The week in founders, 3 October 2026
This week
HMRC counted 40,325 R&D tax credit claims in 2024-25, down 17 per cent. The money claimed rose to £8.2bn. SME claims fell 19 per cent, so fewer and bigger claimants are taking more of the money.
The British Business Bank says UK venture funds now match US funds over the long run, and its newest vintages are ahead of both US and European peers. The underlying figures have not been published in detail. Sifted reports that the European Union's €5bn Scaleup Europe Fund can back companies incorporated outside the bloc, though the eligibility terms have not been published either.
The Advertising Standards Authority has banned a sponsored Huel video featuring the founder and a brand ambassador, over a claim that one man ate nothing else. Four complaints were enough.
Howard Stevenson, the Harvard Business School professor who defined entrepreneurship in seven words, has died at 85. His definition is still quoted more than 40 years on.
The lead
Jaipur handmade goods firm reports ₹6m turnover in 18 months
Ecokari Livin makes toys, candles and gift hampers in its own workshop. On the founders' own figures, 50 women artisans now turn out more than 5,000 toys a month.
Startup news
Vietnamese war-game board goes online, signs up nearly 700 players
A student in Ho Chi Minh City has put Cờ Tư Lệnh on the web. He says about 300 of his registrations arrived in three days.
Photographer credited in three magazines says selling is the job
Kayleigh Morin built a photography business while working in sales. She reckons the sales part is the part that kept it alive.
Idearium evolves from agency work into AI-enabled operations
Alexia Rondon Zamora is turning her digital agency into an operations service for small firms. She says the model is still being validated, and there are no customer numbers yet.
Carazo Creative turns its in-house tool into a product
The agency built software to stop its own staff hopping between marketing dashboards. It now intends to sell that software, on average monthly revenue of about $15,000.
Inspiring stories
The Astute founder on her dad's snail money and the habit Fluidstack gave her
"You have a chip on your shoulder"
Seven failed attempts, one boxing gym, then SHWDWN's first £100,000
Joshua Chumber spent seven years building companies that went nowhere. The idea that stuck came from a badly built ticket page at a small boxing show.
Tips & tricks
Annual trials of 30 days converted 44.6%, four-day trials 24%
RevenueCat's trial data covers more than 17,000 mobile apps. It suggests the 14-day trial most software firms copied is the wrong length for an annual plan.
GPU rents doubled to $8.08 an hour while token prices fell
Tomasz Tunguz puts the reconciliation down to efficiency. For anyone pricing an AI product on token costs, the useful number is gross profit per GPU-hour.
Selling a $30,000 watch on Instagram Live
A watch dealer is moving five-figure timepieces through livestreams, according to a report in Inc. The mechanics of how have not been made public.
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