Category Archives: Data Analytics

The integration of data analytics into entrepreneurship education equips students with the ability to make data-driven decisions, conduct market research, and measure the performance of their ventures.

Blog, Data Analytics, Enterprise Education, Inclusive Entrepreneurship, Legal and Regulatory Knowledge

England needs Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education

There is a diversity of approaches to enterprise and entrepreneurship education (EEE) across the United Kingdom. Three of the four nations: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have all developed and implemented strategies encouraging enterprise and entrepreneurship education, England remains unique for its failure to develop a specific policy for education at all levels.

In a recent 2022 report by the APPG Entrepreneurship (here), they reported that “England remains one of the few places in Europe that
has yet to develop a specific entrepreneurship education strategy for schools“.

My own research (here) has shown that enterprise and entrepreneurship education in Wales is paying off with direct relationships between these interventions and economic development. Wales has implemented a strategy since the early 2000s with the ‘Youth Enterprise Strategy’ (YES) and covers 5–25 year-olds. The stated objective of the strategy was to “develop and nurture self-sufficient, entrepreneurial young people in all communities across Wales, who will contribute positively to economic and social success.”

This investigation showed, for the first time, that it is possible to draw linkages between the outputs generated by some of the EEE activity in universities and key regional development indicators. Across the regions we found that EEE activity in HEIs appears to have a direct impact on business creation and GDP, the latter point echoing more general trends observed by Schubert and Kroll (2014) and Pastor et al. (2018). Furthermore, we were able to use several different indicators to infer a relationship between the nature and/or quality of provision and
graduate start-up activity. That said, we also found numerous trends which we could not fully explain through the data, all of which need further research attention.

This is not new. Entrepreneurship has been shown to be a driver of economic development and a powerful source of economic growth and job creation and that productive entrepreneurship is crucial in terms of economic welfare (van Stel, Carree, & Thurik, 2005; Acs, Audretsch, Braunerhjelm, & Carlsson, 2012; Naudé, 2013).

However what is important is that Koryak et al. (2015) suggests that there exists a deficiency within a substantial proportion of UKs SME in relation to entrepreneurship skills. This is therefore constraining business growth, international trade and product innovation.

Enterprise and entrepreneurship education is not just for those who want to start a new business, it’s for enabling the next generation to be more flexible. In a world where Covid, MonkeyPox and Polio are all reported to be in London, Brexit, international supply chains are rapidly changing, inflation, recession and we again have a war in Europe….I think the resilience which enterprising and entrepreneurial skills provided is now core to supporting this next generation to cope on a daily basis.

The action need is that Enterprise and Entrepreneurship should be part of the core curriculum for all students from 4 to 24 years old and it should be clear what resources will and should be made available.

Blog, Data Analytics, Ideation, Lean Startup Methodology

Business models and why they are important

Business Modelling
One of the critical parts of starting a business is the stage right after coming up with the idea, ideation. This next stage, which I call “Modelling” within the business startup process is the most critical. 
The first part of it is about self reflection and understanding who we are and what we want this from venture. As most startup have limited resources, the nascent entrepreneur needs to look into their strengths and understand how these can be used for advantage and also design a business which does not allow their weakness to dominate the outcome of the venture.


This is normally done by thinking about the available money, people and time, in relationship with the desired outcomes or strategy of the venture. This we thing about as a business model. 
The definition of a business model is: 


A business model is a recipe of how a venture creates, delivers, and captures value from a customer. 


The right business model reduces the risks associated to a manageable level which enables the nascent entrepreneurs to make the business fly.


The format for the business model must reflect its role in the strategic planning process. A business model is a tool that serves a specific purpose within this startup planning process.  


The traditional Business Model Canvas one created by Alexander Osterwalder and referred to as the Business Model Canvas is not enough to develop the nascent entrepreneurs business model and therefore I have developed the Startup Business Model Canvas.
The role of the canvas is one of facilitating input, understanding of cause/effect linkage, and commitment to the ultimate strategic choices and the best way to implement this is through a visual model. 

Blog, Data Analytics, Interdisciplinary Approach

Selecting your Startup cloud services

When selecting a service to support your foundation of a startup, then it has to be cloud based.

