Evgeny Shadchnev

I was recently invited onto Focus on Founders - a new podcast that dives into the real journeys of business founders. First of all, a huge thank you to Matthew for having me on. From the setup and lighting to the structure of the conversation and the overall attention to detail - it was all done really well. Even more impressive knowing it’s being built alongside a full-time job. Fair play 👏🏼 We covered a lot on the episode from my side - what’s worked, what hasn’t, and some of the realities of growing a business that don’t always get talked about. One area we spent a bit of time on was hiring, which feels particularly relevant right now as ORRJO continues to grow. I’ve always believed interviews shouldn’t feel transactional… Although thinking back to some of my early interviews trying to break into the corporate world, I probably treated them exactly like that. But going through the hiring process from the other side of the table, I know now that you’re not just hiring for a role - you’re bringing someone into your team and your culture. That's why at ORRJO, our process has more than one layer and, more importantly, more than one person involved. Everyone gets a say. I genuinely believe it matters that the team feels aligned on who’s joining, not just whoever’s doing the hiring. As we’ve grown, one thing I’m really proud of is how long people stay with us. In a sales and marketing business, that’s rare - and it only happens when there’s mutual commitment on both sides. So when we’re hiring, the question isn’t just “can you do the job?” It’s “can you see yourself here for the long term?” Thanks again for having me on, Matthew - really enjoyed it 🤝

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Over the past few years, working with STEM-based companies across the UK, we’ve made some interesting observations: many regions are on the cusp of something exciting. The East of England is one of them. From agritech and biotechnology to AI infrastructure and creative digital clusters, the region is accelerating - and it’s time to shine a light on it. Things you may have seen recently... ⚡ Loughton AI Supercomputer/Data Centre – set to become one of the UK’s largest AI compute hubs, with thousands of GPUs and huge power capacity. Led by the likes of Nscale (just closed their $1.1b Series B), Microsoft and NVIDIA, infrastructure like this is groundbreaking for the region, and it puts Essex at the centre of frontier tech! 💷 VC momentum – in Q1 2025, startups in the East of England attracted £680m, up from £480m in Q4 2024. The deals were driven by Information Technology (15 deals) and Healthcare (14 deals), which together accounted for 74% of all activity. 🌾 Clusters that combine tradition with innovation – agritech in Norfolk/Suffolk, ICT at Adastral Park, creative clusters in Norwich, fintech/insurtech in Norfolk, AI in Essex. These aren’t just “city centre tech stories” - they are regionally embedded ecosystems. 📈 Real economic value – According to Ambitious Essex Tech 50, in 2023 Essex alone had 5,000+ digital tech and telecoms firms generating over £1.2bn in GVA. This sector isn’t a “nice to have”; it’s already a pillar of the local economy. That’s why we created Future Forward: AI & Deep Tech in the East of England. An event to explore the opportunities ahead, with brilliant partners like Innovate UK East, University of Essex, Oxford Innovation, Blott® and Essex County Council. With over 75 registered, we've only got 5 tickets remaining, so it's really your last chance to register. Hear from the likes of: - Luke Brown, &Element and Merlin Cloud - Stephanie Aldridge, Innovate UK Business Connect - Amrit Sami, Mercia Ventures - Marcus Lewis, Wilkin & Sons Ltd. (Tiptree) - Mike Handley, Polychord Ltd Details 📍 Innovation Centre, Knowledge Gateway, Colchester 📅 Wednesday, October 1st ⏰ 3:30pm – 7pm ✏️ Registration link in the comments Scott-Ashley Whiteley Hannad Hussein Tad Marinic Endrit Pruti Julie Pauley Michael Veasey Sydney Price Stuart Catchpole #innovation #AI #investment

