How I evolved from introvert to entrepreneur
Although it’s relatively common, becoming an entrepreneur after spending years as a programmer is a hard transition. Why? Let’s look at the common traits of a programmer: Now, before you brandish the pitchforks at my Twitter account (@Derry_Holt), consider that this is your “introverted” programmer. I’m no stranger to the varying types of coder you […]
How we built a challenger brand on a budget
When we launched Crowdcube in 2011, we were the world’s first investment crowdfunding platform. We were doing something that no one had ever tried before – we were challenging the status quo in a very traditional industry. Being innovative and the first in the market has its drawbacks. It means that you need to create […]
The startup building cutting-edge experiences for Sky and Snickers
Quander’s end-to-end interactive technology experiences have secured them valuable contracts with business giants like Sky, Samsung and YouTube. The team is planning to raise its first outside funding this year, aiming to raise £1.3m to take its immersive tech even further. As a young startup, Quander reached the final stage of The Pitch 2017 and […]
Crowdfunding for seed-stage businesses
In recent times we’ve seen a growing number of more established businesses securing investment from the crowd, but despite that shift, crowdfunding is still the lifeblood for many startups. There is no doubt that crowdfunding has helped open the doors for ambitious entrepreneurs who previously would have found it tough, or even impossible to secure […]
Finding startup mentors and getting the most out of the relationship
Starting out young meant that much of our entrepreneurial journey has been heavily influenced by the smart people we’ve met along the way. We were teenagers with an unbridled sense of ambition, but little clue what steps we needed to get there. We were guided by the insights of far more experienced entrepreneurs who gave […]
Empower your employees, they’ll move mountains with you
Empower your staff. If you really, honestly want your business to go places, give your employees the means to take you there and they’ll do just that. When moving to our new, 500-person office it brought up all sorts of fun topics such as: “How the hell are we going to do this?!” The answer, […]
Scaling a kitchen table spice startup to 200 stockists
Spice Kitchen is a family run artisan spice and tea company that specialises in sourcing the freshest raw ingredients from around the world. All its spice mixes are packaged in authentic Indian spice tins, known as Masala Dabbas. Co-founder Sanjay Aggarwal is an entrant in The Pitch 2018. We spoke to him about running a […]
The wasted code pandemic: How to plan development projects
“Gold! Gold from the American River!” This was the call that started the San Francisco gold rush of 1848. By 1950, the population of this relatively small frontier town had risen from 14,000 to nearly 200,000. Only a handful of these fortune seekers would ever make any real money from the mining of gold. By all […]
The Small Robot Company’s developing tech that’s going to revolutionise farming
Launched just a year ago, technology startup The Small Robot Company is already sowing the seeds of change in the farming industry. Founded by experienced entrepreneur and user-centred design expert Ben Scott-Robinson and fourth-generation farmer Sam Watson Jones, the company is preparing to launch a series of precision engineered, smart robots that they hope will revolutionise food production as […]
How we navigated our way through two seed rounds
I launched Rejuvenation Water in early 2016, using my savings and a Virgin Start Up Loan. Raising funding has been a continuous process over our first two years – we’ve raised £400,000 in equity funding and just launched our third seed round. For me, the third funding round is the most integral and I’ll explain […]
