Podcast 18 – Start-up funding, head-buzzers and the supposed unchangeability of the self

Listen to episode 18:

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Show notes

News

• North West named biggest start-up region outside of London
• The research comes from Start-Up Loans (part of the British Business Bank)
• They've provided £60m across 8,366 loans to start–ups in the North West
• Little Legends – A Manchester–based business that runs football training sessions for children
• Raver Tots – Dance parties for adults and children

Finance explained

• Alternative funding options

Innovations

• SOMNIBEL, the new device for the treatment of sleep apnea
• The majority of snoring takes place when you are sleeping on your back
• This small device is attached to your forehead and gently vibrates when you enter a supine position to encourage you to move

Marketing explained

• Mat quizzes Jamie on how small businesses can use social media more effectively

Which social media platform is best for business?

• Largely down to who your customer is
• Generally speaking, Facebook work the best across most sectors (whether B2B or B2C)
• For B2B, LinkedIn is great for reaching specific individuals

Should you have different personas for different social media platforms?

• You don't want to have a persona that is unrecognisable between platforms
• You can try to target different demographics with different social medias, but be mindful not to alienate people

What platforms are up and coming?

• TikTok – A hybrid between Vine and Snapchat. Short video clips that can have music and filters over the top. It's very useful for targeting Gen–Z audience
• Instagram is now one of the largest B2C platforms
• Twitch is a video streaming platform for gamers, does it have the capacity to make business talks more interesting?

How much time should you invest in social media?

• Try not to go overboard, unless your business is aimed at younger generations who are more active on social media

Brilliant or bonkers?

“People can try to reinvent themselves. I don’t think you can really change who you are, though, because who you are is pretty much where you came from and what you’ve done up to now.”

– Eminem