Although the year is not yet over, 2016 has been a great year for the startup scene. The top 100 start-ups have raised combined funding of over £200 million, and 32% of these were by female founders or co-founders, representing a shift away from a male dominated industry. Below, in no particular order, we look at top UK startup achievements of 2016.

Eve

One startup that has smashed its goals is Eve. They aim to manufacture and deliver super comfy mattresses without the need for pushy middlemen. So confident in their product, they offer 100-great sleeps or a money back guarantee.

Established only a year ago in January 2015, they have since raised over £3.5 million in funding and have grown their team to a whopping 35 people in 2016.

Deliveroo

You’ve most likely heard of Deliveroo, the London startup established in 2012. Well, since then they have received over £138 million in venture capitalist funding and now deliver to over 60 international cities.

While they haven’t released exact specifics on figures, they claim that they have been enjoying 25% month-on-month growth in 2016.

Transferwise

Transferwise, a FinTech startup founded in 2011, has been disrupting the banks ever since it started operating. They support more than 300 different types of currency and have had over £3 billion transferred using their service.

Well, they’ve now raised a further $26 million in funding in 2016, placing them at a valuation of $1.1 billion.

ASOS

Another London-based startup, ASOS has gone from strength to strength since its establishment all the way back in 2000. Although it’s no longer classified as a startup, it shows the potential and success that UK-based startups can achieve.

They now have an annual revenue that exceeds £1.1billion, and in 2016 they saw an 18% increase in profits thanks to overseas sales.

Frog Bikes

Frog Bikes, established in 2013, has seen plenty of achievement over the last few years. Already awarded Export Business of the Year at the 2015 Startup Awards, achieved success by opening manufacturing plants in the UK despite the Brexit vote, wanting to keep production as close to home as possible. Frog Bikes now enjoys shipping to over 28 countries in the world.

Secret Escapes

Secret Escapes, a UK-based startup founded in 2010, now has over 19 million registered members. They enjoyed a successful 2015, securing £60 million in funding, and have now pushed on with those achievements in 2016.

Secret Escapes has now expanded into Asia, with new offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia. They have now also opened additional markets throughout Europe, with locations in the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, and Italy.

Carwow

Carwow, founded in 2014 by three co-founders, was setup to help potential car buyers easily find and purchase a car without the need for haggling or middlemen. They have had a hugely successful 2016, with £1 billion in car sales completed, as well as celebrating one million users and a headcount going from 14 to 55.

Clearabee

Clearabee, a nationwide rubbish and junk removal service, was founded in 2012 and launched with only £500. They have already achieved incredible success by growing their team to 100 since being founded, and in 2014 achieved a turnover of £4.1 million. They will continue to smash this success in 2016, with turnovers of around £7 million.

HECK

HECK, a sausage, burger, and meatball business, is a startup that was founded in 2013 and launched in 2014. They take an “honest” approach to business and have gained attraction from all major UK retailers such as Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s.

They had great success from when they were founded to mid-2015, with revenues of £5.7 million, and are now estimated to turnover a whopping £12 million in 2016.

Perkbox

Perkbox, only founded in January 2015, have had a hugely successful 2016. They already have a large headcount of 95 employees and have a whopping projected turnover of £15 million for 2016.

This is alongside the fact that they have won numerous awards this year, such as the Flexible and Voluntary Benefits Provider of the Year.

Looking ahead to 2017

All in all, 2016 has been a brilliant year for the UK startup scene, with both new and already established startups smashing it in their own respective ways. We look forward to seeing what 2017 brings for the UK startup scene!

Fashion, as we know, makes up an ever-changing world of what’s “in” and what isn’t. Technology has been very much “in” over the last few years, and we are seeing more and more examples of pieces of wearable tech. We explore this merge of fashion and tech in greater detail below.

The rise of wearable tech

The merging of fashion and technology has come about due to the rise in the use of wearable tech, with items such as the Jawbone for measuring fitness or the Apple Watch to measure just about everything else in our lives.

These items weren’t just designed as geeky looking gadgets; they were designed to look fashionable and to fit in with the rest of our attire, almost as though they weren’t there at all. New pieces of tech that didn’t have fashion in mind seem to fail, such as the Google Glass, which have now had its sales halted.

Wearable tech has come about due to the age of connectivity that we are now living in. Smartphones revolutionised the way that we stay connected, and now smart watches make that life even easier. Now manufacturers want to go even further with this, with ideas and patents for smart watches.

We measure life in notifications, likes, and data. This means that we no longer just want to go for a run, we want to measure the data from that run when we’ve finished. While, of course, not giving up on our sense of fashion.

The rise of e-commerce in the fashion industry

Fashion is a traditional industry, but industries that stay traditional in this day and age typically fall behind the competition. Think Blockbuster closing after the rise of new technology services like Netflix.

