Louise Birriterri

Founder and CEO

Pikl

How is your company disrupting a part of the economy?

The sharing economy is thriving and estimated to grow three-fold by 2025. Its success is particularly prevalent in the accommodation and property market, with the rise of platforms like Airbnb. We were the first to establish how the UK’s major insurers treat customers who participate in short-term letting. We found that there were significant shortfalls in both the cover they offer and their communications with their customers about the issue. It highlighted the lack of public and broker awareness that exists around this topic. 

To address this situation, we launched a range of specialist insurance products that are designed to run alongside standard home and landlord policies on offer from insurance providers. They provide the cover for theft, damage or public liability that may be incurred by a guest. It means that the generation of Airbnb-ers can now prosper in the sharing economy without the worry of significant financial loss.

Why did you feel that the place or region that you are based in was a good place to disrupt your industry?

CEO and Founder, Louise Birritteri, lives in Norwich so it was natural that this was the place for her start-up. Norwich is home to Aviva one of Louise’s previous employers. There is a rich supply of talent with extensive insurance experience that Louise was able to call upon and recruit from. 

Her senior team have pretty much all worked with Louise at some point in her career. Norwich is also home to many tech start-ups that have been successful in achieving national and international success. Many of those who led those companies are now investors in Pikl. 

With easy access to London and delivering economic advantages in terms of salaries, officespace and living expenses (and being a great place to live) it was the natural first home for Pikl. There is also a good supply chain of insurance savvy service providers such as marketing agencies that Pikl is working with.

Oliver Armitage and Emil Hewage

Co-Founders 

BIOS

What do your company do?

BIOS is developing a full-stack neural interface platform that uses AI to decode and encode the signals from the brain to the body, to treat chronic health conditions.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

BIOS is headquartered in Cambridge, UK and we have recently opened R&D offices in Montreal, Canada. Being the home of the world-renowned university, Cambridge is firmly established as one of the world’s leading concentrations of biotechnology and life sciences, and artificial intelligence, and thus makes the city a perfect place to foster talent and innovation for an emerging company such as BIOS. Our founders Emil Hewage and Oliver Armitage both studied for PhDs at the University of Cambridge. Besides flourishing with world-class scientific research and innovation, Cambridge is one of the highest-ranking cities for tech investment in the UK. Thus our offices being located at the heart of Cambridge supports the scaling of our company.

BIOS is enabling AI-based healthcare treatments that are promising to be an adaptable treatment alternative to pharmaceuticals. In partnership with MILA, we have chosen to open our R&D offices in Montreal to expand our research capabilities in AI and machine learning. The MILA centre has contributed to establishing Montreal as one of the world’s leading AI hubs, which makes the city a perfect place to base our research and development efforts in this field.

Sachin Shende

CEO

KisanHub

How is your company disrupting a part of the economy?

KisanHub disrupts the traditional food supply chain model, which heavily relies on paper records, estimation on yield and quality. The platform provides full transparency of the supply chain, from seed to sale or field to factory. Therefore more profitable procurement decisions can be made by planning, forecasting and recording all production and supply information in one central platform. 

We connect commercial food companies with the multiple data sources they need to better understand their business, market, and supply chain. For example, we combine complex satellite imagery, weather patterns and management software to provide crop monitoring, yield and quality forecasting, which helps the storage and transport of the food to the processors and the final distribution to the customers. 

Why did you feel that the place or region that you are based in was a good place to disrupt your industry?

Cambridge is a hive for technology companies, for both small scale start-ups and well established larger organisations. We are very well suited to this City, as this focus on technology and innovation creates an enthusiasm which is very inspiring to be around. 

Cambridgeshire and the East of England is especially fitting for us in Agri-Tech because Agriculture is a large part of the economy in this part of the UK. There are very exciting and industry-leading companies connected with food production and farming based here alongside us, so we feel very fortunate to be based here!

Sarah-Jane Mintey

Founder & CEO

Developing Experts

What problem is your business solving/addressing?

Developing Experts’ provides a complete curriculum programme mapped against the National Curriculum in biology, chemistry, and physics for ages 4-14 years . Our approach to learning has already been road-tested and voted best EdTech product in Europe, winning Tech Nation’s Rising Stars earlier in 2019. 1500 Chinese schools start to use our programme in February 2020. 

Developing Experts signposts relevant links between the curriculum, industry and training providers from a variety of STEM-related sectors. Our solution saves teachers’ time, upskills their knowledge, raises standards and has the potential to attract more young people into STEM-related jobs. It addresses the sector’s needs and skills shortage by enabling teachers, parents, and children to learn about industries through the curriculum. 

Why did you set up your company in the place/region you are based?

I have worked and lived in Norwich for the majority of my professional working life and am committed to the area. Developing Experts is pleased to have New Anglia Capital who invests in companies committed to the region.

What challenges are you facing in your business?

Thanks to recently winning a range of significant contracts, Developing Experts is upscaling the company to manage the demands of our growth. Securing the right team and talent is critical to our next steps.

Raoul-Gabriel Urma

Founder & CEO

Cambridge Spark

What problem is your business solving/addressing?

We are tackling the global skills shortage in Data Science and AI. We use our AI-powered learning platform KATE to provide Data Science and AI education at speed and at scale. KATE is developed as part of a research project with University of Cambridge and funded by Innovate UK, providing learners with instant feedback on their code when submitted to KATE. It also identifies common errors in their code submissions which allows KATE to make personalised recommendations for learning resource to help the learner improve. Using KATE, we help people learn Data Science and AI faster, with a focus on production-ready code. 

Why did you set up your company in the place/region you are based?

Cambridge has great access to talent for tech development and for teaching staff, which is perfect for an educational company teaching at the cutting-edge of tech. The city is home to so much support for startups, such as Accelerate Cambridge, with a great blend of business and technology advice available to help new companies grow. There is a very strong network built around the tech ecosystem which really helps with introductions and opening doors that we might struggle with elsewhere. 

What challenges are you facing in your business?

It can be difficult to get in front of the right decision-maker. What we offer crosses over a range of different areas of responsibility in a business - data science, technology, L&D, HR, recruitment - so finding the person who has ultimate responsibility can take time. 

It can take time to find the right hires for new positions (in Cambridge and London). Finding an individual with the right mix of skills, experience and passion can be a challenge, especially when a new vacancy opening probably means you need them asap and you can't afford mistakes. 

Poppy Gustafsson

CEO for EMEA

Darktrace

What about your place or region has enabled you to scale your business?

We were founded in Cambridge, a home for innovation. At the heart of our technology is Bayesian mathematics developed by Bill Fitzgerald and a team of academics from the University of Cambridge. We have maintained this strong link with the university, and the mathematicians and software engineers at our Cambridge HQ are the great minds behind our technology, and what makes it world-beating.

