Category Archives: Start Ups

News, Start Ups

Entrepreneurs share their advice on overcoming adversity, as self-employment falls in the UK

Job market data shows the number of self-employed UK workers has fallen by 6.6%1 in the past six months alone, while more than 100,0002 job cuts have taken place in the UK so far during the pandemic.

Self-employment is challenging at the best of times, perhaps never more so than in 2020. With this in mind, experts from the University of Law (ULaw) Business School have analysed self-employment figures in the UK and sourced advice from successful entrepreneurs on how to overcome adversity and thrive in a challenging business environment.

Despite 2020 so far showing a drop in the number of self-employed workers, encouragingly this number has steadily increased by 34% over the last 15 years4 with more than 4.7 million Brits in this category5. The consistent increase shows that pursuing a self-employed career continues to be an attractive option.

In terms of the most prominent self-employed occupations6, construction comes out on top, with 862,060 workers in this field registered as self-employed. Other popular industries for self-employed workers are professional services, scientific and technical activities (610,385) and human health and social workers (366,566).

With self-employment representing 15% of employment in the UK7, ULaw spoke to leading entrepreneurs on why choosing to go self-employed is still a viable career option despite the current climate, as well as their top tip for a self-employed career.

Be present and consistent online
Gemma Nice, a self-employed yoga coach, recently decided to take the plunge to work for herself after being on furlough from her veterinary nursing career of 19 years. Her top tip for anyone considering going self employed is: “Be present in all aspects of social media and be consistent. People are watching and learning from you all the time even if they aren’t engaging with you there and then.”

Consider your personal pros and cons
Amie Marshall, a self-employed Clinical Nutritionist who created her own business six years ago, says: “I would encourage anyone who is debating whether to go self-employed during the current climate to write down the pros and cons in order of importance. For example, if you are used to a stable salary and that is essential to you, remember being self employed has its ups and downs – the pandemic aside, every industry has slow months, but always remember that if it’s your dream, you can make it happen.”

Seek mentorship
Lee Chambers, a self-employed Psychologist and Career Consultant, says: “I recommend considering a mentor, who can help you plot a path and advise the pitfalls they faced. It’s definitely a learning journey, so enter with a beginner’s mindset and start to read and practice the skills you will need to flourish in the early days. Start to build a network of other business owners and freelancers who understand the challenges and can collaborate together.”

Andres Perez, Director of the University of Law Business School, said: “Pre-pandemic, we were seeing self-employed figures consistently increasing in the UK as more people sought to work for themselves. Naturally, Covid-19 has slowed this growth and self-employed workers have been hit hard, but entrepreneurship comes hand in hand with grit and determination, which are certainly key to a strong recovery from any business setback – pandemic or otherwise.

“When it comes to the benefits of self-employment, research has shown that self-employed workers have reported improvements in the ability to concentrate, levels of self-confidence, self-worth and happiness. Self employment also allows workers to be flexible with their time and create a better work/life balance.

“Of course, self-employment won’t be for everyone, but the transferrable skills can propel you in any career and it’s this practical experience and knowledge we try to instil in our students.”

To find out more starting your own business, please visit: https://www.law.ac.uk/resources/blog/entrepreneurship-tips/

Investment, Start Ups

Tech start-up Exizent secures £3.6 million investment to revolutionise the bereavement process

Exizent, a Glasgow-based technology firm, has raised significant funding to transform the way the legal and financial services industry deals with bereavement and make the process far less stressful for family members experiencing loss.

In an era of digitised services, with more transparent and open access to information, Exizent is building the first ever platform that connects data, services and the network of people involved when someone passes away. The company’s mission is to reduce uncertainty, increase speed and make the process far simpler for everyone involved.

The company was founded by former financial services veteran Nick Cousins and transformation and technology leader Aleks Tomczyk. Both have track records of building successful products and businesses, with Tomczyk having formerly been founder and CEO of boutique consultancy Arum, while Cousins was previously Chief Product Owner of Barclays Wealth and Investments division.

The business has successfully raised £3.6 million in funding from several investors including FNZ, the global platform-as-a-service firm which reached unicorn status in 2018.

Nick Cousins, Founder and CEO of Exizent, said: “Our personal experiences are what led to us to establish Exizent. We believe the administrative tasks facing families after the death of a loved one should be far easier, and that modern technology solutions and services can make this a reality. We have spent the last 18 months carefully designing, developing, and testing our product with innovative partners, and look forward to launching the platform to legal services professionals later this year.”

