Today, we’re taking a look at Finnish innovation. The little Nordic country is a hotbed of ingenuity and the birthplace of successful start-ups like Angry Birds. Finland has $46 of venture capital investment per capita, leading some to call it the Arctic Valley of Europe. Here are our three favourite start-ups, and our views on [...]

We told you about the top European Start Up competitions on Monday. Well, we take a very global view of things here at Innovatrs – so let’s take a look at the top Start Up competitions in the US… You don’t need me to tell you that the U.S are big on Start Ups – [...]

In an age where companies are even more accountable to the consumer than ever, it is lean startups that are changing the landscape of bringing a new product or brand to market efficiently and cost effectively. As most startups begin under the tightest of financial restraints, it is companies that make the biggest use of [...]

Thanks to Cloud computing and Web 2.0 start-ups can now afford to have some of the most advanced IT systems around. You can rent servers, bandwidth, CPU, support and any kind of maintenance. You can run all manner of software either on a hosted platform or in a SaaS environment. Google and Microsoft are battling [...]

A start-ups success often comes down to its marketing. And yet the vast majority of start-up founders have no marketing experience and little spend. How do you deal with this dangerous contradiction. There are a million articles out there on brand development, launch marketing, PR, viral videos and more. Reading them all would be a [...]

Angels beware, Pre-Seed investment funds are returning. And this time around they’re a little more sophisticated. Your average tech related start-up (that can raise money) typically goes through 3 rounds of fundraising: 1. Friend and Family 2. Seed Round 3. Series A

As entrepreneurs there are times when we need to turn to VC’s. Most of the time we do so at our peril. VC’s can be the most frustrating, greedy, calculating sons of… Well, that’s the rule. Every rule has its exception. VC’s worth partnering with are the very rare exception.

Marc Andreessen, techno star, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz talks to Stanford University about how companies can take advantage of cloud computing. He goes on to comment about and rate the latest cloud computing services available.

Amit Jain, entrepreneur at Innovatrs, has been a business developer of various companies, ranging from start-ups to small to mid-sized organizations. He was recognized in 2005 as the Entrepreneurial Graduate Student of the Year

While the Phillipines faces a cycle of seemingly never-ending political crisis, a new breed of Technopreneur is quietly rising in the background. Meet Prof. Gerald C. Degala, an Innovatrs entrepreneur and a self-confessed technopreneur with an arsenal of more than a hundred pending patent and unregistered Internet enabled products and services.

Groupon, which launched in November 2008, has become the fastest growing company in web history. Their innovative entrpreneurial founder, Andrew Mason, invented the business model which has transformed the way companies make sales (especially smaller ones with limited marketing budgets).

Elena Alexseeva, Co-Founder & CEO at PhotoHand.com, has more than 15 years of experience in IT  services, having previously held IT strategy consulting and product development positions. In this latest Innovatrs interview, Elena talks about her first steps in the IT industry

In the cliché driven world of business and marketing, it’s easy to roll out the old adage that success breeds success. But as any good entrepreneur knows, it’s the experience of failure that ultimately drives long-term career glory.

Bill Darby, founder of  iMOVIEi and Innovatrs entrepreneur, tells us about his life in the unpredictable world of film production.

Scott Anthony is the Managing Director of Innosight, a boutique consulting, training and investment firm that works with Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, non-profits and national governments to improve their ability to create innovation-driven growth.

Here’s a story to warm the cockles of his Lordship, Alan Sugar. The former Labour government-appointed ‘Enterprise Tsar’ is currently concentrating his efforts to discovering his first Junior Apprentice: “What I am looking for is that killer instinct, that spark of genius and that nose for doing a good deal,” said Lord Sugar to the 10, [...]

Anyone with a bit of business nous knows where the next big economic power source is coming from- a rather generously populated nation in the Far East known as China. While economic recession has plagued the world over the past two years, Chinese start-ups have braved the tempestuous business waters in search of innovation and [...]

Start-ups can accelerate their growth through the effective use of Crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing brings on-tap and on-demand resources to your venture bit-time, part-time or full time. Online, flexible to the extreme and round the clock, from student to rocket scientist, 24×7. It takes the sweat out of developing your idea. But how specifically should you use [...]

No explanation needed on what the early stages of starting up are like! The market is a harsh critic on choices made by start-ups so what’s all the buzz about “sewing ethics into the fabric of your start-up from the get-go”. Are morals really such a big deal right from the get-go? Apparently, yes and a [...]

Yesterday we posted a video speech by Richard Branson on how entrepreneurs can be successful in a recession. He summarized the last 2 years economic carnage pretty well – you know, bank implosions, Detroit blues, credit calamity – ya de ya da. Then explained how in fact its a good time to build a new [...]

I was recently told of a Spanish saying which states that ‘money hides’. Never has this been more real. Last week we wrote an article on  ‘Banks Battle Entrepreneurs’ which got a flurry of entrepreneurs contacting me with their particular war stories. Shocking. The reality is things are even worse than I thought. You see, [...]

Time to drive some customers, beta testers and investors to your magnificent product? Here’s how to do it. Photo by rochelle, et. al. via Flickr Getting the word out there about your startup is easier said than done. It takes time and smart positioning within an often crowded market. Website + Blog combo tends to [...]

Branding is vital when it comes to launching and building a new company. There are way too many brands out there as it is – so make sure yours stands out. The name, logo and strapline need to tell people what you do – but more importantly ensure you stand above the crowd. So make [...]

blur’d is hosting the first in a series of entrepreneur meetups in London tomorrow night, June 30th. blur’d Meetups are designed for interesting entrepreneurs launching or running somewhat disruptive and innovative ventures. blur’d also lets in select digital directors and innovation officers from large companies. They plan to do monthly, invitation only get togethers in [...]

It’s day 1 at Innovatrs.com so it seems fitting that I should bang on about why I developed Innovate and as a result Innovatrs.com. 40 odd years ago I was born into the Letts publishing empire. The business was rocking. It had invented the diary way back in the late 1700′s and controlled the industry [...]