This map shows the best London boroughs for startups April 16, 2015 Two year business survival rates in London via data from the ONS (Source: PlaceILive) Perhaps you're thinking of setting up a craft beer shop in east London, or a tech start-up on Silicon Roundabout. If so budding entrepreneurs wishing to give themselves the best start should set their sights on these boroughs. Islington and Lambeth both [...]
“Uber for marijuana” startup raises $75m from Snoop Dogg and other investors April 15, 2015 A marijuana delivery start-up has raised $10m (£6.8m) in a funding round which included investments from Snoop Dogg's Casa Verde Capital and Silicon Valley firm DCM Ventures among others. Eaze, which has been dubbed the "Uber for weed", does not directly supply marijuana, but instead connects California medical marijuana card-carriers with local dispensaries, claiming it can [...]
Funding Circle’s new funding round will value the London FinTech startup at $1bn April 2, 2015 Funding Circle is on the verge of closing a new round of funding which would value the London FinTech startup at more than $1bn (£674m) and see it join just a handful of UK tech companies with billion-dollar valuations. The peer-to-peer lender could close funding of more than £50m within weeks, including backing from Blackrock and [...]
Investment in London’s tech startups hit record levels of $682m in 2015 April 2, 2015 Investment in London’s technology sector has hit a record high, once again proving the city’s attractiveness to investors as firms in the capital gained more than half-a-billion dollars in backing in 2015. In the first quarter of the year, in which established tech startups such as World Remit, Transferwise and Shazam received multi-million pound funding [...]
Social media firm Sprinklr just became the latest $1bn startup March 31, 2015 New York-based marketing group Sprinklr just became the lastest billion-dollar tech startup. The social media platform today revealed it had raised $46m (£30.1m) in its latest round of funding from “our family of investors”, valuing it at more than $1bn. Sprinklr, which employs 700 people, offers a host of tools for businesses to manage [...]
Startup in London? Here’s how the capital’s funding scene is changing March 27, 2015 The funding landscape for startups in London is changing. It has expanded and diversified, making it easier for early stage companies to raise capital. Yet the benefits vary greatly, depending on the size and type of company. London is fertile ground for startups looking to raise between £50,000 to £150,000. The Seed Enterprise [...]
Andreessen Horowitz just ploughed $20m into a London-based virtual worlds startup Improbable March 24, 2015 Silicon Valley group Andreessen Horowitz has just ploughed $20m (£13.4m) into London-based virtual worlds creator Improbable. Entrepreneur Chris Dixon, who is a partner of Andreessen Horowitz and was behind its investment in tech firm Oculus VR before it was bought out by Facebook for $2bn, will join Improbable's board and advising alongside colleague Marc [...]
Index Ventures backs Daniel Gandesha’s tech start-up Property Partner March 23, 2015 Index Ventures, the venture capital firm behind Just Eat and Candy Crush Saga-maker King Digital, has given £5.2m backing to a crowdfunding platform that allows retail investors to tap into the UK’s residential market. Property Partner, founded by the ex-head of startup investment at BSkyB Daniel Gandesha, gives smaller backers the chance to invest sums [...]
Startup-friendly? What George Osborne’s Budget means for entrepreneurs March 22, 2015 Small businesses favour certainty over circus tricks, and the announcements made in last week’s Budget have received a generally positive response from entrepreneurs that I have spoken to – especially in the context of a growing economy. FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR Many will be happy that Entrepreneur’s Relief remained largely unchanged, providing a 10 per cent [...]
What does the chancellor’s Budget mean for you? From the single parent to the startup founder March 18, 2015 THE SINGLE PARENT Catherine Gannon, 51Managing partner at law firm Gannons Gannons Commercial Law continues to do well, with profits and earnings up on last year. Catherine is commercially savvy and has restructured the business from an LLP to a limited company, illustrating that she is a smart operator in a segmented legal market. [...]