Toy designer Gillian Logan pitched her Skinny Sketcher drawing kit idea at the Inventors Workshop in 2014, and has since achieved success with the product. But having made a number of mistakes to get there, she’s outlined 12 errors frequently made by product design startups, and how steer clear of them.
British retailer John Lewis has revealed the five tech startups to be taken under its wing as part of its 12-week JLAB accelerator programme, with services of interest to the company including machine learning, the smart home, coding and more.
Ahead of the £1m Virgin Media Business pitching extravaganza VOOM 2016 taking place on 28 June, the judges joining Richard Branson have been named, with supermodel Tyra Banks, Spanx creator Sara Blakely and YouTuber Marcus Butler all on the panel to decide which firms will win big.
By Bryan Adams
Harnessing stand-up comedy taught me the art of crafting a successful pitch: devising a story that the listener can emotionally relate to.
John Lewis’ JLAB business accelerator for 2016 has opened for entries, providing innovative retail startups with the chance to claim a share of a £200,000 pot and a 12-week mentoring programme.
The government-backed trade body Sharing Economy UK (SEUK) has struck a partnership with Balderton Capital to launch a pitch event, which will seek out British entrepreneurs disrupting the lucrative space filled with firm such as Airbnb and BlaBlaCar.
By Simon Brooke
They say the entrepreneurial gene is something you’re born with, rather than acquired. For David Barker, starting his own business at school wasn’t an intentional thing – but was also an endeavour he didn’t wait around to pursue further.
Following the grand finale of the three-month Pitch to Rich competition, which saw JustPark, Fourex and Kino-mo scoop the big prizes, Real Business has rounded up the founders to determine how you pitch to a billionaire tycoon like Richard Branson and walk away with his money.
