May 2022: a month in review with Tech Nation CEO
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Whether you’re a late-stage tech company or you’ve started scaling towards becoming one, Tech North’s friends at Tech City UK (we’re one big happy family) have a programme for you.
Today, applications have opened for Future Fifty and Upscale, and one of them could be perfect for helping you grow your firm in 2017.
Let’s take a closer look…
Future Fifty is our programme to help 50 of the country’s late-stage pioneering tech companies. If you think that your business has what it takes to become the next Deliveroo, Transferwise or Skyscanner, this is for you.
This programme has been helping to turn late-stage tech companies into international players since 2014.
From 77 Future Fifty companies, we have seen:
Future Fifty companies are still attracting investment:
If you’re at an earlier stage on the startup journey, take a look at Upscale. It will help 30 promising business ideas begin to scale. For the Upscale programme, we have recruited some of the UK’s best known digital entrepreneurs to work as Scale Coaches.
The calibre of our coaches on Upscale is testimony to the success of Future Fifty.
From our Upscale Programme 1.0, we have high hopes also of the companies that have been taking part. Firms like Kano, which sells an educational computer kit, Property Partner, a property crowdfunding firm, Seedrs, an online crowdfunding business, and Sybentix, a behavioural analysis platform for banks and hedge funds managers have huge potential.
Scale-ups and entrepreneurs on Future Fifty and Upscale will:
On Upscale there is a chance to strengthen the management skills of your whole team. You will take part in as many as 30 sessions and socials, that are designed around your specific needs. You will be thinking about how to scale your company culture, retain your star players and recruit high quality people at scale.You’ll get help with the challenges you face, including maintaining team morale, managing the board, raising future funds and taking the company global.
Together with other companies in the same position, you will learn from our 18 highly experienced coaches just how to grow your business. It’s knowledge that would take years to accumulate through trial and error.
Here’s what Alex Klein, chief executive and founder of Kano, thought of the programme:
“Upscale has been a great programme allowing the team and I to connect with other founders and peers going through the same scaling journey, while being mentored by experts who have been through it all before. One standout session for me was hearing from Stephen Rapoport and his frank story of the growth and challenges at Pact Coffee. I’d urge any founder to consider Upscale for their company.”
Sarah Wood, co-founder of Unruly, was a graduate of the Future Fifty programme before going on to sell Unruly to media giant News Corp for £58 million. She says:
“As well as putting you on the map as a high-growth tech company, being part of the Future Fifty brings the opportunity to learn from an incredible cohort of talented peers and entrepreneurs who have experienced first hand the challenges of scaling up. Plus, there are practical benefits such as fast-track access to visa support. This is enormously helpful when you’re entering new markets. For any UK company looking to raise their profile, power up their network and expedite business growth, Future Fifty is a must.”
If your business is ready to join either of these programmes, there’s never been a better time to get started.
So how do you get on to these two prestigious and free programmes? Applications open on 3 November and will close on 7 December.
To qualify for Future Fifty, digital businesses must:
To apply for Upscale, tech companies must:
Successful applicants will be notified in January and winners will be announced later in the month. Tech City UK takes no equity stake in the companies selected to join its programmes.
For more information go to: futurefifty.com and upscaleuk.com