BAKERINSTITUTE

Running a company is one of the hardest things a person can do. Unless, that is, you run three. In this week’s Speaking of Startups episode, meet serial entrepreneur Ieva Balciute. 

Creator of the sustainable fashion brand Alfa Vega, Senior Vice President at TV production company West One International, and founder of AI company, 93 inc, Balciute’s CV could clothe a village. Not that she’s noticed. “It’s fairly easy to manage”, she tells us.

As you’d expect, Balciute has more than a few tips for time management. While most of us organise our year around the summer holidays, Balciute plans her 12 months around her sales cycles. She’s also an expert in the trendy area of passive income. 

“A lot of the things that we build, because I have experience in tech, are automated,” she tells us. “If I can’t spend as much time as possible on the business, it grows by itself”.

In this way, Balciute is part of the new generation of entrepreneurs borne from modern work trends. She doesn’t work 9 to 5, she says, but anytime she can. She sought meaningful work by founding three firms that connect with her values. And she views good work-life balance as a blend between professional and personal commitments, not the bar between them.

If I travel somewhere to see some friends, I usually will try to meet some clients in that area. And also a lot of my friends are industry friends. That’s why I’m able to spend so much time working, because a lot of the time it doesn’t really feel like work.

Another thoroughly modern move? Balciute’s founder journey began by bootstrapping, an increasingly common route into business for those who don’t have a secret horde of cash to get started (“four months of savings, in London, goes very, very fast”, she winces).

That’s one area where, sadly, attitudes haven’t kept up with the new startup world. Balciute opens up to us about the female funding gap, and the challenges of raising money when just 2% of venture capital funding goes to women-owned enterprises.

Even better than fundraising, she advises, is to start a business while you’re still in your job. But if you don’t want to tell your boss that you’re taking the plunge then, also in the episode, Balciute dives into the secret steps founders can take to get ahead now.

I put myself under an immense amount of pressure. If you have a job or a part-time job, you can do so much, start doing your research and your preparation, now. You can even start working on your website and client list, all while having income.

We hope you enjoy this episode of Speaking of Startups, and be sure to subscribe to ensure you always get the next available episode first.

This episode is hosted by Eloise Skinner, founder of two businesses herself, as well as a published author and contributor to multiple sites, including our own Startups.co.uk, as well as Entrepreneur, Business Insider, and Management Today. You can learn more about Eloise and her own journey at ⁠eloiseskinner.com.

The post Thoroughly Modern Mogul: Ieva Balciute appeared first on Startups.co.uk.

Major banking firm NatWest Group has recently banned its staff from using WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype on company devices.

This comes amid growing concerns around the use of certain communication channels that make it more difficult to retrieve messages.

Energy regulator Ofgem fined Morgan Stanley £5.41 million in 2023 due to traders using WhatsApp on private devices to discuss market transactions, breaching the rules on record-keeping. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also said it was considering further investigations into how bank staff use messaging services.

WhatsApp’s limitations in storing and archiving messages have raised concerns over compliance with industry regulations, particularly in sectors where record-keeping is mandated. 

Still, as it remains a popular communication platform for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), could a complete ban be impractical?

Is WhatsApp Business safe?

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the UK, with 41.4 million people using the platform every month. In the third quarter of 2023, WhatsApp Business was downloaded approximately 1.86 million times.

WhatsApp Business is popular among SMEs for good reason. It can be a useful tool for customer service, as it allows for real-time, two-way communication, making it easier for businesses to respond to customer queries quickly. 

Businesses can also set up automated messages for greetings, FAQs and responses when they’re unavailable. Meanwhile, its end-to-end encryption ensures that conversations are private, which can make customers feel more secure when sharing sensitive information.

But despite its obvious benefits, WhatsApp Business has come under serious criticism for its security practices, particularly after over 100 security flaws were reported in the last two years. 

As the platform allows third-party plugins and integrations, it raises concerns about the risk of unauthorised data access or potential breaches. This means that businesses relying on WhatsApp for customer communications risk exposing sensitive information to security threats, which could damage trust and potentially lead to compliance issues in data protection regulations.

How can I make my WhatsApp Business account safer?

If you use WhatsApp Business for your organisation, there are several ways you can protect your account. This includes:

• Enabling two-step verification: This requires you to set a six-digit PIN that must be entered whenever you register your phone number with WhatsApp again, making it harder for unauthorised users to access your account.
• Limit access to trusted personnel: If you have team members handling customer inquiries, make sure to limit account access to trusted individuals only. Avoid sharing credentials and log out of WhatsApp Web after each session on shared or public computers.
• Regularly monitor linked devices: WhatsApp Web sessions remain open on any device you’ve linked your account to, so you should regularly check for any unknown devices that are connected to your account. Immediately log out of any unfamiliar or suspicious devices.
• Avoid suspicious third-party integrations: While some third-party tools can be useful, they can also risk security vulnerabilities. Only use verified and reputable integrations, preferably those that comply with WhatsApp’s own API and data protection standards.
• Keep the app updated: New security patches are often released with app updates, so make sure to keep your WhatsApp Business app up to date, as regular updates will help protect you against any newly discovered security vulnerabilities.
• Look out for phishing attempts: Scammers may impersonate WhatsApp support or send links that appear legitimate. Avoid clicking on unfamiliar links, sharing personal information or providing your verification code, as this could result in your account becoming hijacked. You can also contact Whatsapp support to check if a message is legitimate or not.
• Encrypt backup: WhatsApp messages may be encrypted end-to-end, but backups aren’t by default. That’s why you should make sure to enable encrypted backups if you store your WhatsApp Business data on cloud services, as this will ensure your messages stay protected, even after a backup.
• Limit sensitive data sharing: Avoid sharing highly sensitive information over WhatsApp, such as financial data or personal identification. Instead, encourage customers to use safer channels such as SMS, chatbots or secure payment gateways for sharing these details, as this will reduce the risk of data exposure.

Data threat risks for SMEs

Data breaches are a significant concern for small businesses and SMEs because they can cause serious damage financially, reputationally and in everyday operations. Over 560,000 new cyber threats are discovered every day, with 81% of all businesses in the UK being classed as small businesses or SMEs. What’s more, only 17% of businesses have carried out cyber security training for staff in the last year.

Small businesses often don’t have the resources to recover quickly from a breach, so if sensitive information, financial records or employee data gets exposed, it can lead to hefty fines, legal costs and the need to fix security systems that were compromised.

Small businesses are often targeted because they might not have the same level of security as big organisations, so hackers can take advantage of weak passwords, outdated software or unprotected devices.

Even seemingly small actions like strong passwords or encrypting data can go a long way in securing sensitive information and maintaining customer trust.

The post Why has NatWest banned WhatsApp (and should you do the same)? appeared first on Startups.co.uk.