Start-ups

Personal guarantee insurance illustration

Some SME founders are putting everything on the line

AS THE deadline for the inquiry into SME finance nears, the founders of UK start-ups are facing increasing demands to personally guarantee business loans. Applications...
PET plastic waste, plastic pollution

Wrapping up hospitality’s plastic problem

CLIMATE-tech startup (and top five percent B Corp) Skoot is taking an innovative approach to the problem of plastic pollution in the hospitality industry. A...
Never stop learning at The Grown-Up School

All grown-up and ready for the world of work…?

LAURA Abraham, a 26-year-old entrepreneur from Barry Island, Wales, is winning recognition for creating The Grown-Up School. The open-access, online resource aims to help young...
Unicorn rainbow graphic

Goats, bugs, thrown laptops … all part of a unicorn hunt

BREWDOG CEO James Watt is on the hunt for the next unicorn — and he’ll be investing up to £5m of his own money...
Agritech blockchain illustration

How blockchain is empowering agritech start-ups

By HENRY DUCKWORTH A WAVE of innovative start-ups is emerging in the agritech industry. Their mission: improve food production and supply chain management, and increase...
mental health, brain, puzzle

From founder to addict, to founder again…

A burn-out crisis left Paul Flynn scarred and scattered — but the healing process gave him a new business idea targeting wealthy clients PAUL Flynn’s...
Mind Trace, one of the innovators showcased at events in March

Uni-supported innovators to pitch at showcase events

FOUNDERS of University of Edinburgh-supported start-ups will be able to showcase their companies to an audience of investors at two events taking in March. Ten...
Tech Nation 2022 events

Tech Nation winds-down after grant funding is cut

AFTER a decade as a government-backed organisation in the UK scale-up ecosystem, Tech Nation will cease operations and seeks to transfer its assets. The decision...
Companies House logo

Mind your language! Rude company names are out

A FREEDOM of information (FOI) request found that 56,640 business names were rejected by Companies House between January 2019 and April 2022. Nearly half (25,400)...
Kitepower kite

‘Greener’ wind power — but military potential clouds motivation

CEO starts a pan-European crowdfunding bid to advance airborne power generator MOBILE wind turbines tether a sea container to a kite, which turns in a...