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Advice, BookkeepingThe Founders' Guide To Trading In Foreign Currencies
October 8, 2019
With more and more companies trading online, being able to accept foreign currencies is becoming a must, but it comes with some accounting requirements.
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NewsRevolut Starts Targeting Teenagers With Its Youth Feature
October 8, 2019
UK challenger bank Revolut announced its Youth feature last week targeting teenagers with a parent-controlled card and a child-friendly app.
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Advice, FundraisingProtect Your Minority Stake With Tag-Along Rights
October 8, 2019
Tag-Along Rights protect minority shareholders during a sale granting them the right to join a transaction if a majority holder decides to sell their stake.
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News, Reports, TrendsAs of Sep 13th the median of forward multiples for public SaaS was 9.3x. A 11% drop from its latest high. What does it mean for private SaaS companies?
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Reports, TrendsStartupBlink Publishes Start-up Ecosystem Report
October 8, 2019
StartupBlink mapped cities and countries worldwide based on their capacity to be the perfect ecosystem for start-up growth.
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NewsSeema Kher Joins Ignition Financial as Head of Accounting Services
September 16, 2019
Seema brings to Ignition her 20+ years experience working at KPMG. She will help us further improve our Core Accounting offering and service delivery.
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ReportsThe Weirdest "Risk Factors" In 2019's IPO Filings
September 16, 2019
One of the requirement for S-1 filings are "Risk Factors". It is a chance for a company to acknowledge its weaknesses and publicly declare what could get in the way of its success.
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NewsIgnition Is Sponsoring Seedrs Alumni Awards 2019
September 16, 2019
Having partnered with Seedrs as part of the start-up and scale-up community, our sister firm Ignition Law is proud to be a Silver Sponsor for the Seedrs Alumni Awards 2019
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Advice, StrategyJoint Venture in the UK: The Basics
September 16, 2019
A joint venture is an agreement between separate entities cooperating within a specifed project for the achievement of a common goal.
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Advice, Bookkeeping, TalentCompany Expenses Policy: All The Pro Tips
September 16, 2019
Establishing a clear expenses policy will help you manage claims in a more efficient manner, giving you a clearer and more predictable overview of costs.
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ReportsAll The Red Flags Behind WeWork's IPO
September 15, 2019
What has been one of the most highly anticipated IPOs is quickly turning into a complete disaster as most media outlet called out the office space company for a whole array of suspicious practices within the company.
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Advice, TalentWhat We Can Learn From Silicon Valley About Talent Retention
September 8, 2019
As steeper growth trajectories push European start-ups to hire more talent, some worry talent retention is being neglected. Kiana Sharifi shares her view.
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Reports, TrendsChange happens before you know it. By analysing seed funding, we assessed start-up sectors to understand what's trending and what's already past its prime.
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NewsNexford University Entrepreneurship Scholarship Deadline Approaches
September 2, 2019
After awarding the 100 scholarships based on the answers to these questions, graduates will have a chance to pitch their start-up idea.
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Advice, Talent, TaxIR35 Rules Are Changing: Here's How To Prepare
September 2, 2019
Starting in April 2020, some private businesses will be required to operate under the same rules as public sector companies for what concern IR35 regulations.
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Advice, FundraisingDrag-Along Clause In Term Sheets: What Does It Mean?
September 2, 2019
Drag-along rights enable majority shareholders to force minority shareholders into a sale, provided that minority shareholders are offered the same exact terms as the majority ones.
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Advice, FundraisingConsilience Ventures Propose Alternative Funding Model
September 2, 2019
London-based Consilience Venture has come up with a new investment model that they define as a hybrid between a community and an investment platform.
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NewsBrexit VS the US/China Trade War: Which One Should You Worry About?
September 2, 2019
Brexit and the trade war between China and the US have been making headlines for months. How did these international matters impact top executives' agendas?
