I tried to create ChatGPT in 1999 – this is what failure taught me Opinion Fred Plais created a natural language search engine in the early days of the internet. Here’s what the AI founders of today can learn from his mistakes How did you feel when ChatGPT was released in 2022? Amazed by the advances of technology? Intrigued by the possibilities it created? Maybe worried about what AI could [...]
Time to bring back the Great British exit Opinion Britain has no lack of ideas, founders or ambition but too often our successful start-ups lean on American giants when they exit. This isn’t inevitable, says Carolyn Dawson More than 100 companies are incorporated every hour in this country. British start-ups have raised more than $7bn in investment so far this year alone. Despite the [...]
Three ways to build start-ups faster and with less investment Opinion CEOs that keep innovating and are advanced users of AI see up to 4x revenue growth than those that don’t, says Paul Jenkins When there’s a period of uncertainty, it’s easy to retrench and focus on short-term gains. To freeze hiring, cut projects and hold off investments. And, it’s hard not to feel a gravitational [...]
The scandal of the defence start-ups getting debanked October 2, 2025 No one should be debanked – made effectively bankrupt – because of their political views, but when it’s done to start-ups vital to defence, it endangers us all, says James Graham Few knew what debanking was in the summer of 2023 when news emerged that Nigel Farage’s account had been shut down. His bank initially [...]
Michael Vaughan issues Autumn Budget plea to Rachel Reeves September 18, 2025 Cricket legend Michael Vaughan has issued a plea to Chancellor Rachel Reeves to help out start-ups and small-to-medium-sized (SMEs) businesses in her Autumn Budget on 26 November. Vaughan, who has recently invested in health and wellness supplement start-up Uthful, hit out at the employers’ National Insurance increase included in last year’s Autumn Budget for causing [...]
Don’t let France overtake Britain in tech September 3, 2025 To maintain its economic leadership, the UK must learn from the proactive policies of competitors like France and urgently reform its own R&D and investment schemes to better support innovative start-ups and scale-ups, says Gregor Poynton As the UK faces up to the economic challenges we confront as a country, we should remain optimistic about [...]
Motorway CEO: How I built my $1bn empire after a huge failure June 16, 2025 The co-founder and chief executive of used car marketplace Motorway has opened up about how he helped to build a $1bn empire from scratch following the biggest failure of his career. On an up-coming episode of City AM’s Boardroom Uncovered show, Tom Leathes also revealed how he and his fellow founders landed on the car [...]
Revolut: UK is ‘entrepreneurial hub of Europe’ May 28, 2025 UK entrepreneurship has stormed ahead of its European rivals, according to findings from the region’s most valuable fintech company. Fresh data from Revolut’s business arm shows half of British businesses using its services are startups, a figure that dwarfs its European counterparts. Their closest rivals, the Netherlands and Ireland, sit at near 40 per cent. [...]
Why UK start-ups should act now to capitalise on Trump-era economics May 9, 2025 Despite short-term volatility from Trump-era economic policies, bold UK startups and venture-backed firms should capitalise on impending tax reforms and US-UK trade opportunities to gain a first-mover advantage in the resilient American market, says Tim Hames With more than 1,000 days left of his term, we are currently at something akin to “Peak Trump” in [...]
Puresport: Finn Russell, Ben Earl and Castore backer in £3.6m fund raise April 23, 2025 Rugby stars Finn Russell and Ben Earl have doubled down on their investment to help London-based sports nutrition brand Puresport raise £3.6m in fresh funding. Redrice Ventures, an early backer of British sportswear brand Castore, and serial high growth investor Five Seasons Ventures also took part in the latest funding round. Puresport was founded by [...]