Founders HUB BLOG

Everything great about your business started with an idea.    Everything from your company’s name to its branding and logo to the products and services it sells. All of it begins with that spark of inspiration. But it goes without saying that not every idea we have in business is worthy of being put into […]

• by Lily Ruaah
• 
• July 29, 2022

Apple’s legendary co-founder Steve Jobs once said: “Design isn’t just what it looks like and feels like – design is how it works.” When you are building your startup’s website, nothing could be closer to the truth. Remember this mantra – because it’s really important: web developers are not designers.    It’s very rare to […]

• by Lily Ruaah
• 
• July 26, 2022

It’s mid-July 2022 and there are several things of note. It’s the highest heat wave England has ever seen, the UK starts the hunt for a new Prime Minister after Boris Johnson resigns, and Founders Hub got their 2,000th member.   Founders Hub is a community set up by Sopro, a tech start-up based in […]

• by Lily Ruaah
• 
• July 21, 2022

We’ve been recruiting and are excited to announce a new addition to the team!   A warm welcome to Luke Brice our new Commercial Manager for Founders Hub, part of the Sopro Group.   Seven years in the Metropolitan Police, five years running his own gardening company Clean Cut Gardening, and four years as the […]

• by Lily Ruaah
• 
• July 11, 2022

Are those drinks on ice? I am so excited to announce that Soul Stirrer are now adding our Investment Programme into their mix. Because we’re about to throw the kind of party that will keep the guests talking long after the bar finally closes and the music fades out. The ultimate cocktail creators, performance artists […]

• by Rob Harlow
• 
• June 28, 2022

We’re here to help you navigate through a communications minefield and get the most out of your LinkedIn connections by avoiding some common faux pas. LinkedIn, the social media platform for business and professionals, has seen a major change in the types of content being posted in the last couple of years. In recent years, […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• June 15, 2022

The idea that we need to focus on finding and fixing people’s weaknesses is an outdated traditional workplace practice that stems from the industrial revolution. There’s certainly no place for it in the modern office. Here’s why.   Remember when Chris Martin of Coldplay had a bit of whinge in his song, Fix You?  “When […]

• by Rob Harlow
• 
• May 20, 2022

Job description Headquartered in Brighton and launched in 2021, Founders Hub is a community platform for Entrepreneurs and Founders to collaborate, share knowledge and resources and pitch for investment. With over 1,000 active members and growing rapidly, Founders Hub is fast becoming the go-to resource for entrepreneurs to learn from peers. Founders Hub was created […]

• by Kit Smith
• 
• April 20, 2022

Competitor analysis of like-for-like business is a healthy activity that helps you focus your efforts, but there’s a time and a place for comparing yourself to others. How do you compare to your competition? It’s a standard question that sits in every business plan and investor deck, or is asked by a shrewd friend. It’s […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• March 9, 2022

Since you became your own boss, have you missed having peers to share with? Do your staff not invite you out for team lunches? Being a CEO is tough. We share some top tips to overcome your entrepreneur isolation. When most people think of the word boss or entrepreneur, they would associate words like ‘strong’, […]

• by Kit Smith
• 
• March 9, 2022

Move over Elon Musk and Richard Branson. Space agencies like NASA and the European Space Agency are the unsung heroes of small businesses and entrepreneurism. If ever you’re stuck for your next business idea – one that has real commercial viability and clout – then you might want to look to the space agencies. Space […]

• by Rob Harlow
• 
• March 9, 2022

23rd February 2022, London. Founders Hub, which is owned by Brighton-based tech start-up Sopro, hit the 1,000-member milestone this week less than six months after launch. Launched in October 2021, the Founders Hub has been working with members from across the UK and from every vertical to help founders flourish and grow via its free […]

• by Kit Smith
• 
• February 22, 2022

Judy Hersch – Ask The Expert Q&A The beginning of the year is a challenging time for founders. The opportunity for a new start, fresh ideas and renewed energy often comes with increased pressure and higher expectations. This can take its toll, both for solo founders and founders with teams to lead. The question is, […]