Adrian Durham, Group CEO of FNZ said: “The Exizent team has already achieved an enormous amount and we are proud to support their vision of leveraging technology to make the bereavement process far easier for everyone involved. Exizent will also be joining the fast growing FNZ OpenPlatform App Store.”

Exizent’s platform will begin by helping legal services firms, working for executors, efficiently manage the process of completing and submitting probate applications, or confirmation as it is known in Scotland. It will also make the process of gathering information about an estate easier by connecting third parties to automatically discover assets the person may have had, reducing the reliance on an executor to find and send physical documents.

The company also plans to build digital connections with the various institutions that hold data and information about the person who has passed away to help them deal with queries from executors and legal services firms more efficiently. [1]

News, Start Ups

Eight top tips for setting up your own trade business

Being your own boss has many perks that make it an appealing career move, but it also presents challenges you’ll need to prepare for.

To help those looking to set up their own business, IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist ironmongery, has spoken to tradespeople who have already taken the step to go self-employed, to reveal eight things to be aware of.

Consider if you’re a sole trader or limited company

Choosing whether you will operate as a sole trader or as a limited company is an important step and will have implications for how you pay your taxes. A sole trader is the simplest form of business structure and is essentially a self-employed person who is the sole owner of the business. A limited company has its own legal identity, separate from its owners and managers. This remains the case even if you’re the only person in the company.  Despite a limited company being a more complex structure, it offers an owner more protection. This is because as a sole trader, you have unlimited liability, meaning the law does not distinguish between your business and your personal property. This means that if your business incurs losses then your property could be seized by creditors.

Michael Wynn, Managing Director of Yorkshire Brickwork Contractors, said: “Setting up as a sole trader is seen as more manageable for busy tradespeople. This tends to be the preferred choice as less administration is involved when managing taxes, in addition to lower costs compared to a limited company.”

Put together a business plan

One of your first priorities should be to create a detailed business plan.

Christopher Field, who set up CJF Electrical Services, said: “By creating a business plan detailing all of your initial overhead costs, you ensure that you can save and budget for all the things you need to get started. This will include things like a van, tools, uniform, insurance, qualifications, and budget for marketing and advertising your services.

“Make a list of everything you need to buy and do, as well as estimating how long it will take to get everything sorted. It takes time to apply for a bank account, get the appropriate and best deal for insurance, set up wholesale accounts and create a website and social media channels, so don’t expect it to be quick to set up!”

Make sure you have the right insurance

Business insurance is essential in any sector but is especially important in trades where health and safety is a factor in day-to-day work.

Alan Gott, from Alan’s Home Improvement Services, said: “It’s very important that you have public liability insurance (PLI) and professional indemnity insurance (PII). PLI covers you for injury and property damage claims made against you, whilst PII covers things like negligence claims and unintentional breaches of copyright or loss of data.”

Don’t forget your taxes Another part of getting your finances in order is knowing what taxes you’ll need to pay. Michael Wynn adds: “Remember to make sure you keep up-to-date records of all business sales and expenses and plan to submit a self-assessment tax return every year – this is critical so do not forget! If you don’t keep up to date, it‘s really easy to fall behind and find yourself in a rather sticky situation.

“Another thing to note is that if your turnover is more than £85k, you must register for VAT. You can also register voluntarily if you sell to other VAT-registered businesses and want to reclaim the VAT at the end of the year.”

Focus on customer service

While good customer service is always important, it is particularly crucial when first starting out as it can be the difference between your business succeeding or failing.

Alan Gott added: “Remember that customer service is key. Create a personalised and quirky answerphone message so that people can leave a message, and always respond to messages promptly, regardless of whether or not you’re able to do the job. Arrive on time, and always be polite, courteous and obliging with your customers. This will help you to build up trust and spread positive word of mouth.

“Remember that even the little jobs can lead to more work in the future, so never turn down opportunities because you think they’re not big enough for you to spend time on.”

Market your services

Marketing your services can be done cheaply and effectively online, using Facebook or Google My Business. This will help people find you and increase awareness of your business.

Andy Porter said: “Look into local advertising methods to market your services and see how other tradespeople are doing it for inspiration. Alternatively, social media sites like Facebook can also be a great way to market your services for free if you don’t have the budget for advertising.”

Keep a cash reserve handy

Businesses need to be prepared to deal with the unexpected and keeping a cash reserve could help your company get through difficult times.