Some call it Software as a Service (SAAS) which normally means the software runs on the internet and stores the files on the internet. This way you don’t lose them. Sometimes its called cloud because its running in the cloud, i.e. somewhere on the internet. 
The common element to all these is that then mostly start using a freemium business model, meaning it starts off free and then you start paying once you hit a certain usage or time limit. This is ideal for a startup as it you business grows then normally there is some cash in the business to pay this later on.
The best thing about cloud is its easy to install and you alway have the latest software, service and availability.
The next question is what services do you need?

Cloud Storage

Storage Its doesn’t matter what business you have, you will end up making some files. These could be letters, spreadsheets or marketing material, but need keeping so you can use them and share them as required.
The current pack leaders are:

* Google Drive: 15GB free.

* Box: 10GB free.

* OneDrive: 5GB free (1TB for students)

* iCloud: 5GB free.

* Dropbox: 2GB free, plus up to 16GB extra.


I have used all of these and don’t have a preference, but the important factors are

  • Being able to use on any device from anywhere
  • Automatically loads and syncs 

Email

Its the communication mode of choice for business as it provides a scalable and traceable form which works asynchronous, so that you don’t have to response within seconds. Again start with one free service and then scale-up as required.


* Gmail, the default free email service from Google

* Outlook, from Microsoft

* AOL

* Zoho

* Mail.com

Messaging

Once you have a team, then messaging is the most important service.  These vary and the one you select will be based on the type of business and the needs of the team. I have selected seven here to think about:
* Slack for a chat powered workplace

* Twist for threaded conversation-centric chat

* Microsoft Teams for discussions about documents and meetings

* Google Hangouts Chat for following up on conversations

* Flock for making decisions in chat

Project Planning

While messaging can do so much, at some point you will need to get everyone on a plan with goals and KPIs to ensure we are all moving in the same direction at the same speed. 


* Basecamp. …

* Monday.com. …

* Wrike. …

* Asana. …

* Podio. …

* Project Insight. …

Accounting Solutions

Best accounting software for startups

1. Sighted. Sighted provides a free online invoicing software, with added expense tracking designed for startups and freelancers. …

2. FreeAgent. FreeAgent is an accounting app that offers standout invoicing and expense tracking for small businesses. …

3. LessAccounting. …

4. KashFlow. …

5. QuickBooks Online. …

6. Sage One Accounting.

Blog, Data Analytics, Enterprise Education

What skills do you need to be a successful Entrepreneur?

When starting a business, we all come at from different directions, at different ages, different backgrounds. There are so many skills required to run your own startup. Successful Entrepreneur skills, are the ones you’ll need to run everything from serving customers to preparing your accounts. Below are listed 13  core skills required in running a startup business and how you might develop your core skill set further. The successful Entrepreneur skills are:

  1. Opportunity Recognition – The recognition of new markets and opportunities, such as a new customers’ need is core to becoming a successful entrepreneur.
  2. Ideation – Ideation is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas. Always write your ideas down in a book and come back to them when you can do something about it.
  3. Research & Analysis – This involves both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Understanding the customers, competitors and costs structure are important in making a startup work.
  4. Resources Identification – Working out the resource requirements then leads to determining what types of resources you will need to start-up and operate your startup.
  5. Risk Analysis – This process of defining and analysing the dangers to your startup business posed by potential natural and human-caused events.
  6. Tactical Planning – As a startup the horizon is low, so focus on this process of outlining business plans for the coming year. This differs from strategic planning as strategic planning encompasses longer-term goals that reflect the company’s direction and its purpose outlined in its mission statement.
  7. Operational Design – Operational design is the first level of strategy implementation and rests upon operational art. This cognitive approach uses your skill, knowledge, experience, creativity, and judgment to develop operations to organise and employ the resources available.
  8. Business Modelling – A business model is the map of how a startup generates revenue and makes a profit from its value proposition. From this a business plan and processes may be derived.
  9. Cash Flow – In the early days of a business maintaining a healthy cash level, liquidity ensure the business survives. Cash is king.
  10. Team Building – As a new business building a team is important, which requires various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within team are developed and maintained.
  11. Branding – Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, it develops you icon and a connection with your suppliers, customers and financial stakeholders.
  12. Marketing – The communications of you value proposition should generate leads which can be turned into sales.
  13. Negotiating & Selling – Getting the right prices from your suppliers and selling at the right price is fundamental for a startup to grow. These skills go hand in hand together.