We have grown rapidly, requiring us to build an international leadership team at a very fast pace. The key to our ability to achieve this has been the people we hire. Potential is more important to us than experience – and Cambridge has offered some of the best talent in the world with which to build our global company. 

AI and automation are rapidly becoming a crucial area. Enterprise AI is fast-becoming a crowded space – so when a company like ours has a global product with Cambridge roots, investors can really see the size of the opportunity, meaning that attracting the funding necessary to scale up is not difficult. Cyber security in particular is one of the greatest challenges of our age, and advances in Cyber AI are nothing short of transformative.

What do you think your place or region should be known for when it comes to tech businesses?

Cambridge should be known for the leading role it has already played in breeding billion-dollar unicorn companies like our own. These companies are changing the world as we know it by thinking boldly and thinking differently. Diversity is a key part of this. Cambridge often brings together brilliant ideas from all over the world.

Anthony Rose

CEO

SeedLegals

How is your company disrupting a part of the economy?

At SeedLegals we launched in the UK. However, in the same way that Transferwise brings you borderless banking, imagine borderless legals. Imagine being able to invest in a French company; you don't speak French, but you can see all the deal terms normalised in the same interface along with your UK investments, your Irish investments, and other investments. It's going to change everything in the way that people are able to raise investment from foreign investors and invest in other countries, including even getting SEIS and EIS in foreign countries. So, we launched in the UK before launching in France and Ireland with other countries in Europe and beyond to follow.

Why did you feel that the place or region that you are based in was a good place to disrupt your industry?

SeedLegals is based in Holborn in the heart of the legal district in London, which is ironic and coincidental. But, London is the beating heart of startups in the UK. The UK legal system is fantastic and it's a world leader, and wonderfully between companies house, HMRC tax incentives for investors and for founders, and the UK legal system which allows legal innovation such as provided by Seedlegals to flourish, we found ourselves and the UK and London at the Nexus of what is possible to disrupt an existing industry. But of course, disrupting industry is never a goal. The goal is to provide a fantastic new solution to companies who have a pain point, and that is what we do. And the UK is a great place to be for that.

Anand Sambasivan

CEO

PrimaryBid

What does your company do?

We connect retail investors to listed companies raising capital. Retail investors are a vital constituent of the stock market and represent ~20% of public equity ownership in the UK, yet they are unable to access equity offerings conducted by listed companies. Indeed, public companies want to access retail for better deal outcomes, improved trading liquidity and to maintain best in class governance standards. Unfortunately, investment banks cannot access retail investors on a deal because it is fragmented, deals are time sensitive and there is an administrative burden.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

• Strong regulation culture and rule of law makes it very exportable
• Innovation initiatives like the FCA Sandbox has allowed fintechs to innovate safely and thoughtfully in a highly regulated environment
• Major initiatives such as Tech Nation helping bring fintech to new markets
• A fantastic talent pool of financial and technical people
• A huge market to launch a product in

Iggy Bassi

CEO

Cervest

What problem is your business solving/addressing?

Over the last fifteen years, unprecedented flooding, hurricanes and heat waves have caused mass scale destruction both for cities and rural areas. Climatic and extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity—fuelling costs for economies and ecosystems.

Climate volatility is a macro problem. But if we want a fighting chance to mitigate the impact of the changing climate, accountability needs to be broken down to each business, policy maker, producer and farmer. But most organisations don’t understand the personal exposure, impact and cost that climate presents to them. That’s the issue we’re tackling.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

Cervest is based in Old Street, the heart of London’s Tech City. This is home to some of the most innovative, forward thinking and exciting companies in the world— so it was a natural fit.

Being located in an attractive place to work—the UK tech hub—is vital in maintaining the high standard of mission-led employees we attract.

James Quinn & Kevin Quinn

Co-Founders

Clarilis

How is your company disrupting part of the economy?

Legal automation technology is not new and has been around, in one form or another, for more than 20 years. In an industry known for its paper heavy manual processes, the benefits of document automation are particularly appealing.  So why haven’t all law firms and in-house legal teams automated all their documents already? Clarilis is a document automation system that saves lawyers a significant amount of time in producing the first draft of all forms of legal documentation. Our unique proposition lies with our proprietary platform and managed service approach. As an automation partner, with the largest team of Professional Support Lawyers (PSLs), developers, automation experts and analysts in the UK, Clarilis takes on the implementation challenges on behalf of client firms and businesses.

Why did you think the region you are based in was a good place?

Both of Clarilis’ founders are from Leamington Spa and it is a great place in terms of it being centrally located with easy access to the motorway network and with it being only just over an hour on the train to London. The other main reason is there’s a wealth of good universities in the area which means there is access to a great calibre of graduates which is just what a high growth company needs.

Which markets does your company operate in?

Clarilis works with a large number of leading law firms and legal departments within organisations, including Addleshaw Goddard, Baker McKenzie, GoCompare, Gowling WLG, Herbert Smith Freehills, National Grid, Slaughter and May, TLT and Travers Smith.  We have customers who use our platform in multiple jurisdictions worldwide and we are in the process of opening an office in Singapore.

Jennifer Hore

Co-founder

Fluence

What does your company do?

Fluence integrates AI into government departments and public sector organisation to improve decision making, automate routine tasks and verify high-stakes judgements, optimising employee time to focus on higher-value work. Utilising cutting edge Natural Language Processing technologies, Fluence's AI analyses 500+ linguistic characteristics to unearth new insights, quality assure existing judgements and make better-than-human predictions on your content. The Cloud-based platform is able to process thousands of documents instantly making it simple to deploy across your whole organisation, supporting employees wherever they may be based.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

Both co-founders graduated from Aston University and benefitted from very early stage startup programmes such as E4F, SPEED WM and BSEEN.

We've stayed in Birmingham because the cost of starting a business is much lower than other large cities. We currently work UK wide - including Northern Ireland. Being in the middle of the country means we have excellent access.

Rebecca Gill

Nurse & Founder

VR Therapies

What problem is your business solving?

We are the first and only social enterprise who provide VR therapies for kids with special needs and adults with disabilities. We take those too poorly to walk swimming with dolphins, children undergoing chemotherapy to explore space… From reducing chronic pain and alleviating anxiety, trips down memory lane and travelling the world… the experiences and therapies are endless. Sharing these experiences with them as a Nurse has been amazing. The benefits are immediately apparent as people forget their pain, breathe easier and smile more. Medical VR is already available in hospitals and has shown amazing results. However, the latest medical and therapeutic advances are inaccessible to the very children and adults they are designed for. They should not have to wait till they are already in the hospital to receive the benefits, nor it be only for the rich or physically able. We want to change this.

