Meet the Rising Stars semi-finalists: the Midlands’ top three early-stage companies
4 min read
Midlands
Discover events, stories and useful resources in your local tech cluster
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Our Entrepreneur Engagement Managers (EEMs) are helping to build a national network of ambitious tech entrepreneurs.
I’m Naomi Watts, your EEM on the ground in the Midlands.
Having helped more than 150 digital tech businesses through incubation, connections, events and mentoring, I understand and actively promote the importance of collaboration and peer learning to take startups to the next level.
This page is your directory to help you find the best resources available in the region. Contact me for help with plugging into our UK-wide entrepreneur network, applying for Tech Nation’s growth programmes, and everything inbetween.
Midlands in stats
For all the latest data and insights from the Midlands, check out Data Commons – West Midlands & East Midlands. View the latest resources from the UK Government that can help your business, here.
7.74Digital tech turnover (£bn)
20,420Digital tech business count
117,000Employment in digital tech
229Digital tech productivity per worker (£000s)
Also check out: Scotland | North East | North West | Northern Ireland | Midlands | Wales | East of England | South West | South East | London
Latest insights from the region
In the press
Community voices
Hear from ecosystem leaders
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Opportunities in Birmingham?
The largest city in the UK after London has woken up. Inward investment and huge infrastructure projects (including the two HS2 sites in the region) – set alongside projects like the 5G testbeds and the Commonwealth Games, and the fact that Birmingham is the youngest city in Europe, with under 25s accounting for nearly 40% of the citizenship – means that with a new dose of confidence the city is thriving.
Challenges?
A major current challenge is one of perception. The quality of life in Birmingham is high, disposable income is higher than in most cities in the UK and the cultural scene in the city is booming. But we need this not to come as a surprise to those arriving at New Street Station or driving into the city from Spaghetti Junction.
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Opportunities in Malvern & Worcester?
Increased levels of investment and supporting more tech startups and scaleups will create wider devtech opportunities here. The security tech sector has historically been the bedrock of ‘Cyber Valley’ and, as the pace of digital dependence increases, there is a need for wider emerging solutions in AI, IoT, Security By Design and Machine Learning across manufacturing, production technologies, social care and many diverse societal applications.
Challenges?
One lies in convincing skilled and graduate talent that Worcestershire really has increasing (and exciting) tech opportunities, new transport links, and state-of-the-art technology creation environments. Another is building and creating enough business premises designed for rapidly developing tech companies, which is being addressed in Worcestershire’s Vision for 2040.
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Opportunities in Nottingham?
One of the most exciting prospects for the city’s tech community is the development of the Nottingham Cross-Reality (XRI) Centre which will further enhance the city’s VR/AR cluster. XRI will be a collaboration between the public sector, local universities and tech community and will see the creation of a dedicated tech hub and business support programme to develop a high-quality ecosystem for startups and entrepreneurs in the VR/AR sector.
Challenges?
As with a lot of cities in the UK, a tightening in the local talent pool is one of the main challenges for the tech community. We’re seeing some great initiatives by groups such as Tech Nottingham to raise the profile of the employment opportunities in the city and help retain grads. Another is the Tech 1000 programme, a public/private sector initiative which is looking at developing the next generation of tech talent in the city.
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Opportunities in Leicester?
There is a concerted push across the city to help new innovative and scalable businesses. New opportunities in Leicester include more flexible workspaces for early-stage and maturing tech businesses, complementing some excellent follow-on facilities across the city. Exciting events in the pipeline will focus on exploring tech to enable social innovation, and finding and supporting female tech entrepreneurs.
Challenges?
The main current challenge is getting a critical mass of entrepreneurs aware of each other and helping each other out on a “give first” basis. The numbers are there but we are working on bringing more entrepreneurs together and getting the word out about what help is available. Leicester is filled with bright people working on game-changing innovations so we’re excited about the potential of bringing more of them together to create new tech businesses.
Case studies
These companies are championing the region
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Titania is a software development company – we are world leaders in intelligent configuration analysis and cybersecurity auditing software.
Why Worcester?
Worcester is our home town; it’s a vibrant thriving city, full of history and culture with fantastic lifestyle opportunities. It’s also centrally placed for engagement with multiple research Universities and is in the heart of “Cyber Valley”. (Cyber Valley is area recognised as one of the primary locations in the UK for the research, development, and commercialisation of cybersecurity products and services.)
National and international focus
Titania supports both local and national cybersecurity initiatives, but our clients are global, with over 90% of our business being overseas. Our clients are large enterprises and organisations that have to comply with strict industry or government regulations. Our largest market is America where clients include the Army; Navy; Air Force; and Marines; over 37 Federal Agencies; global Banks and critical national infrastructure bodies.
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XPO is an app that allows micro-brands to securely pay Instagram influencers with ease.
Why Leicester?
