Category Archives: Reflections

Stories from the Thrift: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Applied to Start-ups and Cofounders

In these unprecedented times of (using the word unprecedented) uncertainty, many of us are contemplating taking the leap of faith and becoming a fulltime entrepreneur. One of the most common questions I encounter is – “How can I focus on growing my business or on thought leadership when I am struggling to make ends meet?” This […]

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How to avoid conflict with your business partner

Is your business partner from another planet? When companies are growing fast, pressures can bring personal differences to the surface, and these can become major disagreements. In the following piece, Stefano Maifreni SEMBA2012 shares his thoughts on these questions. How do you prepare for conflict, and deal with it in a professional way? Experience has […]

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Stories from the Rift: Founder – Product – Market – Fit

In these unprecedented times of (using the word unprecedented) uncertainty, many of us are contemplating taking the leap of faith and becoming a full-time entrepreneur. One of the most common questions I have encountered is – “Co-Founders and where/why/how/when do I find them?” So, is the Fit-Founder a myth? Err… The Founder-Fit… Is the Founder-Fit a […]

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Remote working on a construction project, how is that even possible?

Although building sites were never officially closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction industry was thrown into crisis and forced to rethink ways of working overnight. Social distancing requirements placed restrictions on the number of people that could safely be together on a building site, which gave rise to all manner of tactics […]

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Stories From The Shift – Taking That Leap of Faith

In these unprecedented times of (using the word unprecedented) uncertainty, many of us are feeling rudderless and adrift in the vast emptiness of the unknown ocean that lies around us… Many contemplate whether they should continue with their corporate role, or take the leap of faith to become a full-time entrepreneur. One of the most common […]

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Stories From The Shift – Chasing Shadows

Every single day, aspiring first-time entrepreneurs around the world spend their time chasing the shadows cast by LinkedIn reports of their peers getting funded and they enter Dreamland, where they start chasing one shadow after the next after the next. Over the past few weeks, I have been approached by a number of folks about […]

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Tips on winning Innovate UK grant funding

Roheet Shah MBA2015 and Adam Hearne MBA2015, founders of CarbonChain, share tips on how to successfully seek funding from Innovate UK grants. Like most start-ups, when we launched CarbonChain in 2017 one of our major challenges was how to secure funding to develop our technology and grow our business. While we initially explored the “traditional” […]

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