There is a phrase founders use that quietly worries me every time I hear it: “We just need to find our product-market fit.” The worry is not with the goal. Product-market fit is genuinely the most important milestone a startup …
How Entrepreneurs Should Handle Business Failure
Nobody talks about this part honestly enough. The business books celebrate the comeback. The LinkedIn posts reference failure in the past tense, safely framed as a stepping stone to the success the post is actually about. The podcast guest mentions …
When to Pivot vs When to Persevere: A Founder’s Honest Guide
I have had this conversation more times than I can count. A founder sits across from me, revenues flat for six months, team morale fraying at the edges, and they ask me the question they have been avoiding for weeks: …
The E-commerce Blueprint: Your Complete Guide to Building and Scaling a Profitable Online Business in the UK
In 12+ years of working with UK founders, I have watched more promising online businesses collapse within their first year than in any other category I consult on. Not because the products were poor. Not because the founders were unambitious. …
Why Your Business Idea Isn’t as Valuable as You Think (And What Actually Matters Instead)
I need to have an honest conversation with you about something I encounter almost weekly at SGI Consultants. Someone contacts us, insists we sign a non-disclosure agreement before they’ll reveal their “revolutionary” business idea, and then shares what amounts to …
EIS and SEIS: The Complete Guide for UK Startups (Including Advance Assurance)
If you are raising investment for your UK startup and you are not using EIS or SEIS, you are making fundraising significantly harder than it needs to be. Over twelve years of consulting, I have helped clients raise over £15 …
The Top 10 Questions VCs and Angel Investors Will Ask You
Securing investment from venture capitalists or angel investors can transform your business trajectory—providing not just capital but strategic guidance, industry connections, and validation that attracts customers and future investors. However, the path from initial pitch to signed term sheet is …
The Best Blogs for Entrepreneurs: A Curated Reading List
The hardest thing about finding the best blogs for entrepreneurs is not finding content. There is an infinite supply of it. The hard part is telling the resources that genuinely sharpen your thinking from the ones that simply make you …
What Business Should I Start? A Strategic Framework for Choosing Your Venture
Choosing the right business to start is arguably the most critical decision you’ll make as an entrepreneur. After spending 12 years consulting with hundreds of startup founders—from Cambridge University spin-outs to franchise operators with major brands—I’ve witnessed how this single …
Can AI Write a Business Plan? The Truth About AI Business Planning
You’re staring at a blank page, knowing you need a business plan to secure funding for your startup. Then you remember ChatGPT. Could artificial intelligence write your business plan in minutes instead of weeks? It’s an appealing prospect—but the answer …