Andy Porter, a self-employed carpenter, said: “It’s important to make sure you’ve got plenty of money saved up in advance, as cash flow is really important. Having a contingency pot of emergency funds will help make your business resilient during quiet periods, as well as allowing you to deal with unforeseen occurrences beyond your control.”

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Remember that you don’t have to go it alone when you’re first setting out. Industry organisations, friends and family on similar ventures are great resources of knowledge.

Andy Porter added: “It’s a good idea to speak with other sole traders that have established their own businesses and done it all before. Ask them for advice to help you repeat your successes and avoid their mistakes. This can also be a good way to build relationships with professionals in other trades, which can sometimes lead to additional work that you otherwise wouldn’t have been offered.”

IronmongeryDirect sells a range of tools and products you might need to start up your own trades business – for more information, visit: https://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/

Business Advice, News, Start Ups

Coronavirus phrases inspire hundreds of new start-up businesses

The UK lockdown has seen an increase in new companies forming to meet the demands resulting from coronavirus, with ‘COVID-19’, ‘lockdown’ and ‘pandemic’ featuring heavily in the names of new businesses created since March.

Research from leading accountants, SJD Accountancy to mark the launch of its new business naming tool, found 115 new businesses have used the phrase COVID-19 in their name, with cleaning companies accounting for 20 per cent of them as enquiries for sanitisation services skyrocketed.

A total of 52 UK businesses now include the word ‘lockdown’ in their name, with retail being the most popular sector with products such as PPE, gardening tools and IT equipment on offer.

A number of these retail companies also formed in response to a spike in grocery takeaway orders at the height of the pandemic, with new small businesses such as Lockdown Bakers, Lockdown Pizza and Lockdown Liquor established for food and drink sales.

Thirty newly-formed companies feature ‘coronavirus’ in their name, largely specialising in the medical market and focused on things such as the distribution of home testing kits. Meanwhile, ‘pandemic’ was the inspiration behind 18 new businesses working across management consultancy, manufacturing and social work.

London is at the heart of the lockdown-inspired business start-up sector, with 30 per cent of all businesses formed using a coronavirus-related name registered in the capital.

James Foster, Senior Commercial Manager at SJD Accountancy, said: “The pandemic caused a sudden demand for lots of services we wouldn’t normally need, and we’ve seen businesses attempt to plug the gap and even go as far as naming themselves after phrases connected to the coronavirus pandemic that have now become part of everyday conversation.

“It’s clear these businesses have a specific focus on COVID related services, and likely chose these names to help reach their target audiences and markets quickly. Selecting a name is vital for a company’s identity, but it’s also one of the trickiest decisions to make, it’s been fascinating to look at the entrepreneurial spirit people have shown towards creating a new business during a global pandemic.

“When it comes to helping our clients form their company, we take them through every stage of the process but often find that landing on a name can be tough. Our new business naming tool is proving popular to help people as it generates automatic suggestions and the tool links directly to Companies House data, giving confidence that any generated names are immediately available.”

To find out more about the new business naming tool, try it out here.

Cybersecurity, News, Start Ups

Cybersecurity becomes the fastest growing start-up sector in UK during Covid-19

  • Funding increased by 940% since beginning of lockdown – compared to same period last year
  • £496m raised by UK cybersec firms in first half of 2020
  • 44% increase in no. of cybersec start-ups in past 2 years
  • New cybersec business registered every week
  • 90% of infosec sector is made up of fast-growing SME’s
  • 55% of the UK’s cyber start-ups based outside of London
  • No. of cybersec start-ups in North doubled in last 2 years
  • 138% increase in cybersec hiring in the North – whilst London stalls

Funding has increased by a staggering 940% for UK cybersecurity start-ups since the beginning of lockdown – with £496m being raised in the first half of 2020, almost outstripping the 2019 total of £521m.

Investors have been quick to put their money towards start-ups specialising in cyber risk management, as the pandemic forced CEO’s to look beyond just financial or regulatory risk.

The findings come from a new report by global recruiter Robert Walters and data provider VacancySoft – Cybersecurity: Building Business Resilience – which claims that business spending on cybersecurity will double to £136bn this year.

Darius Goodarzi, Principal – Information Security and IT Risk at Robert Walters, comments:

“For years the UK has been building its reputation as a beacon of innovation and investment in cybersecurity. This year in particular cybersecurity start-ups have risen to become business heroes – from tools that alert users to security vulnerabilities, to those that spot fraudulent activity — these news firms and tools have taken an important role in protecting our ‘new world.”