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I was quoted in CityAM a few days ago, in an article based on research from the Helm club alongside Andreas Adamides. Here's what I didn't have room to say. 33% of British founders plan job cuts due to AI. That's the headline, but the stat that should actually be keeping people up at night is that 93% of founders say the workforce isn't prepared for AI. Just 3.5% think it is. Andrea Adamides, CEO of Helm, put it plainly: "AI is forcing business leaders to make some difficult decisions. Many founders are under pressure to move fast, stay competitive, and rethink roles as automation accelerates." That's true, but what it reveals is a cause-and-effect that keeps getting missed: the skills gap isn't a side effect of automation decisions. It's the reason founders make them in the first place. When training feels slow or uncertain, cutting the role looks rational. Faster, more predictable, avoids the messy work of changing how the organisation actually operates. The problem is it leaves the underlying capability gap exactly where it was, just with fewer people to fill it. The companies doing this well aren't choosing between AI and their people, but treating the two as inseparable. The question isn't "what can AI replace?" It's "what could our people do if they actually knew how to use it?" Full article here: https://lnkd.in/g_kRswmE #PracticalAI #AITransformation #FutureOfWork

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Proud to be an ambassador for The Rise Report — one of the largest surveys of female founders in the UK lead by Female Founders Rise and Emmie Faust. The Rise Report is a national initiative responding to something we’ve all felt for a while — the lack of regular, robust data on female entrepreneurship. The last big review (The Rose Review) was over five years ago… and a lot has changed since then. Having built two businesses — a winery in Napa Valley and an insurtech in London — I’ve learned a few things along the way: • Resilience looks different in every industry, but it always comes down to finding a way forward when there isn’t a clear playbook. • Networks and data both matter — community gives us the confidence to keep going, and data gives us the credibility to drive change. For me, this work is about more than celebrating our stories. It’s about building a clear, data-driven picture of women’s entrepreneurship in the UK — something we can use to track progress and push for real change. If you’re a woman running a business, your experience matters. Add your voice and help shape the future of female entrepreneurship — founders of all stages, sizes, and sectors are welcome. 👉 Last chance to get involved: https://lnkd.in/dbDaTajh #FemaleFoundersRise #TheRiseReport

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Such a blast recording pod with Timothy Armoo yesterday, so many nuggets in this one for folk who are building, considering building or thinking about exits. My favourite? How the best businesses are built around what Timo calls "The Expertise Gap". A simple concept but deeply consequential. Think about the world of software development, for example. Till now you'd have paid a dev agency (or hired a team) to build any kind of software. And they could charge a fair whack for their expertise because you lacked the time, desire or interest (all of which build into expertise) to learn how to do it yourself. That game has shifted. Collapsed even. Because now the only expertise you need is how to describe a problem and the outcome you want and (with a bit of to and fro to figure out the detail) and with the right app and some tokens you've just compressed not only the cost to build, but the time to build too. Watch out for this episode of Nothing Ventured over the coming weeks - it's a gem 🔥

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I’m bringing back Bubble app teardowns. A lot of founders have a feeling that something is off with their Bubble app or development process, but can’t quite put their finger on it. Maybe bugs keep getting introduced, or the app feels slow, or it's just not nice to use. So they keep going and hope it gets better. If that’s been you for a few months, send me your app and what you're struggling with. I’ll record a short video walking through what I notice, what might be causing the problems, and what I’d probably do next if I were you. It’s free. Link in comments.

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Yesterday my co-founder and COO, Eleanor Tang-Smith, said: “We need a pick-and-place demo for the Anthropy UK summit.” I replied: “Give me 20 minutes.” I didn’t need to call a roboticist. I opened OLO’s SDK Playground, described the behaviour in plain English using the built-in AI assistant, and let it generate the script. Twenty minutes later we had a working pick-and-place demo running on a real robot — something we can now refine and build on. This is the shift happening in robotics. Instead of weeks of specialist work, developers can start creating robot behaviours in minutes. If you’re curious, you can try it yourself. We’ve opened the OLO Robotics beta — free to use with our cloud simulation platform or real ROS2 robots.

