By Nick Ismail on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Following winning The Start-Up Series competition, Ed Bird from Bird Eyewear discusses how the business has shifted since winning the competition, the biggest growth challenges the business experienced, how to focus on the next funding round and provides his advice for entrepreneurs on the beginning of the start-up funding journeys.
To find out more about The Start-Up Series competition – run by Worth Capital in partnership with Small Business – and how your small business could secure up to £250,000 in equity funding, read here.
Can you remind us what your company does and how the business has shifted since you won the Start-Up Series and first received investment?
We make beautiful sustainable eyewear – creating exceptional designs and focusing obsessively on quality. For us it’s about reframing what really matters; people and planet. Firstly, seeking out the best sustainable materials for our frames, including certified woods, bio-based acetate, renewable cork and recycled aluminium.
We also ensure that every pair of Birds gives back through our Share Your Sun partnership with SolarAid. Helping to distribute solar light to families in Zambia and Malawi, replacing the use of fossil fuel
Tag Archive for The Start-Up Series
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Former Start-Up Series winner discusses his next funding round – Ed Bird, Bird Eyewear
by Nick Ismail • • 0 Comments
By Nick Ismail on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
Following winning The Start-Up Series competition, Ed Bird from Bird Eyewear discusses how the business has shifted since winning the competition, the biggest growth challenges the business experienced, how to focus on the next funding round and provides his advice for entrepreneurs on the beginning of the start-up funding journeys.
To find out more about The Start-Up Series competition – run by Worth Capital in partnership with Small Business – and how your small business could secure up to £250,000 in equity funding, read here.
Can you remind us what your company does and how the business has shifted since you won the Start-Up Series and first received investment?
We make beautiful sustainable eyewear – creating exceptional designs and focusing obsessively on quality. For us it’s about reframing what really matters; people and planet. Firstly, seeking out the best sustainable materials for our frames, including certified woods, bio-based acetate, renewable cork and recycled aluminium.
We also ensure that every pair of Birds gives back through our Share Your Sun partnership with SolarAid. Helping to distribute solar light to families in Zambia and Malawi, replacing the use of fossil fuel
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New small business strategic challenge or the same one in disguise?
by Matthew Cushen • • 0 Comments
By Matthew Cushen on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
It’s a long while since I was defined by a sector. These days I invest in businesses across all sectors. The only commonality being a compelling new insight, room in a market for a new proposition to grow (because the market is highly fragmented and/or high growth) and the potential to build a loved brand – which is as likely to be B2B as consumer.
But a long time ago I was defined as a retailer. Inevitable given a childhood growing up in a Post Office in sleepy Devon and skiving off school to man the shop when Mum & Dad had a rare holiday. From there I helped set up the first overseas Virgin Megastore (yes Virgin used to sell records – and cassette tapes!). Then looked after a big chunk of Woolworths, redesigned the John Lewis supply chain and helped set up a huge retail business in India – in one year we built 800 supermarkets and 50 hypermarkets. So reminiscing finds two retailers that no longer exist, one in the department store space that is having an existential crisis and one that is
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The Start-Up Series competition is back — a chance to secure up to £250,000 in equity funding
by Nick Ismail • • 0 Comments
By Nick Ismail on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
The Start-Up-Series competition is back after a month’s holiday!
The Start-Up Series is the UK’s largest seed funding and mentoring competition. Launched in 2016 by Worth Capital, the competition searches for the brightest entrepreneurs with the smartest ideas and invests real cash into promising start-up businesses. So far, the competition has invested more than £4.2m into over 20 young UK businesses.
The competition will run from the 1st to the 14th of each month.
Don’t miss your opportunity to secure up to £250,000 of equity funding and apply today.
The Start-Up Series competition
Each month one or two winners will be selected to receive package consisting of:
• Up to £250,000 of SEIS/EIS equity funding (subject to due-diligence, terms & conditions).
• A minimum of 2 years invaluable hands-on help from experienced mentors.
• Media coverage on smallbusiness.co.uk and other channels to promote your business.
We are on the hunt for B2B or B2C business across all sectors. As long as your business is eligible for SEIS or EIS HMRC advance assurance, then we’ll consider your application.
We’ll be impressed by innovative products or services, in high growth or underserved markets, with the potential to
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Winning the Start-Up Series – Mathew Norbury, FC Labs
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
By Timothy Adler on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs
When it comes to building and construction, safety is paramount. The slightest misstep or lapse of concentration can cause injury or even death. Just imagine the damage a crane operator can cause if they have a momentary lapse or close their eyes for just one second.
That’s the problem that Mathew Norbury and his team at FC Laboratories have been working on. FC Labs has been developing wearable brain imaging technology which can be worn on its own, with other headgear or implanted in a hardhat. This wearable technology tells the user if their attention is dropping or if they need to take a break.
And this kind of wearable brain imaging technology has lots of other applications as well, from NHS hospital staff being told that it’s time for them to rest through to currency traders in the City being alerted that their split-second judgement is below par.
FC Labs founder and CEO Mathew Norbury talks about why he felt it worthwhile entering the Start-Up Series competition even though his wearable technology was only at an early proof of concept stage, key milestones over the coming year,
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Winning the Start-Up Series – Mathew Norbury, FC Labs
by Small Business Team • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Small Business Team on Small Business
When it comes to building and construction, safety is paramount. The slightest misstep or lapse of concentration can cause injury or even death. Just imagine the damage a crane operator can cause if they have a momentary lapse or close their eyes for just one second.
