By Mike Laven, CEO, The Currency Cloud

If ‘FinTech’ is one of technology’s hottest sectors today, then international payments must surely be the hottest niche, at least if we’re judging by level of investor activity. This year in London alone, remittance players WorldRemit and Azimo scooped $40m and $10m in Series A rounds respectively, peer-to-peer hedging firm Kantox took €6.5m, while my own firm The Currency Cloud has just raised $10m in a Series B.

So why are tech entrepreneurs rushing to innovate in international payments, money transfer and foreign exchange? Well, one interpretation is that the retail international payments market is finally beginning to follow the lead of the capital markets.

The European start-up scene is thriving, full of bright young things trying to turn innovative ideas into real businesses.

But, increasingly I’m starting to feel that things are getting out of kilter: the start-up scene seems to have become more important than the actual building of successful businesses. There’s a fascination in being immersed in the start-up culture – people want to see and be seen – and this is getting in the way of actual work.

As part of our philosophy to make our fast growing Silicon Roundabout platform an invaluable resource in the technology ‘ecosystem’ we are delighted to now bring you Monocle Magazines weekly show ‘The Entrepreneurs’. Enjoy!

Non-EU nationals require a permit in order to be able to work in the UK, but otherwise hiring employees is relatively simple.

Employees must be given written confirmation of their basic employment terms, either in a simple document or alternatively (particularly when restrictions on competing activities, non-solicitation and non-dealing are to be imposed) in a detailed agreement.

Foreign companies should be aware that UK employees benefit from many employment rights simply by virtue of being based here, which can have implications for staff seconded from overseas.

Listen this week for an entertaining 30-minute look at the most interesting technology and science stories from the last seven days, with Wired.co.uk’s Olivia Solon, Katie Collins and Liat Clark.

This week:

Top stories
1) Microsoft has a new CEO
2) David Cameron: I don’t think Snowden’s had a big public impact
3) GCHQ targeting anonymous in DDOS attack
4) Creepy AI will talk to your loved ones after you die

Patience is a virtue, or so the saying goes… It’s not always a virtue though, if you’re a venture capitalist. VC investors are having to wait longer and longer before exiting their portfolio companies, according to research carried out by Dow Jones Venture Source.

A growing number of venture-backed tech firms are finding they need to develop their business models further before an attractive exit is possible; which all takes time.

In the past, business angel and venture capital funds would buy and hold investments until the final exit, be it a trade sale, an IPO or liquidation.

Listen this week for an entertaining 30-minute look at the most interesting technology and science stories from the last seven days, with Wired.co.uk’s Nate Lanxon, Olivia Solon and Liat Clark.

This week:

Top stories
1) Forcing ISPs to block The Pirate Bay is ineffective, rules Dutch court
2) Do you feel immortal? Chances are you did when you were born
3) GCHQ spied on Facebook and YouTube in real time to check for trends

Maxim Berglund
Co-founder of StreetHub
www.streethub.com

We hope for another great year for London startups in 2014!

Technology is becoming increasingly location aware on a very granular level. Mobile phones are the perfect technology for location services and so we don’t see the trends for mobile-first or mobile-only startups slowing down any time soon. As more data layers are added on top of the physical world, it is opening up for startups to create solutions to many day-to-day location specific problems. We think this will lead to more disruptive startups in the hyperlocal arena emerging, hopefully many of them in London!