#SundayStartup no. 19 – the top five stories for tech start-ups this week
Don’t mention it, but this might be the first edition of #SundayStartup to arrive with a bit of summer sun.
So while the rest of the nation has been enjoying the arrival of a mini heatwave, we’ve been scouring the Web for updates from the world of investment and entrepreneurs – as well as a cheeky start-up related observation from one tech writer about some less than impressive diving board activity.
Corporate VC-backed UK tech deals ‘reached an all-time high’ in Q2 2016
Tech City News covered a positive report from CB Insights which indicated that corporate venture capital participation hit new highs in the second quarter of 2016.
A record 21 deals were noted in the UK. Europe more widely saw a 5% growth in the number of deals – the only continent to enjoy an increase for the quarter.
However, it wasn’t (as ever) all good news. Anand Sanwal of CB Insights warned that funding on the whole is in decline, and that it is becoming tougher to raise money from VCs and other investors.
170,000 overseas entrepreneurs formed companies in the UK in 2015
Perhaps allaying some of last week’s fears that our German friends are set to poach our top tech talent, analysis of Companies House data has shown that the UK is a prime destination for overseas entrepreneurs.
The findings showed a 160% increase since 2010, and Made Simple Group – the people behind the research – has suggested that the relatively straightforward process of setting up a business in the UK is a major attracting factor.
Your start-up’s best retention bet? A culture of learning
Forbes took on the old adage of not being able to teach an old dog new tricks, and suggested that the best way to retain staff is to keep them learning. This, the piece argues, is even more relevant when it comes to housing an office of younger workers.
Learning can come in the form of structured training, but should also extend to regular constructive feedback and internal collaboration. If a person is feeling fulfilled and developing where they are then, it begs the question, why would they need to look somewhere else for the same thing?
Too late to start? Quarter life crisis and late bloomers
It’s all too easy in today’s fast-paced world to feel like time is slipping away from you. It can feel difficult enough to keep up with your favourite TV show (or your friends and family, depending on preference) let alone finding time to fit in all of those world-shaking business ideas you come up with every day.
That’s where this neat little interactive infographic from Funders & Founders (a site you may recognise from this post) comes in. It tracks some of the world’s most renowned inventors and businesspeople, recording the dates at which they ‘started up.’
Needless to say, for all the sprightly 21 year olds starting businesses in their university dormitories, there are plenty who made their very successful steps later on in live.
And finally…
CNET scribe Chris Matyszczyk had his tongue in his cheek as he drew a line between the hardships of start-ups and competitive divers in a clip that’s been doing the rounds online.
The unfortunate footage of divers representing the Philippines at last year’s Southeast Asian Games resurfaced this week. Upon seeing it, Matyszczyk couldn’t help but think of it as a “metaphor for a start-up.”
He notes that despite (or sometimes because of) unbridled passion and effort, sometimes start-up ideas just don’t work out as planned. Not that that should ever put someone off trying, though!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToPRDDPN4xg
Make sure you join us at the same time next week for another round of #SundayStartup. Until next time!