In 2020, we will be opening the very first VR therapies centre in the UK (as far as I know, the world). Combining hydrotherapy with VR so it truly feels like you’re swimming with dolphins and providing truly therapeutic VR experiences which are fully accessible and inclusive

What challenges are you facing in your business?

Funding has been the biggest challenge by far.

As a social entrepreneur, having to reduce our passion and impact down to informal numbers and profit can be frustrating. It's been difficult adjusting to the business world and all their jargon but I know at the end of the day, the work we are doing is changing people's lives.

Pete Daykin

CEO and Co-founder

Wordnerds

In your own words, what do Wordnerds do?

How do the world’s biggest brands make sense of the millions of tweets, emails, webchats, online reviews, CRM-entries, forum posts and survey results written by their customers? What about their competitors? In our world of Big Data we’ve become really good at understanding the numbers, but numbers are easy: we know exactly what they mean.

Wordnerds is a software platform that helps brands uncover and understand the true voice of their customers. By combining cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) with old-school linguistics, our disruptive tech is a new way to train computers to read - and genuinely understand - language, and not just count the words.

Why did you choose to base the company in the North East?

I choose to live in the northeast because it's an amazing place with a unique mix of urban and rural, coast and country, modern and historical. I have family here, friends; people that have kicked lumps out of me at football for 30 years.

We have access to the combined genius of five universities, all within a stone's throw of our Gateshead Quayside office and some of which boast world class AI departments with research facilities and hardware to match. The UK's National Innovation Centre for Data - NIC-D - has been built in Newcastle; we can walk there from our office. It is a resource that forms the vanguard of the UK PLC's attempt to introduce businesses that want to use data better with the people, tech and hardware to do so.

In 2020 we could run Wordnerds from anywhere and the North East is well connected nationally and internationally. I spend a week or two a month in London - less than three hours away by train - enjoy lower cost of living, higher quality of life and access to a thriving, collaborative digi/tech community with an educated, motivated workforce that knows how to work and play hard.

Arwen Duddington

COO

Zerolight

How is ZeroLight disrupting the automotive industry?

The cloud is the key to our continued disruption of the automotive industry. We offer the world’s only globally scalable, cloud-based car-configuration and content-production platform. This enables us to provide a range of solutions that deliver tangible competitive advantages for our clients by driving customer engagement, higher specification sales, and lower content-production costs.

Why is the North East a good place to grow your business?

With five leading universities and a number of top colleges on our doorstep, we have a very deep talent pool, and we’ve worked hard to enhance this by establishing strong links with these institutions. Through these close relationships, we’re able to engage with students at the formative stages of their studies and introduce them to new career paths, which has helped us foster our highly successful graduate scheme.

Which markets and parts of the world do you operate in at the moment?

We are a global business in the truest sense. Our major clients – like Cadillac, Audi, and Lamborghini – operate in key automotive hubs, but our technology extends much farther, and its impact is felt by car buyers in every corner of the world. We have achieved this through our close relationships and collaboration with global technology leaders, including Amazon, Facebook, Google, and NVIDIA.  

Tom Howsam

Founder

Paid

Why did you choose to base the company in the North East?

The North East is my home, it is where I wanted to set up and grow a new business. The reason for this is that if we are successful then Paid will be an example along with others of what you can achieve and not need to move to another city. Having more successful companies in the North East improves the environment for all businesses, increasing the likelihood of investment and the attraction and retention of talent. I want to be part of that and play a part in the digital revolution that we have started.

What changes do you feel your company has brought about in your region/ the UK/ the world?

In the short time Paid has been running, we have been accepted to some well known programs Technation and the Barclays Accelerator where we were the first northern company to be accepted. This I hope has served as inspiration to others who want to do the same.

How could the North East be better prepared for your business growth?

The missing piece in the North East is the access to the right finance, people who will take a risk as an angel investor and mentor you through the process of business growth and investment. Paid has been incredibly fortunate to have an amazing set of investors but we have non from the North East. To be more successful as a whole this needs to change. Programs to help new businesses are a great start but we need the hands on people who have built, scaled and exited businesses to inspire the next group of companies.

Masitano Sichone

Founder

Spareable

How does your business address social problems in the North East?

Spareable has been working with various foodbanks in the region such as the busiest, Newcastle West End Foodbank to help them manage the supply and demand of their food donations. 90% of food redistributed to people in need comes from public donations. Spareable provides a tech based alternative to conventional food drives at supermarkets and collection drop off points. 

In this age of online shopping & next day delivery it was time to re-invent the model. Foodbanks can now control what they receive to ensure it is essential and nothing is going to waste while affording the donors a more convenient way to give and see the impact of their generosity all through a mobile app.

Why did you decide to set your company up here? 

Having graduated from Newcastle University where I came to pursue an MSc in Electronic Business & Information Systems, I have seen first hand how the region promotes

entrepreneurship. The decision to stay here was a No-brainer, There is so much support for budding entrepreneurs, from affordable work spaces, places to get free one-to-one advice, meetups, access to accelerators, Angels and VCs as well as a really vibrant tech community in the region.

Ben Hookway

CEO

Relative Insight

How is your company disrupting a part of the economy?

Born out of a 10-year research project with Lancaster University’s linguistic and cyber security departments, Relative Insight originally designed its technology to support law enforcement agencies identify paedophiles masquerading as children online. No one has the technology to do what we do, and our ‘discover’, rather than ‘search’ technique is set to create a brand-new, universal insights gathering methodology.

Why did you feel that the place or region that you are based in was a good place to disrupt your industry?

Lancaster University is known globally as one of the best seats of learning for English language and linguistics, and it was the place where our founders, James Walkerdine and Phil Greenwood were completing their PHDs. By putting various language assets side-by-side and comparing it, tiny nuances in the way people talk can be discovered, and these reveal game-changing insights about any specific demographic.

Which markets does your company operate in at the moment?

Whilst we remain true to our academic roots with HQ in Lancaster, we also have an office in London that supports the global sales and marketing function. Then, as part of a major investment programme, Relative Insight is expanding into New York in the first quarter of 2020 so that we can better service our ever-expanding portfolio of US and global clients.

Richard Hayes

Co-founder and CEO

Mojo Mortgages

What does your company do?

Mojo uses innovative and intelligent technology to allow customers to see real-time mortgage deals for which they’re eligible in just 15 minutes. The fintech’s team of in-house mortgage experts then manage the mortgage application process from start to finish.

In the last 18 months, Mojo has secured over 75,000 customers and £9.8m in seed round and Series A funding. The company has won numerous awards including Best Mortgage Broker at the 2019 British Banking Awards. Mojo was recently named a finalist for Nesta’s Open Up 2020 Challenge Up 2020 for its new tool, MortgageScore™.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

There’s an expectation that Fintechs should be based in London, but this thought-process is being disrupted in the fact that over the past 12 months there’s been a noticeable change in investors’ appetite to invest outside of the M25, and that can only be a good thing.

