Parveen Dhanda, October 9, 2018 3 min read
We’re looking for the next generation of UK tech superstars, those companies soon to be household names, and those breaking new ground in innovation right here in the UK. Upscale and Future Fifty are our mid- and late-stage startup support growth programmes, looking to recruit their fourth and seventh intakes respectively.
Join the likes of Skyscanner, Deliveroo, Farfetch, ao.com, Just Eat, Unruly, Transferwise, Crowdcube, Darktrace, Fairsail, RepKnight, The Floow, Monzo, Bulb, Receipt Bank, Cocoon, Kano, Reach Robotics, Streetbees, B-Secur, Trouva, Bloom & Wild and Trussle.
Future Fifty is our programme for the biggest stars of UK tech. The current cohort and alumni make up a who’s who of pioneering late-stage UK tech companies. Now accepting our seventh intake, so far 129 Future Fifty companies have seen six IPOs on the London Stock Exchange, 29 M&As, with $6.8 billion raised in total from VC and capital markets (London Stock Exchange). This programme has been helping late-stage tech companies become international players since 2014.
Members of the Future Fifty advisor panel include Nick Beighton, Paul Harrison, Sonali De Rycker and Nezahat Guktekin. If you think that your business has what it takes to become the next Deliveroo, Transferwise or Skyscanner, this is for you.
José Neves, Founder and CEO of Farfetch said “It’s a fantastic network of great people and companies. Great support from the Government which is doing a fantastic job in the UK tech industry”.
Charles Wells, former CMO of Just Giving said “I’ve met some of the best tech companies in the UK, some really interesting companies launching in the US.”
If you’re mid-stage, scaling fast and have ambitions to be a future Future Fifty company, Upscale could be the support programme for you. Now accepting applications for our fourth cohort, we’re looking to find 30 of the very best scaleups in the UK. We want the unicorns of tomorrow (alumni include Monzo, Improbable, Bulb) plus the companies that are breaking new ground in a variety sectors (like alumni Reach Robotics). Upscale founders and their leadership teams will get access to an unrivalled founder network and peer-to-peer support, access to scaling expertise on hot topics directly relevant to your growth journey and ambition, and ongoing support from Tech Nation.
The 100 Upscale alumni companies have collectively raised over $1.3bn since joining the programme.
Carl Wong, Co-founder and CEO of LivingLens based in Liverpool, said “Upscale has given us the incredibly rare opportunity to learn from leaders and founders on how to solve the challenges we face in our business based upon their own, often very recent, successful deliveries and painful lessons. It has given us an environment where we don’t always have to say everything in our business is 100% perfect, but be honest in a supportive, confidential environment and frankly, reduce our risk of making mistakes!”
While the programme has always been open to companies from across the UK, and we’re delighted to have alumni from all countries and regions of the UK, this year we’re committed to going further. Workshops will be hosted across the UK, and all sessions will be made more accessible than ever to companies outside the capital. Sessions will be run by some of the UK’s best known digital entrepreneurs, with some of the previous 70+ Scale Coaches having included Niklas Zennstrom, Brad Feld, Verne Harnish, Brent Hoberman, Lesley Eccles, Jess Butcher and Saul Klein.
So how do you get on to these two prestigious, free programmes? Applications open today, and close November 14th (Upscale) and December 7th (Future Fifty).
To qualify for Future Fifty, your business must have:
To apply for Upscale, your business must have:
Tech Nation takes no equity stake in the companies selected to join its programmes, so what have you got to lose?
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