South West

Discover events, stories and useful resources in your local tech cluster

Our Entrepreneur Engagement Managers (EEMs) are helping to build a national network of ambitious tech entrepreneurs.

I’m Vicky Hunter, your EEM on the ground in the South West.

Having helped foster tech startup communities on a global scale, I’m really excited to dive deep into all the incredible initiatives here in the South West, build valuable connections and see where I can help.

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.

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South West in stats

For more stats on UK tech, discover Tech Nation report 2019

2.44Digital tech turnover (£bn)

13,465Digital tech business count

78,000Employment in digital tech

87Digital tech productivity per worker (£000s)

From the community

Click the headings below to hear from community leaders, read the latest ecosystem developments and view founder case studies

Community Insight ( 1 ) – Community Insight ( 2 )
Developments: Bristol & Bath – Bournemouth – Plymouth – Exeter – Cornwall
Case studies: Bristol & Bath – Bournemouth – Plymouth – Exeter – Cornwall

Bristol & Bath

Monika Radclyffe, director, SETsquared Bristol

Opportunities?

There are emerging clusters around quantum, fintech, healthtech, AI and robotics which we are geared up to support. In addition, there is the growing global attraction of the region as a technical hub, pulling in investment from around the world as well as entrepreneurs to base their business here.

Challenges?

Availability of finance and space to grow have been challenges, but a lot of work has been put in collectively to overcome these, and they are largely resolved. There are other growing pains, however, such as the availability of affordable housing and slick transport. Additionally, we still need more local angel investment activity to seed early-stage innovation.

Bournemouth

Peter Tisdale, CEO of THIS Workspace

Opportunities?

THAT Group is a London-based company but Bournemouth has become the heart of our business. The town is home to a real creative and artistic energy which suits our way of collaborative working. The coastline, sandy beaches, innovative companies, a University town and a proactive Council are just some of the factors that we feel set Bournemouth apart and will continue to be attractive to people when deciding where to build their business.

Challenges?

Like all coastal towns, our location can prove a challenge with a limited catchment area and a relatively higher cost of living. It is vital that dynamic talent is retained and that requires many stakeholders in the town, our company included, to work together to find creative ways of encouraging companies and workforces to the area. Bournemouth should be on the relocation radar – it is a wonderful town with a real buzz and energy.

Plymouth

Ian McFadzen, CEO, Plymouth Science Park

Opportunities in Plymouth?

Plymouth provides a unique combination of a highly skilled graduate workforce, a buoyant community of innovators and entrepreneurs and availability of affordable office/laboratory/manufacturing space. All of the above is supported by a rich research ecosystem, especially in marine.

Challenges?

A key challenge to the city is to ensure our early-stage companies, and those that are established and poised for scaling up, can access a skilled workforce. Investment in our people is the key to driving productivity and enabling high-growth companies to become investor-ready.

Exeter

Liz O’Driscoll, Programme Office – Programme Director, Exeter City Futures

Opportunities in Exeter?

Startups and tech companies in Exeter can access a real-world city test bed to kickstart their innovations and solutions that have the potential to bring about positive social impact, not only in Exeter but scalable for cities across the UK and beyond.

Challenges?

On the 2nd of April 2019 the European Climate Foundation (ECF) launched a city-wide campaign, called ‘Everyone’s Exeter’, focusing on one of the 12 Goals each month over the next year. The campaign will encourage the participation of individuals and businesses in Exeter through small sustainability pledges to help transform the city and address 12 goals including. They include congestion; air pollution; affordable housing; renewable energy and low-carbon travel.

Cornwall

Belinda Waldock, cofounder/codirector, Software Cornwall

Opportunities in Cornwall?

Development of specialist tech solutions in areas including ehealth, spacetech, aerospace, agritech and energy tech are supported in Cornwall through funded support programmes, which is really helping to grow niche tech organisations here in the county.

Challenges?

One of our key challenges is building a diversity of people, skills and jobs within our community, which Software Cornwall is proactively working on through our education programmes. At the same time, we’re aiming to attract global talent to locate here in Cornwall where there is a great work/life balance.

