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News
Anna Soubry: New business tsar will challenge late paying firms in person
Daily Mail: Business minister Anna Soubry has said that she expects the new small business commissioner to personally pick up the phone to chief executives of big late-paying firms. Read more.
Related: SMEs owed £67bn in unpaid invoices – and the problem’s getting worse (Real Business)
Self-employed people! The government wants to hear your gripes
Telegraph: A survey, compiled by entrepreneur Julie Deane, will help decide future legislation governing the sector. Read more. Complete the survey.
Banksy’s Dismaland gives boost to Weston-super-Mare
BBC: When Banksy’s anti-capitalist show Dismaland closes its doors on Sunday, the irony that it will have generated an estimated £20m in extra revenue for its surrounding area will not have been lost on traders. Read more.
Britain becoming a divided nation of crowdfunding concept
Real Business: A north-south divide over the use of crowdfunding is putting the future of young Scottish businesses at risk, according to new academic research. The report warns that Scottish firms seem largely “left behind by the crowd” and recommends that Scottish Enterprise and other initiatives should consider signposting firms towards this “important source of growth finance”. Read more.
Student business contest The Grad Factor launches 2015 bus tour
NatWest and StartUp Britain are supporting a nationwide bus tour for The Grad Factor – a government-backed business pitch contest for students. The StartUp Britain and Grad Factor branded bus will tour 7 universities across Britain helping students prepare video pitches for the competition. Read more. Visit The Grad Factor website.
Opinion
B Corps – for and against
- Capitalism must and will evolve: Why benefit corporations will invigorate the UK’s economy (James Perry, director B Lab UK)
- Kickstarter doesn’t have a monopoly on popular capitalism (Rachel Cunliffe, deputy editor, CapX)
Me, myself and Jude – Why every entrepreneur needs a mentor
Charlotte Moore, founder of specialist food, drink and lifestyle copywriting company ThatCopyGirl.com, tells us why a business mentor is a must for every start-up. Read more.
Japanese rugby success shows that smaller challengers can compete
For young small businesses to fulfill potential, each have to be able to operate on an even playing field with the big boys. However, it appears with less than 3% of government procurement spend coming this way, the odds continue to be stacked, writes Charlie Mullins (founder, Pimlico Plumbers). Read more.
Features
What has changed for small businesses since the election?
The Guardian: Tackling late payments and the devolution of Sunday trading laws are among the most pertinent initiatives of the Conservative’s first four months in power. Read more.
Could this London accelerator be the biggest creator of start-ups in the world?
Telegraph: Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck, co-founders of Entrepreneur First, believe that in the future, all the most ambitious people will be founders. They’re on a mission to find them. Read more.
E-Car Club’s four-year journey from start-up to acquisition
Business Zone tells the story of E Car Club’s success – from a discussion between its co-founders in 2011, to the first equity crowdfunding exit earlier this year. Read more.
Why business is booming in the Baltics
Forbes contributor Alison Coleman examines the rise of Baltic start-ups – across Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Read more.