Startup leaders need to be optimistic, forward looking and full of hope. That much goes without saying. But how do you do optimism when times are tough, people are hurting out of loneliness and...
Do you recall the days when the £ sterling was strong and the € euro was weak and on the verge of collapse? And what changed? Well, it was July 2012 when Mario Draghi – the Euro’s ECB...
I have conversations with founders on a daily basis whose persistence and resilience is awe inspiring. However, all startup founder paths to success follow similar patterns – where the...
Actually, spoiler alert – I already have an answer… and they are: Engagement, Engagement and Engagement! Engagement for your users (well, we know about that), but also, engagement with...
How should resilient startup leaders and founders plan their summer break in 2020? Imagine, we’re back in January 2020, Christmas is done and you are sitting down to plan your summer trip! The...
You don’t need anyone to tell you that your revenues depend on digital marketing. Nor do you need reminding that ecommerce sales have (more or less) doubled and virtual sales meetings have replaced...
Coronavirus has reinforced how connected we are to everyone else, and this thread now weaves through nearly everything we do to build our startups…and community. Hence, community building lies at...
Building new channels of leads and sales is expensive in terms of time and/ or resource — so, is now the right time to make the investment for your startup? And if so, how do you do it? In this...
Digital marketing, and in particular, digital advertising is holding up surprisingly well in the coronavirus induced recession. In this article we take a deep dive into why that is the case and the...
Revenue is the new growth! So hack revenue – not growth! VCs have been talking about ‘profit’ since We/ WeWork’s IPO fell apart in summer 2019, but we’re now hearing the...
Why building trust is your ‘go to’ test for emerging safely… Quick take away: if you have only 10 seconds — the secret to firstly survive and then thrive in a time of crisis is to build...
We’ve changed the way we shop and buy since the coronavirus lockdown — in part or in full- so how does selling respond? The shift from problem solving to ‘problem finding’ is a trend that was...
If it takes 30 days to change a habit, 6 weeks of lockdown will change society, work and our economy forever — so what will it be like in The New Normal? If you take just one thing, then choose...
What stands out when fundraising in a time of crisis is that the behaviour and mindset of the startup or scaleup founder is more important than ever and especially critical to sourcing...
How do you build teams when everyone works from home? How do you manage / control complex projects with distributed teams? Different people will face different challenges working from home, how do...
Don’t cut costs — be more radical if your market has suddenly stopped. 12 years ago, I was running a international scaleup as our market got wiped out by the credit crunch. Today, many high...
We have a problem. Too many exciting startups get stuck in the ‘growth gap’ and struggle to expand rapidly. From one nation’s cohort of 2019 ‘best in class’ startups, a year later, only one...
Myth no. 1 “You need a great idea before you start” No, you need two things a) to start b) a question Preferably a good question – one that makes people stop and think… Myth...
I’m an optimist – despite the horrible politics of the last few years – Trump to Brexit to Orban in Hungry and Putin in Russia – I’m hopeful that the next decade will be a great one! As the...
…how well can you answer this question: What pain / worry / fear / concern is your startup solving or removing? But why is this such a hard question to answer? For some reason - we humans seem...
If you want to change the world, you could do worse than follow the method of Bill Gates – Microsoft co-founder and now philanthropist who, working with his partner and wife, Melinda Gates, has...
1. Step back into Startup Mode Everything is now a fast moving experiment let go of control – ask instead for data and base all decisions on that data instead of custom or perceived...
Are you ready to scaleup your startup? Here I’m sharing 11 great coaching questions that our clients have used to transition from the startup to the scaleup phase and speed up and smooth out...
Like many of today’s startup founders, the 15th century architects of Florence began with a vision — an intuition of what was possible and then began the process of trial and error to find out...
How mission led startups are poised to change the world… “The thing that stands out is the thing that is different” Marc Andreessen Silicon Valley investors have changed track and are...
How about we end the struggle of founders creating and building startups? What if we adopt a mission to move from surviving to thriving? No matter what happens to the organisation! Interested? Read...
Raising funds is easy – if you have something worth saying, and say it well… so how do you do that? 1. Build a breakthrough business model canvas 2. Convert that into a 3 minute pitch...
Here’s a photo of me about to write my Breakthrough Canvas at the start of 2019. Yes, I know, as a team we designed and built The Breakthrough Canvas… …then we tested it –...
…that keeps every entrepreneur awake at night! Whether it is wiser to struggle on in the hope of better fortune Or, to cut your losses and exit now before all capital and Reputation is...
What stops a startup turning into a scaleup and what can you do about it? Since my own fights with fellow business partners back in the noughties, I’ve wondered how I could have done...
We’ve just launched a new 4.0 version of the Breakthrough Business Model Canvas here… Updated, upgraded and ready to use! Get clarity, gain traction, shred marketing costs and...
What next? Yes, the ‘back to school’ season is upon us and whilst we remember those butterflies in the stomach, this is also a good time for many of us to seek to reconnect with our...
If you are running a startup or scaleup, check out the video above… We’ve worked with new and growing businesses to help them achieve lift-off and magnify growth but also at key points...
If you are running a startup near London, then this British Library event might be right for you if… you are considering a pivot you’re struggling to find customer traction you’re...
Do you really need or want funding? Perhaps the answer to that question is yes, in which case, why do you want that funding? Or perhaps asking the question about funding will help you better...
Come and join me and a select few others for our Bring a Challenge – Get a Breakthrough session in Chester. Designed for leaders of startup and growth social and business enterprises, this...
Last week saw the first Breakthrough Business event using our 2.0 version of the Business Model Canvas on a beautiful evening inside Manchester’s magnificent central library. As always, our...
Many people will tell you that becoming (or remaining) an entrepreneur is all about money – raising money that is, so that you can stay in business. And, if you can’t get the money, you...