Plan Digital
Inbound Marketing & Community Engagement Specialists
Category: Tech Start-Ups
Category: Tech Start-Ups
7 questions every startup should answer
Taken from Peter Thiel’s brilliant book ‘Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future‘, here are the 7 questions every new business should answer: 1. The Engineering Question Can you create breakthrough technology instead of incremental improvements? 2. The Timing Question Is now the right time to start your particular
Read MoreDigital Leaders North East ‘Salon’ #1 (13th February 2014)
This blog originally appeared on the Digital Leaders website on Wednesday 19th February 2014, provoking some strong support from a wide range of people on Twitter but also some negative reactions from people on the ‘North East Startups’ Facebook Group. Comments were closed on the original blog (not my decision) but they’re open on here so
Read More[VIDEO] Thoughts on the Newcastle tech start-up scene, Shell LiveWIRE & Government initiatives
In this interview for TechBritain last year, I talk about the Newcastle tech start-up community, explain what the Shell LiveWIRE youth enterprise scheme is all about and touch on the national Government’s support for start-ups in London and other parts of the UK.
Read More[VIDEO] How start-ups can get the most out of Shell LiveWIRE
Filmed at the PostOffice in Newcastle as part of the TechBritain 2012 tour, this video shows me explaining how start-ups can get the most from the Shell LiveWIRE enterprise programme for young entrepreneurs. As I no longer work for Shell LiveWIRE, it feels a bit strange looking back at this now but the information and
Read MoreCo-working comes to Newcastle
I’ve been championing the idea of co-working in Newcastle since April 2011 when a tour of the ‘Silicon Roundabout’ area of London reinforced my belief that ‘clustering’ (close georgraphical proximity to other businesses and entrepreneurs) was an important ingredient in the success of a startup (see ‘Start-Ups: Know Your Place’). This trip, which included visits to TechHub,
Read MoreWelcome to Sunderland, Software City
Sunderland Software City, the organisation that exists to generate and promote a sustainable, world class software industry in the North East of England, is moving to a brand new, state-of-the-art building next to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens called ‘Software City’. Just a few minutes walk from Sunderland Metro station and the main shopping streets, Software City is a stunning new building
Read MorePostOffice venue launches weekly co-working days in Newcastle
After talking about bringing co-working days to Newcastle since April 2011, I’m pleased to announce that we are finally going to start doing them at our PostOffice venue in Newcastle every Friday, starting with a FREE launch event on 3rd August (9am-5pm). The PostOffice also has a new Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/PostOfficeNE1 to go with the pre-existing Twitter
Read MoreWhy tech start-ups (and giants) should leave London (and move to Newcastle)
I think tech start-ups (and giants) should leave London and move to other parts of the UK. I also think the UK Government should stop putting all their eggs in one basket (i.e. Tech City / Silicon Roundabout) and give greater support (media attention, funding and financial incentives) to other tech clusters around the country to help spread the
Read MoreOpen letter to Newcastle City Council
My ideas below were originally sent to Newcastle City Council in response to their ‘Newcastle – a working city’ Green Paper on 14th February 2012. Dear Newcastle City Council, After reading your Green Paper ‘Newcastle – a working city’ I’d like to put forward a few ideas/suggestions for consideration. Monument Mall shopping centre Walking around Newcastle city centre
Read MoreWhy Mentoring Matters
This article was originally written for and published on Upmarket – the US-based online business magazine at http://upmarket.squidoo.com/2012/05/02/why-mentoring-matters/ There’s a big drive to increase the number of business mentors in the UK today through Government-backed initiatives like Get Mentoring and Mentorsme.co.uk. This is because along with finance, mentoring is regularly cited by start-ups as one of
Read MoreEmotional Technology
Below are the slides from my Techmesh / CIM presentation at The Rose Bowl, Leeds Met University on Thursday 8th March 2012. The theme was ‘Emotional Technology + How Ideas Spread‘ as I was trying to convey the fact that no matter how amazing the technology is, it’s only when it taps into real life human emotion,
Read MoreWelcome to ‘Permanent Beta’ – The Start-Up IS YOU!
I’ve just finished reading ‘The Start-Up Of You‘ by LinkedIn Founder/Chairman Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha and am feeling pretty inspired. If you’re stuck in a rut, wanting to advance your career, find a new job or start a business (i.e. everyone) I’d strongly urge you to buy and read this book! If Reid’s career credentials weren’t
Read MoreDevelop for the customer, not for yourself
I’ve recently taken on the role of ‘Technology Ambassador’ for the CIM North East of England Regional Board – a voluntary role to represent the interests of the tech community at a regional and national level whilst helping to increase membership of the Chartered Institute of Marketing. The CIM celebrated its 100th anniversary last year which
Read MoreMy interview with Eric Ries, author of ‘The Lean Startup’
I recently had the great pleasure of hearing Eric Ries speak at an event at TechHub in London on 17th January. (He was there as part of a tour to promote the international edition of his fantastic book, ‘The Lean Startup‘). After the event I managed to grab a few words with Eric and arranged to
Read MoreGoogle Map of UK North East Tech Scene
The North East of England is really buzzing right now with tonnes of exciting tech start-ups, established digital, media & creative businesses, support organisations, weekly meet-ups, investors and a supportive local press and media. As such, I thought it would be handy to kickstart a crowdsourced ‘Google Map of the UK North East Tech Scene‘
Read MorePre-Thinking Digital 2011
The Thinking Digital Conference 2011 is just about to get underway and there’s magic in the air! People from all over the UK, Europe and indeed the rest of the world are either on their way or have already arrived in Newcastle/Gateshead for this major ‘Event’ on the tech world calendar, of which the local hotels, bars & restaurants,
Read MoreInterview with Michael Acton Smith (Mind Candy / Moshi Monsters)
On 15th April 2011, I interviewed Michael Acton Smith, founder of Firebox.com and now Mind Candy – home of the phenomenally successful Moshi Monsters (almost 40m registered users worldwide)! During this fantastic interview Michael confirmed that the working environment was crucial to getting the best out of his team and making them feel valued, expressing
Read MorePaul Lancaster Interviews Herb Kim (Thinking Digital / Codeworks)
In this video, Plan Digital’s Paul Lancaster interviews Herb Kim, founder of the excellent Thinking Digital Conference taking place @ Sage Gateshead on 24-26 May 2011. In it, Herb talks about the benefits to young entrepreneurs in attending the event and the pros and cons of being a tech start-up in the UK as opposed to the US, particularly
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