That’s the problem that Mathew Norbury and his team at FC Laboratories have been working on. FC Labs has been developing wearable brain imaging technology which can be worn on its own, with other headgear or implanted in a hardhat. This wearable technology tells the user if their attention is dropping or if they need to take a break.
And this kind of wearable brain imaging technology has lots of other applications as well, from NHS hospital staff being told that it’s time for them to rest through to currency traders in the City being alerted that their split-second judgement is below par.
FC Labs founder and CEO Mathew Norbury talks about why he felt it worthwhile entering the Start-Up Series competition even though his wearable technology was only at an early proof of concept stage, key milestones over the coming year, and why having mentorship is so
Hot Business News Today
Winning the Start-Up Series – Mathew Norbury, FC Labs
by Small Business Team • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Small Business Team on Small Business
When it comes to building and construction, safety is paramount. The slightest misstep or lapse of concentration can cause injury or even death. Just imagine the damage a crane operator can cause if they have a momentary lapse or close their eyes for just one second.
That’s the problem that Mathew Norbury and his team at FC Laboratories have been working on. FC Labs has been developing wearable brain imaging technology which can be worn on its own, with other headgear or implanted in a hardhat. This wearable technology tells the user if their attention is dropping or if they need to take a break.
And this kind of wearable brain imaging technology has lots of other applications as well, from NHS hospital staff being told that it’s time for them to rest through to currency traders in the City being alerted that their split-second judgement is below par.
FC Labs founder and CEO Mathew Norbury talks about why he felt it worthwhile entering the Start-Up Series competition even though his wearable technology was only at an early proof of concept stage, key milestones over the coming year, and why having mentorship is so
Hot Business News Today
Winning the Start-Up Series – Carrie Davies, ONE Essentials
by Small Business Team • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Small Business Team on Small Business
In Britain, we throw away 350,000 tonnes of old clothes each year, which means nearly one third of our unwanted clothing goes to landfill, according to charity Clothes Aid.
Globally, an estimated 92m tonnes of textile waste is created each year, the equivalent of a dustcart full of clothes being buried in landfill each and every second.
By 2030, the world is expected to be throwing away 134m tonnes of textiles a year.
Indeed, the whole fashion industry accounts for 10 per cent of global emissions once you to take production, manufacturing and wholesale into account.
It’s something former Barbour and Monsoon designer Carrie Davies was determined do something about. Starting with underwear, tee-shirts and sweatshirts, her sustainable fashion brand One Essentials uses an equal split of recycled and organic new cotton to manufacture garments. Even better, she offers to take back her brand’s worn-out items and recycle into them into fresh products. It’s a virtuous circle concept that is taking root in business.
Here, Davies explains what’s wrong with fast fashion, what makes One Essentials unique and why she’s not afraid to admit her weaknesses.
Tell me about your background as a woman’s
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Winning the Start-Up Series – Carrie Davies, ONE Essentials
by Small Business Team • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Small Business Team on Small Business
In Britain, we throw away 350,000 tonnes of old clothes each year, which means nearly one third of our unwanted clothing goes to landfill, according to charity Clothes Aid.
Globally, an estimated 92m tonnes of textile waste is created each year, the equivalent of a dustcart full of clothes being buried in landfill each and every second.
By 2030, the world is expected to be throwing away 134m tonnes of textiles a year.
Indeed, the whole fashion industry accounts for 10 per cent of global emissions once you to take production, manufacturing and wholesale into account.
It’s something former Barbour and Monsoon designer Carrie Davies was determined do something about. Starting with underwear, tee-shirts and sweatshirts, her sustainable fashion brand One Essentials uses an equal split of recycled and organic new cotton to manufacture garments. Even better, she offers to take back her brand’s worn-out items and recycle into them into fresh products. It’s a virtuous circle concept that is taking root in business.
Here, Davies explains what’s wrong with fast fashion, what makes One Essentials unique and why she’s not afraid to admit her weaknesses.
Tell me about your background as a woman’s
Hot Business News Today
Winning the Start-Up Series – Henry Acevedo, Fox Robotics
by Partner Content • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
One of the pain points with Brexit was always going to be the shortage of migrant EU workers coming to Britain for the summer fruit picking season. The government is trialling a scheme that would only allow a maximum of 30,000 migrant EU workers into Britain this summer to pick soft fruits and vegetables. It is estimated that 70,000 fruit and veg pickers are needed in Britain each season.
Henry Acevedo, a computer scientist from Colombia, has developed a robot transport system which is about to start trials at a fruit farm. Given that nearly a quarter of any fruit picker’s time is spent carrying produce to collection points, Acevedo and his Fox Robotics team believe they can boost productivity by letting pickers concentrate on just picking fruit.
Being a winner at this year’s Start-Up Series will help turn his childhood passion for robotics into a business that can help farmers avoid fruit and vegetables rotting unpicked in the fields.
What’s your background as a tech entrepreneur?
I’m a Colombian computer scientist with almost 30 years’ experience in industry across many areas, such as telecommunications, working systems engineering, software development, information security, automation and, of