Diversity matters, which is proven by the number of recent initiatives set up to support under-represented communities. The new Breakthrough Bursary, SPARK School and the UK’s first ‘Women in Business Charter’ are just three examples.

More VC money has been raised in Bristol in early 2019 than any other UK city, largely due to Ovo Energy achieving unicorn status with Mitsubishi buying 20% of the company.

The cities’ infrastructure is growing and adapting to the boom in technology business with Nearly 800k square foot of new office space coming to Bristol and Bath. Additionally, LIMINA has set up a dedicated VR arts venue on Bristol’s Harbourside.

Outpost VFX has secured a number of large Hollywood contracts including Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Jason Bourne and Amazon series Jack Ryan. It has grown significantly over the last five years, with its Bournemouth HQ now boasting 150 employees.

The BOMO Season of Arts, Culture and Ideas continues in September/October 2019 showcasing the incredible talent and creative industries thriving in Bournemouth. This collaboration of events focuses on film, startups, sound, visual effects, theatre, music and dance in the city.

The first ever Techstars Startup Weekend Plymouth took place at the end of April, on the theme of Health and Wellbeing, and was a pilot for a series of Startup Weekends which will be delivered by the University over the next three years as part of iMayflower.

City College Plymouth has been given £2million of Government cash to become a cutting-edge technology centre – specialising in the development of robot ships.

5G is launching in Plymouth which will enable entrepreneurs to build on the capabilities and opportunities presented by the technology.

A multi-million-pound bid to revolutionise digital, engineering and manufacturing technology education across the South West has been successful and will result in the new Institute of Technology.

The University of Exeter is to embark upon a £2.5m programme of digital transformation to support its ambitions of becoming one of the UK’s top 10 universities.

Local developer Grenadier has revealed their bold new plans for Paternoster House, on North Street in Exeter City Centre. The former department store, once known as Cornish’s, may become an exciting new Exeter tech hub which will provide local and innovative businesses with a place to thrive.

Software Cornwall announced their Developing Skills For Business Programme which, in collaboration with Cornwall College and funded by ESIF, aims to design and pilot innovative new ways to build skills in Cornwall’s growing Tech sector.

The British Business Bank launched the £40m Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF), aimed at boosting the local economy by providing debt and equity finance to help growing small businesses across the region.

Codices, a Launchpad incubated startup, launched their interactive game show app QuizKit in South Korea, during the massive PlayX4 gaming event.

Plymouth

The first ever Techstars Startup Weekend Plymouth took place at the end of April, on the theme of Health and Wellbeing, and was a pilot for a series of Startup Weekends which will be delivered by the University over the next three years as part of iMayflower.

City College Plymouth has been given £2million of Government cash to become a cutting-edge technology centre – specialising in the development of robot ships.

5G is launching in Plymouth which will enable entrepreneurs to build on the capabilities and opportunities presented by the technology.

Exeter

A multi-million-pound bid to revolutionise digital, engineering and manufacturing technology education across the South West has been successful and will result in the new Institute of Technology.

The University of Exeter is to embark upon a £2.5m programme of digital transformation to support its ambitions of becoming one of the UK’s top 10 universities.

Local developer Grenadier has revealed their bold new plans for Paternoster House, on North Street in Exeter City Centre. The former department store, once known as Cornish’s, may become an exciting new Exeter tech hub which will provide local and innovative businesses with a place to thrive.

Cornwall

Software Cornwall announced their Developing Skills For Business Programme which, in collaboration with Cornwall College and funded by ESIF, aims to design and pilot innovative new ways to build skills in Cornwall’s growing Tech sector.

The British Business Bank launched the £40m Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Investment Fund (CIOSIF), aimed at boosting the local economy by providing debt and equity finance to help growing small businesses across the region.

Codices, a Launchpad incubated startup, launched their interactive game show app QuizKit in South Korea, during the massive PlayX4 gaming event.

Georgia Stewart, cofounder, Tumelo

About Tumelo

Tumelo is an impact investment platform helping retail investors build stock market portfolios aligned with their values, such as environmentalism, gender equality and innovation.