The fintech scene in Manchester is leading the way as one of Europe’s leading hubs for cutting edge digital technology. There’s strong support for fast growth digital businesses such as Mojo from institutions including the City Council and Manchester’s world-renowned universities.

Lauren Riley

CEO

The Link App

What does your company do?

The Link app is a web and mobile platform; case tracking and management interface that helps lawyers keep in touch with their clients. It completely reinvents the transactional experience, enabling instant messaging, new business enquiries, document sharing, case updates, push notifications and secure document storage.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

We chose Manchester for a few reasons: it has a very strong legal community but also great growth in the tech space. There is creativity here and some very supportive networks. Travel to any other major UK city is easy from here and proximity to a major international airport is great as we are planning to expand globally this year. Plus for work/ life balance I think Manchester is unrivalled.

What changes do you feel your company has brought about in your region/the UK/the world?

We’re disrupting in a very traditional sector: legal. It has relied on old habits for a long time, and unlike other industries, largely it has not embraced tech or moved forward with it. We are enabling firms to provide better services to their clients but also working with these firms in partnership, as opposed to charging large upfront fees, to make a real long term difference. It’s new for a lot of people.

Francesca Hodgson

Co-founder and MD

GoodBox

What problem is your business solving/addressing?

GoodBox is a social impact company, driving innovation on behalf of the charity sector. In an increasingly cashless society, charities are feeling the pinch - reporting steady declines in cash donations as we continue to tap our way through train stations and coffee shops. To address this issue, we built a suit of contactless donation devices bespoke for the charity sector.

Why did you set up your company in the place/region you are based?

GoodBox HQ is located in Manchester, with offices in London and Harlow. Manchester was chosen as the head office as the CEO lives there, allowing the leadership team easy access to the base of operations. Compounding this decision was the recent emergence of a thriving FinTech sector within the North West.

What challenges are you facing in your business?

Expanding the team comes hand in hand with internationalisation. The culture within GoodBox is something we are all very proud of. Maintaining the culture which has greatly contributed to our achievements to date is our next big task, as we push to expand the team.

Henry Platten

CEO & Founder

GoBubble

What problem is your business solving/addressing?

GoBubble is a safer, healthier and kinder social media platform, which has been designed specifically for under 13s. It’s used in 1000s of schools and homes, across 31 countries. GoBubble solves practical online safety issues around the widespread problem of children accessing and using mainstream social media. In addition GoBubble supports a focus on child digital wellbeing and digital citizenship. When used in the classroom, GoBubble offers educators an opportunity to understand and respond to authentic student voice. As a forum for content creation, collaboration and communication; GoBubble also offers a creative outlet for kids to create and broadcast their own content safely and ethically.

What challenges are you facing in your business?

GoBubble’s global popularity illustrates the worldwide appetite for progressive social media experiences which are safer and offer a healthier digital life for children. To ensure that we can provide the GoBubble experience to as many children as possible, we are working on incorporating more languages into the platform, which is incredibly exciting.

We have had an excellent start to the year, onboarding a huge amount of users. Ensuring that we can deliver the best possible platform for all of our users and continuing to expand our reach are going to be priorities for the whole GoBubble team.

Richard Barlow

CEO

Wejo

How is your company disrupting a part of the economy?

Wejo is not disrupting a single part of the economy, we are creating an entirely new category. For global automotive manufacturers and data consumers - from traffic analysts to parking app developers, smart city planners to governments - Wejo unlocks the value in connected vehicle data to enable innovations in consumer propositions, drive efficiencies and create new revenue streams.

Why did you feel that the place or region that you are based in was a good place to disrupt your industry?

Wejo started in 2014 in the North West of England; we now have an office in Manchester and our HQ in Tattenhall, Chester. The digital tech sector is thriving in the North West, attracting a growing talent pool - that’s why we chose to base ourselves here. wejo is pioneering the mobility data ecosystem and we need a talented team behind us so we can continue to grow and compete on a global scale. We are proud to be putting the North West, and the UK, on the map in an industry that’s typically led by the Silicon Valley pack.

Our biggest commercial market is the US, where we organise data from one in sixty cars. That led us to open offices in San Jose and Austin during 2019. Austin has been named the fastest-growing large city in the US and is a hotbed for technology, startups and innovation. It also has a strong talent pool, thanks in part to the University of Texas.

Rafael Jorda

Founder and CEO

Open Cosmos 

How is your company disrupting a part of the economy?

We manufacture, launch and operate satellites in orbit that allow our clients to measure and understand what happens down on earth as well as providing ubiquitous connectivity. Satellite images are disrupting the way we measure and monitor the global changes caused by humans or nature. The economic impact in sectors such as transportation, energy, agriculture, or insurance to name a few is tremendous.

Satellite connectivity enables devices and people to be ubiquitously connected. The impact that this will have for the Internet of Things and 5G telecommunications is huge. But above all we are disrupting the space industry itself, making the use of space technology simple and affordable for everyone to use as a tool to solve global challenges.

Why did you feel that the place or region that you are based in was a good place to disrupt your industry?

Three reasons why the UK was the best way to start Open Cosmos:

1. There is an entrepreneurial culture that supports innovation at scale as well as access to private capital to fuel it. 2. Space has been identified as one of the strategic industries for the country and there are resources and facilities available to support its development and growth. 3. Thanks to London and English it is possible to attract global talent as well as tapping in the local engineering, scientific and software talent.

Beth Michael

Co-founder & COO

Streeva

What does your company do?

Streeva is a fintech company on a mission to make payments work better for everyone, starting with UK charities. £564million in Gift Aid goes unclaimed every year. Throw a coin in a bucket or more commonly now, tap on a contactless point, you're unlikely to stop and fill in a form. That's where Swiftaid comes in, forget the form every time you donate, it happens automatically. A donor signs up to Swiftaid, links their card and then every time they donate via contactless to Swiftaid registered charities, the Gift Aid is automatically attached.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

We are based in Guildford, Surrey. I was surprised at how many tech companies are based there. It has everything you need to help your startup grow, accelerate and scale. The access to the University of Surrey is great and we continue to work closely with them. Plus, it’s only 30mins into London, winner!

How could the place or region that you are based in be better prepared for your business growth/scaling?

We haven't hit any barriers yet, we've been here for over two years, we're still here and we're not planning on moving anytime soon, so that says it all really!

Mat Rule

CEO

Tocalabs

What does your company do?

