Guides
Founder guides
Short, practical guides for people starting a business in the UK. Each one answers the question in its title straight away, then goes deeper with frameworks, worked examples and the mistakes we see most often. No hype, no invented statistics, and no assumption that you have done this before.
Validate
How to validate a business idea before you build anything
To validate a business idea, confirm three things before you build: that a specific group of people has the problem, that they already pay in money or time to deal with it, and that they will act on your solution by pre-ordering, joining a waitlist or booking a call. You can do this in two to four weeks with conversations and one cheap test, not a finished product.
8 min readTAM, SAM and SOM explained: how to calculate your market size
TAM is your total addressable market: the annual revenue if every possible customer bought from you. SAM is the serviceable addressable market: the part of TAM you can actually reach with your product, geography and channels. SOM is the serviceable obtainable market: the share of SAM you can realistically win in the next few years. Calculate all three bottom-up as number of customers multiplied by annual spend.
8 min readSWOT analysis for a new business, done properly
A SWOT sorts what you have into strengths and weaknesses, which are internal and within your control, and opportunities and threats, which are external and are not. Most SWOTs are useless because they list adjectives nobody can act on. A good one is specific, honest about the weaknesses, and ends in decisions rather than a grid.
6 min readPlan
How to write a business plan in the UK: a section-by-section guide
To write a business plan in the UK, cover nine things: an executive summary, the problem and your solution, the market and competitors, your product or service and operations, marketing and sales, the team, a twelve-month financial forecast, the funding you need, and the main risks. Write it for a specific reader, keep it under twenty pages and put the numbers on a spreadsheet.
9 min readHow much does a business plan cost in the UK?
A business plan in the UK can cost nothing using free templates from Start Up Loans or the banks, tens of pounds a month for software, or a few hundred to several thousand pounds from a freelance writer or consultancy, depending on length, research and whether a financial model is included. For most first-time founders, doing it yourself with a good template or tool is the right choice.
7 min readHow to do startup financial projections and a 12-month cash flow
Startup financial projections are a month-by-month forecast of revenue, costs and cash for at least twelve months, built from written assumptions about price, customer numbers and costs. Start with a cash flow forecast: opening cash, cash in, cash out, closing cash for each month. Add a profit and loss summary and find the month you break even. Every number should trace back to an assumption you can defend.
9 min readCan ChatGPT write a business plan? What it does well and where it stops
ChatGPT can write a readable business plan and is genuinely useful for structure, wording and pressure-testing your thinking. Three things it will not do on its own: build a financial model that recalculates when you change an assumption, tell you the idea is not worth pursuing, and keep a dozen sections agreeing with each other across a long thread. Use it section by section with your own numbers, and ask it to argue against you.
9 min readHow to build a cash flow forecast for a new business
A cash flow forecast tracks money in and out of your bank account month by month, which is not the same as profit. Most new businesses that fail are profitable on paper at the time; they run out of cash because customers pay late and suppliers do not. Build twelve months, find the lowest closing balance, and make every assumption explicit.
8 min readBreak-even analysis: how to work out your break-even point
Your break-even point is the sales volume at which total revenue equals total costs. Divide fixed costs by the contribution each sale makes after its variable costs. The number matters less than what it tells you: whether the volume required is realistic given how you plan to reach customers.
6 min readBusiness plan template for UK founders, and how to fill it in
A UK business plan runs to nine parts: executive summary, the problem and your solution, market and competitors, product and operations, marketing and sales, team, financial projections, funding requirement and risks. The template is the easy part. What separates a plan that works from one that does not is whether the numbers reconcile and whether you can defend them.
7 min readSet up
Sole trader or limited company: how to choose
Sole trader is faster to start and simpler to run, but you and the business are the same legal person, so business debts are your debts. A limited company is a separate legal entity with limited liability, more administration and a different tax treatment. Most people should start as a sole trader and incorporate when liability, tax or the people they sell to give them a reason.
7 min readHow to register a business in the UK
Registering as a sole trader means telling HMRC you need to file a Self Assessment return. Forming a limited company means an application to Companies House with directors, shareholders, a registered address and a SIC code. Both are quick and inexpensive. The work worth doing is what comes after: insurance, records, a separate bank account and whether you need to register for VAT.
7 min readPitch & fund
How to describe your business in one sentence (with examples)
A one-line pitch says who you help, what problem you remove and how, in about fifteen to twenty words a stranger can repeat. The most reliable formula is: we help [specific customer] [get outcome] by [what you do], without [the thing they hate about the alternative]. Write ten versions, read them aloud, and keep the one people can say back to you.
7 min readWhat do investors look for in a pitch deck?
Investors look for eight things in a pitch deck: a clear problem, a solution that fits it, evidence the market is large or growing, traction that proves people want it, a business model with believable unit economics, a credible team, honest competition, and a specific ask with a use of funds. They expect ten to twelve slides they can read in four minutes without you in the room.
8 min readHow to write a business plan for a Start Up Loan or bank
A Start Up Loan application is assessed on affordability, not ambition. Lenders read the business plan to understand what you will do, then read the cash flow forecast to decide whether you can make the monthly repayment even if trading is slower than you hope. Complete costs, a funding ask that follows from your lowest cash point, and an honest downside case matter more than polish.
8 min readBrand & launch
How to find a co-founder in the UK (and how to choose one)
To find a co-founder in the UK, start with people you have already worked with, then look in university entrepreneurship societies, accelerator and founder communities, industry meetups, hackathons and online co-founder matching services. Choose for complementary skills, shared values and evidence you can work together, test the partnership on a small project first, and put vesting and a shareholders' agreement in place before either of you commits.
8 min readHow to choose a business name in the UK and check it is available
To choose a business name in the UK, shortlist names that are easy to say, spell and remember and that suggest what you do, then check each one against the Companies House register, the UK trade mark register run by the Intellectual Property Office, domain availability and social media handles. Avoid names that are the same as or too similar to an existing company, and words that need official permission.
8 min readIdeas
Where to store business ideas so you actually come back to them
Store business ideas in one place you will actually revisit, capture each one in under thirty seconds with a one-line spark and the problem it solves, and give every idea a stage such as captured, exploring, building or parked. The tool matters less than the habit: one inbox, a short weekly review, and a rule for when an idea earns more of your time.
7 min readHow to come up with a business idea worth pursuing
Good business ideas rarely arrive as inspiration. They come from noticing a problem you already have, a job you have already done, or something people around you pay too much for or tolerate badly. The practical skill is not generating ideas, it is capturing them as they occur and having a way to tell the promising ones apart.
7 min readPlanning something specific?
The structure of a business plan barely changes between industries. What changes is which assumptions carry the weight and which costs get forgotten. Guides by industry, including coffee shops, cleaning businesses, online shops and food trucks →
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