Most would say London is the place to be when building your startup. However, studying at Uni of Leicester let me appreciate the silent bliss. Away from the hustle and bustle of London, in Leicester, you actually have the time to think things through and I personally believe it’s been better for my mental well-being.
National and international focus
Influencer marketing isn’t something that can be confined to geolocation; however, it has always been a goal of mine to run programs for university students who are interested in tech. We want to be the industry standard payment solution for influencer marketing in the UK through our automated solution, enabling SMEs to compete on a level playing field with global brands. We have plans to expand to India as the market and population size would support our business model. Our end goal looks to potential acquisitions from a bigger media company – preferably Instagram themselves!
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LoyalFree is a multi-award-winning innovative mobile phone app which promotes digital loyalty schemes, offers, and interactive trails.
Why Leicester?
Leicester is our hometown and perfectly placed in the middle of the country, and it has a well-connected train line, allowing us to easily travel around the country in line with the demands of our business. It also provides an affordable location for running a business and is rich with a budding local community of other tech startups.
National and international focus
As a business, we have already expanded our work across, and outside of, the East Midlands. We work across the breadth of the country – from Southampton to the Lake District. Current plans include more expansion across the UK as well as international opportunities with place management bodies outside of the UK. We are currently visiting Japan to share our work at the World Towns Leadership Summit and understand the international scope for the growth of the business.
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ENSEK is an enterprise SaaS platform for the energy supply market, enabling retail energy companies to operate in the market and provide better customer experience through modern technology and the power of data.
Why Nottingham?
Nottingham is our home, providing a really strong talent pool for us as the business grows. The region possesses excellent technology and energy credentials, with leading universities. It’s also centrally located for our nationwide client base.
National and international focus
Our clients operate throughout the UK and are made up of many large household names along with a number of smaller new challengers to the market. We are assessing opportunities for international expansion and will be looking to enter our first non-UK market next year.
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Deep Branch Biotechnology transform the polluters of today into the producers of tomorrow.
Why Nottingham?
In many ways, Nottingham really is home for Deep Branch Biotechnology. The University of Nottingham’s Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SBRC), where we met while completing our PhDs, and BioCity, the incubator and accelerator that helped shape the business in its formative days, are both based here. There’s a real buzz around biotech in Nottingham at the moment, with a diverse range of companies taking on some of the world’s biggest challenges.
National and international focus
We’re an international team and this is reflected in our outlook. We love Nottingham as a city and our connection with the SBRC will mean we’ll always have a base here. However, to be true to our mantra of making the biggest positive difference in the smallest possible timeframe, we need to operate internationally. Currently, we’re in the process of finding the best landing spot for our first commercial production facility. There are multiple factors that will ultimately determine where this will be and we’ve had some really interesting approaches from all over Europe and the US.
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Hyve is a Customer Advocacy Platform (using a SaaS model) that turns happy customers into advocates that spread positive word of mouth, generate ideas, help with marketing and deliver support to other customers.
Why Birmingham?
Birmingham is a fantastic and diverse city full of incredible talent, which has made it the ideal location to start a business. Its burgeoning tech scene allows us to collaborate with likeminded businesses and people who share our vision. I believe that Birmingham will be seen as the tech capital of the UK and we want to be a big part of that when it happens.
National and international focus
Our aspirations are to have offices around the world, specifically in Europe, the US and APAC where we see a huge opportunity for growth. We are already building partnerships in these regions so that when we are ready we can quickly build on these foundations. We are also looking to expand in the UK and would ideally have people operating in London, Manchester and Scotland.
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The CyberQ Group is a UK-based cyber innovator delivering world-class cyber innovation, services, and consultancy.
Why Birmingham?
Birmingham has become fertile ground for more than iron and steel. It is a powerhouse of innovation and is currently the most robust economy outside London. Birmingham has begun to establish itself as a thriving technology hub known as ‘Silicon Canal’ or ‘TechBrum’ among the city’s technology entrepreneurs. Its variety of tech-friendly workspaces, a rich mix of investors and tech specialists make the city the UK’s top region for innovation.
National and international focus
CyberQ Group is a global cybersecurity innovator with capabilities in the UK, Australia, India, South Africa, and the Philippines. Locally, we partner with Birmingham-based businesses such as Birmingham Hospital Saturday Fund (BHSF) and Probrand. Nationally, we partner with Logicalis as well as tap into the US market through partners such as CenterGrid.
Meetups & networks
Research shows that collaborative tech ecosystems with thriving meetup scenes are more likely to succeed.
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Coworking space
Coworking is a more flexible alternative to working out of traditional office space and brings the benefits of being part of a community.
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Skills support
Helping your team brush up on its digital and soft skills can be financially rewarding while reducing reliance on others.
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Finance & investment
Securing finance and raising investment can be vital when it comes to taking your startup to the next level.
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