We're a software technology company based in Reading. We provide software automation. That means we're helping customers at the moment, bring together legacy systems and new systems, so they can integrate them within their businesses. The problem for our customers face is that they've got teams of people that are left connecting old platforms to new technology and these processes are held together very manually. It means they spend a lot of their time onto repetitive processes, just to hold an entire business together. We create a system, which sits within a business like a layer that can pull people systems and processes together and allow you to very quickly and in a very adaptable manner pulled together pieces of automation applications. Robot Processing Automation or RPA bascially helps businesses join up all of its activity. Our customers typically save 10 times what they're paying us but it speeds up their processes and saves their operation costs. And the reason that we're winning businesses because our system is fast to integrate, once you've got it in there, it's super.

What changes do you feel your company has brought about in your region/the UK/the world?

There's good reasons to do it here. We've got Oxford University and Reading University on our doorstep, great transport and railway links. We're in a perfect central location between London and Bristol so to be able to do that deep technology and do that research would be really great. We'd like to help out with higher education level layer and further education. For example put competitions together to help people use our tech but also just be a sponsor for future talent through tech hackathons and similar events.

Nick Wise

CEO

OceanMind

What problem is your business solving/addressing?

We face a global crisis. Seafood feeds 3 billion people and supports the livelihood of 12% of the world’s population, yet with 30% of the world’s fisheries overfished and 60% fished to the limits of sustainability, food security and poverty are serious concerns. On top of this, illegal fishing is associated with a range of other crimes – including human trafficking and slavery, causing misery and suffering for thousands of people.

OceanMind is a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to empower enforcement and compliance to protect the world’s oceans. Our work helps preserve marine biodiversity, protect livelihoods, and prevent slavery in the seafood industry using satellites and artificial intelligence to identify fishing activities and suspected non-compliance. Every day, the team are contributing to work that changes people’s lives and helps protect the oceans.

Why did you set up your company in the place/region you are based?

OceanMind began as a partnership between the Satellite Applications Catapult and the Pew Charitable Trusts to develop technology to identify illegal fishing globally. Once this technology was proven, I developed a business plan to show how an independent non-profit organisation could be established to leverage the technology to impact the sustainability of seafood stocks through a mixture of fee-for-service revenue and grant-funded projects.

In 2017, we won the support of Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and in July 2018 we span out of the Satellite Applications Catapult into our own independent non-profit. In September 2019 we had almost doubled in size and moved from offices within the Satellite Applications Catapult to our own offices at the Harwell Innovation Centre.

Adam Bradley

Country Manager for UK & Ireland

Sophos

What about your place or region has enabled you to scale your business?

Our central location in Abingdon, Oxfordshire has helped us to grow by attracting new and fresh talent to Sophos. Our people are drawn by the prospect of an exciting career developing and making a difference in cybersecurity in a scenic and historic part of the country. Our industry is a rapidly-evolving and fast-moving one, and the importance of recruiting the best people cannot be overstated. In return, we are committed to offering employees a wonderful working environment that fosters collaboration and creativity; it's green, spacious, and comfortable, with lots of natural light and ambience. Our location in Abingdon is ideally suited to that. And as we continue to grow as a global business, the easy access to the motorway network and international airports available from Oxfordshire has helped Sophos to reach out and extend across borders.

What do you think your place or region should be known for when it comes to tech businesses?

Oxfordshire, not just because of its world-renown university, already has a strong reputation for both innovation and commercialising new developments. There is a huge variety of tech businesses across Oxfordshire, from biotech to engineering simulation and 3D printing innovators – and of course cybersecurity. I think tech diversity is important, but I would like Oxfordshire to continue to grow as an epicentre for cybersecurity.

Where would you set up a business in the UK if you had to do it again? Why?

Sophos currently has a global estate of 40 offices in 25 countries, including the UK. Wherever we are, if employees, partners and customers can easily find their way to us, we are in the right place.

Tim Weil

Co-founder and CEO

Navenio

How is your company disrupting a part of the economy?

GPS does not work indoors - so Navenio offers pioneering, frictionless, accurate and scalable indoor location solutions that uniquely have no need to install any new infrastructure. Enabled ‘simply’ by using sensors in smartphones, unlike other indoor location solutions, Navenio offers frictionless adoption to drive powerful use cases.

Navenio’s primary market is global healthcare where it delivers real-world benefits for every user, transforming hospitals through improving workforce efficiency. Initially, Navenio focused on optimising the workflow of the supporting teams in hospitals that underpin the flow of patients. The tech uses a person’s location and attendance to dynamically prioritise and assign work.

Why did you feel that the place or region that you are based in was a good place to disrupt your industry?

Healthcare is a constant part of our everyday lives and with growing populations and global economic challenges. Oxford has a very strong healthtech ecosystem.

Navenio’s ground-breaking solution is attributable to the development of three world-class innovative University of Oxford-based technologies, so our proximity to the university has been instrumental to get us to this point as well as providing a pipeline of future talent as we scale the business.

Thomas Eyre

CEO

LOQBOX

How is your company disrupting a part of the economy?

LOQBOX is on a mission to end financial exclusion globally. We're re inventing the way people build a credit history by enabling anybody to build a credit history, while they save, for free.

By giving everyone the opportunity to build a credit history and thus a digital identity, we are removing the barriers that stop young people, those new to the country, returning expats, members of the armed forces and those who simply haven't borrowed in the past from living a normal financial life.

Why did you feel that the place or region that you are based in was a good place to disrupt your industry?

The UK as a whole is a centre of excellence for fintech and financial services as a whole. Our regulator is one of the best in the world and UK consumers are excited and engaged with services and offerings that disrupt the status quo.

Our head office is located in Bristol, a vibrant and thriving city with a developing tech scene. From Bristol we are fixing financial exclusion in the UK and the US.

Amy King

Co-founder

People Matter

What does your company do?

People Matter is a mental health technology company that provides a safe online space to allow you to measure and improve your mental wellness at work, without the need for cumbersome surveys. In March 2019, People Matter were recognised as one of the 10 Rising Stars of UK technology by Tech Nation and have since won Tech Startup of the Year in the South West.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

People Matter is based in Bournemouth at Barclays Eagle Labs. We chose to base ourselves in the South West as we believe that there is a lot of talent and opportunity outside of London and that this is a cost-effective way to start things up. A number of Universities are based in the South West that offer partnership opportunities very relevant to our work.

We also aim to create a different culture and lifestyle to more known hubs such as London. We like that idea that we can build a business that fits with our mission and ethos - to create a more caring world - and what better way than to be by the coast! Our ambition is to help support a growing and exciting community of talent, diversity and innovation.

Marcus Kern

Co-founder and Director

Duesday

What does your company do?

