Tech City UK has announced the 33 businesses and rising stars of technology taking part in its second ever Upscale series.
Launched last year, Upscale 2017 is a six-month programme aimed at helping some of the UK’s most exciting digital firms and start-ups to begin their scaling journey.
They will benefit from the mentorship of some of the UK’s most successful tech entrepreneurs including Candy Crush founder Riccardo Zacconi, LastMinute.com founders Martha Lane Fox and Brent Hoberman, and Lesley Eccles of FanDuel.
The list represents a wide spread of sectors and reflects the UK’s strength in certain areas. But London companies make up its majority, with just seven based elsewhere in the UK.
These include Cambridge Intelligence (Cambridge), Cronofy (Nottingham), LivingLens (Liverpool) and DueCourse (Manchester).
This year’s Tech Nation 2017 report will reveal the full contribution of the UK’s digital and tech sector to the economy.
App & Software Development: Curve, Goodlord
FinTech: Trussle, DueCourse, Monzo, Pockit, Moneyfarm
Data & Analytics: Streetbees, Signal Media, LivingLens, Cambridge Intelligence
Digital Advertising & Marketing: StoryStream
Digital Entertainment: Mixcloud, Boiler Room
eCommerce & Marketplace: Wolf & Badger, Paddle, Urban Massage, Trouva
EdTech: Firefly Learning, Mastered, pi-top
Enterprise Software & Cloud Computing: Cronofy, GeoSpock, Grabyo, everyLIFE Technologies
Internet of Things & Connected Devices: Chargifi, Elvie, Bulb
HealthTech & biology: Echo, Live Better With
SaaS: Poq, CharlieHR
Hardware & Devices: Blaze
Jos Smart, Upscale programme lead, said: “One of the objectives of Tech City UK is to accelerate the growth of the country’s digital tech sector.
“The companies joining Upscale today have already overcome significant hurdles and have brilliant futures ahead.
“It’s great to see so many sectors represented in the cohort, demonstrating the great diversity this country has when it comes to digital technology.
“We’re excited to work closely with the founders and C-suite of each company over the next six months as they scale their respective businesses to the next level.
“It’s particularly great to see four fantastic female founders – Tania Boler, Tamara Rajah, Tugce Bulut and Emily Brooke – amongst the new intake but the industry needs to work harder to make sure that women are getting to senior roles in the sector.
“There are many successful women in tech and we must promote these role models and inspire more girls to consider tech as a job where they can build an amazing, global career that can change people’s lives.”
Upscale 2017 in numbers:
Average number of employees is 31
Average funding raised: $4.1 million
Average revenues per year: just over $1 million
Average company age: 4 years old
Business to Business companies: 42%
Companies addressing both consumer/ business markets: 39%
Consumer facing companies: 18%
Eileen Burbidge, chair of Tech City UK, said: “We welcome the next cohort to our Upscale programme.
“They can be confident that some of the most experienced, brightest minds in the tech ecosystem will be helping them to build their business over the coming year.
“We would like to thank all our partners and supporters who have helped to put together the programme and make it what it is by devoting time and effort to coaching and mentoring these young businesses.”
FULL LIST OF COMPANIES:
Blaze – urban mobility brand providing technology for bike sharing schemes and consumer cyclists globally
Boiler Room – online music broadcaster of live events. Six years old, it has now hosted shows in 100 cities worldwide
Bulb – an online renewable gas and electricity supplier, competing with the likes of British Gas and NPower
Cambridge Intelligence – an artificial intelligence company that helps companies see patterns and insights in their data
Chargifi – Chargifi supplies networked, wireless power to public venues like coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, sporting arenas, offices and transport hubs
CharlieHR – a free HR platform for small companies
Cronofy – calendar connectivity for enterprise applications
Curve – allows you to combine all your credit cards into one Curve card and link with an app to monitor your spending
DueCourse – online invoice factoring business
Echo – an app that takes the pain out of repeat prescriptions
Elvie – a company that focuses on women’s wellness with wearable tech
everyLIFE Technologies – provides a mobile platform for managing social care in real time, working with the NHS and social care providers
Firefly Learning – online tool for teachers, parents and schools to monitor pupils’ progress at school
GeoSpock – database technology that enables extreme-scale, real-time geo-spatial and multi-dimensional big data applications
Goodlord – end to end digital platform allowing letting agents, tenants and landlords to complete a rental transaction
Grabyo – Edit, publish and share video across mobile devices
Live Better With – community and marketplace for products for people living with cancer
LivingLens – allows companies to search hours of market research video by key word
Mastered – online courses for fashion professionals
Mixcloud – audio streaming service that allows users to listen to radio from all over the world
Moneyfarm – online wealth manager whose investors include Allianz, one of the world’s largest insurers
Monzo – one of a new breed of challenger banks. The mobile banking app receives its banking licence this year
Paddle – provides e-commerce and digital infrastructure for software businesses
pi-top – provides DIY laptop and desktop products for STEM education
Pockit – banking startup aimed at those excluded from mainstream banking
Poq – app commerce solution for major retailers
Signal Media – Artificial Intelligence-powered new monitoring
StoryStream – Live storytelling for brands: content curation and publishing
Streetbees – market research insights from around the world, collected through artificial intelligence and geo-location
Trouva – curated online shopping from 150 independent boutiques
Trussle – the online mortgage adviser, built upon a database of thousands of mortgage products
Urban Massage – booking massage online
Wolf & Badger – global online marketplace for independent brands