According to the governments Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020 there are 1,221 firms active within the UK providing cyber security products and services – a 44% increase in the last two years – indicating that a new cyber security business is registered every week within the UK. Of this, 90% of the sector consists of SMEs – with an associated estimated turnover of £2bn (24% of the sector’s revenues).

Ajay Hayre – Senior Consultant Technology at Robert Walters – comments:

“Historically IT security has represented only 5% of a company’s IT budget but due to remote working and transition to online or cloud-based solutions, cybersecurity has been thrust to the centre of business continuity plans – having proved its worth in enabling business objectives during lockdown.

“Not only will every company see the benefit of having this expertise in-house, but they will be looking externally for tools, services and advisors to help guarantee the future-proofing of their business by way of solid and robust cybersecurity provisions.”

Demand for Consultancies

With 48% of UK companies stating they do not have adequate cyber security to enable long term remote working, and a further 70% of companies across Europe admitting that they do not have a sufficient cyber security team in general, it seems the race is on to hire talent in this area – with job vacancies growing by 6% in the UK for the first half of this year.

However with a talent shortage across the continent of 140,000, companies are being left with no choice but to turn to cybersecurity consultancies. In fact, such is the demand that cybersecurity consultancies are one of the fastest growing start-ups in the UK – now at 1,000 companies with the average number of employees being just 10.

Adam Casey – Managing Director at i3Secure – a UK-based Cyber Security and Data Protection consultancy – comments:

“The pace at which companies are having to undergo digital transformation means security projects will be rife, add to that a period of ‘rationalisation’ – where firms will need to check whether what they fitted ‘overnight’ is totally secure and fit for purpose. As a result, one of the main drives for cyber security over the next 12 months will be to amend and create sustainable and secure systems.

“With this, a trend we expect to manifest is an increase in ‘Cyber Audits’ performed by specialist external providers, as a way of helping companies test their resilience and identify vulnerabilities.

“Companies are increasingly out-sourcing projects to these new & exciting firms promising efficient project delivery, in place of hiring a CISO and in-house team at a significant cost to the company.”

The North is Rising

Unlike the tech sector as a whole, where 80% of VC funding goes to London and just 20% to the rest of the UK – within cybersecurity the success is nationwide, with 55% of the UK’s cyber start-ups based outside of London.

In the North West of England, the number of cybersecurity start-ups has more than doubled in the past two years from 39 registered firms to 80.

This is also prevalent in hiring patterns, where traditionally London has been the centre for IT security hiring – representing 41% of total jobs in the UK – roles are emerging more evenly across the country.

In fact, year-on-year cybersec roles in Yorkshire and the North East have exploded by +138% – with the region now making up 18% of overall cyber security hires.

Ahsan Iqbal, Director of Technology at Robert Walters, comments:

“With part-remote working here to stay for the foreseeable, removal of geographical barriers is allowing companies to make tactical hires outside of London. Not only is cost saving an advantage here, but the North has built up a reputation for its highly skilled and experienced pool of tech talent.”

News, Start Ups

Launched in Lockdown, SmileZ is the start-up that wants to make you smile

SmileZ is the first mobile platform of its kind, allowing customers to send paper-free, personalised digital greeting cards straight to someone’s mobile.

The idea originated during lockdown, founder Kate Bosomworth said, “We were recognising people starting to communicate differently, the need to check-in on family, friends, neighbours to say hi, send a hug, say thank you… suddenly never felt so important, as did making someone smile.”

The site allows customers to choose a card from the galleries, add unlimited personalisation from a range of creative tools, and send immediately to someone’s mobile.

SmileZ has been created in record time by a dynamic and surprisingly small team of entrepreneurial- minded developers, programmers and marketers using leading edge cloud technology.

In addition to a host of galleries showcasing designs from some of the UK’s biggest card designers, to smaller established artists and illustrators, SmileZ will be creating exclusive galleries each month and through the Features Artist programme. Their first featured artist live from 16th June will be the award-winning illustrator Alasdair Spencer who was responsible for the ‘PINT BLOCK’ designs, part of the Government’s ‘THINK!’ campaign.

The galleries, albeit in their early stages, will provide relevant, topical, diverse and inspirational content for customers. Its long-term goal is to create a global community of creatives who can share and showcase their work, building the world’s biggest gallery of constantly changing creative work.

Kate Bosomworth, Founder at SmileZ, said: “We send more cards in the UK than anywhere in the world…so why not try and introduce something new into this growing market?

