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Stamp Duty and the Social Contract
When UK income tax was first levied in 1798, it was a temporary measure used to fund defence. As the social contract between state and citizens evolved over the following 150 years, so too did taxation. Both today are permanent and accepted features of British life. A key part of today’s social contract is social…
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A Coronavirus Jobs Package
When future eyes look back on the Coronavirus crisis, the decisions made by Government at the time will be central in people’s minds. As the crisis grows, it is imperative that the Conservative Government maintains both the health and economic policy initiative, responding to developments in a timely and considered manner. Health measures are being…
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Resting Bitch Face
This morning I bumped into an old friend I hadn’t seen for a while, and a fast-paced catch up ensued. After a few minutes, we had dispensed with niceties and were discussing the state of society (…naturally…). In particular, we both remarked how, as we’d moved from junior to mid level roles at work, our…
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A Classless, Anti-Statement Watch
Yesterday morning I went to a board meeting. I was wearing my usual gear, which included my trusty Apple Watch Series 4. And as I sat at the meeting, I noticed that some attendees had expensive watches on. You know the watches – Rolex Submariner, Omega Seamaster, [insert other standard luxury watch here]. I noted…
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MyFitnessPal – You *really* don’t know what will win
I had a quiet moment last week and got thinking about the deals we pass on at work that go on to do well. Kinda like the Bessemer Anti-Portfolio (https://www.bvp.com/anti-portfolio/). When we turn deals down, there is usually a solid reason: we weren’t sure about the team, we weren’t sold on the product, we weren’t…
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Read Fiction!
My life has been filled with arrogant moments, where I thought I knew better than others. One of these moments was when I decided that I would only read non-fiction books. “Fiction is a waste of time” went the argument. Self-improvement was the focus. Fiction was only for recreation. I’d often declare this view in…
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Cash is King: How founders should decide their cash runway
It’s the figure all early stage founders know. Current cash in the bank, divided by monthly cash burn, equals cash runway – or how long your company can survive before it needs further funding. And while many start-ups survive a bit longer than their cash runway suggests – usually with aggressive cost control – a…
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What is a Growth Mindset?
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people” – Eleanor Roosevelt My wife says I’m a fanatic in everything I do. I thought this was an interesting charge. Surely being a fanatic is a prerequisite for success – going one step further than most others? Just one step? Only a few…
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House of Lords reform
To an outsider looking in, the House of Lords can seem a quirk in one of the world’s oldest and most vibrant democracies. The Lords, with its unelected nature, makes it the target of all emotions – debate and discussion, praise and critique, appreciation and blame. For decades, the Conservative Party has shied away from…
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The law firm billable hour must die
Long blog post alert. TL;DR – law firms should just quote everyone fixed fees rather than billing by the hour. —— What must die for the legal industry to evolve? That is a key question on the lips of law firms worldwide. Put another way, “with technological change and fast-paced disruption all around us, what…