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A big day yesterday as Mistral made its FIRST acquisition, and UK startups stacked three £30m+ rounds. 💰 Also making headlines: Funding rounds: 🔥 mea, from Martin Henley, raised €42.2m 🔥 SatVu, from Anthony Baker and Tobias Reinicke, raised €34m 🔥 FYLD, from Shelley Copsey, Karl Simons OBE and Anish Patel, raised £32m Series B 🔥 SurrealDB, from Jaime Morgan Hitchcock and Tobie Morgan Hitchcock, raised €19m Series A extension 🔥 Axmed, from Emmanuel Akpakwu, secured a €5m non-dilutive grant + even more rounds from nuuEnergy, Paket Mutfak, Toyo, NANDO, The Bland Company, VoiceMed and Klaris Fund news: 💰 Emerald Technology Ventures partnered with DIC Corporation on a €52m Physical AI platform cc Gina Domanig 💰 British Business Bank committed up to £45m to Redrice Ventures’ £75m Fund II cc Tom March M&A: 🤝 Koyeb was acquired by Mistral AI cc Yann Leger, Edouard Bonlieu and Bastien Chatelard Podcasts: 🎧 Scaling Europe podcast featured Euan Blair, Multiverse 🎧 Scaling Europe podcast featured Ruben Miessen, LEGALFLY 🎧 Scaling Europe podcast featured Jaime Morgan Hitchcock and Tobie Morgan Hitchcock, SurrealDB Stay ahead of European tech news: https://lnkd.in/eS_aPZd3

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Serious Founders Think in Systems, Not Schemes Every day I speak to business owners who ask only one question: “Which scheme will give me funding?” Very few ask the right question: “Is my business actually funding-ready?” Government funding, bank finance, VC money — none of these are random handouts. They are outcomes of preparation. What Funding Authorities Really Look At Not your pitch alone. Not your registration certificate. They evaluate: • Business structure • Financial discipline • Cash flow visibility • Compliance hygiene • Innovation or scalability logic • Execution capability A weak business model fails everywhere — bank, government, or VC. The Harsh Reality 95% founders focus on: • Schemes • Grants • Shortcuts Only 5% focus on: • Structure • Numbers • Documentation • Long-term viability Guess who gets funded? Funding Is a Byproduct When your: • Company is properly incorporated • DPIIT recognition is aligned • Financials make sense • Projections are defendable Funding conversations become easy. My Role as a Consultant I don’t sell schemes. I help founders build fundable businesses. That includes: • Choosing the right funding path • Preparing documents the right way • Avoiding one-time mistakes (tax exemption, seed funds, valuations) • Speaking the language banks and committees understand If you’re looking for real guidance, not false promises, we can talk. 📞 Ankush Verma Aspire Seed Solutions 7014264283 If you’re a founder who thinks long-term, save this post.

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The Psychology of who is important in this relationship Series Case Study: Barclaycard Context: Registering as a new user via Mobile APP Design Issue 1: 🧨 If you need to switch to another tab (for example to look up your new mortgage account 10 digit number) in the App - you have to start all over again when you come back to the open mobile tab page! I did think it was just me - but then I spoke to some friends/contacts - 6 other people told me the same issue. Make me feel like I am in control as a new customer. NO Empowering me as a customer. NO Giving me the impression that the brand is going to be flexible to my needs as a customer moving forward in this relationship. NO Design Issue 2: Registering as a new user via Laptop 💔 Waiting until I have spent 3 minutes completing my customer information before then asking me (as a new to register customer) what my Passcode is. The clue is 'new registrant'. Not having a Passcode of course - the only option I am given is to select 'Forgotten Your Passcode"? um, no not really, but as it's the only option you are giving me, i'll suck up my pride and say its my fault and click 'forgotten passcode'. To then be asked to repeat all my previous customer details. Why - are you deaf - are you not paying attention to me? OK, ok, Do that again, with eyes rolling. To then be asked 'Do you want to generate a new Passcode'. Yes please. Click 'yes'. 'Thank you - your new passcode will be sent to you within 5 working day'. What? WHAT! Made me feel completely irritated as a new customer. HELL YES. Made me feel like the brand is really warm, responsive and clear to me. HELL, NO (didn't even warn me at the start of ALL the things I would need to begin the process or how many minutes of my life I would stand to loose to get nowhere) Make me feel like I am equal or important in this new relationship. ABSOLUTELY NOT. Already make me feel I am regretting getting involved with the brand. OF COURSE Barclays like most banks will talking the talk about Loyalty, Trust and Value. Those are psychological perceived concepts - I don't perceive it you don't get it. If you want to establish good honest, caring and supportive relationships with your customers - then earn it. Just becasue you are a 'big bank' counts for nothing when you waste my time and make me feel stupid. SPEND SOME TIME ASSESSING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF YOUR ONBOARDING DESIGN JOURNEYS I mean, would you hang around for long with people that made you feel silly? #cx #BARCLAYS #CUSTOMERPSYCHOLOGY

