Innovation Diary: Why one company has chosen crowdfunding over venture capitalists October 20, 2013 HOW CAN you decide on the best method of financing your business’s growth? The Harvard academic Paul Gompers, in his prescient The Rise and Fall of Venture Capital (first published in 1994), explained the close interplay between the most suitable type of investment and the model of the firm concerned. Bank loans will be useful [...]
Going West: London welcomes a new FX brokerage October 13, 2013 Annabel Palmer meets the founders of Monex Capital, who are targeting tech savvy traders DESPITE the Asian Development Bank lowering its growth forecasts for emerging nations in the region earlier this month, European brokers are launching Asian-based subsidiaries in droves (forex and commodities brokerage MIG Bank, for example, opened a Hong Kong arm this year). [...]
Innovation Diary: Why food innovators have broken out of the development kitchen October 13, 2013 THINK of food innovation and the cronut (a croissant/doughnut) or the duffin (its doughnut/muffin cousin) may come to mind. Such foody portmanteaus – while reflecting the vibrancy of an industry that has weathered the last five years well – can have unpredictable results. Frappuccinos and banoffee pie now barely raise an eyebrow. The pluot (a [...]
The charitable venture that grew into a thriving firm October 6, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to the founders of Hire Space – London’s online venue rental business THE PUBLIC has grown increasingly comfortable with the notion of sharing assets – homes, cars, hairdressing skills – and buying second hand products through websites like eBay. Airbnb, the San Francisco-based holiday rental website and sharing pioneer, for example, was [...]
Innovation Diary: Why economic revival has its own challenges for UK entrepreneurs October 6, 2013 FOR BUSINESSES weathering a difficult economy, hoarding cash has been the order of the day. Research by Capita Asset Services found that FTSE 100-listed UK firms increased their cash holdings by 34 per cent in the five years since 2008. But as the economic pendulum swings, investors are grumbling. Apple, which according to Moody’s holds [...]
Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur: Wikipedia for wingers: Back up your banter with smartphone smart Alec October 6, 2013 I SAT there with the ignominy of defeat hanging over me. Even though I tried to keep the shame and sorrow off my face, and to adopt the good grace of a good loser, I was indeed a loser. A bunch of us were on our way to a Fleetwood Mac concert and really chirpy [...]
Foodie who hit the ground running September 29, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to David Moore, the restauranteur behind London’s Pied a Terre THE GLOBAL restaurant industry is forecast to increase in size by 7.2 per cent over the next three years, rising from total revenues of $2.45 trillion (£1.53 trillion) in 2011 to $3.48 trillion by the end of 2016. And in the UK, [...]
Two former City workers who built businesses out of the financial crisis September 29, 2013 Adam Taylor and Lexi Tamasan’s pet food subscription service is taking a sizeable bite out of a large market PET FOOD is not the first product most think about when founding a company. But when Adam Taylor saw his mother, who suffers from arthritis, struggling with a large bag of dog biscuits, it struck him [...]
Innovation Diary: Startup collaboration isn’t new – but it’s increasingly intentional September 29, 2013 ROYAL Mail’s privatisation is certainly an expression of confidence in the company, with investment set to speed up the pace of restructuring away from its declining letters business. But the future may not be so rosy. Writing in City A.M., the futurist Ian Pearson suggested that Royal Mail’s profitable package business could itself be challenged [...]
Tea expert who’s found a new blend September 23, 2013 Annabel Palmer talks to Mike Brehme, who is transforming hot drinks for the second time WHAT do you do when you’ve already transformed that most British of pastimes – drinking tea? That was the conundrum facing Mike Brehme – co-founder of Clipper Teas, whose newest venture FruitBroo has recently come onto the shelves at Sainsbury’s [...]