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Advice, TaxWhat is the Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR)
August 19, 2019
In order to be eligible for VGTR, the applying company must be responsible for most of the planning, designing, developing, testing and production of a game
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Reports, TrendsEquity Crowdfunding Report For The First Half Of 2019
August 19, 2019
Equity crowdfunding platforms enable companies to raise finance directly from the public, democratising the venture capital environment. But how are they performing in the first half of 2019?
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Advice, Business Model, Reports, Strategy
How To Fix A Broken Business Model: 3 Case Studies
August 19, 2019
In the past two decades we've seen an increasing amount of companies selling their products or services at a loss in order to increase their user base and gain market share over competitors. Will this model ever work?
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Advice, FundraisingWhy A Dutch Company Turned Down VC Money
August 19, 2019
With growing hype around companies raising VC capital, the Founder of Delft Circuits denounces the exploitative attached to investment term sheets.
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Advice, Tax
The Timing Of Your Dividend Payment Could Help You Save Tax
August 5, 2019
Timing the date of a dividend payment from a company can determine both the amount and the due date of the tax payable. This may be a particularly useful strategy in a close- or family-owned company.
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NewsWhat Are Boris Johnson's Plans For UK Businesses?
August 5, 2019
As we all know, Boris Johnson was elected Leader of the Conservative Party on 23 July 2019, subsequently becoming Prime Minister of the UK.
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Reports, VCDiversity VC Publishes Report On UK Venture Capitalists
August 5, 2019
Earlier this month, Diversity VC carried out a research on 171 active VC firms to look into the diversity issue within the Venture Capital sector.
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Advice, FundraisingCorporate VCs: The Europe Top 10
August 5, 2019
Despite their mixed reputation as investors, Corporate VCs are a rising segment of the start-up landscape. Here are the Top 10 in Europe according to the Financial Times.
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Advice, Bookkeeping, Tax
Cash Basis: Simplified Expenses For Smaller Businesses
August 5, 2019
Certain unincorporated small businesses may choose to use the cash basis when calculating taxable income, under which participants are taxed on the basis of the cash that passes through their books.
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NewsStu Coates: Ignition Financial's New CTO
August 5, 2019
Stu has more than 25 years’ experience as a software engineer for companies such as Deutsche Bank and GSK, and as a CTO of Valexa Technology (now Audatex UK), for the last 10 years.
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NewsMoney In - Investment in Q2 2019
July 22, 2019
The past quarter saw shifts across geographical regions, development stages and key players in terms of start-up investment.
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NewsMoney Out - Exits in Q2 '19: M&A, IPO, Secondary Sale
July 22, 2019
Transportation giant Uber Technologies finally reached its highly anticipated IPO in May, along with other notable companies that were welcomed with mixed reactions by the public.
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Advice, TaxDividends Complexities - What Do The Cuts Change?
July 22, 2019
Many family-owned companies allocate dividends towards the end of their financial year and/or the tax year, so it was not until March/April 2019 that the impact of the reduction first started to hit home.
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Advice, TaxEntrepreneurs' relief – the basics
July 22, 2019
Formerly, to qualify for entrepreneurs' relief, the assets or shares had to be held by the individual for at least 12 months to the date of disposal. However, the length of ownership condition has recently been increased.
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Bootstrapping, ReportsFunding rounds have been growing at unprecedented pace while capital efficiency decreases: do larger investments lead to superior returns and exits?
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Reports, VCThe CleanTech sector require huge investments in order to become profitable and efficient at scale. Are VCs investing in British CleanTech start-ups?
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FoundersSusie Cummings - Founder and CEO of Nurole
June 28, 2019
Nurole is on a mission to make the world’s best talent much more accessible with new technology that changes the whole process of search. They provide a fresh approach that’s more effective, more collaborative and much more affordable.
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Advice, Fundraising, StrategyOut of the original sample, only 12 companies went through the whole funnel to reach a valuation over $1bn, achieving "unicorn" status.
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Advice, TaxWhen should a business register for VAT?
June 28, 2019
Businesses are required to register for VAT when their annual sales reach the threshold of £85,000. You can also register volountarily in some instances.