• by Kit Smith
• 
• February 14, 2022

(Before you start your next performance reviews with your team, you’ll want to read this.) The idea that we need to focus on finding and fixing people’s weaknesses is an outdated traditional workplace practice that stems from the industrial revolution. There’s certainly no place for it in the modern office. Here’s why. Remember when Chris […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• January 25, 2022

Founders Hub parent company Sopro has today launched a must-read report for founders and startups everywhere. Sopro has launched The State of Prospecting, the most comprehensive report into email prospecting ever, analysing billions of data points from 25 million emails. With 71% of B2B buyers rating email as their preferred channel to hear from buyers, and […]

• by Kit Smith
• 
• January 18, 2022

Do you have what it takes to come up with the latest intergalactic fashion? With a shortage for upcoming moon missions, NASA recently invited private businesses to tender for spacesuits. There’s a new business model for you right there – and we have plenty more ideas for the taking! Here’s the thing, being a successful […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• January 12, 2022

We’re really excited to launch the latest new feature in the Founders Hub portal. Partly because we enjoy adding new gadgets to our Swiss Army Knife of business resources, and partly because it’s a solution to a problem that Sopro, and countless other businesses, have wrestled with for years. The issue was raised again by […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• January 7, 2022

Change. It’s the one constant guarantee in business. Even if you have no plans to shake anything and keep to business as usual, trust us, change will come knocking on your door.  Businesses that constantly adapt to the market’s needs tend to thrive, while those who stay the same struggle to survive.  So with that […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• December 21, 2021

Why every startup entrepreneur should plan for the possibility of failure and have a timeline for when to cut your losses. “One year into Airbnb, we didn’t have any traction. We had launched three times, and yet it seemed nobody noticed. And of those that did, many didn’t like the idea.”  – Brian Chesky, Airbnb […]

• by Rob Harlow
• 
• November 28, 2021

To succeed as an entrepreneur you need to harness a little bit of crazy – or hire it in! “Entrepreneurs are all a little crazy. There is a fine line between an entrepreneur and a crazy person.” These are the first words Dame Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop wrote in her 2000 autobiography, […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• November 15, 2021

A trio of lads were selling smoothies at a music festival. A sign above their humble stall reads: Should we give up our jobs to make these smoothies? Festival-goers could answer the question by throwing their empties into two bins: one marked YES, the other marked NO. By the day’s end, the YES bin was […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• November 1, 2021

To create a blueprint for success, founders must first of all map out some of the largest planning and financing elephant traps that may lay in front of them. By avoiding these hidden traps, the path ahead to success is much clearer. 1. Underestimating your operating costs  Founders tend to be optimistic by nature – […]

• by Rob Harlow
• 
• October 19, 2021

Founders wear many hats but the HR hat often sits uncomfortably. In fact, for many founders, the HR aspect of their role is seen as more of a ‘gut’ decision than one that comes from the head. And it’s not just the recruitment hat that gets worn at a jaunty angle: onboarding and effective management […]

• by Rob Harlow
• 
• September 6, 2021

Let’s take a look at the basics of financial planning and analysis and why it is critical founders understand its principles and its uses. We’ll start with a definition and move on to look at some guiding principles behind the best FP&A. What is financial planning and analysis? Financial planning and analysis (FP&A) is how […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• August 17, 2021

Starting a business is tough. And then it gets tougher. Founders face a huge challenge as their leadership role evolves with their company’s growing success. And more often than not these challenges come from within the growing team rather than from a hostile, indifferent or inflexible market. How open is your vision, your blueprint and […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• July 29, 2021

We’ve all read the stories about entrepreneurs who work 16 hours a day and don’t take a day off for months on end. But I personally believe that balance is key to success. Working hard is necessary, but so is rest. I’ve learnt from experience that spending time away from work to refresh will only […]

• by Kit Smith
• 
• June 8, 2021

With our focus so heavily on business development it can be easy for founders to overlook self-development activities. And yet, we invest so much of ourselves into our businesses that the link between our own personal and professional growth and that of our business success shouldn’t be too hard to grasp. There is, after all, […]

• by Ryan Welmans
• 
• May 13, 2021