We're a new payment provider automating regular payments for the lettings, leisure and utility sectors. As a Fintech we help consumers to pay their regular bills through a simple app, giving them transparency and control.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

Our HQ is based in the rugged valleys of Cornwall with smaller offices in London, Madrid and Mexico City. We chose Cornwall to prove that Fintechs can be located anywhere as long as we have superfast broadband and great talent, and Cornwall has both.

Oh, and yes, loving the outdoors to surf, cycle and run helps to clear your mind and focus on our next innovation.

How could the place or region that you are based in be better prepared for your business growth/scaling?

Operating a leading software business from Cornwall is possible. I wish we could get that message out far and wide. We believe that escaping the rut of Shoreditch and the City for other regions and building sustainable high-tech businesses elsewhere is good for everyone involved.

Victoria Forrest

Founder

VIKA Books

Why did you set up your company in the place/region you are based?

In Bristol, the business is located in the Watershed's Pervasive Media Studio, where I am a permanent resident. I chose to come here because the Pervasive Media Studio has always been a unique and supportive environment that champions radical thinking and diversity. It has a wide range of residents across the technical and creative industries and it's easy to forget just how cutting edge the ideas here are. By being here everyday, I can keep my finger on the pulse of what is happening in the wider industry, and see new trends and technologies in the context of artistic application.

What challenges are you facing in your business?

Crossing the chasm! Apparently, we're slightly too early stage for investment, so we are a skeleton team, not moving as fast as we should, or could be, until we get the cash injection we need to scale. People are genuinely delighted by the product and quickly see its value and potential. I'm putting my priorities into business self-sustainability. We'd like an investment to move us along, but it's one hell of a lot of work with absolutely no guarantee of return, especially as a female founder. Previously I got to the last stage before investment and was rejected for being a 'single female founder.' I'd been a single female founder from the beginning! So now the ethos is: “Don’t waste your time chasing butterflies. Build a beautiful garden, and the butterflies will come.” – Mario Quintana.

Tom Carter

CTO

Ultraleap

What about your place or region has enabled you to scale your business?

Bristol is a fusion of deep tech and creative industries and we're a company that does very deep physics and tech but the end result has a very real and human impact so we feed off of that blend and culture.

The tech ecosystem in Bristol is also great, there's lots of infrastructure and support through things like SetSquared to help you grow.

How could your place or region be better suited to the creation of billion dollar value businesses (aka 'unicorns')?

1. Access to capital. Once you're out of angel rounds you need to get on a train to London

2. Office space. Business in Bristol is growing so much that finding an office can be hard.

3. Transport infrastructure: At the moment it feels like you have to be next to Temple Meads. If you're not, people are going to struggle to get to you.

Anna Sutton

Co-founder and CEO

The Data Shed

How is your company disrupting a part of the economy?

Terms like ‘data democracy’ are banded around in the media, but many decisions made by people in organisations are still based on their experience and expertise with no real foundation of data and insights. Something that we’re really passionate about is putting data into the hands of people who are making decisions on behalf of the company daily and can derive value from it – regardless of their technical capability. The whole premise of our Data Refinery product is to disrupt a market where licences are ridiculously expensive, allowing people to do a big chunk of the work for a fraction of the cost. This makes organisations better, driving bigger returns and more profit from efficiencies and cost reduction. We are also disruptive in the way that we approach conversations with clients. By solving a business problem, rather than a ‘data’ or ‘tech’ problem, people are starting to sit up and take notice of The Data Shed. We’re focused on the business change impact and how the end user will drive the most impact from the things we deliver, so that our clients wring every last drop of value from any project we deliver.

Why did you feel that the place or region that you are based in was a good place to disrupt your industry?

Yorkshire has a long-standing relationship with the world of data and (in my opinion!) there isn't a better place to set up a data business. Funnily enough, my dad and John Dobson, one of the founding partners of Callcredit (now Leeds ‘unicorn’ TransUnion), had a business called Business Mail Data Services back in the 1980s so you could say it’s in my blood! Alongside the Credit Bureaus which of course are giants in the data world, Yorkshire has a huge financial services sector. Legally businesses in this sector have had to be ahead of the data curve – this means that lots of the tech & data talent in Leeds are used to wrangling data and that’s a fundamental part to our success. We work with lots of different organisations and no data footprint is the same. We wouldn’t be able to deliver the unique solutions we build without the brilliant thinking from our engineers. I think that’s part of Leeds’ success in general - there are so many amazing organisations working in a collaborative city. People can move around, benefitting really good training and grounding from a huge array of tech organisations. We’re all gaining from enhancing the talent pool.

Gary Gallen

CEO and Founder

Rradar

What does your company do?

We empower and educate businesses through smarter legal services. By fusing first-class legal advice and representation with the latest technology, we create a preventative educational strategy that makes the law more accessible and affordable, supporting people to run better businesses.

rradar launched in Hull in 2012, and has grown from a one-person start-up business to a tech-enhanced law firm. It currently has over 130 full-time employees, four key strategic office locations - Hull, Leeds, Birmingham and Glasgow, a clutch of legal, tech and insurance industry awards and a turnover of over £9 million at its last year end. We continue to expand rapidly with plans for more UK offices and recruitment and our first acquisitions.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?  

We have four offices – Hull, Leeds, Glasgow and Birmingham. Each city offers a hotbed of potential for tech and law talent, enabling future employee and business scaleup.

The local area is a good transport gateway, with strategic connections to Leeds, Birmingham, London and further afield. This helps us easily transfer resources between each location.

The high-quality office space and affordable rates enable us to expand and future-proof the business, and we anticipate an increase in staff and demands on technology and communication connectivity. Our location offers us the opportunity to design and create a space with the specifications needed to reframe the delivery of legal services.

Paul Hallett

Co-founder and CEO

Vet AI

What problem is your business solving/addressing?

Vet-AI is an R&D company developing a number of solutions that focus on supporting pets, vets and giving pet parents the tools to access care more affordably and conveniently when their pets need it most. With vet fees rising by 12% year on year, pet parents are often reluctant to take their pets to the vets.

 Why did you set up your company in the place/region you are based?  

Leeds was an obvious choice for the start-up business. Home to tech co-founder Paul, he knew there was an abundant talent pool on our doorstep as well as a thriving tech community which sees lots of innovation. Yorkshire is a more cost-effective place to innovate than the capital and it has a great business network with partner agencies from PR, branding, behavioural research and legal support based locally. The university's local network was also key to the growth of the firm too. Vet-AI has appointed its chief data scientist from the university and, having found a home in Nexus, part of the University of Leeds, it now works and collaborates with research academics and is supported via the Knowledge Transfer Partnership. 

What challenges are you facing in your business?  