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NewsHumanising Autonomy Raises £4.2m Seed Round
June 27, 2019
Humanising Autonomy develops an AI platform that is able to predict pedestrian behaviour across different environments and cities based only on RGB data from a camera.
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Advice, FundraisingPreference Shares vs Ordinary Shares
June 26, 2019
The two main classes of shares that are issued by most companies are Ordinary Shares and Preference Shares. How do they differ?
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Advice, TaxWorkplace pension contributions rise takes effect
June 12, 2019
From April 6 2019, the employer minimum contribution has risen from 2% to 3%, while the staff contribution also increased from 3% to 5%.
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Advice, TaxIntroduction to VAT from SimplyVAT.com
June 12, 2019
While VAT is charged at every stage that value is added within the supply chain, the final payment is always made by the customer.
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StrategyUnicorns Report: a closer look at 3 profitable Unicorns
June 12, 2019
Last month - May 2019 - 13 companies were valued over $1bn for the first time. By the way, none of them was profitable. That doesn't sound rare at all!
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Advice, FundraisingKnowledge Intensive Companies: do you qualify?
May 30, 2019
A lot of innovative start-ups qualify as Knowledge Intensive Companies, but they might not even realise it, as the requirements are looser than you might think.
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Advice, TalentGranting EMI Options over Growth Shares
May 30, 2019
EMI Options are often compared to Growth Shares, but the two are not mutually exclusive: under certain circumstances, it is possible to grant Options over Growth Shares under an EMI Scheme, gaining the advantages of both.
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StrategyHow to sell SaaS to GOV - Meet the G-Cloud
May 29, 2019
Applying to the G-Cloud and, in so doing, starting to market your SaaS business to the public sector could not only open up a new revenue stream for you, but also legitimate your business as trustworthy and reputable.
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Bootstrapping, ReportsStrap your Boots: 10 Bootstrapped Success Stories
May 29, 2019
We collected 10 exemplar bootstrapped companies that successfully employed different strategies to achieve impressive exits, sky-high valuations and more-than-healthy profit margins while retaining most of their Founders' ownership.
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Advice, TaxPAYE Settlement Agreements: The Basics
May 13, 2019
To set up a new PSA, it is necessary to write to HMRC setting out the benefits and expenses to be included within the PSA. Once HMRC have agreed the PSA, they will send two draft copies of form P626.
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FoundersWe had a chat with Toby, one of the three founders of Friendship Adventure. He told us about his entrepreneurial path and the difficulties he had to face, along with his co-founders, to get his business up and running.
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Reports, Trends3 Reason Behind The Explosive Funding Growth Of AI
May 13, 2019
AI funding worldwide more than doubled between 2016 and 2017, and more than tripled from 2016 to 2018. What exactly triggered the start of this exponential growth?
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News, ReportsThere has been a lot of buzz around Chinese start-ups raising huge amounts of capital. However, not only numerous reports dating suggest that the hype around the Chinese VC scene is exaggerated: some argue that Western media is playing its part in overstating its size and momentum.
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Reports, VCVC portfolios are often too small to make accurate links between metrics and performance. What if they used companies they rejected as a dataset instead? This VC studied 600 start-ups he said "no" to and found some interesting connections.
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Advice, Talent, TaxSince 6 April 2016 employers can provide trivial benefits such as small gifts and entertainment without having to include these within PAYE settlement agreements or disclose on P11D forms.
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Reports, TrendsThe conclusion of the report is that private equities are potentially a much more profitable asset class compared to public equities.
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Bootstrapping, ReportsTired of pitch decks & meetings? Meet Capital-as-a-Service
April 18, 2019
Their premise is simple: once you're able to categorise a company together with others with a comparable business model, you can use key metrics to compare performance and evaluate the profitability of an investment.
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FoundersTim Soar - Founder of SOAR Running
April 16, 2019
Tim Soar went from strength to strength, from the closing slot of the 25th London Fashion Week to SOAR, Running: a high performance running wear brand.