Opportunities in Bristol & Bath?

Bristol is an amazing place to found and run a tech startup, especially if you’re in the business of making a positive impact. There is a bustling tech hub by the station; a tonne of accelerators and incubators offering support; and a vibrant community of friendly tech founders.

National and international focus

We certainly have national aspirations within year one and expect to be scaling internationally by year three at the latest. Our audience is united by a passion to make a positive change on an issue they care about. We’ve found that most people care deeply about something – climate change, plastic, feminism, technology – and passion obviously isn’t restricted to the UK, so our ambitions are global!

James Hadley, cofounder/CEO, Immersive Labs

About Immersive Labs

Immersive Labs are cyber skills experts. We are transforming the way people learn by engaging their curiosity and unleashing their potential with constantly updated content informed by real-world events and threats.

Opportunities in Bristol & Bath?

Bristol is an ideal base for us; the ever-expanding and closely-knit local tech community is something that’s really important to us and we love being a part of. There are also several large universities nearby as well as an impressive talent pool that can accommodate our rapidly growing business – without the London overheads.

Challenges?

The biggest challenge now – and it’s a nice challenge to have – is sustaining our current rate of growth. Talent and office space have historically been issues in Bristol (and the wider SW) as the local economy is growing so quickly. So far we’ve managed to rapidly attract world-class talent and still have a seat for everyone in the office; however, we always have to keep the logistics of expansion at the forefront of our minds!

Nigel Winship, cofounder and CEO, People Matter

About People Matter

At People Matter, we are on a mission to eradicate workplace burn out. We combine cutting-edge behavioural science and AI, delivered through Okina – an engaging, private and personal wellness app – to enhance the human experience of work.

Year founded

2018

Investment raised

£225k

Why Bournemouth?

First and foremost Bournemouth is an amazing place to live and work, fitting perfectly with our culture of work-life balance. There is also a diverse population in the town, access to strong technical skills and an amazing University on our doorstep.

National and international focus

We are currently focussed on establishing People Matter in the emerging UK marketplace for mental health technology solutions. We are looking at US expansion at the end of next year as well as moves to into the B2C market.

Duncan Cook, CEO and founder, 3 Sided Cube

About 3 Sided Cube

At 3 Sided Cube, we have a belief that technology can be used for good. We thrive to help our clients to have a positive social impact using digital products (mobile apps, website, voice, IoT, wearables and other platforms). We want to change millions of lives by building technology that people love and that solves problems. We design and code so that you can change the world.

Year founded

2009

Why Bournemouth?

Ever since the first Tech Nation report was published there has been a huge focus by all the digital businesses, the council, universities and incubators to push even further and that’s reflected in Bournemouth and Poole becoming one of the biggest digital hubs outside of London. The future looks promising with the universities producing high quality, ambitious talent pools, and experienced professionals are coming to the area for opportunities for a better work-life balance while making the most of the coastal culture.

National & international focus

We’ve worked hard to make our location a strength, and the nature of our digital means we are able to build relationships wherever people are based. From our Bournemouth studio, we work with organisations in over 200 countries including The International Federation of The Red Cross and Red Crescent, Lush, Global Forest Watch, RSPB and more.

Craig MacApline, founder and CEO, Expert Insights

About Expert Insights

Expert insights is a leading research platform focused on cybersecurity. With a team made up of industry experts, we meticulously research, rate and review cybersecurity products and services.

Why Plymouth?

Plymouth is a great place for a growing business like Expert Insights to expand, being able to work with talented students and graduates from local universities. In particular, the computer science department from Plymouth University has been key in our growth for establishing our research.

National and international focus?

We are very much an internationally-focused company. There are two parts to our business; firstly, we have our readership audience. They are typically mid-market companies who are researching cybersecurity solutions or they are companies who resell cyber security solutions and are investigating new potential suppliers.

Al Joynes, founder and MD, Do More Design

About Do More Design

Domoredesign.com is an online design platform that creates affordable design assets for UK-wide small businesses and startups. We are a social startup with the ethos of getting design students and recent graduates experience and the tools needed to improve their portfolios. Our aim is to improve new UK designers’ employability and support small, growing businesses.

