‘Brexit’ - it's one of those words that you're either sick to death of hearing or starts an argument, either way, if you’re a pro-remain or pro-leave, its surrounded with negative connotations.
So, it’s surprising and refreshing to hear some good Brexit-associated news. Yes, good.
A sentiment survey conducted by Smith & Williamson of the UK’s scale-up business community has revealed that scale-up businesses in tech space are feeling “optimistic”.
In fact, a staggering 90% of high-growth technology businesses are planning to take on more staff, with 68% saying they felt Government policy was supportive of business, compared to 38% of their slower growth competitors.
So what constitutes a ‘scale-up’? Well, they’re defined as an enterprise which has either grown in headcount or revenue by 20% for three consecutive years, from a starting position of ten or more employees. This is a tough achievement, which less than 1 in 40 businesses experience.
Fergus Caheny, scale-up lead at Smith & Williamson, says:“We have uncovered considerable differences between scale-ups and the rest of the business community, in both mentality and approach. But, 91% of businesses want to grow further, and I am convinced almost any of them can emulate scale-up business success - provided they have the right growth toolkit.”
Caheny goes on to suggest that 2018 is the year of artificial intelligence (AI). “It’s started entering the public conscious with devices such as Siri and Alexa,” says Caheny, “but for those businesses willing to take the leap and take advantage of the benefits AI has to offer, they could be left facing their scale-up moment. This does not necessarily have to be an AI production business, but rather a business best able to utilise the benefits AI has to offer.
“1995 was the year the world realised the power the Internet had to offer, this created the environment for companies such as Amazon and Google spring boarding off this. People could look back at 2018, in ten years’ time, and see the adoption of AI as having as a seminal moment comparable to 1995 with a huge growth being generated for the economy.”
But to help accommodate for this, Caheny believes policy makers must also “play their part” and encourage scale-ups.
“While our findings show that the scale-up business community in the tech sector is relatively positive about Brexit, we will only truly be able to scope the business opportunity when we have further clarity on the UK’s future trading position,” adds Caheny.“These high-growth firms are also very positive when it comes to apprenticeships.”
The survey revealed that one in three believe they stand to benefit from the recent Apprenticeship Levy, which has suffered criticism due to confusion over paperwork and business responsibility.
The study also considered what traits scale-up businesses and their founders share UK-wide. One key conclusion is that their attitude towards tech and innovation is giving them an edge. This could explain why younger entrepreneurs, raised as digital natives, are flourishing, with 42% of scale-up founders aged 34 and under.
Caheny ventures that the positivity may be owed to “a major focus on technology and innovation”, resulting in a “greater need for tech-savvy young people”.
Whatever the case, it seems that young, fresh minds could be the key to helping to grow the future of technology – so ensuring schools, universities and prosperous businesses continue to inspire this next generation is vital. And if we can all do it with a smile on our face, despite the concerns we may or may not have over Brexit, then all the better.
So, smile. It may not be all doom and gloom after all. Happy Friday.
