Day three at Newcastle Startup Week: Top tips for businesses to financially succeed

Now in its second year, Newcastle Startup Week (May 14-18) has been eagerly anticipated for months by local businesses.

If one thing is for sure, it’s that the event has been well received so far, too. Set up by Plan Digital UK’s founder, Paul Lancaster, the five-day festival is proving to be a success for budding entrepreneurs and investors in the region and across the globe - from America to China.

Yesterday (May 16) was day three of the week-long event, talking all things finance and how to fund your business.

This particular event was held at Maybrook House on Grainger Street, Newcastle, a brilliant location in the heart of a bustling city - and this is the whole point of Newcastle Startup Week, to showcase what the city (and the region) has to offer.

It’s here to show that you don’t have to be in the likes of London, Manchester or Glasgow to succeed as an entrepreneur or a small business. As a region, the North East’s business community thrives and is constantly adapting and growing.

Look at the likes of Tech Nation, Digital Union and Sunderland Software City as examples. They’re all great success stories, they’re all making a name for themselves, gaining national and international acclaim - and they’re all here.

Yesterday’s event was packed with both informative speakers and budding entrepreneurs taking in every little slice of information the speakers gave away. But what did we take away from it all?

We caught a few speakers during the event chatting how to make finance and funding work for startups and scaleups across the region and worldwide.

Both Colin Tan and Sam Wood presented the audience with informative, interesting points. Here’s what you need to know:

Colin Tan

Colin Tan, programme director at FORGE and head of operations at Tuspark Newcastle, was the first speaker of the day. From January to April, Newcastle held the first UK and China accelerator program, FORGE.

Tan spoke a lot about the future of China’s business sectors, as well as what they can do for the North East. Here are a few of his tip:

• Don’t overestimate your tech - it’s not all about building upon that. As a business or entrepreneur, you have to build your relationships just as much.

• If you know what’s going on with your government and local policies, you’re going to have a better understanding of what the economy is like. Is it fit for your business?

• Who are your competitors? What do they do? What can you do better? Research, research, research.

• Why is your business special? Why does it stand out against the rest? Really hone in your niche.

Sam Wood

Next up was Sam Wood, the director of digital innovation and transformations at Blu Sky. Self described as a qualified accountant, science geek and sadly a Sunderland AFC fan, Wood had a few dos and don’ts for the audience:

Do:

• Be disciplined from day one, know what your startup/business is about.

• Learn the financial dates and reporting needs of your company.

-Start with the end in mind… Where do you want to be in five years time (and so on) with this?

• Investigate all sources of finance and how each one could help you, from crowdfunding to angel investment.

Don’t:

• Think keeping a small box of receipts is you being ‘financially stable’! Always keep a track on money and savings, know what you will have to spend before delving deep into anything.

• Outsource financial responsibility: “Advisors are important, but the bucks stop with you.”

• Taking too much from friends or family can get messy without appropriate legals. Be cautious!

• Failing to monitor your “cash runway” will cause confusion and strain soon enough. You have to know how much money is being spent and whether it is worth it or not.

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