Inside Africa’s megacity: God, oil, and traffic chaos in Lagos November 29, 2013 From the Nollywood film industry to shanty-dwellers with a line in tech imports, Nigeria’s biggest city reveals its secrets to Alex Dymoke NO ONE knows quite how many people live in Lagos. Nigeria’s 2006 census put the official figure at just under 8m. The UN estimated the number for 2011 at 11.2m. Others say it’s [...]
The unlikely bedfellows driving a cab revolution November 24, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks taxis with Russell Hall and Ron Zeghibe, two of the founders behind Hailo IN 1639, a licence was granted to the Corporation of Coachmen, allowing its members to compete with the then-dominant licensed sedan chairs. Today, there are over 23,000 licensed taxi drivers in London. They’ve become a British institution – described [...]
Management: Meet national culture November 20, 2013 A new book argues that cultural values can make or break a corporate strategy AMERICA has long been seen as a graveyard for British retailers. In 2001, Marks & Spencer sold its Brooks Brothers US chain for a third of the price it paid for it. Sainsbury’s bailed out of its Shaw’s business in 2004. [...]
Startup springboks who let the idea come to them November 17, 2013 Annabel Palmer meets Leon Blitz and Brad Fried, lifelong pals behind investment firm Grovepoint MOST entrepreneurs start with an idea – be it reinventing the wheel or simply finding a way to do something better than anyone else out there. The hard part is then taking the first steps – shunning job security for months [...]
It’s time for entrepreneurs to make their numbers heard – for the benefit of the wider British economy November 17, 2013 IN HOLLYWOOD action movies, the hero often battles a room full of villains, defeating them one at a time before rescuing the girl. However, the world isn’t a movie – on planet Earth, when it comes to getting your way, numbers matter. That’s why, in the 1970s, Britain was brought to a halt when the [...]
Entrepreneurship week comes to London: Four events worth watching November 17, 2013 IT’S GLOBAL Entrepreneurship Week, and this year’s theme (Take a Step Forward) is more timely than usual. Despite record numbers of new startups, UK entrepreneurs still find it more difficult to scale or reach the next stage of their development than their peers in the US. Whatever the reasons (and they are much debated), this [...]
Tech powerhouse who wants to save our ailing high street November 10, 2013 Annabel Palmer meets Dan Wagner, back in the limelight with latest venture Powa Technologies HE may be one of Britain’s most prominent tech entrepreneurs, but Dan Wagner has had more than his share of career ups and downs and scathing headlines. In the 1980s, he was subject to criticism from the financial community for his [...]
Four ideas from Silicon Valley on creating scale from Britain’s startups November 10, 2013 UK STARTUPS don’t lack enthusiasm (over 440,000 have been founded in 2013 so far), but Britain lags behind the US in the number that reach scale. This is an economically important issue. A report by the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK programme found that just 1 per cent of all firms – high-growth small [...]
Matchmakers transforming how we buy and sell shares November 3, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to the duo behind Asset Match, the online peer-to-peer trading platform CROWDFUNDING platforms are multiplying across the world, with investors flocking to websites like Kickstarter to take a punt on small, private companies in the hope of high reward. Indeed, according to a recent report by research firm Massolution, by the end [...]
Networks matter for people and businesses of all shapes and sizes November 3, 2013 NO ENTREPRENEUR is an island – who you know can determine whether or not your business idea is going to be a success. Although networking is often considered to be a soft skill with soft benefits, it is actually vital for turning an idea into reality. When people mix, ideas and money flow more easily. [...]