Fashion, traditionally, meant going into high-street stores and shopping around, but the rise of e-commerce has been slowly killing this. For the first time ever, more people shopped online in 2015 than visited physical stores, and it is likely that things will only keep going this way.

While 85% of people still don’t fully trust shopping online, they still shop online due to the ease it brings to their lives. The fashion industry has had to find new ways to keep up with the change in online shopping, and so it is unlikely that you will find a high-street store with no online presence.

The merging of fashion and tech

As well as the increase of e-commerce and online shopping, the fashion industry is finding other innovative ways to merge their world with the world of tech. For example, some places are now using intelligent dressing rooms where customers can “try on” various items of clothing without having to actually physically put the clothes on.

Other ways of merging the two industries together is through the use of virtual reality, the latest buzzword in the tech world. This takes e-commerce to the next level, and in some ways helps to restore the trust in online shopping people don’t have as they can see the things they are buying much more clearly in virtual reality.

Technology is now very much fashionable. It’s fashionable to own the latest smartphone or the newest gadget, even when items such as the iPhone 7 aren’t that different to the iPhone 6. It’s hard to say whether its technology that is now driving fashion or if it’s the other way round, but it’s safe to say that the two worlds have now very much merged, and manufacturers must keep this in mind when bringing a new product or item to the market.

Despite a controversial presentation at Cannes back in 2014 that questioned the need for briefs in the marketing world, they are still very much an integral part to design and development. They allow for a structured and strategic approach to a project at hand, effectively identifying problems and processes that need to be taken to complete a project in an efficient manner. Below, we lay out how to set an effective design brief.

What is a design brief?

A design brief is essentially a project management tool that allows you to identify key factors of an upcoming project, such as its scope, scale, and core. If undertaken properly, the design brief can become an important tool in keeping a project on track and achieving the best results possible. Think of it as a business plan, but for a piece of design.

A design brief is meant for your business and for the designer that you will be working with, and it’s important to include said designer in the design brief formulation process. Chances are they know more about design than you do, so it’s crucial to get their feedback, clarify any objectives or goals, and to set measurable timelines.

Other benefits of using a design brief are that they give all the necessary insights and vision into how you want the design to look, succinctly lay out your expectations to the designer, and keeps workers focused and on track.

What should be in a design brief?

While a design brief will vary from business to business, all will contain similar core sections.

A company profile

Your design brief should include a detailed background on your company so that the designer is able to get an appropriate feel for the ethos and culture of your brand. Such things to include are:

• Details of your company, such as name and products
• Your unique selling point (USP)
• What your brand’s mission and values are
• The key points of contact within your business
• List of any competitors, both direct or indirect
• Who your target audience are

A project overview

While the first bit helps to set background to the company, the project overview section will be the part that defines the context and aims of the project itself. You want to make this section as clear and detailed as possible so that the designer does not need to continuously contact you with more questions.

You can formulate this section by answering key questions such as “what are we doing with the project?” and “why are we doing it?”. It is useful to tackle these questions with the designer, as it is likely that they will prod and poke to gain answers to other questions you hadn’t even thought about.

The goals and overview of a project

While the project overview sets the context for the design project at hand, the goals and overview will clearly define what it is that you hope to achieve through this project. Keep these clear, succinct, and easily measurable.

You want to make sure that you keep your designer accountable, and if your goals are confusing or complex, then it could lead to issues further down the line. By clearly laying out exactly what it is that you hope to achieve from your project, your designer will know exactly how to work.

Design requirements and your budget

Finally, you’ll need to provide the design requirements, such as any resolutions and file formats, as well as the budget and schedule that you had in mind. You may need to be flexible when it comes to the latter two, but as with the above point, keeping these things clearly defined will mean there is no room for misunderstanding when your designer receives their brief.

Setting a good design brief

The most important thing when it comes to setting a good design brief is to keep it clear and detailed. You don’t want your designer to have to keep coming back to you with more questions; the more you include in the design brief then the better a feel they can get of your brand and exactly what you want. This, in turn, will lead to a well-developed design project.

It can be a daunting process when beginning to plan for the year ahead, especially when surrounded by all kinds of taxes, laws, outgoings, incomings, employee satisfaction, and everything else that goes into running a successful business.

As with any problem or situation in life, it helps to break down your year ahead into chunks, each treated as its own separate entity that works towards the larger goal. Below we explore how to plan in quarters.

Why should you plan in quarters?

The objective of planning in quarters helps to break down your year ahead and make it much more achievable. How many of us have set New Year’s resolutions only to give up when we think of how daunting a process it seems for the year ahead?

The aim is to plan quarterly objectives which will all work towards your annual goal. This, in turn, can then be used to plan ahead and work towards your three, five, ten (or another number) year goal based around your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG).

To start planning your quarterly goals, you must first start with the big picture. Decide what it is that you ultimately want to achieve with your business, and then you can begin to break this down into five years, yearly and quarterly plans. It’s important that whatever you decide to include in a quarterly goal works towards your larger aims.

