For many small businesses, the end of 2020 may well have been spent trying to navigate the latest rounds of COVID related tier changes, lockdowns and 11th hour interpretations of the last-minute Brexit agreement. As a business owner, I’m sure you are looking forward to a time when you can simply focus on running your business without the rolling waves of external factors that characterised 2020!

There is a certain amount of mythology that surrounds venture capital. For many startups, getting VC backing can feel like a key objective, so in this week’s newsletter, Dragon Argent attempt to remove some of the mystery around this form of funding and provide some practical steps for startups looking to VCs to support their growth in 2021.

For many SMEs, a constraint on growth is the difficulty for its key decision makers to prioritise their daily workload into those areas which have the most significant impact on growth. Owners often spread themselves too thinly across every aspect of the business, forgetting the key areas which create the greatest output. This can be resolved by the application of something known as the Pareto principle, which asserts that 80% of outputs can be derived from 20% of all causes or inputs.

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak, announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will remain open until 31 March 2021. Here, Dragon Argent assess what the latest announcements mean and how they might impact your business.

Last week the Chancellor announced amendments to the Job Support Scheme, which was itself replacing the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and comes into effect on November 1st. These amendments have been designed to increase support for businesses and workers. The government say the Plan for Jobs will significantly increase protection of livelihoods and jobs across the UK through the winter.

The UK's post-Brexit transition period ends in January 2021. The deadline for agreeing a deal with the EU is December and with little progress apparent in negotiations, small business owners and SMEs could understandably be concerned. Here we provide some practical advice on what small businesses should be doing to prepare in three key areas.

The technology analysts CB Insights have curated some amazingly valuable information over the last 6 years looking at why startups fail. In this time, they have conducted over 350 investigations into startups that failed, identifying the most common reasons.

For obvious reasons, the way we work has changed over the course of 2020. What initially felt like a temporary, enforced adjustment has become a fundamental shift with businesses committing longer term to a more flexible approach to office-based working. There are specific tax relief implications that a material shift from office-based working may result in for employees or salaried directors. Here, Dragon Argent assess the tax relief benefits of working remotely.

Last week, the Government announced the introduction of the Job Support Scheme, which replaces the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and is designed to protect viable jobs in businesses who are facing lower demand over the winter months due to Covid-19. The scheme will open on 1 November 2020 and run for 6 months.

With UK government support in the shape of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) in the final stages of being tapered off, the ability for employers to furlough staff ends on October 31st. For some employers this will lead to difficult redundancy decisions, which, if handled incorrectly, could open them up to litigation in the future. This webinar discussion will provide employers with some clear advice on how to manage redundancy processes.

Dragon Argent explore the core principles of the Lean Startup - a methodology for developing businesses and products that aims to shorten product development cycles and rapidly discover if a proposed business model is viable.

Following a recent newsletter looking at developing product-market fit, this week Dragon Argent look at the importance of developing a GTM strategy in building a successful enterprise

Dragon Argent look at the benefit of building Enterprise Value (EV), regardless of an entrepreneur’s timeline or intent to sell, and how this can serve to both enhance and qualify a valuation when the time comes to raise investment or plan an exit