4 01732 759725 NEWS NEWS Are start-up factories the future of entrepreneurship? Could the future of entrepreneurship lie not with inspired individuals working single-mindedly on a pet project but with start-up factories using a repeatable, scalable process to build and launch multiple businesses concurrently? According to a new study by the University of East Anglia (UEA), there are now more than 1,000 so called ‘venture studios’ operating worldwide and their number is growing by 18% each year. Rather than focusing on a single startup, these organisations generate ideas, recruit founders, develop products and bring multiple new companies to market across diverse business sectors. Some venture studios analysed for the report are working on as many as 15 start-ups at a time. The average number of new businesses created by the companies surveyed was 10, but some have already set up as many as 120. Dr Davide Viglialoro, from UEA’s Norwich Business School, believes venture studios could play an increasingly important role in how companies are created, funded and scaled. He said: “Entrepreneurship is often viewed as something driven by individual founders working on a single idea. What we found is the emergence of organisations specifically designed to create multiple companies in a systematic and repeatable way. “Venture studios are taking the lessons learned from previous startups and embedding them into their organisations through shared teams, playbooks and structured processes. This means every new venture starts with a higher level of knowledge and experience.” Unlike incubators, accelerators, venture capital firms or angel investor groups, venture studios are directly involved in creating companies and often retain ownership stakes in the businesses they develop. They typically follow a common business creation process, moving from idea generation and market testing through to team formation, product development, launch and eventual sale or handover. Dr Viglialoro said: “Venture studios are emerging as a new organisational model for innovation and venture creation. Their ability to combine experienced founders, specialist teams and structured learning processes allows them to repeatedly generate and test new business opportunities. This has important implications for entrepreneurs, investors, universities and policymakers.” The paper, Institutionalizing portfolio entrepreneurship: the Venture Studio model, is published in the journal Technovation. www.uea.ac.uk … Indoor not-spots taking toll on business Poor indoor mobile connectivity could be costing the UK economy as much as £103 billion a year, according to C-suite and senior IT decision-makers surveyed by Freshwave for its Mobile Connectivity ROI Index 2026. In the public sector alone, the loss could be as high as £63 billion. The connectivity infrastructure-as-aservice provider surveyed 900 C-suite and IT decision-makers from UK public and private sector organisations to gauge their views on indoor mobile connectivity and potential gains from eliminating coverage ‘notspots’ within buildings. Almost nine out of 10 (89%) claim they experience indoor connectivity disruptions every day, in large part due to the building themselves and building materials such as energy-efficient glazing and insulation that can impact mobile signal strength. On average, 23% of decision-makers rate their indoor 4G or 5G coverage as average or poor, rising from 19% in London to 27% in the North of England, 28% in the Midlands, 34% in Scotland and Wales, 37% in the East Midlands and 39% in Yorkshire and the Humber. Simon Frumkin, CEO of Freshwave, says that improved indoor connectivity is essential as real-time, continuous data presents the biggest opportunity to drive efficiency gains, accelerate digital transformation and make the most of AI. He said: “AI presents one of the greatest opportunities we have to grow the economy, and the efficiencies it promises rest on the connectivity underpinning many of its functions. HPE to transform fan experience at Tottenham Hotspur stadium Spurs supporters can look forward to a better matchday experience as Tottenham Hotspur and HPE expand their long-standing partnership to transform the entire fan experience, from ticketless entry and cashless payments to mobile applications, digital wayfinding and high-density connectivity. As the club’s Official Hybrid Cloud and IT Enterprise Networking Partner, HPE will modernise Tottenham Hotspur Stadium’s technological capabilities through a combination of AI, hybrid cloud, networking, managed services, financial solutions and a simpler asa-service operating model. Matt Harris, HPE’s Senior Vice President & Managing Director, UK, Ireland, Middle East & Africa, said: “Sport and entertainment venues are becoming increasingly connected and data-driven, and this partnership reflects a shared commitment to building the digital foundation required to support that evolution. Together, we’re helping Spurs build an AI-driven technology backbone that powers every aspect of the stadium, from critical operations behind the scenes to the digital experiences supporters enjoy on match days and beyond.” www.hpe.com Dr Davide Viglialoro Simon Frumkin
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