Rising Stars

Take your startup to the next level

Searching for the UK’s next Rising Stars

Rising Stars is the UK’s newest and most exciting competition for innovative, early-stage tech startups, with a prize package designed to send your business into the stratosphere.

The competition’s winners will have the opportunity to connect their business with mentors, investors and influencers, and significantly raise the profile of your business.

Introducing Tech Nation’s Rising Stars…

Hundreds of applications to this year’s competition have been whittled down to just 10 Rising Stars. Our expert judging panel deemed the following companies as the brightest prospects in the UK tech scene. So without further ado, here are our 10 winning companies.

Relive the Rising Stars Grand Final…

View all the photos from the night >

Our judging panel

Rising Stars is on a mission to find the UK’s brightest tech startups, but we can’t do it alone. That’s why we brought on board a leading judging panel to help us identify those burning brightest.

Andrew Jennings, Partner, TLT Solicitors
Briony Phillips, Associate Director, Engine Shed
Calum Forsyth, CEO and Founder, Seedhaus
Daniel Reilly, Chapter Director, Startup Grind
David Fogel, Co-founder, ADV
David Gardner, Partner, TLT Solicitors
Derek Shaw, Head of Investment Management, Scottish Investment Bank
Etienne Piciocchi, Management Consultant
Gaurav Bhatnagar, Head of Amazon Marketing Services UK
Helen Milburn, Director of Tech Law, EY
James Parton, Managing Director, The Bradfield Centre
Liz Scott, Director, Finance, Tax and Innovation, EY
Louize Clarke, Director, ConnectTVT
Magda Posluszny, Associate, Seedrs
Mark John, Co-Founder/Director, Tramshed
Mark Lyons, Investment Director, Praetura
Mark Sykes, National Head, BDO Drive
Naomi TImperley, Co-founder, Tech North Advocates
Rachel Peacock, Tech Specialist, Economic Development
Richard Abrahams, Founding member – Raise, PWC
Richard Charnley, Investment Manager, Northstar Ventures
Richard Godfrey, CEO, Rocketmakers
Richard Potter, CEO & Founder, Peak
Sam Michel, Founder & CMO, Chinwag
Sarah Reveillard, EMEA SMB Lifecycle Marketing Manager, Microsoft Bing
Teddy Kim, Principal, Mustard Seed Impact
Thanh Quan-Nicholls, Co-Founder Women’s Tech Hub Bristol
Tim Kay, Director Technology and Media, KPMG
Tracey Johnson, Project Director, Enterprising Barnsley

Interested in applying for Rising Stars?

Pre-register now and you’ll be first to hear about applications opening…

The prizes…

Opportunities to raise your profile at all stages of the competition.

For the winners:

Tailored/bespoke package of support worth over £4000 per winner that includes:

1-2-1 mentoring with a high profile mentor
Facilitated introductions to investors and corporates
Bespoke PR campaign
One-to-one BDODrive Accelerate session focused on unlocking your growth potential and identifying the tangible steps you need to take
Financial contribution towards a conference of your choice
Pitch training and coaching
Networking opportunities with investors, heads of accelerators, entrepreneurs and corporate leaders

When you apply:

Submit an (optional) video pitch with your application and you could be selected for our ‘Pitch of the Day’ and be posted to our 85,000 Twitter followers

If you get shortlisted:

Profiled as a top startup in your region
Invited to our Semi-Final where you will receive pitch training from Sunderland Software City, meet previous winners and have the opportunity to network other awesome founders and our panel of judges
Invited to our Grand Final in London to exhibit and network with a high profile audience of investors, corporate leader and entrepreneurs

If you’re selected to pitch at our Grand Final:

Pitch in front of a high profile audience
Opportunity to exhibit to over 400 attendees in London

The programme

Submit your applicationApplying is easy and entries are open between 19 September – 18 November

Regional shortlisting11 regional judging teams will review all applications, from which, 33 companies will be shortlisted

Semi Finals(16-17 January 2019)
We’ll provide all semi finalists with pitch training and expert advice. The judges will select the best startups for the Grand Final.

Grand Final(5 March 2019)
All finalists will pitch to become one of our Rising Stars. Our semi-finalists will have the opportunity to exhibit at the event.

Who is Rising Stars for?

From Cornwall to Inverness, we’re looking for the UK’s most ambitious tech startups to join Tech Nation’s first ever Rising Stars cohort. Does your business meet the criteria?

Your business has been going for 1-3 years
Its HQ is in the UK
A digital tech business with a product or service to sell
You’re at seed to pre-Series A funding stage. Bootstrapped? We’re looking for businesses with annual revenues up to £1.5m
You have at least one active client or pilot
You can commit to Rising Stars dates outlined in the timeline
Last but not least, you’ve got the ambition to grow and scale

Please note, Rising Stars is not open to consultancies or agencies.

What our former winners have to say

In its former life, Rising Stars was a competition run by Tech North (known then as Northern Stars). 30 fantastic tech companies were successfully crowned as Northern Stars winners over the three years the competition ran.

Watch how Northern Stars gave former winners Dream Agility and Peak exposure on a global stage and enabled both companies to achieve unrivalled growth.

Dream Agility