Selling is tough. It is a daunting task. It's often the most under rated and acknowledged skill in business. But for any startup company to be successful, it needs to be done. We all need to embrace sales. We've collected…
Starting a business is easy, but getting a venture to a state where it can trade successfully, on a profitable sustainable basis is difficult. Even after taking in rounds of investment, haveing a venture you can IPO or sell, the…
We’ve long understood the concept of ‘crossing the chasm’. The task of established start-ups who have found the repeatable business model, but can’t get to that next step – the step of scaling up. Great products, cool brand, nice looking…
Business innovation in startups and small businesses is often high risk and cost intensive. In many countries, governments put in policies to support technology innovation. If you are actively carrying out business innovation projects you need to invest some time…
Engaging an audience and looking for support for your business idea is easy, but gaining funding or a green light to take your idea forward is the challenge in which so many fail to achieve. Good slides, nice numbers, and…
Over the past few years, there has been a shift in the way mainstream companies regard innovation. Innovation within regular companies is endless meetings, financial approval, and various different stakeholders. All, of course, slow down innovation. When these companies look…
You’ve formed a company. You’ve built your product. You’ve validated the market and there has been early interest from a small number of potential clients. So what are the next steps? Sales in the startup. That’s the next step.…
Crowdfunding has taken the start-up ecosystem by storm. Companies like Kickstarter, Seedrs and Crowdcube have become a funding choice for entrepreneurs. What may have seemed slightly risky or too unconventional for a mainstream business, have now become established and a…
As true startup people ourselves, we look back with pride and gratitude at our role in working with InterTradeIreland in establishing the HBAN investment network in Ireland. Back in 2010 our programme team led by Diane Roberts started with a…
We took a chance and followed our own advice and tested our market with a lean approach. Was the market ready for something different? Could we sell enough tickets to make the idea viable? Is it possible to run a…