What piano tuners and the art of estimating have to do with job interviews
One of the problems with job interviews is that they tend to select for the person who is best at interviews, rather than the person who is best for the job. Imaginative employers are now leaning towards job ‘auditions’. An actor or musician applying for a new role doesn’t answer questions about their acting or […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
What you need to know before you quit your day job
Have your entrepreneurial desires got you thinking about quitting your day job? Good on you. I remember that feeling like it was yesterday… I was so excited to get going! I was clear on my business case and I knew exactly what was different about what I wanted to create. But I wasn’t even slightly […]
When I invest in startups it’s 99% the team and 1% the idea
Investing in any company at inception stage is not a decision to be taken lightly. Thinking logically it would seem that investing in the brightest and most interesting idea would generate the most ROI in the long run, however, the idea isn’t everything. It’s often the drive and ambition of the person behind the idea […]
Six traits Crowdcube consistently sees in successful entrepreneurs
What makes the difference between an entrepreneur who successfully launches and grows their startup, and one who doesn’t? It’s a question we often get asked by journalists and aspiring business founders. When it comes to running a business, the best-laid plans and strategies won’t win the day if the person in charge lacks the essential qualities […]
How to turn Facebook users into buyers
Facebook advertising can be a complex beast. You’ve probably seen lots of ‘experts’ claiming to be able to make you millions, but when you go and try yourself, you struggle to reach the level of success you want? There’s a huge disconnect between the number of people trying Facebook ads and the number of people […]
Intellectual property: looking after your big idea
Businesses are born in different ways, but there’s usually an idea at the centre. It may be something as straightforward as ‘I can do this better, cheaper, faster, differently myself’. Some of the most adventurous ones start from ‘there must be a way to solve this problem’ or ‘why is no-one offering this?’ Whatever drives […]
