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News
Elite entrepreneurs threaten to leave UK if Corbyn becomes prime minister
Half of business owners polled by the Supper Club said they would move their headquarters overseas to avoid Mr Corbyn’s policies. 78% said Mr Corbyn would be bad for the economy and 65% citied a rise in trade unions as a key risk to the economy. Read more.
Small firms split over European Union referendum vote
A Federation of Small Businesses survey has found that 47% of members would vote “yes” and stay in, and around 41% would vote to leave. But a clear majority of firms felt they did not have access to unbiased information. Read more.
It’s time to switch on the Northern Powerhouse, businesses tell George Osborne
Northern-based businesses have urged chancellor George Osborne to get a move on and make his much heralded “Northern Powerhouse” a reality to boost the nation’s economic growth. Northern Chambers of Commerce want policy changes made in transport, skills training and immigration to take into account needs of the region. Read more.
Amazon and UKTI join forces to help SMEs go global
A new partnership between Amazon and UKTI is aimed at helping SMEs increase foreign trade and grow ecommerce sales. The “suite of capabilities” on offer include assistance to manage currency exchange, translation, regulatory complexity, tax and duty, marketing and global shipment and distribution. Read more.
Rating business to check crowdfunding campaigns are fair
A new rating business is set to check that claims made by crowdfunding campaigns are fair and true. Crowdrating, founded by former Interactive Investor boss Alex Heath and AngelNews founder Modwenna Rees-Mogg, uses 60 pieces of data to supply campaigns with a rating. Read more. Visit Crowdrating.
Could refugees benefit from entrepreneurship?
At a time of global focus on refugee issues due to the war in Syria and other displacement, new research from the Judge Business School calls for policymakers to foster entrepreneurship at refugee camps to help fills an “institutional void” that leads to despair, boredom and crime. Read more. Read the paper.
Opinion
Fintech is booming – but where are the insurance tech start-ups?
The talent, accelerators and VC appetite is there; the only missing ingredients are the world-beating entrepreneurs willing to put their ideas to the test, writes Rob Moffat (principal investor, Balderton Capital). Read more.
Transforming the rural economy requires high-speed internet
George Osborne recently laid out his 10-point plan to boost productivity in rural areas. But without high-speed internet and reliable cloud services, there is not much hope, writes Mark Scaife (head of technical development, Phoenix). Read more.
Expertise in scaling up is the visible secret of Silicon Valley (FT)
Most observers instinctively conclude that Silicon Valley is great because it has a unique ability to create start-ups. Most observers are wrong. ‘First-scaler’ advantage beats first-mover advantage, writes Reid Hoffman (co-founder, LinkedIn). Read more.
Under Labour, would entrepreneurship throughout Britain lose all incentive to succeed?
It’s worrying that a party which failed to secure enough votes during the last general election, due to a perception that it didn’t have a firm grasp of economic and business policies, should veer so sharp to the left, writes Jan Cavelle (columnist, Real Business). Read more.
Features
Great British Entrepreneur Awards shortlist announced
More than 150 entrepreneurs have made the shortlist for the third annual Great British Entrepreneur Awards. View the shortlist.
Could this start-up save the Greek economy?
A five-day accelerator, run in London by Reload Greece, hopes to develop ideas that can have an immediate social and economic impact on the debt-ridden country. Read more.
Profile: Touker Suleyman
The Evening Standard profiles Touker Suleyan – the new Dragon. Read more.
Forget about ‘mumpreneurs’, here are the dads who mix work and family
Putting aside the use of the term ‘mumpreneur’ and the introduction of yet another misuse of the entrepreneur title – ‘dadpreneur’ – this is a worthwhile read.
“Research suggests half of fathers question if their career is worth their family life. Enter the new breed of dad entrepreneurs in search of a better working life”. Read more.