Author: Sam Allcock

Morgan Stanley has unveiled the 25 companies selected to join the 2024 cohort of its Inclusive Ventures Lab, a global in-house accelerator programme aimed at supporting disruptive technology startups. These companies, drawn from the Americas and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions, will spend five months developing their businesses with the backing of Morgan Stanley, receiving both financial investment and crucial mentorship. The Inclusive Ventures Lab programme, now in its 10th year, seeks to foster innovation by providing seed to Series A stage startups with resources to help scale their operations. The companies selected for the 2024 cohort…

Calix, Inc. has announced major updates to its SmartBiz™ solution, designed to assist broadband providers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The enhancements aim to streamline the deployment, onboarding, and support of high-quality broadband services for small businesses, thereby driving growth and efficiency. SmartBiz, a comprehensive solution tailored for small businesses, allows broadband service providers (BSPs) to offer essential services such as managed Wi-Fi, network security, and operational tools. The updated version of SmartBiz introduces several new features that enhance its functionality and benefits for both service providers and their small business clients. One key update is…

In a bid to expand its international economic footprint, the Luohu District of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, has launched a new initiative targeting Spain and Portugal. Following a recent tour of the Asia-Pacific region, the district is focusing on forging economic and trade relationships within the European market. The China (Shenzhen•Luohu) – Portugal (Lisbon) Economic and Trade Cooperation and Exchange Conference, held in Lisbon on Thursday, saw participation from over 30 prominent Portuguese firms and institutions. Notable attendees included the Oveiras Valley Investment Agency (OVIA) and Timing Group, which expressed strong interest in forming partnerships with Luohu across various sectors. The…

Jan Ryde, CEO of the luxury bed-making company Hästens, has released a new book exploring his philosophy of running a business through the lens of love. When Business is Love: The Spirit of Hästens – At Work, At Play, and Everywhere in Your Life is now available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook formats, narrated by Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Jon Hamm. The book offers a detailed account of how Ryde’s leadership at Hästens, the prestigious Swedish bed-making firm, is driven by love and service. Through When Business is Love, Ryde shares the company’s 170-year journey, from its roots as…

British business owners are being given an unprecedented opportunity to transform their companies, as ActionCOACH, the world’s leading business coaching organisation, launches its £1 million giveaway. In what is being described as the largest business coaching initiative in history, this bold move offers entrepreneurs the chance to win £1 million and significantly boost their growth. The giveaway is open to all British citizens aged 18 and over, and aims to provide business owners with access to ActionCOACH’s world-renowned coaching services. Participants can introduce business owners within their network to the programme, earning up to £1,000 in cash for each successful…

New data has revealed the UK’s top hotspots for employees seeking to avoid productivity monitoring through “skiving tech,” with Reading, Preston, and Wakefield emerging as the most prominent areas. The report, compiled by tech expert QR Code Generator, highlights a significant regional disparity in the use of technology designed to simulate mouse and keyboard activity, which helps remote workers evade oversight. According to the data, Reading leads the list with an average of 92.6 searches per 100,000 residents for terms like “mouse jiggler” and “keyboard clicker.” This represents a 69% increase over the national average of 54.9 searches per 100,000.…

New research released today reveals that a significant majority of the UK public – 76% – believe that current laws need to be revised to mandate that businesses prioritise social and environmental responsibilities alongside profit. The findings, conducted by B Lab UK, highlight a growing demand for a shift from the traditional shareholder primacy model, where profit often takes precedence over societal and environmental concerns. Under the existing legal framework, company directors are primarily obligated to prioritise shareholder interests, which frequently results in profit-driven decisions that may overlook broader impacts on society and the environment. The research, timed to coincide…

If you want your business to be successful, you need happy, engaged employees willing to do their best in order to achieve the company’s goals. For such results, you need to nurture the right kind of culture in your work environment and make sure that everyone is getting the support they need to be their best selves and reach their potential. It’s also the culture in which a mistake is not considered a failure, but one of many attempts to solve a challenge. To be able to grow such a culture, a business owner needs to be a true leader and the…

Effective communication in the workplace is one of the cornerstones of a successful business. It paves the way for achieving a collaborative environment and maintaining professional working relationships built on respect, trust, and understanding. When employees communicate well, this will help move projects smoothly and therefore, increase the productivity of the business. While knowing how to communicate well in the workplace is highly important, this skill does not come naturally to a lot of people. Some employees are more comfortable with verbal communication while others thrive better using the written word. If you excel at one form of communication, it…

Many startups are strapped for cash during their early days, which means that entrepreneurs try to cut corners wherever they can. This usually means that their marketing budgets will be affected, but also that they’ll do their own accounting. However, even though being a business owner means understanding at least some basic things about money management, it’s still a bad idea to be frugal when it comes to accounting because it can be risky and you might end up losing more than you can save by not hiring an expert. Accountants are also one of the many functional areas of business, and…