The regulatory body in its industry, The Royal College of Veterinary Scientists (RCVS) remains strict in its legislation which is imperative to Vet-AI's ability to prescribe and deliver medication to pets online via its app, Joii. The firm has gone to great lengths to invest in and provide credible evidence to show the results from remote veterinary consultations but remains unable to prescribe online currently. The young business also found that early stage (Seed - B2C) investment in Yorkshire is poor. The firm has recently completed its second round of funding but the previous rounds were very challenging and resulted in having to go to London to secure this.

Rik Barker

CTO

Sky Betting and Gaming

What about your place or region has enabled you to scale your business?

Leeds is becoming more and more recognised for tech excellence. It holds great links to local universities in the city itself, Sheffield, York and the wider region too. There’s a high calibre of staff developing in the North, with the start-up scene in Leeds continuing to blossom and some excellent agencies operating out of Sheffield particularly. With the variety of skills required for the technology sector, being a Yorkshire-based business has enabled us to tap into a very diverse talent pool across the region.

What do you think your place or region should be known for when it comes to tech businesses?  

A good mix of skillsets and a really diverse talent pool for employers to tap into, capable of providing scalable growth. The tech workforce in Leeds is of a relatively young age on average, which is great because it provides fresh thinking to both new and historic challenges organisations might face.

There’s a strong and growing list of businesses calling Yorkshire home: First Direct, ASDA and Burberry have Leeds offices and there’s WANdisco presence in Sheffield as well an impressive number of start-ups and scale-ups including 3Squared, Hive, Paper and Razor as well as our own Sheffield office.

It’s important to mention that there’s a strong tech agency scene in parts of Yorkshire too. Many of which work with global clients. This doesn’t happen by accident, and regions have to facilitate agency growth in order for them to succeed. So it’s clear that there are a lot of things going well at the moment. Infinity Works for example, was founded by ex-SBG employees and continues to go from strength to strength.

Simon Cole

Founder

Automated Intelligence

What does your company do?

Founded in 2010, Automated Intelligence (AI) is a UK based, award-winning, software company headquartered in the heart of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

AI empowers organisations to take control of their data, so they can better plan and manage their digital future. Over the past 10 years, AI has developed solutions to supply the ever-changing data management needs of companies from across a range of industries. AI provides a world-class, cloud-based data management platform which is used to index, analyse and govern companies' data by applying automated policies and compliance. Many of the clients AI works with are operating in heavily regulated industries which have strict laws meaning that the management, retention and storage of their data needs to be world-class. This highlights the scope and quality of AI’s solutions. Regardless of industry, AI provides flexible and tailored solutions to suit ever-changing business requirements and promote the success of each of its clients.

How could the place or region that you are based in be better prepared for your business growth/scaling?

In Northern Ireland, there is a tendency to lack confidence in the incredible work we do or to believe that there isn’t a place for our businesses on the global stage. By promoting and supporting fellow businesses, that belief will begin to build, and local companies will envisage themselves competing globally and achieving the scale of what they are capable of.

Northern Ireland has an elite pool of talent and skills to offer. This offers a unique opportunity for employers and talent, but also leads to a fiercely competitive landscape and a need to attract new talent to live and work in Northern Ireland.

Joe Boyle

Founder

SaltDNA

What does your company do?

SaltDNA are a multi-award-winning cybersecurity company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that builds secure enterprise mobile communications solutions. SaltDNA offers ‘Peace of Mind’ for Organisations who value their privacy, by giving them complete control and secure communications, to protect their trusted relationships and stay safe.

SaltDNA was formed in 2013 by a group of tech entrepreneurs with a shared history in enterprise security, telecoms, network optimisation and app development. As a company SaltDNA has shown extremely high levels of growth. 2019 was a record-breaking year for SaltDNA expanding their partner programme and gathering customers across 6 continents. SaltDNA were one of the UK’s Most Disruptive Companies by D/SRUPTION and One of Europe’s best in first ever ‘Ones to Watch’ list by the European Business Awards.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

When developing the concept of SaltDNA the founders of the business were based in San Francisco working for global enterprise solution companies. To develop the SaltDNA secure communications platform they wanted to move back to Belfast to leverage the excellent resources the city had to offer, and the high level of graduates that were being developed at Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University.

What changes do you feel your company has brought about in your region/the UK/the world?

In the past 12 months, we have expanded our partner programme significantly adding new partners in USA, Mexico, Canada, Ireland, UK, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, UAE, Switzerland, Poland, Czech Republic, Singapore, India, Indonesia, Ireland, United Kingdom and Spain.

Jason McKeown

Founder

Neurovalens

What problem is your business solving/addressing?

The problem that Neurovalens is trying to solve or address is really twofold. One is that Neurotechnology has been around for more than 30 years, but it's typically implanted. So that makes it a very high-risk, and very expensive. So the first challenge that Neurovalens has that we're trying to solve is how do you make that less expensive and less risky. We have done that by making the tech non-invasive. So Neurovalens at a core level makes non-invasive neurotechnology. So it brings the cost down about 100 fold; some of these devices implanted are $30,000. Our tech is in the region of sort of $300 dollars. And also then the risk profile changes from being a last resort to being a potential first-line therapy, and even beyond that where you can operate in the preventative space which is actually a pretty new area of medicine, and it's where consumer health and low-risk medical devices overlap. So that is the first problem we're solving.

Why did you set up your company in the place/region you are based?

So interestingly the primary clinical site that were have is in California, so whenever we were looking at at all the clinical data and the tech that potentially we could make, we have the option of setting up in California or actually setting up in the UK specifically in Belfast. There's several reasons why we picked Belfast; one is that I'm from there - I did my medical degree in Belfast and I'm very proud to be from here and represent Northern Ireland. The second part of that is that the Government support we have in the UK in general is arguably much better than we would have in the US. But also specific to Belfast or Northern Ireland is that the support financially, and even just from an education point of view, that we have with invest NI is really significant. And then outside of just Neurovalens, the other thing we have here in Belfast is really high skillset for a pretty reasonable cost. So if you look at the wages for a team in the US or in Silicon Valley compared to here in Belfast you get a much greater skillset but at a greatly reduced cost. So all of those reasons together made us want to focus Neurovalens here in Belfast.

Tom Gray

CTO

Kainos

What about your place or region has enabled you to scale your business?

A spin out from QUBIS, the commercialisation arm of Queen’s University, Kainos has scaled organically and rapidly over the last 30+ years for several reasons attributable to our region. QUBIS played a key role in enabling Kainos to secure a pipeline of consistently good quality employees. Tech Nation’s own reporting cites that Belfast is specialised in digital technology from an employer demand perspective.

How could your place or region be better suited to the creation of billion dollar value businesses (aka 'unicorns')?