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Advice, TaxPracticalities of forming a partnership
April 15, 2019
Although there are no legal formalities involved in establishing a partnership, which may come into existence under an oral agreement, it's a good idea to have a formal partnership deed drawn up.
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Advice, FundraisingFundraising: 6 Tips from David Battey
April 15, 2019
David Battey from Lumaca Capital gives his six key pieces of advice for small businesses trying to raise finance, originally published on his blog.
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Founders
Fadl Al Tarzi - Founder of Nexford University
April 15, 2019
Fadl became an entrepreneur at the age of 18 and has accumulated 17 years’ of experience building and executing award-winning digital engagement strategies across the world, with a focus on emerging markets. He told about his journey building Nexford University.
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NewsForbes publishes the Midas List 2019
April 15, 2019
The Midas is compiled after reviewing submissions from hundreds of partners across dozens of firms each year, with newer exits and early-stage returns being valued more highly by Forbes and TrueBridge.
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Advice, TaxClaiming R&D Credits: the caveats
March 29, 2019
R&D Tax Credits are designed to be even more favourable for loss-making companies, as the qualifying expense needs to be enhanced before calculating profit or loss for R&D Credits purposes.
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Advice, TaxTrading whilst insolvent, what are the consequences?
March 29, 2019
In order to try and avoid personal liability when trading whilst insolvent, it is vital that directors seek professional advice as soon as possible, and initiate preventative measures in order to protect themselves.
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Advice, TaxDirectors' NICs - the correct way to pay
March 29, 2019
Company directors often have greater scope to influence the time and amount of payments they receive as earnings. They have the possibility to avoid primary Class 1 contribution liability by astute use of the earnings period rules.
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NewsAn Expert Panel concluded that tech giants do not face adequate competition, and this is an issue that must be addressed with relevant policies in order to ensure that companies operate to optimise customers' choice and benefit.
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FoundersJoy Lewis - CEO of Adopt An Intern
March 29, 2019
Joy Lewis started social enterprise Adopt An Intern in 2009, with the purpose of offering paid internship to talented graduates in the UK.
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Accelerators, ReportsAccelerator or Incubator - What's the difference?
March 29, 2019
Start-up Incubators and Accelerators often assume similar roles in the early stages of a company. However there are several differences between the two.
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Advice, Tax
Employees – claim a tax deduction for expenses
March 20, 2019
Employees may be able to obtain a tax relief on expenses that are not covered by their employer, when these are incurred "wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of the employment."
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FoundersJames Beddows - Founder of RideTo
March 12, 2019
James Beddows started RideTo after having a terrible experience while trying to obtain a motorcycle driver's license. He told us all about his journey as a Founder.
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Advice, ValuationSaaS Exit Revenue Multiples for 2018
March 12, 2019
M&A deals involving SaaS reached 989 in 2018, up 19% from 2017. The median twelve-month revenue multiple was 4.3x, varying significantly between categories.
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NewsWe're delighted that our InsurTech client Inshur has completed their Series A just before being featured in prestigious high-growth list Oxbow Impact 25.
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Advice, TaxThe CGT annual exemption – use it or lose it!
March 11, 2019
The most common method to minimise Capital Gains Tax liability is to ensure that the annual exemption is fully utilised.
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Advice, TaxOverdrawn director’s loan accounts
March 11, 2019
When running a business the directors, might need borrow money from the company or vice versa. These transactions should be tracked via the director’s loan account.
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Accelerators, ReportsDo Start-up Accelerators really Accelerate Start-ups?
March 11, 2019
There are over 130 active startup accelerators in the UK. They have been increasing for the past 5 years, but what is their real impact on a firms's growth?
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Advice, ValuationUK InsurTech: Investment and Valuation Data
March 6, 2019
Recent breakthroughs in Data Science and AI made its disruption possible, all thanks to the new players who are challenging the business models of huge multinational incumbents. These new players are often referred to as InsurTech Start-ups. The sector now seems to be maturing in the UK, with £276m invested since 2013.
