Listen to our first podcast about The Pitch!
We’ve finally found time to sit down and talk about what it’s been like to take on The Pitch – from the sleepless nights to the euphoria of starting up. We’re going to be doing these regularly with other business owners and investors. Leave us a comment or send us a tweet if you want […]
DrivenMedia gets £30,000 investment on Dragons’ Den
21-year-old entrepreneur Ed Holland was counting change collected by parking meters when he had the light bulb moment for DrivenMedia. Since then he’s gone from marvelling at blank truck trailers in a traffic jam to landing a £30,000 investment on Dragons’ Den. “There were 100s of cars staring at the back of these trucks and no […]
5 food startup lessons that helped us grow to 3,500 outlets
We want to share more of our journey from a small market stand to distributing in over 3,500 outlets as we grow in 2018. From the challenges of launching new and relevant products and scaling production to learning on the job. I thought I would start this year by sharing five of my biggest learnings […]
How small businesses can kickstart Pay Per Click advertising
Pay per click (PPC) advertising is a powerful channel for securing conversion and raising awareness of your business. According to research, for high commercial intent searches (someone looking to buy a product) paid ads get 65% of all clicks. But people say PPC is expensive and time-consuming. Not to mention complicated. Given the massive time investment and […]
The Pitch is under new management!
We’re really excited to announce that Yiuwin and I have taken on The Pitch through a management buyout and we’re launching applications today. We helped run the event for the last few years as employees of Sift. Working with the amazing entrepreneurs that take part was the best part of our job. It was truly inspiring. […]
Inside the community-led crowdfunding campaign that raised £750k in 72 hrs
Equity crowdfunding platforms allow customers to own part of a business, whether they’re fans of a brewery or a beach ball brand. This means that startups can leverage the community they have built to help get investment. Much Better Adventures took this approach to raising investment to the extreme. It hit its crowdfunding target of […]
Can a non-technical founder create the next big tech startup?
Picture the scene, young entrepreneurs huddled in a college dorm or their parent’s basement, coding into the small hours to create the next big tech startup. Greatness doesn’t build itself, you have to put in the hours and burn the midnight oil. But, what if you’re not technical and you don’t write code? Are non-technical founders precluded […]
How startup entrepreneurs cope with fast-growing teams
Having the opportunity to rapidly build a team is a dream for many startup founders. Finally, they can bring in the specialist expertise and support needed to realise their vision. Hiring provides opportunities for the business, but doing it quickly creates pressure. Each inflection point in a company’s growth impacts culture, communication and the way […]
4 techniques startup founders can use to figure out who to hire first
When cashflow or investment allows for a new hire it’s often difficult to know what gap to fill first. You’re still handling the marketing, but it’s not your strong suit. The finance ‘desk’ is a mess of receipts and invoices that could make an account cry. And, you really need to make space to work […]
How Dan Thomson turned a £400 investment into a small juice bar chain
Dan Thomson, the founder of Supernatural and 2015 Pitch finalist, has recently been engaging in a spot of time travel. Okay, not strictly true – but toing-and-froing between the UK and Gibraltar has him feeling like it. “Gibraltar is a weird little place,” he says. “Take a British town, put it back ten years and […]
