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Findings Nima

Friday, 16 August 2019
 

Dear <<First Name>>​,​​
 
On Wednesday, NatWest's Accelerator hosted us and the prolific author Nima Sanandaji for an event on Brain Business Jobs – that is, the jobs in sectors with a high proportion of knowledge-intensive occupations.

Nima has measured this across 31 countries and 278 regions. He finds that 8% of the UK working age population are employed in knowledge-intensive sectors, which put us highest among large European economies, but lower than Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

In terms of intensity, the leading regions of the UK are Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire (17.9%), London (17.3%), North Eastern Scotland (11.3%), while the lowest are Cornwall and Isles of Scilly (3.4%), East Anglia (3.2%) and West Wales and The Valleys (3.2%).

This is a good news story for innovation and entrepreneurship in the UK. So what's driving these knowledge-intense jobs? Nima finds that innovation capacity is the dominant determinant for their concentration. Innovative capacity is the ability of a country to produce and commercialise a flow of innovative technology. Clearly there's a lot that goes into this – perhaps most critically R&D spending, the intellectual property regime, and the education system. There's room for improvement, but we shouldn't forget to celebrate our successes.

We're working with Nima to drill down further into his dataset. If this is the sort report you would be keen to support or get involved with, just let me know.

Bright Future
It's a sign of the times when an Instagram influencer's story leads to more people seeing your report than an article in national paper. But whether you heard about our Future Founders report as one of Grace Beverley's 1 million followers, or Octopus Group's Simon Rogerson's article in City AM, or via the excellent James Hurley in The Times (paywall), or on the Financial Times's Sifted site, or the 101 other places it appeared, we hope you enjoyed our report that we undertook with Octopus Group on the entrepreneurial ambitions of young people. If somehow you missed it, here it is.


Total Package
Nesta has a new study out on the incentives for FTSE 350 executives. It suggests that remuneration packages are dominated by measures that inhibit corporate innovation.

It finds that just 16% of total FTSE 350 annual bonus conditions encourage spending on innovation compared to 39% that discourage it. The report recommends that companies examine their remuneration packages to encourage the pursuit of innovation and long-term value creation. While investors are encouraged to use their power to demand better incentives for investment in innovation.

The takeaway question for a business owner of any size is: how do you incentivise innovation?

Party Time
As part of the Female Founder Forum project we run with Barclays, we will be in Brighton at the Labour Party Conference on 23rd September, and in Manchester for the Conservative Party Conference on 30th September. Don't worry if you don't have a conference pass – we are hosting our events outside the secure zones.

Watch this space, or drop us an email to register your interest. Also, please forward this on to anyone who lives in or near either city who might want an invite.

We aren't politically aligned, so it's only fair that I share an event from the Lib Dems too.


Business Day

12 September 2019
8.15am to 1.30pm
Level 39, One Canada Square, London
£300 a ticket
Find out more
Hosted by the Canary Wharf Group, successful entrepreneur and investor Deborah Meaden will give insight into the future for innovation in a world of disruptive politics. She will also feature in a panel discussion alongside Chuka Umunna MP, Lib Dem Treasury and Business spokesperson, and Adam Payne, political reporter for the Business Insider. There will also be the launch of a new digital economy paper and the keynote speech will be from the Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson MP, who will talk about the role of enterprise in an innovative, disruptive and progressive economy.
 
 
Our Next Event 

Made in the UK – Navigating Britain's Visa System

 29 August 2019
8.45am to 10.30am
Kingsley Napley LLP, Farringdon London
Free
RSVP 
Find out more
Opening speakers are: Joshua Wöhle, Co-Founder of SuperAwesome, Dr Miguel Martinez, Co-Founder of Signal AI, and Nicolas Rollason, Partner and Head of Kingsley Napley’s immigration practice. This event is only for the founders of high-growth businesses
 
 
News and Views
 
Boris Johnson will re-establish the system of business councils created by his predecessor Theresa May (FT - Paywall)

My colleague Annabel Denham writes about how gig economy workers are twice as likely as the wider population to be planning to start a business or be early-stage entrepreneurs

We welcome innovators until they apply for visas – I’m quoted on the Innovator and Start Up visas in The Times (The Times - Paywall)

UK Tech News interviews ex-SpAd Dan Korski about the GovTech accelerator, Public, he started in 2017

How Sweden became more entrepreneurial than the US

Is housebuilding the next sector to be disrupted?

Full expensing: the small tax change that could reap big economic rewards

I explain why the Centre for Social Justice’s proposal to raise the Minimum Salary Threshold for Skilled Migrants to £36,500 is a very bad idea

Four technologies for preventing climate change that you might not have heard of

Prof Alice Gast, President of Imperial College London, cited our research into immigrant founders to call for the return of the post-study work visa

A new report for the British Library on how libraries can support entrepreneurship


 
Friends of the Network

EVENTS


The Body Language of Leaders
29 August 2019
9am to 1pm
The Office Group, 2 Stephen Street, London
£295 (vat) – use code WS40 for 40% off
Find out more
Explore the hidden meaning behind Obama’s handshake, understand Trump’s pincer grasp, spot signs of submission, or even a lie.


London Growth Hub Business Roadshow: Barnet
2 September 2019
9am to 5pm
Middlesex University

Free
Find out more
Grow your business at this one-day event where you'll be able to hear from successful entrepreneurs, get expert one-on-one advice and meet exhibitors with solutions that will boost your business.


Investing in Impact: The Tech for Good Opportunity
18 September 2019
6pm to 9pm
Register you interest
Bethnal Green Ventures and Tribe Impact Capital are hosting an evening to explore how entrepreneurs can ‘do good on exit', with topics including the journey of founder to investor, achieving profit with purpose, and why we should be looking to tech for good.

SURVEY


Complete the survey
What's your view on the UK entrepreneur ecosystem and programs in the market? Help some young academics, and complete a survey by a group of Warwick Business School students!

 
Best,
 
Philip
Philip Salter
Founder, The Entrepreneurs Network

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