via CrowdCube 57 days left Odyssey Target: £1,000,000 for 5 per cent equity A new business class airline venture [...]
Kings of Leon: Meet fast food entrepreneurs Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent June 8, 2014 Annabel Palmer talks fast food in heaven with Leon founders Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent BRITAIN’S foodies have never had it so good. Barely a week goes by without a new fad emerging to whet their sweetbreads (most recently, the rise of American-inspired dipping and Korean cuisine); BBC One’s Masterchef becomes ever more delectable as [...]
Tipping point: Why there’s never been a better time to start a business in Britain June 8, 2014 WE HAVE now heard Her Majesty the Queen utter the words small business and enterprise in Parliament. Last week, she announced the first ever bill dedicated to small firms in the Queen’s Speech: the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill. This was soon followed by a release from the Office for National Statistics showing the [...]
Gimme 5 June 8, 2014 …INSPIRATIONAL BUSINESS BOOKS The Gospel of Wealth Andrew Carnegie The original wealthy capitalist’s bible, Carnegie’s book explains that growing rich by making well-thought out business decisions is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it’s among the most patriotic things you could possibly do – as long as you pay your taxes. The Dilbert Principle [...]
The business builder June 2, 2014 Harriet Green talks vans, contractors and disastrous renovations with aspect.co.uk co-founder Will Davies WITH the supply crunch starting to bite in the London office space sector, according to CBRE, and with average London house prices now at £485,000, the old adage that 1 per cent of a property’s value should be spent on upkeep annually [...]
Gimme 5 June 2, 2014 …EVENTS FOR ENTREPRENEURS IN JUNE Online Marketing Masterclass 17 June, 2-6pm, British Library £97, but £45 with the code “cityam” Grow, the small business marketing experts, host a masterclass covering the nine areas of digital marketing you need to know for web success. www.wearegrow.com Crowdfunding Step-by-Step 4 June, 10.30-5.30pm, Rainmaking Loft Free Learn everything you [...]
Pedalling his wares May 18, 2014 Annabel Palmer talks to Simon Mottram, founder of premium cycle clothing and accessories brand Rapha IT’S A dilemma faced by the 1.9m professionals now cycling to work every day. Wear a suit, and you risk tears, discomfort and heat exhaustion. Wear lycra and you could be sacrificing style for comfort. But as the number of [...]
Gimme 5 May 18, 2014 …STARTUPS CROWDFUNDING THIS MONTH Readbug Target: £50,000 for 10 per cent equity The “Spotify or Netflix” for magazines, Readbug provides unlimited newsstand content for a monthly subscription fee. Raised: £23,510 via Seedrs 50 days left Lovestruck Target: £800,000 for 23.8 per cent equity The premium hyper-local dating service, which matches urban professionals to others who [...]
UK schools fail to understand finance careers May 11, 2014 A GENERATION of teachers and parents with poor understanding of financial services is deterring young people from pursuing a career in the sector, according to a survey released today. The YouGov poll, which was conducted on behalf of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), found that over 60 per cent of teachers have [...]
Pedal to the metal May 11, 2014 Annabel Palmer meets POD Point founder Erik Fairbairn, who’s helping drive the electric car revolution IT’S RARE to find an entrepreneur who, just midway through growing a business, is entirely candid about their exit plan. But Erik Fairbairn – founder of POD Point – plans to create 10 companies “this lifetime”. At 37, and already [...]