Why Plymouth?

Plymouth has a wealth of talent, with Plymouth University and Plymouth College of Art. It is comparatively a very cost-effective city to create a startup. There is also a growing underlying startup ethos, which means lots of support from peers, groups and purposely created support organisations.

National and international focus?

While our current target market is small businesses and startups throughout the UK, we do have aims to take the business into other nations in the near future. Thankfully, our business is digital which allows for convenient pivots when the timing and opportunity presents.

Martin Gozo, Growth & Brand, Predina

About Predina

Predina is a deep technology startup founded in December of 2016. We use AI to dynamically predict road collision risks and high-risk areas based on historical collisions and contextual data (such as weather, time of day, traffic flow, etc).

Why Exeter?

Exeter provides many exciting prospects for us being the headquarters of some organisations which offer services that would greatly help us achieve the goals we’ve set for ourselves. Weather is one of the main factors our algorithm pulls from, so being close by to The Met Office is desirable.

What are you working on?

We recently completed the Exeter Velocities programme which was great; their mentorship workshops really helped us gained new insights from experienced industry professionals. At the moment we’re working with Impact Lab to help us enhance our software architecture.

Chloe Uden, founder, Art & Energy

About Art & Energy

Art and Energy CIC is a collective of artists and energy experts who bring together their knowledge and skills to reimagine the way solar panels are made, so we can have new, unique and beautiful energy generation systems for special places and you can get involved in making artworks that generate clean energy and make the world a better place.

Why Exter?

Many things! First, the Exeter City Futures Velocities programme. The startup support programme brings expert advice, coaching, structure, encouragement, space to work and a really useful network of people together to support small companies working towards making the city better for the future. Without heir support, Art and Energy might still be a great idea waiting to happen.

Then there’s the University of Exeter’s students, researchers and academics – the talent at UoE is abundant and the people at the university are interested, imaginative and creative. It helps that they also have one of the best renewable energy programmes in the UK and a wonderfully resourced solar lab. I’m sure that UoE’s important contribution to the IPCC reports, galvanises a positive attitude to the region’s response to the climate emergency.

Other positives include community energy groups, pioneering production company Kaleider, the Fab Lab in Plymouth and the Big Data and Environmental Impact Lab.

National and international focus

We think that we could change the face of renewables, and the heart of renewables too. Our work opens a door to the imagination, allowing people to imagine a more beautiful and exciting future, and also to get hands-on in making it. We know that there is an interest and an appetite for our work, we just need to find ways to scale it now.

Rob Sanders, cofounder, Glas Data

About Glas Data

Glas Data is an agricultural technology startup tackling the issue of data fragmentation. We have created the world’s first agricultural data ecosystem which can aggregate data from any source regardless of its structure. We aggregate, analyse, automate and visualise data sets for farms, processors, management companies and even agri funds in order to optimise and drive yields.

Why Cornwall?

Cornwall, like all places, has its pros and cons; however, we have been fortunate to have had a huge amount of both business and community support at an early stage which has helped us grow. Cornwall’s technology infrastructure makes it possible to deliver international digital products while mostly remaining in the county. Cornwall’s heritage is also tightly tied to agriculture which has made it the perfect test bed for our product.

National and international focus?

We are already working with an international farm management company to automate their data collection process and bring a deeper depth of understanding to the data they collect. We plan to start to make the product international from next year.

Paul Clark, CEO and founder, Packet Ship

About Packet Ship

Packet Ship is a 14-year-old software product company specialising in real-time video streaming, TV user interface, and audio-visual software. Our primary market is interactive TV systems for hotels, cruise ships, and hospitals. With our experience in real-time systems and advanced user interface, we are now also developing software for graphical creation of music synthesis, video, laser graphics, and data analysis. We are based in the Tremough Innovation Centre in Penryn.

Why Cornwall?

