Start Up Loan Scheme hits milestone of £100m issued to young entrepreneurs February 15, 2024 A grand total of £100m in Start Up Loans has been distributed to the “next generation” of business leaders, the latest breakthrough shows, despite an ongoing wave of SME funding challenges. Since the Start Up Loan Scheme, funded through British Business Bank, was introduced in 2012, some 15,000 loans have been issued to founders aged [...]
Meet the founder on a mission to take away your plastic water bottle February 13, 2024 Anthony Newman was convinced Londoners would ditch plastic water bottles if they had an alternative. The founder of Ape2o was onto something, Jennifer Sieg finds, in our latest founder spotlight.
Alternative lenders ‘pick up the slack’ as SMEs demand larger loans February 7, 2024 Alternative lenders are taking the wheel as the demand for larger loans by Britain’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rises, according to a new poll of over 120 brokers. The survey, conducted as part of fintech firm Iwoca’s SME Expert Index, found that small businesses in the fourth quarter of 2023 demanded loans of over [...]
In Good Company CEO: What I learnt leaving the corporate climb behind February 6, 2024 A good corporate job wasn't enough for Alex Birtles, so she packed it in to do her own thing. She tells Jennifer Sieg why.
Closing time: UK brewers calling last orders with the North and Wales hit hardest February 6, 2024 The number of brewery closures during 2023 continued to fall - with the North and Wales hit the hardest, according to new figures.
London named entrepreneurship capital with half of power list based in the big smoke February 6, 2024 London has been named home to over half of the UK’s newly-revealed leading young entrepreneurs to watch out for. Of the 188 young business founders making up entrepreneurial research platform Hurun UK’s Under30s and Under35s lists, 116 have their ventures based in the capital. Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher, said the research [...]
Why you don’t have to be a ‘rich whizz-kid’ to start a business: Here’s how much it costs February 5, 2024 Even now, with inflation and current economic circumstances to consider, Philip Salter, founder of the Entrepreneurs Network, said: "You don't have to be a rich whizz-kid to be an entrepreneur."
Is ‘Founder’s Syndrome’ holding your business back? February 3, 2024 You’ve created the idea, designed a plan, and now your business is up and running. However, there’s still that looming question of what to do when the business starts to grow. The jump out of your career comfort zone might be finally paying off – but sooner than later growing pains begin to bite. Too [...]
No Brainer: The co-founders proving purpose-led business possible February 2, 2024 Search-driven content agency No Brainer has become one of the first of its kind to achieve global accreditation for its purpose-led grind, but the journey wasn't as easy as expected.
Little progress as start-ups meet City minister over new investing rule changes February 1, 2024 Start-up groups met the City minister this week in a bid to soften the controversial new investing rule changes, and hold chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s “feet to the fire”. They issued an update after a meeting with the City minister Bim Afolami yesterday failed to see a successful resolution to the issue. The meeting took place [...]