While I’ve been sceptical of such things in the past, if you’re on a mission to set the technology world alight with your Next Big Thing, you might be interested in applying to join the next Digital Mission. The most valuable part of it looks to be the opportunity to do plenty of North American networking.
The buzz around the iPhone 3G launch caused a lot of excitement, plenty of crashed servers, and some very unusual queuing. Despite that, iPhones were still fairly easy to buy within the first week of the phone’s launch. As a small business owner and avid technologist, I couldn’t resist. Perhaps I should have.
Here are my five killer reasons why the iPhone 3G sucks. Read the rest of this entry »
Anyone struggling to come up with “an idea” for a new techie startup could do a lot worse than checking out this latest article by Paul Graham entitled “Y Combinator: Startup Ideas We’d Like to Fund“.
Paul lists thirty different ways of thinking about start-up opportunities. I was relieved (and spurred on by the fact) that my own in-development project fits into at least one of the categories!
I was also pleased to see that most of the focus isn’t on blue-sky wacky concepts. It’s a much better idea to build and sell things that attack existing well-known problems or solutions by doing something subtley different or simply better.
When I read Ryan Carson’s post about the UK having everything it needs to foster new businesses, especially those that are web or technology-based, I was in full agreement. However, having made the trek from Cambridge to the docklands area of London today, I can state that there is one thing that is sorely missing (and has been for several years): easily accessible wi-fi that doesn’t cost the earth.
A quick overview of my day:
To summarize, I had no way to access the Internet on my laptop without handing over a hefty monthly subscription to one (or more!) providers. All I needed was enough access to check my email and post some content to my website, and I only need it 2 or 3 times a year (for conferences). But it wasn’t to be. The ExCeL centre own provided wi-fi actually requires that you call a sales hotline - not very useful when you’re trying to post notes during a talk!
Exactly how are we meant to be taken seriously as a country that wants great technology companies to thrive when a startup founder can’t even check his email at a startup conference? Of all places, you’d think that a huge conference centre in the capital city might be a place that you’d find free Internet access, especially when the entire conference is designed to help foster early-stage businesses whose ability to trade can often be dependent upon their online activities.
While it’s easy to level criticism squarely at the BStartup organizers, it’s my experience that over-charging for wireless network access is a scourge that is completely endemic in this country and something needs to be done about it.
NB:- I should add that at FOWA last year, superb wi-fi access was provided for the full duration of the conference. Maybe the BStartup organizers need to have a word with Ryan and his team.
Ryan Carson just posted a link to a short video he’s made listing some top money-saving tips for starting up a web company. He also talks through a useful spreadsheet that helps you plan your cash flow for the first year. Check it out.
Tax is a slightly scary area. I’ve been reading a lot about VAT lately, primarily to make sure I’m fully compliant with all UK laws in the matter, but also to determine how to maximize my income.
As of April 2008, you don’t need to charge VAT until your company has brought in £67,000 of revenue in a year. (Note: you can check the latest figures from the relevant page on the HM Revenue & Customs site).
Once you have registered for VAT, the procedure is fairly simple - you add VAT to any invoices you send people, (eg. you add 17.5% to a bill for IT support services). Once people pay you the VAT, you keep it in a separate account from the main revenue you’re earning.
You also need to keep a log of anything you buy on behalf of the company that has a VAT charge (most equipment).
When the time comes to hand over the VAT to the tax office, you simply take the money you have saved in your special VAT account, subtract the amount of VAT you have paid on purchases, and send the remainder to your tax office. If you’ve actually spent more than you’ve collected then you can claim it back from the tax man.
You are allowed to register for VAT before your income exceeds a threshold £67,000, but until you’re about to reach that threshold, it’s optional. You might like to register if you know you’re going to be buying a lot of essential equipment for your business and want to claim back the VAT.
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