I am from Cornwall originally and wanted to create an ambitious software business that was compatible with our location. Cornwall gives our workforce a great lifestyle which means they stick around for the long term. The Cornish Tech community – centred around Software Cornwall – provides great support and a feeling of common purpose which you don’t find in other areas.

National and international focus?

Our products are installed in over 60 countries, and all our main system integrator customers are in the EU, the largest being in the Netherlands and Norway. Our new AV products will be primarily cloud-based and the intention is to sell worldwide.

Latest news from the region

Enter the archive

Support for founders

Meetups & networks

Research shows that collaborative tech ecosystems with thriving meetup scenes are more likely to succeed. As a founder, making the effort to get out to meetups and network events can lead to serendipitous encounters with people in the community who can give your business a boost.

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South West – TechSPARK Events Calendar

South West – Enterprise Nation
South West – Heart of South West Events Calendar

South West – Yena
Bristol / Bath – Tech4Good South West

Bath – BathSPARK
Bath – Bath Hacked

Bournemouth – You Are The Media Lunch Club
Bournemouth – Startup Grind

Plymouth – Digital Plymouth
Plymouth – Plymouth Web
Plymouth – Women In STEM Plymouth
Plymouth – MESH
Plymouth – Plymouth Design Forum (PDF)

Weston – Weston Tech
Weston – The Stable’s Events Calendar

Bristol – South West Founders
Bristol – Design/Build/Market
Bristol – Bristech
Bristol – Bristol Media
Bristol – Women’s Tech Hub

Cheltenham – CyNam

Cornwall – Software Cornwall Events Calendar
Cornwall – Cornwall Digital Meetup Group
Cornwall – KernowDAT
Cornwall – Cornwall Geeks

Exeter – TechExeter Events Calendar
Exeter – Digital Exeter
Exeter – Exeter Raspberry Jam
Exeter – PRISM
Exeter – Product Tank

Falmouth – Data Science Cornwall
Falmouth – Google Developers Group

Taunton – Digital Taunton

Co-working space

Co-working isn’t just about the free coffee – it’s a more flexible alternative to working out of traditional office space and brings the benefits of being part of a community. There’s no better way to build out your network, discover new routes to collaboration and discover the best tech events to attend. We’ve picked out some of the best co-working spaces in the region.

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Bath – The Guild
Bath SPACES – Northgate House

Bristol – Engine Shed
Bristol – 77 Stokes Croft
Bristol – Bristol & Bath Science Park
Bristol – Desk Lodge
Bristol – HERE Bristol
Bristol – FutureSpace
Bristol – Runway East
Bristol – Framework
Bristol – Raw Space coworking
Bristol – Origin Workspacgene
Bristerl – Square Watks and Studio

Bournemouth – THIS Workspace

Cheltenham – The Workplace
Cheltenham – Creative Hub

Weston Super Mare – The Stable

Cotswold – The Huddle

Devon – WorkHubs

Exeter – The Generator
Exeter – Exeter City Space
Exeter – Foundry 17

Gloucester – The Wheelhouse

Weston – The Hive

Skills support

From learning how to develop software to nailing the art of self-promotion, helping your team brush up on its digital and soft skills can be financially rewarding while reducing reliance on others. We’ve highlighted some of the best code clubs, incubators, accelerators, bootcamps and other support services in the region.

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South West – SETsquared – Startup support
South West – High Tech Bristol & Bath
South West – West of England Growth Hub

Bristol – SETsquared
Bristol – BRAVE Enterprise
Bristol – Business West
Bristol – The Federation of Small Business
Bristol – Knowle West Media Centre
Bristol – Bristol VR Lab

Bristol/South Gloucester – Outset Bristol and South Gloucestershire

Bath – SETsquared
Bath – West of England Growth Hub
Bath – Rocketmakers
Bath – University of Bath – Centre for Digital Entertainment

Exeter – SETsquared

Cornwall – Unlocking Potential
Falmouth – Launchpad

Finance & investment

Securing finance and raising investment can be vital when it comes to taking your startup to the next level. Whether you’re seeking angel, VC or bank finance, we’ve picked out a range of investors, funds and support networks in the region.

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