Most experienced investors know that when they are assessing investment opportunities, the right management team is vital. This is even more true for smaller entrepreneurial companies, where the founding team is the driving force in the company’s growth strategy. The problem is that if the founders have a track record of building successful companies then […]
How will the recent changes in the Enterprise Investment Scheme affect private investors?
The November 2017 Budget announced several changes to the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). EIS is designed to help smaller trading companies to raise finance by offering a range of tax reliefs to investors. The changes are part of the government’s Patient Capital Review of support for small businesses. Below we look at the main changes […]
Where to Invest in 2018
Every New Year brings the opportunity to address those things we feel we can do a little better. That equally applies to our investment portfolio and is dependent upon assessing the opportunities for the year ahead. Here we take a look at the prospects for: Equities Bonds Property Venture Capital Bitcoin
Artificial Intelligence – The Most Transformative Technology of the Century?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been mooted as the most transformative technology of the 21st Century as we allow computer algorithms to run more aspects of our lives. Amazon Echo, Apple’s Siri and Google Home all demonstrate consumer appetite for AI-enabled products. Over the next few years, AI is expected to deliver driverless cars, better healthcare […]
Is the Enterprise Investment Scheme Working?
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is an initiative by the UK government offering a range of attractive tax incentives to encourage investment into growth companies by private investors. EIS has helped many small companies develop new technology, new drugs, engineering innovations, biotech, fintech and data processing solutions. The latest figures show over 24,500 UK businesses […]
Chasing Unicorns?
With stock markets hitting all-time highs in 2017, there has been an increase in the number of highly-valued tech start-ups going public. Four Unicorns, private companies valued at $1 billion or higher, completed initial public offerings (IPOs) in the second quarter 2017. That was double what was seen in the first quarter and equal to […]
There is much debate about blockchain, what does it do and how does it work?
Blockchain allows people who have no particular confidence in each other to collaborate without having to go through a neutral central authority. Simply put, a blockchain creates trust. Blockchain provides mass access to an open, collectively controlled record that cannot be changed and offers a very high level of protection through cryptography and mathematical […]
How to Build a Billion Dollar Company
The billion dollar startup was once the stuff of myth, but now they’re everywhere, backed by a bull-market and founded on new, disruptive digital technologies and business models. A company that has achieved a valuation of $1 billion dollars or more within five years of first opening their doors is commonly known as a Unicorn. […]
7 Keys to Success for Growth Companies
What to look for when assessing whether an emerging company has got what it takes to succeed. Innovation Small companies looking to compete with large, established incumbent players need an edge. Customers are more likely to look at unknown brands if they feel the product offers a benefit over competition, is easy to use […]
With a Technology Oligopoly are GAFA or NATU really too big to fail?
Will today’s technology powerhouses maintain their stranglehold on world tech for the next ten years and still be the companies we are talking about in 2027? With the emergence of the technology powerhouses they have been grouped by acronyms GAFA, Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, closely followed by NATU, Netflix, AirBnB, Tesla and Uber. GAFA […]
Where will Artificial Intelligence (AI) take us in 10 years?
What developments in AI are needed for us to reap the true advantages it can bring and is the world ready for it? AI is a general term that implies the use of a computer to model and/or replicate intelligent behavior. Research in AI focuses on the development and analysis of algorithms that learn and […]