Your weekly summary of entrepreneurship news, comment, and features. Sent by the Centre for Entrepreneurs (home of StartUp Britain). Sign up here.
News
Statements on business from Labour leader candidates
The Labour Finance and Industry Group (LFIG) has asked the Labour leadership and deputy leadership candidates how they will “bust the myth that Labour is an anti-business party”.
- Read Andy Burnham’s statement
- Read Yvette Cooper’s statement
- Read Jeremy Corbyn’s statement
- Read Liz Kendall’s statement
- Read the deputy leader candidates’ statements
Public sector spends less than 3% with new businesses
Building on the Centre’s ‘Spend Small Index‘ which uncovered SME spending among local authorities, Spend Network and Nesta have found that less than 3% of the UK public sector’s procurement spend is with start-ups. Read more. Read the report.
Technology creates not destroys jobs
Technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed over the last 140 years, according to research from Deloitte. Read more. Read the report.
Amazon brings its pop-up loft concept to London
Amazon is launching an Amazon Web Services Pop-up Loft in London next month – the first outside the US. It will provide guidance on how entrepreneurs, engineer and developers can build on the platform and boost operations. Read more.
Zopa becomes the first UK peer-to-peer lender to crash through £1bn of loans
Just over 10 years after it was first launched, peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa has hit £1bn of loans. In July it more than doubled its loan values, lending £52m compared to £23.5m in July last year. Read more.
Opinion
Can tech really fix the big problems?
Damian Kimmelman (founder and CEO of DueDil) writes in Huffington Post about his motivation, alongside Andy McLoughlin, to launch the Founders Pledge. Read more. Sign the Founders Pledge.
Start-ups get less than 3% of government spend, this must change
New companies face too many barriers when bidding for contracts. Tom Symons (researcher, Nesta) argues that the risk-averse procurement culture needs to change. Read more.
Promotion of entrepreneurship is great, but not everyone is cut out to run a company
As another well-known entrepreneur is given the task of boosting business creation in a certain way, more attention should be given to existing firms, writes Jan Cavelle (columnist, Real Business). Read more.
Are we living in a “post-startup” world?
Most of the rules that governed start-ups five years ago no longer apply or are under serious reconsideration, write Carol Broadbent and Tom Hogan (co-founders, Crowded Ocean). Read more.
Special Offer
£10 Amazon voucher to share your experience: Entrepreneurs wanted to answer survey on daily accounting
In conjunction with banking technology provider, iGTB, Finance and Management magazine is investigating whether entrepreneurs’ banking needs are being met by their current service. The magazine will publish a full report on the results of an ongoing survey that seeks to determine where entrepreneurs’ day-to-day transaction banking usage could be improved.
iGTB offers a £10 Amazon voucher for the first 200 participants to answer the short survey, as well as a prize draw for a trip to Vienna. Complete the survey here.
Features
The trials and tribulations of starting a business in your 30s
The Guardian: It’s traditionally a decade of financial strain, but thirtysomethings’ experience can give them an edge on younger entrepreneurs. Read more.