by Sophie Smith | Oct 21, 2025 | Articles
Record Funding Drop: Why UK Startups Need Leadership More Than Capital A New Reality for Founders 2024 was one of the toughest years for UK startups in recent memory. According to the Financial Times, venture funding fell to £16.2bn, the lowest since the pandemic....
by Sophie Smith | Oct 7, 2025 | Articles
Outsourcing Without Losing Control: A Founder’s Guide The Founder’s Dilemma For many startups, outsourcing feels like the obvious answer. When you’re moving fast, bringing in an agency or offshore team can seem cheaper and quicker than hiring in-house. And often, it...
by Sophie Smith | Sep 24, 2025 | Articles
Your Stack Is a Story: How Early Tech Decisions Shape Investor Confidence Why Your Stack Isn’t Just Technical When you’re building at speed, it’s tempting to treat your tech stack as a behind-the-scenes detail. Something for your dev team to worry about. Something...
by Sophie Smith | Sep 10, 2025 | Articles
Cut Your Burn Rate Without Cutting Headcount When funding tightens, many founders default to the same playbook: reduce headcount. It feels like the most direct lever to cut costs. But here’s the truth: in most startups, the real leakage isn’t your people. It’s your...
by Sophie Smith | Aug 27, 2025 | Articles
How to Spot a Future CTO: They’re Probably Already on Your Team Your future CTO is probably already on the team. They care about why as much as how. They stay calm in the fog. They lift the whole squad not just carry it. Spot them early. Grow them on purpose. Don’t...
by Sophie Smith | Aug 13, 2025 | Articles
Don’t Burn Out Your Best Developer: A Smarter Path to Tech Leadership for Startups “Our dev’s running the show. They might as well be the CTO.” If you’re a VC, an accelerator lead, or an early-stage founder you’ve probably heard this line. You may have...
