Jargon buster! EIS, EMI, VCT, MVP, ROI and more – Part 1

It seems the startup and business world just luurve a 3 letter acronym! I’ve put together some simple explanations to unravel some of the 3 letter beasts banded around regularly, as well as some of their longer compatriots . This is Part 1, Part 2 to follow. Word in bold and caps have their own definition elsewhere in the post. Advance Assurance This is a piece of paper issued by HMRC that confirms a ...

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Create a painkiller, not a vitamin

We need painkillers - some of us choose to take vitamins. It’s a good test when working on a new business idea. This phrase really resonated with me when I first heard it. At any time, there are 1,000s of entrepreneurs beavering away with new businesses but how many of the ideas and concepts that underpin them, will grow to become essential-can’t-do-without-them features of our lives? In no particular order, here are ...

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As well as your mobile phone, why not take a bottle of vodka up to bed?

I just saw a Tesco TV advert where the key message was, “your phone is more than just your phone, it’s kind of your life”. I couldn’t agree less. My view is that mobile phones are the devil. Shame on you Tesco! When you idly check your phone without purpose whilst with friends, it sends just one message to the people you’re with. The prospect of what might be on here, ...

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GDPR is ruining my life

A simple check list if you don't plan to appoint advisors and don't have cash to spend on this - or are choosing not to.   The reason for the title? Well, someone actually said this to me last week! This prompted my post - a simple commercial view on what you actually need to do, without extracts from legislation or any arse covering catch-all analysis. What we know for sure > GDPR is ...

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How to make a subscription model work for your business

Our speaker, Felix Rossknecht, spoke at a recent dinner about building a successful subscription business, here's what he had to say about how to make a subscription model work for your business. There's a few areas to consider when thinking about how to make subscriptions work for you and your business, these are product, flexibility and experience. Product Customers care about your product, not the subscription. It's the product they buy into and ...

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Want to join 500 Startups?

Speaking with Matt Lerner, London Partner of 500 startups at dinner last week, he covered the topic of how startups can get a big, fat yes for their application to join their accelerator programme. Here's what you need to know: How 500 Startups invests To date, 500 Startups has Invested in 1500 startups, in 52 countries, with offices in 29 countries. That's a total of $250M invested, with the biggest investment being ...

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13 Top Tips for Startups (wanting to be grown up!)

We had a fantastic evening with Andy Batty, General Manager of onefinestay where he spoke at dinner about taking a company from start-up to grown-up. (Read the #AfterDinnerRoundup here.) What limits start-ups is a perception that a shortage of funds is the problem. Here's Andy's top tips for start-ups: Create an employee brand as well as a company brand. You need to try to keep your staff... Start ups often recruit then ...

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Tips on being a master of operations

The diners who joined Ghilaine Chan, Plug-in COO for startups and SMEs, for dinner last week  at The Anthologist left with notebooks full of tips and advice for becoming a master of execution and operations. Here are a few snippets to whet your appetite: When you are limited with resources, you need to focus and work out what is important. Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen ...

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Ten tips and tricks for building a business

The fabulous Hephzi Pemberton gave some superb tips to her fellow diners at dinner this week. (Check out the #AfterDinnerRoundup here.) Take a look at Hephzi's top ten tips and tricks for building a business: Treat everyone like a client We treated our candidates all like potential clients. This gave us all the right attitude. It doesn't matter what business you have, people matter. Have this at your heart of ...

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