Hiring a sales team to help scale the business you’ve so lovingly nurtured from the ground up can be a daunting moment for any entrepreneur. Who can you hire who will truly reflect the values of your business and share your passion for your products? According to Paul Owen, MD of The True Sales Company, it’s time to focus your hiring on older workers – specifically, on silver salespeople aged 50+. Older workers might not be the first group you consider when it comes to potential hires. But dismissing them due to (often erroneous) preconceptions could be a costly mistake. Government pri ..read more

  Private equity has become an increasingly popular investment option over the past few decades. It became a magnet for investors interested in high returns and the ability to take a more hands-on approach to managing companies. However, the private equity market has also faced its fair share of challenges from increased competition, regulatory scrutiny, a shaky ride through Brexit to the ongoing effects of inflation and the cost of living surge. As we move further into 2023, it’s important to take stock of the current state of the private equity market and consider the insights and pers ..read more

  Sara Holland is a Patent Attorney at Potter Clarkson, who specialises in the biotechnology field with extensive experience in prosecuting and drafting patent specifications across a range of technologies including synthetic biology, antibody technology, PCR-based diagnostics, biomarkers and medical devices. Tell me about the open letter. As a Patent Attorney, why was it important for you to back the five priorities shared along with fellow signatories? My background is in academic scientific research. All of the clients I work with now as a patent attorney are very deeply focused on sc ..read more

  Whilst the cost-of-living crisis and rising interest rates have undoubtedly created a more restrictive and therefore challenging environment for raising capital, opportunity remains.  Appetite from investors has not abated, but the quality bar before deploying capital has undoubtedly increased. The potential to generate returns in excess of those available in the public markets and fixed income sees continued investment be deployed into the best and brightest private businesses, but with more rigour and at lower valuations than previous years. The different types of investment Whe ..read more

  In my industry - holiday home rental management - there is a clear dividing line between success and failure. My company needs a certain occupancy rate in order to remain profitable. It’s a results-driven business and my staff need to be tuned into that reality. And yet when I hire employees, and assess the performance of my current staff, there is one non-negotiable of what they must bring to the table… and it’s not their productivity. For me, someone’s core values are a more effective way of measuring their worth to a company. In recent years, there has been a narrative around the “c ..read more

  How do I find investors for my business? It’s a question in every founder’s head when they start to seek business capital. But the process to find an investor isn’t an easy one. Even if you’re willing to put in the work to seek business capital, you first need to carefully consider whether you need it or not. Because funding comes with strings. Are you in it for the long haul? Because initial ideas usually change over time. If you really believe in the idea, I’d first start off by talking to people about that idea for a bit of feedback. Talk to at least 25 relevant people and see if th ..read more

  As many as four in five start-ups will fail in their first three years. Of those businesses that secure venture capital (VC), only one or two in ten will produce substantial returns. Even if a business makes it through these hurdles, the founder may not. Only 25% of companies holding an initial public offering retain their founder as CEO. Market trends, competition and failures of marketing, product and pricing all play a part in this picture, but up to a quarter of VC-backed start-ups fail for reasons of leadership. The leaders burn out or lose focus, they don’t attract and retain the ..read more

  Despite soaring inflation and the looming threat of recession, the UK labour market remains the tightest it’s been in decades. Towards the end of 2022, unemployment sat at 3.7%, with some 1.1 million job vacancies open by January this year. It should hardly be surprising then that competition for qualified candidates is fierce. Those conditions also mean that many companies risk their best employees to competitors. In fact, May 2022 research from PwC showed that one in five UK workers expected to change jobs in the subsequent 12 months as they looked for better pay and opportunities. T ..read more

  Marketing and sales are pivotal within a business and have two key roles; firstly to attract more customers and secondly to develop the customers you already have. All with the ultimate goal of maximising opportunities through both streams so that you can bring in more clients, revenue and increase profit. They are often grouped together under one umbrella term, however, there is actually a considerable difference between the two, and understanding their importance can help you to maximise the outcomes. Although sales and marketing are both working towards the same common goal, they fo ..read more

  A new year brings with it a variety of opportunities for businesses both large and small. While larger businesses are more prominent in the media, SMEs account for a staggering 99.9% of the business population in the UK. SMEs really do matter, as they power the UK economy and are key to the market’s success. If the whole UK economy is to grow, then the needs of SMEs should to be better understood and catered for, with that in mind, what’s really going to matter to SMEs in 2023 when it comes to all things digital? Accelerating digital transformation Similarly to 2022, SMEs are operating ..read more