Funding & Finance

"Risk" is a scary word. Most people view risks in a very negative light. Society constantly encourages us to avoid risk at all cost. A product represents a "health risk". A service puts you at "financial risk". If you drive this way you risk accident or death. Risk is bad, right?

Like the royal successions that have taken place for centuries, succession planning is all about being ready for the future. However, unlike the monarchy, today’s succession planning in business not only focuses on replacing talent, but also on developing the talent that will fulfil the organisation’s long-term goals. Is your organisation prepared for a changing of the guard?

The next time you feel the urge to complain about your economy class seat, spare a thought for British Airways staff who may have...

The next time you feel the urge to complain about your economy class seat, spare a thought for British Airways staff who may have...

Asking for money is probably one of the least enjoyable jobs in business. If it isn't handled right, it can have a massive impact...

Shareholders around the world have seen extravagant expenditures of their wealth squandered by CEOs with their arm-waving and talmudic reading of balance-sheets and P&Ls, like the obsessive, pre-scientific study of entrails. Less than one CEO in a hundred could give an intelligent, educated account of what strategy it would take for their business to survive in the rapidly evolving environment of the next decade.

My dad once asked me: "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer: "One small piece at a time." This week, Anthill launched the first version...

Every business owner knows the importance of running a profitable and lean team, but when was the last time you took the pulse of...

The current global financial crisis has been described as a “once in a lifetime recession”. However savvy business owners, entrepreneurs and investors recognise it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to make money.

Earlier this morning, we pinged out a sponsored message promoting a capital raising workshop. It reminded me of a 'rant' we published in the second...

Ben Kaufman, who also founded mophie and kluster, is back with a new variation on NameThis: quirky. The premise is this: entrepreneurs and creative people in general are bubbling with far more product ideas than they can possibly pursue. Consequently, these ideas end up dormant or exploited by someone else. Described by Kaulfman as a "social product development company", quirky invites users to submit their product ideas for US$99 each - this ensures that only the best ideas are lodged. The quirky community selects one product from the pool of submitted ideas every seven days. From there, the community (known as "influencers") weigh in by voting, rating and influencing other people's product ideas.

Call me crazy but we've recently offered 'pay what you think it's worth' (PWYT) terms to selected customers.

Call me crazy but we've recently offered 'pay what you think it's worth' (PWYT) terms to selected customers.

There is an old saying: "If you aim at nothing you will hit the target with amazing accuracy." If you want to improve the results in your business, you need a target to aim for and a system for monitoring progress.

The place of interaction between government and industry is often clouded with confusion, perplexity and frustration, where it seems as though no one is...

The Federal Government's $83 million Innovation Investment Follow-On Fund (IIFF) opened for applications last Friday.

Pitch Club is partnering with the Melbourne Angels group, affiliate and founding members of AAAI (Australian Association of Angel's Investors) for its next...

Senator Kim Carr, Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, today announced that 238 projects will share in funding of over $71.3 million under Round 2 of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Projects scheme.

For most managers, conducting a management buyout (MBO) can be a life-changing experience. An MBO offers the management team (either as a whole or a few individuals) an opportunity to purchase the business from its current shareholders, usually with the backing of a private equity fund. The transaction allows the individuals involved to enjoy a significant stake in their own business and be given the opportunity to "run the show".

The 2008/2009 financial year would have to be one of the most volatile for many years. What will 2009/2010 bring for SMEs? Some say it will be tougher and there will be more job losses and some say there will be great opportunities around. Whatever the next financial year brings, every business owner needs to plan for the worst and the best case scenario.