Do female founders face higher scrutiny? 🗣️ Stolen ideas 😰 Latest small business insights 📊

Why we need to protect our work, our hearts and our reputations

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This week was brought to you by the letters I and P. Intellectual property and protecting it may not be the top of the list when you’re in the thick of start-up excitement. But take it from us, it should be.

We spoke to jeweller Rebekah Oakes, who wondered why traffic to her website had stopped. Then she found a competitor had scraped her words and the very ethos of her philosophy and brand and loaded it up on their site. We’ve consulted our lawyers - read about it here.

We’ve had it in drafts for weeks. Should we publish it? Yes, we have. When female entrepreneur Grace Beverley’s company Tala hit the headlines because her massive company had made a small loss, many asked why the fact that turnover had been boosted by 19% in a tricky year was not the real story. Is it because she’s a woman, they cried. We looked into it.

We're looking for advisers who can host a Lunch and Learn session, or add written content to the platform that can support small businesses with networking and how to successfully network. If that is you, please submit your ideas here.

And finally, do you work with your significant other? We spoke to some couples who love living and working together in the season of lurve.

Check out the latest small business insights from the platform.

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