Entrepreneurs like Yu can let a thousand flowers bloom October 21, 2012 CAPITALISM is often defended on the basis that it’s the least bad system, that it’s the system that allocates scarce resources in the most efficient way. It’s little wonder that so many young people dabble with the more emotionally appealing – but catastrophic – ideas of Marx. Defenders of capitalism need a better sales pitch: [...]
Canary Wharf Group gets behind finance entrepreneurs September 30, 2012 FOR too long, the worlds of entrepreneurship and finance have been separate spheres. The choice has always been between working for a behemoth in the corporate jungle, or taking that leap of faith to go it alone in a field of work unrelated to your City career; indulging a personal passion – perhaps opening that [...]
Mentors are vital for entrepreneurs September 23, 2012 AT THE recent Made entrepreneur festival in Sheffield, business and enterprise minister Michael Fallon announced that the Mentorsme online portal – which connects mentors and mentees – has over 22,000 accessible mentors. That’s an awful lot of knowledge on tap. Setting up a business involves serious trials and tribulations. So speaking with someone who has [...]
More Brits want to be entrepreneurs September 2, 2012 ■ It has just been revealed that for the first time since records began, over 20 per cent of the working age population in the UK expect to start a business in the next three years, are actively trying to start a business, or are running their own business. The research is based on a [...]
Cisco’s Olympic ambitions for London’s next entrepreneurs July 22, 2012 THE British Innovation Gateway (Big) is Cisco’s programme to support hi-tech business and innovation, and is a major part of its Olympic involvement as the official network infrastructure supporter for London 2012. Phil Smith, the chief executive of Cisco UK, explains that “Cisco wanted to be at the heart of London 2012”, but the company [...]
Decades of hard work and entrepreneurship July 15, 2012 NOT MANY outside the insurance industry know the name Stephen Catlin. But he is one of the most successful UK businessmen. Over the last 30 years, he has turned a two person reinsurance company into a £3.5bn international firm – Catlin Group. The eponymous CEO was crowned UK winner at the Ernst & Young World [...]
MBA entrepreneurs start up with a leg up June 20, 2012 PLENTY of successful entrepreneurs don’t have MBAs. For many, to be an entrepreneur is to possess a constellation of hard-wired personality traits – an appetite for risk, an eye for an opportunity, the personality to carry investors on an exciting bandwagon from start-up to IPO. Surely these qualities can’t be taught? Many business schools disagree. [...]
Ernst & Young’s UK top entrepreneurs April 29, 2012 THE finalists of the UK Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year are announced today. The leading professional services and accountancy firm has sought out “top UK business leaders who have shown drive and innovation in starting and growing companies in challenging economic conditions.” Following a record number of applications, 150 of the UK’s most [...]
Entrepreneurs’ wish list for Wednesday’s Budget March 18, 2012 TAX MADSEN PIRIE CURBING public spending keeps down borrowing rates, but we need a growth agenda, too, and specifically we need encouragement for the entrepreneurs who will create the new wealth and the new jobs of Britain’s future. We don’t need a few more token sums available to approved borrowers; we need instead a shift [...]