I received an email the other week from an entrepreneur introducing his startup idea to me. It was a perfectly reasonable idea although I didn't take a meeting because it wasn't a fit with our investment strategy. (We specifically focus on early st…
As an investor, I am often asked for my opinion on a startup idea. The truth is, my opinion actually doesn't matter. My opinion is not going to be the reason why a startup succeeds or fails. My opinion is just that, an opinion. In the grand sche…
Online businesses often handle a significant amount of personal data. There is a significant amount of legislation around handling personal data and as a Director of your business you are responsible for handling this data correctly. This article i…
150 years ago, British Mountaineer Edward Whymper led a party of 6 climbers to the summit of the Matterhorn in Switzerland. At 4,478m, the Matterhorn is not the highest mountain in the Alps, or indeed in Switzerland, but it's distinctive shape (foun…
When I say phone hacking I don't mean the scandal that's hit the UK tabloid press in the last few years, tapping celebrity phones. Although there's probably a great startup opportunity for someone who can stop phone spam. So what has the telephone…
I consider myself lucky. I went to a decent school and had a good education. As I look now at how I see the world versus how it was explained to me - there's a big difference. In a secondary comprehensive school in Sheffield in the 1980's, I was i…
How a job role is defined The job description: what the hiring manager thinks they want. The candidate sees it, says, "I could do that". The candidate manages to get an interview. The interviews go well. The hiring manager says, "I want to hire thi…
Any new investment that we make at Forward Partners needs to go through an approval process. No matter who first met the entrepreneur or who did the subsequent analysis and due diligence, any investment decision requires the consideration of our In…