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Advice, TaxTax-Free Health & Fitness Benefits For Your Employees
March 6, 2019
Employers are allowed tax breaks and exemptions to offer health and fitness at work, in order to prevent work-related illness and injuries.
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Advice, TaxWhat can be done with business losses?
March 6, 2019
There are different kinds of relief that can help your early stage business reduce your losses.
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Advice, TaxShould you pay yourself a Salary or take Dividends?
February 25, 2019
Once the optimal salary has been paid, dividends should be paid to use up the dividend allowance. If further profits are to be extracted, there will be tax to pay, but the combined tax and National Insurance impact on dividends is less than for salary payments.
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NewsSenseon just announced their seed funding round of $6.4m (£4.9m) led by MMC Ventures.
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2018, ReportsUK Startups: Who were 2018's biggest investors?
February 25, 2019
Out of all the categories of investors, crowdfunding platforms were the only ones to actually increase their numbers, driving almost a third of all UK's seed-stage deals (the stage which suffered the most dramatic fall).
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Advice, Tax
Director’s loan accounts: recording personal expenses
February 25, 2019
Expenses and cash payments incurred on behalf of a director can look ambiguous to HMRC, so it's very important to keep accurate records of all your transactions.
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Advice, ValuationUK Cyber Security: Investment and Valuation Data
February 25, 2019
£323m were invested in the Cyber Security sector in 2018. That's almost 40% up from £232m in 2017. The number of deals also saw an increase from 123 to 128.
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Advice, TaxThe importance of keeping good business records
February 20, 2019
Regardless of whether you're running a business as a sole trader, in partnership or as a limited company, it's vital to keep complete and accurate records of your business transactions. This way you'll be sure to pay the correct amount of tax to HMRC and avoid unwanted fines.
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FoundersAndreas & Max - Co-Founders of WorldLabs
February 14, 2019
We interviewed co-founders Andreas and Max to ask them a bit more about the story behind WorldLabs, the innovation platform they started in a Cambridge University dorm room.
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StrategyBrexit Checklist: Are you prepared for No-Deal?
February 12, 2019
As unlikely as it might be, it is massively important for UK companies trading with the European Union to have a contingency plan in place in the event of a No-Deal, as the consequences to being unprepared to such outcome would be awful, and recovering would be really hard.
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FoundersDexter Penn - CEO and Founder of Kalgera
February 5, 2019
Doctor Dexter Penn, former NHS hospital physician in neurology and geriatrics, witnessed the pain points of financial vulnerability of his patients on a daily basis. That's how he got the idea for his award-winning company Kalgera.
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Strategy5 Mistakes To Avoid That Could Sink Your Startup
January 28, 2019
CBInsights recently reported the testimony of the Founders of failing start-ups. Here, we collected the five most common reasons for their failure.,ì
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2018, ReportsBeauhurst: 2018's biggest acquisitions
January 28, 2019
Although investment slightly dropped compared to 2018, several UK business managed to raise substantial amounts, and these five were acquired for hundreds of millions of pounds.
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Advice, TalentThe perfect pay package for your employees
January 23, 2019
When you start a company, hiring good workers is simply necessary, while money is often a luxury. So how do you pay for the best talent on the market?
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StrategyThe 5 Key Elements Of A Good Business Plan
January 22, 2019
Many argue that spending time on a business plan is not a wise choice, as it will surely change. However, a business plan is still considered necessary.
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Advice, Fundraising
EIS Certificates have gone digital!
January 17, 2019
Once you have filled your EIS form, you can sign it digitally and email to your investors. They will have to print it out and keep it for their records in case HMRC asks for it.
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FoundersPauline Prescott – CEO & Co-Founder of Frances Prescott
January 9, 2019
Pauline Prescott successfully launched and scaled two startups before starting a skincare company with her sister Frances. Their first product was an instant hit. She shared with us a few thoughts, opinions and tips on the founder life.
