Intellectual property exists to enable you to protect the non-tangible assets of your company. In this article we take a brief look at trade marks. The name of your business and of its products and services are likely among your company’s key assets. They are the trade marks which you use to denote your company’s goods and services from those of any competitor. …

Every entrepreneur is hardwired to think we can innovate our way out of anything, let’s make this better, faster, or of course, more delicious… The climate crisis is, without a doubt, this generation of founders’ biggest opportunity to innovate. Across every industry, there is a unique, pressing and massive need to build a more sustainable future, and at the same time develop these new solutions into building high scale ventures with purpose.

What I discovered 5–6 years ago, was that beyond the obvious environmental problems we already knew mattered (you know, the usual in fossil fuels, transportation and plastics) was…

The year 2020 was full of unexpected situations. I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be working from home with a crazy dog, a new kitten, children homeschooling — and a million critical business decisions to make before my second cup of coffee. My worlds merged unsettlingly: I would be deep in discussion with the Blis executive team regarding cash forecasts with my five-year-old son demanding, “wipe my bum!” from along the hall.

It was the most challenging year of my career and our business, but it provided a set of valuable lessons that will help me navigate whatever…

The takeaway industry has been one of the few sectors able to operate and thrive in the pandemic and has provided a lifeline to many hospitality businesses.. Pre-pandemic, the industry continued to grow at a fast-moving pace thanks to the rising popularity of on-demand apps, yet its acceleration reached new levels as lockdowns hit the nation. Not only were order numbers increasing, but the quality of orders improved, with an average price of orders increasing by 10% as consumers looked to ‘treat themselves’ according to data compiled by City Pantry.

Restaurants were not alone in pivoting their model to provide…

What were the key assets you saw in Maëlle Gavet as the new CEO of Techstars and have you set a roadmap for her to follow in the ‘years’ ahead?

Maëlle has been a leading technology executive and entrepreneur for over 15 years. She began her career as an entrepreneur and then went on to become a Principal at the Boston Consulting Group from there she became CEO of OZON.ru, Russia’s largest e-commerce site (which recently went public on NASDAQ and is valued at over $9B), and then Executive VP of operations of the Priceline Group, the largest online and…

The events industry has seen dramatic changes as a result of the pandemic, impacting markets from healthcare and tech to food and drink as the events where they showcase their products, services and attend meetings crucial to the business were cancelled. The events industry naturally relies on the functioning and interconnected nature of other markets. …

One day in late 2013, I was deep in conversation with a good friend about the difficulties his daughter was having in getting her first job. She was bright, curious, and full of potential. But she’d been rejected over and over again, without any feedback, after completing the same type of aptitude test each time. The tests were stressful, and she underperformed. What my friend couldn’t understand was this: why were companies so fixated on a test that not only failed to capture her intelligence, but also failed to see the strengths that made up her potential?

As the rejections…

What were your biggest learnings from your time at Boston Consulting Group?
Structured thinking! Quickly scoping out a problem space then figuring out what data would be most useful to make a well-calibrated decision in cases where I have incomplete information — which tends to be the case in early-stage investing. I also make a mean powerpoint presentation…

How do you view the next 12/18 months in terms of investment in DACH tech and software startups?
I believe the pandemic will lead to a more decentralised startup culture outside of the key hubs. …