I prefer to steer clear of the phrase ‘start-up’ because it seems to have embedded in it the notion that starting a business in 2019 is substantially different to starting one at any time in the last 100 years – when at a very fundamental level it is not. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that around 90% […]

I prefer to steer clear of the phrase ‘start-up’ because it seems to have embedded in it the notion that starting a business in 2019 is substantially different to starting one at any time in the last 100 years – when at a very fundamental level it is not. Research has repeatedly demonstrated that around 90% of new businesses or ‘start-ups’ fail with most failing in the first 12 months. What is more, volumes have been written to explain why this is so. The reason on which I will focus is reflected in the comment I often hear when I highlight one of the winning strategies implemented by Apple, Amazon, or one of the other giants of business. That comment usually expresses the view, ‘that is well and good, but Apple is one of the biggest businesses in the world, and we are one of the smallest’. Regardless of the precise words, the implication…