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Advice, Talent, Tax
Tax efficient remuneration using pension contributions
December 20, 2018
Pension contributions can be a tax efficient way of increasing pay packages of your employees. With generous reliefs from the government they are a win-win.
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StrategyFinancial Model: What is it and how do I make one?
December 20, 2018
A well-constructed Financial Model can provide a comprehensive insight of how well a company is doing and what variables are involved in its performance.
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Advice, TaxHow to benefit from Annual Investment Allowance
December 14, 2018
From January 2019, businesses considering investing more than £200,000 in plant and machinery may benefit from a change to the capital allowances rules, which should allow them to obtain tax reilef at a much earlier time.
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Advice, TaxPaying mileage allowances tax-free
December 14, 2018
If the employee is travelling with a company car and the employer meets the fuel costs, this can be done tax-free as long as the costs don’t exceed HMRC’s advisory rates, which are updated quarterly.
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Advice, Tax
Entrepreneurs’ Relief – What did the Budget change?
December 14, 2018
Before the Autumn Budget, earlier this year, it was rumored that the Chancellor would scrap Entrepreneurs’ Relief. Eventually, this was not the case. However, the scheme eligibility criteria have been modified. Changes to the “personal company” criteria are effective from Budget Day, the extension of the qualifying period will be applied starting on 6 April 2019.
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Advice, TalentEmployee vs Contractor, what’s best for your company?
December 7, 2018
Hiring talent is among the main priorities of most start-ups, especially as they start growing. And while finding the right fit for your business needs is hard enough, hiring workers involves different kinds of arrangements that eventually determine their relationship to the company and their impact on your success.
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Advice, StrategyHow To Choose A Legal Structure For Your Business
December 7, 2018
Starting a company, you have a variety of options to choose from in terms of the legal structure of the newborn entities. Each comes with pros and cons in the long and short term.
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Strategy5 Tips For A Better Cash Flow Management
December 7, 2018
The most common cause of failure for SMEs is the lack of working capital to cover everyday costs of the business. Having enough cash flow to cover your business overheads (salaries, rent etc.) and to pay your suppliers is an essential requirement for a firm to be profitable. However that is not always easy, especially at an early stage where you often incur in unforeseen expenses to grow your business while not having a stable demand yet.
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StrategyCFO or FC? What does your business need?
November 19, 2018
Financial Director and Financial Controller (FD and FC for short) often represent the senior role in the Finance department of a business. Whether an FD or an FC is necessary or useful is not always clear. The differences between the roles can be very confusing, especially for small businesses.
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NewsPatchwork Secures A Strategic Investment From BMJ
November 2, 2018
Our client Patchwork (formerly LocumTap) has secured a strategic investment from BMJ to help healthcare employers better manage temporary staffing demands.
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NewsBudget 2018 – What it means for Founders, Start-Ups and Scale-Ups
November 2, 2018
Earlier this week, Chancellor Philip Hammond presented the Budget 2018. Here are the main points which are relevant to entrepreneurs, SMEs and start-ups.
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Advice, FundraisingWhy investors love SEIS and EIS
July 30, 2018
Adam Brodie outlines all the benefits of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).
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Advice, FundraisingAdam Brodie provides comprehensive advice on how to write a successful pitch deck for your newborn start-up.
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Advice, FundraisingThe Government’s Start-Up Loan Scheme
July 30, 2018
Adam Brodie spoke to Dave Leaman from Outset Finance to learn more about the scheme and to discover how it could be used by Ignition Financial clients.
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FoundersKarol Ostaszewski from Sxollie Cider
July 30, 2018
Karol Ostaszewski shares the story of his successful cider brand SXOLLIE, born in South Africa and raised with a lot of hustling.
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FoundersTim Williams from My Clinical Outcomes
July 30, 2018
Dr. Tim Williams shares the story of how he started My Clinical Outcomes to fulfil the need for smarter medical outcomes assessment.
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FoundersTom Williams from Point Group
July 30, 2018
Point Group provides a range of services and solutions to the financial sector.
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