Your weekly summary of entrepreneurship news, comment, and features. Sent by the Centre for Entrepreneurs (home of StartUp Britain). Sign up here. Read the original newsletter here.
News
Startups abandon Tech City as commercial rents soar
Guardian: East London is now on a similar pricing path to central London, and young tech companies are looking elsewhere. Read more
UK managers admit they don’t really know how to increase profits
CityAM: Half of Britain’s top bosses cannot think of one thing their company could do which would immediately improve their bottom line, while one third believe their sales teams make decisions on prices based on “gut feel” rather than “hard facts and quantifiable business data”, according to the Cranfield School of Management. Read more
UK FinTech industry to be given new government boost
Tech City News: The government has announced FinTech Bridges, an industry-led panel and professional services hub to ensure that the UK remains the FenTech capital of the world. Read more
Crowdfinders launches £100m funding drive to help UK scale-ups
Startups.co.uk: :Crowdfinders has partnered with Seedrs, Crowdcube, SyndicateRoom to launch ‘Race to Scale’ – a funding drive that will provide investments or loans between £100k and £5m to scaling businesses. Read more
Other funding news:
- New $500m European fund from Accel has special UK investment focus (Real Business)
- Octopus Ventures to boost Europe’s early stage tech firms with an additional £100m (Tech City News)
Opinion
Government must do more to address treatment gap between big and small firms
The government has started to review the treatment gap between large firms and smaller counterparts, but more must be done to truly support the nation’s SMEs, writes Benjamin Day (head of sales, MarketInvoice). Read more
Civil service contracts: bigger is not always better
The Crown Commercial Service was set up in 2013 to deliver economies of scale, but now smaller suppliers are providing better value, writes Stephen Allott (chair, Pebble{code} and former SME crown representative, Cabinet Office). Read more
How will workers fare if ‘gigging’ is the future of work?
Brhmie Balaram (senior researcher, RSA): Gig work in the sharing economy is on the rise, but will it be our new normal in the future? And if it is, what will this mean materially for workers? Read more
Embrace community spirit and the community will embrace SMEs
The turbulence in the economy over the last few years has, quite rightly, made staying in business the sole focus of SMEs. However, it’s important to not forget the communities in which our businesses are based and the unique position we are in to play a role in improving areas and people’s lives, writes Charlie Mullins (founder, Pimlico Plumbers). Read more
From infrastructure delays to skills shortages, ebbing business confidence isn’t all about the EU referendum
For some weeks, talk in Westminster has focused almost exclusively on what may happen when the British people vote on EU membership. Yet for many businesses, particularly those beyond the City, Britain’s future relationship with the EU is just one issue among many, writes Adam Marshall (acting director general, British Chambers of Commerce). Read more
Features
Would a vote for Brexit help to cut red tape (including VAT MOSS) for SMEs?
The Guardian is running a weekly column where business experts/representatives answer questions about the potential impact of the EU referendum on small businesses. This week: VAT and red tape. Read more
How to topple bureaucracy
FT (£): It can be a short step from innovative startup to a company overburdened by red tape. Read more
An overnight success: How it only took 5000 experiments to invent the world’s first moldable glue
Forbes interviews Jane ní Dhulchaointigh, inventor of Sugru. Read more
How did Donald Trump make his fortune?
The BBC profiles Donald Trump’s business ventures. Read more