Every week, Maddyness brings you the latest investment news from the UK startup ecosystem. Here's a recap of this week's investments.
27.01.2023
In November 2021, 60% of the FTSE100 had pledged to eliminate their contribution to carbon emissions by 2050. This figure has since increased to over 80%. But while this presents itself as a positive trend, it is important for businesses to realise that the methods used achieve those targets have a seismic impact on how much change is actually implemented.
27.01.2023
As part of our quick fire questions series – or QFQs – we spoke to David Whitewood, CEO and founder of upp (upcycled plant power) about wastage in broccoli farming, harvest automation and their recent pre-seed investment from Elbow Beach Capital.
27.01.2023
As part of a series with Innovate UK KTN, Maddyness spoke to Dan Yates, cofounder and CEO of Greener. We will introduce several of the 13 ‘startups of the future’ chosen by Innovate UK KTN to take part in its three-month sustainability accelerator programme. Working with Innovate UK KTN, Growth Studio and their ecosystems, these startups will prepare to raise external capital. The program aims to back the bright ideas that put biodiversity, the climate, and sustainability first.
26.01.2023
It’s the start of the year, you probably have a long list of resolutions, or perhaps you have read that 100th book telling you to wake up at 4am, take cold showers to be the best version of yourself...
26.01.2023
The last few years have seen a tremendous amount of change in how we live, work and play, and it’s not about to slow down. Technology and automation, as well as uncertainties in the global economy, are transforming the business environment and what worked yesterday isn’t necessarily going to work tomorrow or the day after that. As such, we must all learn to be more adaptability in order to thrive in the face of change.
26.01.2023
As part of our quick fire questions series – or QFQs – we spoke to Anna Buldakova, CEO and cofounder of Vektor AI about the importance of mentorship, diverse perspectives and experimentation, and how to keep a shared collective vision.
25.01.2023
As part of our quick fire questions series – or QFQs – we spoke to Amar Kotak, Head of Partnerships at Integrated Finance about the launch of Fintech Foundation, the incubator helping more innovative Fintech startups get to market.
25.01.2023
Ryan Williams is the cofounder of multimillion-pound social media agency KOMI Group. His entrepreneurial journey began as a bit of fun, making parody accounts on Twitter and Facebook. He quickly learned how to monetise his accounts and before long he founded what became KOMI Group with two like-minded social media creators. Within six years, leading the content team, he helped build the business into the industry leader it is today, working with some of the world’s most recognisable brands.
25.01.2023
It’s fair to say that AI gets a bad rep. It’s a powerful tool: and when used incorrectly or irresponsibly, can have far-reaching negative consequences. In the last few months alone, tech behemoths Microsoft and Meta have retracted AI models following legitimate safety and inaccuracy fears. But what if instead of simply retracting models because they are unsafe, these companies cleaned up their act and created ethical AI models from the get-go that could be used more safely?
24.01.2023
Given the choice, I suspect most entrepreneurs wouldn’t opt to have an investor sitting on the board – investor directors (IDs) tend to just arrive with the money as part of the package. And it’s true that while some people make their way into VC from an operational background, many don’t (myself included). Being an investor is our career, and it makes sense that founders might have some suspicions around the expertise we have to offer, but IDs bring value, within some boundaries.
24.01.2023
Growing businesses that haven’t worked with private equity before are often nervous about raising investment. They worry their new investors will want to take over, or to run the business solely to deliver a short-term return.
24.01.2023
As part of our quick fire questions series – or QFQs – we spoke to Jason Ash, cofounder of YoungPlanet about an unnecessary over-reliance on landfill, the circular economy and an inspirational bright red Radio Flyer truck.
24.01.2023
The shortage of available talent to keep pace with the growing number of roles that require digital skills was noticeable even before the pandemic. So, when businesses were forced to make the switch to digital in the face of distancing rules, many were left playing catch up.
24.01.2023