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Confidence in growth amongst UK Startups and SMEs has slumped to its lowest level since the pandemic with funding being a major problem.  Most cannot get a loan without providing security. Over 70% say that a past rejection has deterred them from applying for finance again. Over 90% applications for grants and investment by innovative startups are rejected and London’s role as the "FinTech Capital of Europe" is at risk as startups relocate to the USA, Dubai and other financial centres. It’s not just problem with funding, however. The right type of business support is also lacking. According to London & Partners, 54% SMEs are operating without a business plan. 46% launch without conducting any market research. No wonder over 70% SMEs fail within 5 years. We need a revamp of support services, notably the Growth Hubs, with a focus on business fundamentals to help startups/SMEs identify their weaknesses and how to rectify them. In turn, that will help them become better prepared for funding. The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology Coalition is a great step forward to tackle the credit gap. However, we also need to bring innovative startups/SMEs, InnovateUK, VCs and Angel investors together to find ways to improve the quality of applications and standardise the assessment processes for grants and investment. With input from “both sides of the table”, the challenges facing applicants and funders can, and must be, overcome! https://lnkd.in/eTecugGs

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Excellent piece in the Financial Times by Nigel Toon and coincidentally I discussed the same topic earlier this week with one of the angel investors. The UK has a founder-operator gap inside the VC industry. VC in the US grew out of founders. VC in the UK grew out of finance. In Silicon Valley, most top funds are dominated by former founders, operators, product leaders: people who’ve actually built global companies. In the UK, that figure is closer to 20%. So will this change? I think it has to. If the UK wants to lead globally in AI (and beyond), we don’t just need more capital. We need a new base of VCs, the ones built by founders, for founders. The talent is here. The experience is building. The next decade could define a new UK operator-led VC class: if founders decide to build the ecosystem they wish they had. And when I eventually exit Kiokai, I plan to dedicate myself to helping build exactly this kind of ecosystem.

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The easiest way you can build visibility is by documenting the problem you solve. I sent a newsletter yesterday where I discussed in detail how you can build visibility by documenting the problems you solve. Read now: https://lnkd.in/ets6rVVQ #visibility #personalbranding

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We keep talking about skills. But the real shift is deeper than that. It’s capability. Across the UK, the signals are already there. ONS data shows over 2.8 million people are economically inactive due to long-term sickness. Productivity has barely moved in over a decade. In Wales, output per hour still sits well below the UK average. At the same time, employers report the same pattern again and again. Not just skills gaps. Gaps in adaptability, judgement, resilience, communication. That’s not a training issue. That’s capability. And it’s starting to define economic performance. Because the nature of work is changing. AI is handling more routine tasks. Information is abundant. Change is constant. So value shifts. Away from what you know. Toward how you think, how you adapt, how you work with others under pressure. The countries that recognise this early will move ahead. Those that stay focused on credentials alone will fall behind. This is where the UK now sits. We’ve built a system that measures attainment. But we’ve underinvested in the capabilities that sit beneath it. Attention. Emotional regulation. Cognitive flexibility. Judgement. Cooperation. These are not soft ideas. They are economic drivers. And they are largely invisible in the way we measure people today. If we want growth, this is where the focus has to move. Not just skills. Capability. DeepLearn Human Science #humancapability Tim Bleszynski Martin McHugh Sam Markey Julia Hobsbawm OBE Sophie Howe Wales Week / London Dan Langford OBE kellie beirne Gemma Casey Business News Wales Volker Hirsch Dimo Dimov Louise Bright

