An online video documentary series to shine a light on the UK startup scene and inspire other young entrepreneurs, through one entrepreneur's story of trying to launch his business in the capital.
Suitcase Startup is a documentary series following what it truly takes to get a business off the ground, from marketing on a tight budget to building a team, raising finance and launching, Suitcase Startup is the story of the entrepreneur’s journey, of trying to make a dream, a reality.
Chris Bradley is the first-time entrepreneur under the spotlight, and he’s inviting anyone with an interest in the startup scene to come along for the ride over the next four months, through 8 episodes appearing on The Next Web, each covering the blood sweat and tears involved as he attempts to take his startup, Publicate, from a bedroom in North Wales to London – with no office, no accommodation and no money. He does, however, have a suitcase. Will it be enough?
This is evidently a story that is aching to be told as the project has attracted major sponsors, Rackspace The Open Cloud Company , Natwest and 99designs, many partners have also come forward to help Chris on his journey; Smarta, Newspepper, 1000 heads, Startup Stay, Chesamel and Pensar IT.
In this time of economic recession and employment uncertainty, starting up has never seemed so attractive. With UK unemployment figures reaching 7.7% (2.49 million), the idea of striking out solo is becoming more and more popular with 25,026 new businesses registered in the UK in the last month alone. (as of 24th Jan 2013)
It is irrefutable - entrepreneurship is a movement, and one the government is finally getting behind. With the new start-up loans scheme in force and new tax relief schemes for investors, the thinking goes that startups are one way out of the country’s recession.
The success stories splashed across the media depict companies with a handful of staff being acquired for millions – it’s enough to make anyone want to start a business. The tales that aren’t told however, are those of the thousands of startups that fail every month and the one in three that will fall flat within a few years, the story that needs to be told, is about the journey involved, success or failure, and what lessons this journey can teach.
About Chris
A South African born Brit, Chris (29) came up with the idea for Publicate during his career working for the world's second largest LCD manufacturer, spending 4 years in Amsterdam and 2 years in Taiwan. For as long as he can remember, Chris has wanted to be an entrepreneur and is now following his dream, but the journey has only just begun...
Foursquare just recently tweaked its privacy policy to share more user information with local businesses, and it looks like it's already putting some of that data to use in a new app now that the policy has gone into effect. Launched today for the iPhone and iPod touch, Foursquare for Business is just that -- an app designed for business owners instead of customers. In addition to letting managers upload new photos and refresh their specials regularly, it'll also give them a peek into customer activity at their business (or businesses), including information on check-ins and the ability to keep an eye on their top customers. As Foursquare notes in its privacy policy, though, you can opt out of having that check-in information visible to businesses in the app's privacy settings.