Innovation and personalisation are driving the market, so we’ve designed a new way to do this – the ability to send a personalised, well designed card, making it greener and cheaper so everyone can do it more often. There is also a practical benefit. On average we have addresses for less than 10% of the contacts in our phone, but often you want to send that person a card so this overcomes that problem. A lot of people also hate the idea of all that paper and card going to waste, even if it is recyclable. There’s also a generation of people who just don’t send cards in a traditional way because it’s too much hassle, but they do want to do something beyond sending meme, gif or WhatsApp message.”

“We know the market has moved beyond traditional occasion cards, throw in all the reasons above and it feels the right time to do something disruptive in a market worth £1.6BN – the idea of taking the card market a step forward is exciting.”

Colin Frame, Managing Director at Stellar Omada, said: “We have the most brilliant team, capable of creating innovative technology solutions for a range of markets and doing so faster than anyone. Market conditions are perfect and we believe our shared expertise around the adoption of new patterns of behavior, technology and brand expertise is a winning combo. The site is by no means perfect, we’re improving it every day and are planning some really cool functionalities, but early signs are very encouraging. Sending someone a SmileZ really could become something we all do habitually, very soon.”

News, Start Ups

The Rise of ‘Baby’ Business Owners in the UK

Fresh Student Living has explored today’s young entrepreneurs and found that over 450,000 of UL small businesses are being run by 16-24-years-olds, and the number of teenagers who have started a business has increased by 700% since 2010.

72% of secondary school students, 64% of university students are interested in starting their own business, and 25% of 18-24s are aiming to start a business in the next 5 years. Young entrepreneurs and those who have figured out how to start a business at a young age are an inspiration to a generation, with many becoming millionaires before the age of 25. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was 22 when he became a millionaire, Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel was 23.

The research also showed that today’s young adults start twice as many businesses than their baby boomer counterparts did – where previous generations usually founded their companies typically around age 35, young adults are starting their SMEs in their early 20s.

The average age of a CEO or manager has also dramatically dropped from around the age of 40 to just 22 years old. Globally, 53% of men and 55% of women say they started managing before the age of 30, with the average age of a millennial manager being between 25 and 29 years old. Just under two-thirds of Generation X are in management positions today, closely followed by 62% of millennials.

Healthcare News, Start Ups, Technology

Care Home Supplier Florence Joins UK’s Fastest-growing Start-ups

Care home staffing marketplace Florence has been chosen for a major UK programme for startups.

Florence is one of 30 companies selected by government body Tech Nation’s Upscale 5.0 programme, which supports fast-growing tech companies.

Florence allows care homes to post vacant shifts, engage and pay staff in one online space, reducing admin and cutting out agency costs. Florence’s algorithm matches the best care staff to shifts, and an in-platform rating system encourages staff accountability and high performance.

It aims to become the go-to space for filling healthcare shift vacancies in the UK.

The marketplace was developed by Dr. Charles Armitage, who discovered the need for a better way to fill healthcare shifts while working as a locum in the NHS.

Charles started Florence in 2017, starting with just one care home in west London. Today, Florence serves over 600 care homes across the UK, with over 50,000 nurses and carers signed up to the platform.

Charles said

“We’re incredibly excited to be part of Upscale 5.0 this year. The programme has some great alumni and we’re excited to join the cohort of the UK’s most promising tech scale ups.

‘It will be great to spend time working with and learning from other leadership teams and scale coaches. We think Upscale will be an important stepping stone on our mission to be the market leading staffing platform for care.”

UK startup successes such as digital bank Monzo, energy company Bulb and tech firm Improbable have been through the programme in previous years.

Tech Nation said the 30 new companies represent “the next generation of digital household names”.

Mike Jackson, entrepreneur success director, Tech Nation, said:

“As we enter our fifth year, the Upscale programme has built an incredible network of alumni, including UK unicorns Monzo and Improbable.

“The network has a wealth of experience to share with the cohort, reflected in our judging panel and programme sessions.

“I’m excited to welcome this year’s companies on to the programme which helps to tackle key challenges founders face, wherever they are based in the UK.”

News, Start Ups

More than half UK males want to start their own business, but lack necessary skills

A new survey reveals that the UK is a nation of wannabe Sir Alan Sugars and Jamal Edwards’, with a staggering 53% of Brits admitting that they wish they could start their own business.

The research, however, has also shed light on the apprehension of Brits, as 36% of those surveyed said starting a business is too much of a risk.