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Building a startup is often a process of learning, adapting and improving. Recently we received a response regarding our Advance Assurance application under the UK’s SEIS/EIS schemes for Ivawil Ltd. The feedback was clear: before the application can be reviewed further, we need to demonstrate engagement with potential investors or investment platforms. This is actually a valuable step in the process. It encourages founders to start real conversations with investors early and validate that the concept can attract interest. Over the past weeks I’ve been doing exactly that connecting with professionals across the sports and investment ecosystem to share the vision behind Ivawil Ltd. The goal remains the same: to build a structured investment model that supports the development of high-potential tennis players and removes the financial barriers that often limit talented athletes. If you are an investor interested in early-stage opportunities in the sports sector, I would be happy to connect and share more about what we are building. #SEIS #EIS #SportsInvestment #Startups #Tennis

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Most UK SMEs are sleepwalking into an AI disaster. They think they’re “doing AI” because they’ve bought a chatbot, run a workshop, or drafted an AI policy. But that isn’t transformation — it’s theatre. And theatre is expensive. Here’s the scary part: AI theatre doesn’t just waste money. It creates a false sense of progress that blocks the real work — redesigning processes, rebuilding data foundations, and rethinking how the business actually operates. The risk isn’t falling behind. It’s institutionalising mediocrity. Almost every SME I speak to has automation potential that could remove 20–40% of operational drag. Instead, they’re polishing PowerPoints and experimenting with tools that will never touch the core system. AI will not save your business. Systems will. AI just amplifies whatever system you already have — good or bad. So, if you’re running AI on top of chaos, expect amplified chaos. #AI #Panamorphix

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If you're looking to understand more about the grant funding landscape, along with how AI can help you in this process, checkout this conversation I had with Andrew Gaule from Aimava Ltd. ✅ Here are some of the questions I answer: 1. What is going on in the market? Recap of live competitions, industry updates etc.  2. What is coming up? What will Innovate UK, EIC, UKRI be funding moving forward? 3. What do they typically look for? Eligibility, evaluation criteria  4. How to improve your chances? Can AI play a role? Is it worth using humans? #grantfunding #ai #innovateuk #funding #startups

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Some UK cities are quietly outperforming their funding levels doing more with less. When we built the Built in Notts Index we compared over 20 tech cities using the same metrics. 💸 Innovate UK funding 🚀 Startup creation rates 🎓 Graduate talent pipeline 📈 Survival and growth data And the pattern was clear it’s not just about money. Cities like Coventry, Sheffield and York are producing strong innovation outcomes with less funding per startup than the UK average. The challenge and the opportunity is how we turn that efficiency into visibility and investment. You can explore the full rankings and insights here: https://lnkd.in/erhAisGJ If you work in one of these cities I’d love to hear what’s driving the ecosystem forward where you are. #UKTech #Innovation #Research #Startups

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👀 Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: AI and job displacement. There’s a lot of fear that AI will replace jobs, and in some cases, that fear feels justified. But here’s what actually happens in many UK SMEs adopting AI right now: 💡 AI doesn’t replace people. It replaces tasks. The repetitive, time-sucking stuff - chasing invoices, manually scheduling posts, copying and pasting data between platforms - that’s what AI automates. 🔄 So what does this free up? 💬 Customer-facing staff can focus on building stronger relationships 🎯 Marketers can spend more time crafting compelling campaigns 🧠 Managers can act strategically rather than reactively 📌 Real-world examples: Cera Care uses AI to predict patient risks, letting carers focus on people, not paperwork - and they've reduced hospitalisations by 70%. Must Have Ideas launched an AI-powered TV shopping channel, automating production while their team focuses on creative merchandising. The most successful SMEs aren’t cutting staff - they’re supercharging them. 👉 AI isn’t here to replace us. It’s here to give us back the time to do the work only humans can do. Are you wanting this shift in your business too? Intrinsic Automations #AI #SMEs #FutureOfWork #AIinBusiness #Automation #Leadership #Productivity #HumanCentredAI

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