How should you plan quarterly?

To help with deciding on your quarterly plans, below we have listed out five tips to get you creating a robust structure for the year ahead:

1. Give yourself enough time for business planning

It’s important that you don’t leave your quarterly planning until the last minute and just quickly whip together some things that you’d like to achieve for the year. The amount of time that you need to leave to planning will depend on the size of your business, but be sure to leave yourself enough time to put a solid quarterly plan in place.

2. Review your results from the previous quarter

Businesses work on figures, facts, and insights, and how better to plan your next quarter than by looking at how things went the previous quarter? Perhaps you set goals that were unrealistic or maybe you exceeded expectations? Adapt your upcoming quarter based on results previously achieved.

3. Refine your quarterly plan

Building on your previous quarter’s results, use this to adapt your plan moving forward. Think about what parts of the business are working well, where you can look to improve productivity, and how you can achieve the most successful quarter possible.

4. Identify both your personal and business goals

Don’t forget to factor in your own personal goals when planning your next business quarter. This is vital in maintaining a good work-life balance and ensuring that you can give your quarterly business goals the focus and attention that they need.

5. Make your goals accountable and measurable

It’s no good setting large goals that are open for interpretation. Your goals need to be realistic and measurable based in a certain time frame. For this, we recommend setting SMART goals for your business quarter:

Specific – goals that are clear and defined
Measurable – goals that can be easily measured through a certain result
Achievable – are your goals realistically achievable?
Relevant – are you quarterly goals relevant to your business and annual aims?
Time-measured – ensure that your goals have set time stamps to them to allow them to be more measurable

Planning your business’ quarters

Each and every business is different, and it’s important that you take the time to properly think about and plan quarters that will have the most beneficial impact on your business. Setting unachievable aims for goals that aren’t specific enough will lead to poor quarters, poor years, and then, ultimately, a poor business.

However, keeping your year structured into four separate, robust quarters will help to break down what can seem like daunting business aims, helping you to achieve the business results that you are after.

Many of us look forward to the end of the calendar year as it’s a chance to relax, get some time off, and have a little party! But, it is worth remembering that Christmas is, primarily a religious festival, despite the huge commercial connotations it has taken on over recent years. So, below we look at how to handle Christmas culture each year, taking in to account various religions and cultures.

How to treat Christmas culture with sensitivity

Millions of people around the world either associate themselves with religions who don’t celebrate Christmas, such as Muslims or Hindus, or have no religious affiliation at all. As Christmas has become so widely associated with giving presents to each other or enjoying the traditional food on offer such as turkey, it is often forgotten that some will not partake in any of this.

As a Christian country in the UK, most of us celebrate Christmas. But it needs to be remembered that just as you have different skillsets and passions in the office, you too will most likely have different religions and cultures in your team.

So how can you treat the Christmas culture with sensitivity?

1. Take time to learn about other religious holidays and celebrations

Learn about the other religious holidays and celebrations within your team. Ask how they celebrate and enjoy these times, what exceptions and allowances you’ll need to make in the office and be sure the rest of the team is aware of this. This may mean things such as allowing employees days off from work for a certain holiday.

Be sure to mark your calendar with any other religious or cultural festivals that are celebrated within your office, as remembering this will go a long way in helping everyone to feel part of the same team.

2. Don’t have expectations when it comes to office parties

If you’re having a Christmas party with no focus on religion, then try to use it as an end-of-year team celebration. Much of the UK ‘Christmas culture’ revolves around eating large amounts of food, gift giving, crackers and drinking. This is still accessible to all cultures.

Some people may simply not wish to take part and celebrate a Christmas party, and accept that this isn’t a problem! Many people choose to celebrate in their own way, and Christmas parties aren’t for everyone.

Why is a form of Christmas culture good?

A form of Christmas culture is a great way of getting your employees away from work and bonding in a way that a typical office day simply won’t allow. It helps to bring a new atmosphere and sense of togetherness between those that work together, ultimately improving communication and productivity for the upcoming year.

However, taking into account what we have previously said regarding the wide range of different cultures, framing your end of year “Christmas party” as an end of year “happy holidays” party could be a good idea. Although a seemingly small change, it can go a long way in staying politically correct and helping all religions and cultures to feel included.

It is likely that your end of year party will have a Christmas theme, but keep it respectful of other religions, focusing more on the fun and giving aspect rather than the religious story behind it!

While it is likely that this is how most businesses will handle it, there are numerous controversies circulating the world at the moment regarding religion, and even what you may feel is an insignificant issue can be deeply politically and religiously incorrect.

When taking time to learn about other religious holidays and celebrations, take the time to speak to members of your team to ask how they would feel about certain features and what they would like to see at an end of year party. Get this right, and it can go a long way in cementing a great company culture in your team. And, of course, don’t forget correct etiquette of how to handle yourself at a Christmas party!