A quarter of Brits said they simply don’t know how to get started and 15% believe a lack of qualifications hold them back from potentially earning over £40k* a year through starting their own business.

Adult college City Lit, who conducted the research, revealed that Brits are potentially missing out on tens of thousands of pounds due to their lack of business knowledge.

According the Office of National Statistics [ONS] in April 2018**, median gross weekly earnings for full time employees were £569. According to Indeed the average entrepreneur in the UK earns £41,064 per year [£790 per week] and enjoy all the perks of running their own business, such as flexible working hours and being their own boss. Many Brits are also missing out on extra income by not pursuing a ‘side hustle’ alongside their 9-5 job.

The research showed that a whopping 79% of 25-34s would start their own business if they had the opportunity to do so, compared to 36% of those aged 65+ who would use their retirement to get business savvy.

Chris Jones, director of sales and marketing at City Lit, said:

“You’re never too young, or too old to start your own business. In fact, retirement may give the older generation a head start due to having more time, experience and perhaps capital to get started.

“We conducted this research to find out what is holding people back from pursuing their dream of starting a business, as the benefits are vast.

“The research has confirmed that over half of Brits would like to pursue it but clearly many people lack the confidence to take the plunge. With many people citing lack of qualifications as a key reason holding them back it’s great to know that there are courses that can help people to plug their knowledge gaps. And with data showing just how lucrative starting your own business can be, spending time learning can be a great investment for the future.”

As a nation we are potentially missing out on thousands of businesses that could enrich the lives of many and improve wellbeing. More than one in 10 people said they would like to start a company in the travel industry, 8% want to pursue a business in the arts and 9% of wannabe entrepreneurs say tech and digital is their industry of choice.

Jones continues:

“From our research we found that females are the most apprehensive about starting their own business, being more likely to say they wouldn’t know how and more likely to write it off as too much of a risk.

“Our business courses address all of these concerns; from starting a business from scratch to marketing your business empire, our courses are tailored for your needs and could just be the catalyst to you earning thousands or even millions of pounds and transforming your life.”

City Lit’s one day course, ‘Developing a Successful Business Plan’ will provide attendees with a step-by-step overview on how to write a successful business plan that can be presented to potential investors.

Voula Papadopolous, Head of Business and Technology Programme said:

“At City Lit, we have developed a range of short courses to equip new or existing entrepreneurs and small enterprises with all the necessary skills they need to start and grow their business.”

Here’s some of the tips they share to get your business off the ground:

1. Plan, plan, plan
Successful planning is always important when starting your own business. Set up your goals and develop a successful business plan.

2. Identify your brand
Get to know your brand, inside out. Then develop your brand.

3. Develop a solid marketing strategy
The world needs to find out who YOU are

4. Get online
Implement your marketing strategy further by increasing your online presence – create a website or blog and use social media and digital marketing techniques to boost your online presence

5. Network
Become confident in network and develop a network of people who can support you. Explore all different channels of networking, relevant to your business. Attending events or participating in a course is a great starting point for networking.

To read more about City Lit’s business courses visit their website: https://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/technology-science-and-business/business-and-marketing

Survey of 2,003 Brits conducted in May 2019.

*https://www.indeed.co.uk/salaries/Entrepreneur-Salaries

**https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2018

Business Advice, Business Investment, Start Ups

Birmingham Enterprise Community Launches £1.5 million fund raise to support next generation of Midlands businesses

Birmingham Enterprise Community (BEC) has launched a fund raise that will support the growth of exciting early stage ventures looking for support within the Midlands region by providing direct equity investment as part of their FORWARD Accelerator programme based in Birmingham’s award winning Alpha Works.

The fund, which is to be raised through private investment under the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), will form part of a radical and comprehensive package of support received by the businesses as they join the FORWARD Accelerator Programme, launched in July 2019, which will also include access to a pool of international mentors, support from partners such as IBM, Google & Amazon, workspace, coaching, access to both local and global networks and support to gain follow on finance.

Businesses will be invited to apply to FORWARD from 2nd January 2020 with the next programme commencing in April 2020.

Daniel Evans, Chief Executive Officer, Birmingham Enterprise Community, said:

“Since our official launch in January 2018 we have rapidly developed into a significant source of support for startups within the Midlands region. The establishment of this fund signifies another radical step forward for Birmingham Enterprise Community and the businesses that it serves.

“It also sends out the signal that the Midlands is making serious moves in becoming a place where you can both start and grow your business”.