All Feature
Making the right transaction happen
Sooner or later, nearly all entrepreneurs will be interested in seeking some form of exit or capital investment. Paul Cooper, partner at media and technology corporate finance advisory firm Clarity, gives his advice on what buyers are looking for and how sellers can best position themselves for a successful exit.
Reinventing the lunch hour to lift productivity
We’ve all experienced the ‘thrill’ of lunch on the go: a quick salad at your desk or half-eaten sandwich dashing between meetings. But what benefit does a dedicated lunch hour bring to the day, and can it mean the difference between a lethargic unproductive afternoon and a turbo-charged second half of the day?
Using online workers to boost productivity of SMEs
The balance between wanting to take on new work whilst not increasing staff overheads too much is an issue for many SMEs. Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk, looks at the benefit of online workers and how they can reduce the strain.
Investing in the right office environment
For Nicholas Green and his printed.com business, setting up an enjoyable and motivating office space was one of the top priorities.
Corporate inertia in a challenging economy
Jon Hughes, head of Ernst & Young’s transaction advisory service practice, outlines how businesses can avoid the trap of ‘corporate inertia’.
Seedcamp for European entrepreneurial start-ups: Past, present and future
Since Seedcamp was founded in 2007 it has gone on to mentor 800 companies. Co-founder Reshma Sohoni sits down with GrowthBusiness to talk about its evolution and what plans the accelerator has in store for 2013.
The entrepreneurial age: Does it really matter?
Starting and growing a business can be a daunting prospect, but for Davor Hebel, partner at invesment firm Fidelity Growth Partners, age shouldn't be a stalling point.
How to apply for Regional Growth Fund capital
To coincide with the fourth instalment of the Regional Growth Fund, GrowthBusiness meets HV Wooding to find out how the business secured capital from the fund’s last round.
Banking on the next generation for finance innovation
As the rate of change in the banking industry accelerates, Holvi founder Kristoffer Lawson shares his thoughts on where there is room to innovate and what this means for next generation banking.
CrowdBnk's attempt to bridge the crowdfunding divide
Ayan Mitra, founder of crowdfunding business CrowdBnk, tells GrowthBusiness about the platform’s ethos and why he thinks social investing could be the solution to start-up and growth company finance.
Entrepreneur's guide to embarking on a private equity 'marriage'
Clive Kahn, CEO of business payments company CardSave, offers some advice to business owners considering a private equity deal.
Speed date networking with venture capitalists
To find out how start-ups are taking the opportunity to make 15-minute introductions with investors, GrowthBusiness visited the offices of Passion Capital for an open office afternoon.
The government's new business bank for SMEs
Neale Andrews, partner at law firm Mundays, looks at the government’s new business bank and gives his wish list for things he'd like it to contain.
Making the most of networking and exploiting customers contacts
Business coach Alan Adams explains the value of capturing good-quality data and reveals why he wished he’d made his clients feel loved at the start of his career.
Finding the right patenting strategy to protect your intellectual assets
Mark Cohen, managing consultant at Sagentia, examines how SMEs should be going about intellectual property defence and how to make a claim.
Performance management is all year round, not just for Christmas!
Lucinda Carney, occupational psychologist and founder of Actus, looks at how employee performance should be managed and mapped.
From Houdini through Stringfellow – the casino rebirth of the Hippodrome
After plying his trade building bingo halls in the 1980s and 90s, Simon Thomas has turned his hand to the casino market – and in doing so has breathed life back into a London icon.
The Annual Investment Allowance explained - 2013 update
The most exciting thing to come out of this year’s Autumn Statement for small to medium sized business owners was the tenfold increase to the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), says Lesley Stalker, tax partner at Surrey accountancy firm RJP.
The rise of e-lancing in the workplace
Keith Holdt, investment director at private equity firm LDC’s Value Enhancement Group explains why freelancing, in particular e-lancing, is having an impact and is set to transform the modern workplace.
Backing SMEs to lead a European recovery
To find out how the European Commission is putting its weight behind SMEs, GrowthBusiness journeyed to the first SME Assembly in Cyprus.
More from GrowthBusiness
The Entrepreneur
Diversifying the client base at launch and learning to say ‘No’
David Barker reflects on resisting the temptation to say 'Yes' to the first offer when he opened his data centre, and how choosing instead to diversify his client base at launch has enabled 4D Data Centres to maintain rapid growth in a recession.
Growing A Business
Corporate leaks: How to prevent and investigate if they occur
Bob Mecrate-Butcher, partner at Charles Russell, looks at how corporate leaks can first be prevented and then plugged when they do occur.
Comment & Analysis
Channeling Instagram for start-up success
That a team of 13 could build a business worth $1 billion should be the inspiration that all entrepreneurs need.
Research
The rise of cash shells
New research from GrowthBusiness shows that the number of UK cash shells is climbing. We speak to new entrants to the market and those that have recently closed deals to find out what’s driving shells’ increasing popularity.
