Goodbye Sift

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Ian J

Ian J

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Nov 6, 2004
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  • #1
    Start-up and small business intelligence specialist, Business Data Group, has today completed the reacquisition of UK Business Forums (UKBF), the UK’s largest and most active forum for start-up and micro-businesses. This acquisition brings together the UK’s leading authority on company formations and start-up sector business data intelligence with the UK’s largest and most active business forum.

    Over 1,500 posts are submitted to UKBF every week by entrepreneurs, business owners and aspiring company founders. Around 1,200 new members join the site every month actively looking for small business guidance, networking and peer support, and this reacquisition will strengthen and grow opportunities for UK businesses and the economy at this critical time of post-pandemic recovery.

    In 2005, award-winning entrepreneur, Richard Osborne, CEO, Business Data Group, took over the running of UKBF from its founders and successfully grew it from a fledgling 30-strong community to a thriving network of over 200,000 UK entrepreneurs and business owners. Richard went on to sell UKBF to Sift Media in 2007.

    Richard Osborne, CEO, Business Data Group says: “Today marks the beginning of a very exciting new chapter for UK Business Forums and Business Data Group as I return to the helm at UKBF. Uniting and re-energising UKBF, a platform I was instrumental in growing almost twenty years ago, with the strength and influence of my latest company is absolutely exhilarating! The opportunity to once again steer UKBF forward is a challenge I am relishing. The entrepreneurial spirit in the UK is like nowhere else, and Business Data Group is driven by helping UK businesses to grow and prosper. I’m delighted to build on the current strengths of the UKBF community, take it to the next level, and truly help UK small businesses to thrive. UKBF has the potential to be an extraordinarily dynamic forum of expertise and support. I can’t wait to bring Business Data Group’s energy and expertise to the community and nurture the most empowering support network for UK entrepreneurs.”

    Business Data Group has ambitious plans to widen its portfolio of support for UK SMEs over the next five years, and its strategy of building and growing UKBF’s membership to over one million is embedded within this.
     
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    KM-Tiger

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  • #3
    Ian J said:
    In 2005, award-winning entrepreneur, Richard Osborne, CEO, Business Data Group, took over the running of UKBF from its founders and successfully grew it from a fledgling 30-strong community to a thriving network of over 200,000 UK entrepreneurs and business owners. Richard went on to sell UKBF to Sift Media in 2007.
    Click to expand...
    Are you sure of that chronology?

    I joined in 2003 and I'm sure Ozzy was running things then.

    Anyway it's great he is back.
     
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    Ozzy

    Ozzy

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  • #7
    Ian J said:
    I'm guessing that Richard wrote the press release that I copied and pasted
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    I did indeed :).
    Looks like you beat me to it though because today is still sorting out technology and tomorrow is training on this software.
    KM-Tiger said:
    Are you sure of that chronology?
    I joined in 2003 and I'm sure Ozzy was running things then.
    Anyway it's great he is back.
    Click to expand...
    I was running them but I didn't own them then, I was moderating and working on the growth by promoting them to all customers of my then Quick Formations business. Gary then approached me to take them over entirely as it was me running, growing and pretty much do all.

    Thank you too, it's great to be back - albeit not stopped to breathe yet!
     
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    fisicx

    fisicx

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  • #11
    In fact, dig out the threads from when we switched to XenForo and fix all the things that were reported and requested.
     
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    Ozzy

    Ozzy

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    • Feb 9, 2003
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  • #12
    fisicx said:
    In fact, dig out the threads from when we switched to XenForo and fix all the things that were reported and requested.
    Click to expand...
    Is it possible to fall out with mods on the 1st day? :p
     
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    Ozzy

    Ozzy

    Founder of UKBF
    UKBF Staff
    • Feb 9, 2003
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  • #16
    JEREMY HAWKE said:
    @Ozzy Why did you come with this idea ?
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    I was working from my kitchen, alone, and was feeling very low and alone on my journey. I didn't have any peers to speak to, my friends didn't understand business and from the circles I used to hang in they were not supportive of someone starting their own business, so was drifting into a destructive spiral. I actually was in quite a dark place when I come up with idea.

    I'm from a technical background and was familiar with forums for technical support, so the idea to create something like the technical forums I used to be involved in but for business support of like minded people was born. I did some searching and found a chap called Gary who ran a web design company and was thinking the same. He setup the forums and I started building the membership (as my business was a company formation agent that registered Limited companies for people so I recommended all my clients to join). Eventually I took over ownership of the forums entirely as Gary wanted to move on and I was running them and growing their membership anyway.
     
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    JEREMY HAWKE

    JEREMY HAWKE

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  • #23
    Clinton said:
    I try to do it at least once a day.
    Click to expand...

    You can get away now with more than we used to and this surprises me in this snowflake culture.
     
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    OldWelshGuy

    OldWelshGuy

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    • Jun 12, 2008
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  • #26
    What we will now have is continuity of vision and approach, which when Sift had it was lacking and being blunt was one of the main reasons I drifted away.

    Every few months or a year or so a new community manager would come in, move the goalposts and make moderating a nightmare as everyone had to re-learn what was and what wasn't acceptable, it did more damage than Sift ever knew (or accepted)
     
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    Chris Ashdown

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    • Dec 7, 2003
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  • #29
    OldWelshGuy said:
    What we will now have is continuity of vision and approach, which when Sift had it was lacking and being blunt was one of the main reasons I drifted away.

    Every few months or a year or so a new community manager would come in, move the goalposts and make moderating a nightmare as everyone had to re-learn what was and what wasn't acceptable, it did more damage than Sift ever knew (or accepted)
    Click to expand...

    Bloody hell the Welsh wizard is still alive, I though you had died many years ago
     
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