Ten Successful UK Companies Share The Secret To Getting Your Business Off The Ground In 2025: Spoiler– It's All About AI

Launching a business in 2025 can seem incredibly daunting for entrepreneurs navigating a post-pandemic economy and constantly evolving market.

With AI and digital technologies becoming a strong presence in everyday life, businesses are also forced to consider how they fit into building their brand.

In exclusive interviews with IBT UK, 10 businesses shared their best tips for growing a company in 2025, including how to optimise your business using AI, stand out from the crowd, and build your initial team.

Don't Avoid AI–Utilise It

AI was the talk of the town amongst businesses when it came to advice for aspiring startups.

'Jump on AI,' said Marvin, a business professional from broadband company BT. 'That's the main thing, because AI is growing faster than ever.'

Professionals from other companies agreed.

Matt, the partner lead of a team at Octopus Energy said AI saves him 'a heck of a lot of time' when analysing spreadsheets. 'I use it [AI] on a day-to-day basis. It's unbelievable for making tasks that seem like they're going to take ages feel a lot quicker.'

CEO of AI business assistant Ask Gloria, Callum explained that AI centralises everything, saving time for both employees and CEOs. 'As opposed to going to find files in your systems or how your sales have done, how many calls you've done, you can just simply ask the AI. It goes and gets it for you and then gives you the absolute correct answer,' he said.

Rather than employees asking him questions, they can use AI to find sales data and financial data via the click of a button.

Jane, head of marketing at commercial printer Solopress spoke similarly of AI, comparing it to having a 'giant assistant.'

'You are the whole business in one person. That AI suite can really help you because you don't have someone doing full time doing content, you don't have someone full time doing marketing, you don't have someone full time doing finance,' she said.

'You can use it to get yourself to a point where you can scale up. So I think it's invaluable.'

The overall consensus was that AI can save entrepreneurs time, money, and resources. In 2025, it seems ridiculous for startups to ignore it.

Establish Your USP

Some businesses stressed the importance of standing out from the crowd when building a business.

'The number of businesses that when you actually ask them "what's your USP [unique selling point]" they don't know,' said Keith, managing director of Ensurety, a company that provides GDPR [general data protection regulation] training.

'Have a unique feature,' he said in his advice to emerging businesses. 'Be unique, be you.'

Even if your product already exists, it's important to think about what makes it stand out from the rest.

'You've really got to understand your USP as a business, because otherwise there's no way of differentiating yourself from your competitors,' explained Nikki, the engagement manager for barcode company GS1.

Be Careful With Your Finances

How you handle your financial system from the start can mean the difference between your company thriving or diving.

'Inflow of cash into a business is really the most important aspect,' said Gavin, credit and collections director at Sterling Outsourcing.

Gavin encouraged new companies to seek expert advice to help them ensure they have the right financial infrastructure, as well as putting enough time and effort into how their collection process is functioning and how they'll get their money in.

'Making sure you've got people to look after that process for you or experts is key,' he emphasised.

Caroline, a solutions consultant for software company, Sage, also highlighted how establishing a good financial system from the get-go can help entrepreneurs make fast decisions and scale their business quickly.

'There's nothing worse when you speak to a large company that's using Excel and then not able to track what's happening in different areas,' she said.

She elaborated, 'They can't track where their spend is and then that's where they're going to fall over and not realise how much money they've spent in places that they might not need to.'

Choose Your Team Wisely And Treat Them Well

Professionals from successful UK businesses spoke about how entrepreneurs should go about building their initial team of workers.

Taking care of your employees is essential, businesses agree.

'It's really easy to put a load of pressure on your staff, especially when you're growing a business,' said Rosie, CEO of Modern Woman, a female-led business network and events company.

Rosie explained that CEOs need to pay attention to mental health and wellness in the workplace. 'You need to make your employees want to work with you and invest in your vision.'

'The more invested they are, the longer they should stay with you and that's how you can be a more sustainable team as well. That's really important,' she said.

Callum, CEO of Gloria AI also brought up how employees aren't likely to have the same passion for the company as the CEO.

'Obviously, it's not their business, so they're not going to care as much,' he told IBT UK.

'Make sure your team's got the sort of same work ethic as you,' was his advice to entrepreneurs looking to hire their first employees.

Like Rosie, he believes it's important to take care of your staff. 'Make sure they're rewarded for their efforts if they sort of dig in,' he said.

Fail Fast And Get Back Up

Finally, the CEO and founder of business intelligence platform Data Gardener stressed the importance of knowing when an idea or startup isn't working.

'Fail fast,' Tarun said. 'Move on. If one thing is not working, just get on to another one. If you try to stick to it, it takes all your resources and time, which is very important.'

Whether you're a CEO trying to grow your business or an entrepreneur in the ideas phase for a new product, these 10 Business professionals make it clear that the key to building a successful business in 2025 is utilising AI, knowing your USP, establishing a good financial system and team from the get-go, and knowing when an idea isn't working.