Northern Ireland has several challenges to overcome that are distinct from those faced by other regions in the UK. Kainos has been able to overcome this by being outward and forward-looking, having an early export focus and scaling through growth taking place in the UK overall. The biggest barrier businesses face is simple geography: separation by water makes it harder for local companies to get involved in broader UK activities and opportunities for support.

Northern Ireland could be better suited to creating ‘unicorns’ by breaking down the barriers to scalability. This includes being more confident on the world stage and improving our ability to sell outside NI.

Invest NI grants and some private capital support business investment, however more programmes to improve capabilities would be welcome. Invest NI is one of the few sources of capital in a constrained landscape and scalable businesses would benefit from more access to capital from VCs, for example. Closer trading relationships with the EU and US would also offer more opportunities to scale.

Allan Cannon

Founder & CEO

R3-IOT

How is your company disrupting connectivity?

90% of the globe lacks mobile connectivity. At R3 IoT we have developed a technology that allows organisations operating in these areas to collect and move sensor data directly back to the cloud via satellite. Our platform allows enterprises to implement new processes and innovations which results in huge savings, reduction in environmental impact, reduction in health and safety risk, gaining of new insights and peace of mind. Lack of connectivity has always been a challenge when in remote locations. By solving this problem we are able to help businesses overcome some huge operational obstacles and add real tangible value.

Why did you feel Scotland was a good place to do that?

Scotland is perfect for developing a business like ours. There are a high number of high value industries that have the majority of their operations in remote and often challenging environments. These locations are underserved by cellular infrastructure providing the perfect testing ground  for us to prove out our concept, our business model whilst working closely with global companies.   

Which markets do you operate in at the moment?

In 2020 we are focussed on a number of key markets where we are able to add a huge amount of value with our technology whilst growing our business. Our primary vertical is aquaculture and more specifically Atlantic salmon. Aquaculture in Scotland is a £1.6Bn market with targets to grow to £3.0Bn by 2030 and is a huge growth industry globally. It is an exciting time for the industry as they move to digitise operations due to pressures from both regulators and consumers. Our solution helps the industry monitor their operations which allows the producers to improve fish welfare and their impact on the environment. We are extremely excited by the fact that our technology is highly exportable across not only in Aquaculture but in some of our secondary markets such as renewable energy, remote healthcare and asset monitoring.

Tynah Matembe

Founder & CEO

MoneyMatix

What does your MoneyMatix do?

MoneyMatiX tackles financial inclusion and financial literacy by providing parents and children with tools to set, manage and monitor their financial goals throughout important life moments. We do this via our Kuza tools, Kuza means to grow, nurture and blossom core concepts of our business. We are on a mission to transform lives by creating financially capable communities.

What changes do you feel your company has brought about in your region/ the UK/ the world?

For a long time, financial education has been neglected leaving young people without a practical understanding such a crucial life skill of managing money properly. Our APP and Workshops allow adults to transform and improve their own financial habits in a way that is visual and exciting for young people to see healthy money role models in practical use cases. We have created tools that give practical, fun and relevant teaching moments to spark financial conversations allowing even the least knowledgeable adult to role model good money habits. 

How could Scotland be better prepared for your business growth/ scaling?

Access to more Smart capital is a challenge for most Start-Ups in Scotland. The amount of money that investors avail for startups is much less than neighbouring cities like London and becomes even less when compared to the United States of America. Access to Smart Investment capital would go a long way in helping growth/scaling.

Amy Williams & Daniel Winterstein

CEO and CTO

Good-Loop

How does your business support its cause? 

At Good-Loop our mission is to make social impact easy and profitable for massive global brands. We have built an ethical ad platform which distributes advertising on websites and social channels around the world. Every time someone chooses to watch, swipe or click on one of our ads, the user unlocks a free donation, funded by the advertiser, and can pick a charity or project to support.

In an industry worth $600bn, we make advertisers put their money where their mouth is and that’s why Keith Weed, the ex-CMO of Unilever, called Good-Loop a true ‘win-win’ for consumers, causes and companies. 

Why did you decide to set up your company in Scotland?

The startup-scene in Scotland is also an incredibly supportive and collaborative environment. It's a tight network of well-informed investors, impressive technical talent and valuable expertise, fuelled in part by the strategic and financial support of Scottish Enterprise. Good-Loop has really thrived in this environment. 

What are the challenges you are facing in your business?

The advertising industry is mature and well established, with some massive global players. Our challenge is being heard through the noise and carving out an ownable piece of the pie - whilst working on a shoestring budget! We're always looking for new ways to grow our network and spread the word about Good-Loop, that's why PR opportunities, events and introductions are so valuable to our business. 

Duncan Hart

Founder and CEO

DeepMiner

What does your company do?

DeepMiner is a new search engine independent of current providers. Driven by AI, we present a private, unfiltered, unbiased, networked and connected view of information that you want to see from internal and external websites and data. We enable users to see the sentiment surrounding stories and help them make informed decisions.

Why Aberdeen?

Aberdeen is a city transforming itself. Traditionally known for its Oil and Gas Industry, over the last few years we have seen, through Opportunity North East, significant focus and investment in diversifying the economy across a range of sectors including digital.  This led to the opening of ONE Tech Hub which is home to ONE CodeBase an ambitious and fast-growing startup community who share ONE’s passion to build and anchor the digital sector in the region.

With both founders based in the North East it seemed a logical place for DeepMiner to remain and work at growing and scaling our economy whilst working to develop a vibrant diverse tech scene in the NE of Scotland.

National and International Focus

DeepMiner as a global search engine is naturally an international product, and internationalisation of our offering is a core part of our scaling plans. We have customers in the UK and the USA and at the next stage we will be looking to significantly increase our user base nationally and internationally.

DeepMiner are the only company from Aberdeen and one of six named from Scotland in the independently voted 100 SmartTech Innovators of 2020.

Daniel Jefferys

CEO

Resooma

What markets do Resooma operate in?

Resooma operates in the private rental sector; that's all private housing, so our clients are generally based in the UK in one of the major cities, though we do have people in towns as well. So that is one side of the market. Kind of the add-on insurance products that we do, they are again generally UK but we have a couple of US options too that we'll be working with as well. And then, in terms of who we're actually booking these properties to. We have tenants from the UK of course, Europe, China, India, Africa as well and a lot of other far-flung countries. We've got partnerships in a lot of different international places but we're technically not booking rooms in International buildings just yet, but obviously that's for the future.

How are you disrupting the economy?

Resooma is disrupting the economy in a few different ways. So, within our market, there are a few issues, which is divided up into the B2C side, the tenants and the B2C side of the property owners. The issue with both of those is that they have an extremely hard time renting properties.

So, how Resooma is disrupting this area of the market is, we're creating an end-to-end rental marketplace that serves both tenants and property owners. What we can do is we can allow tenants and property owners to list and search for free, reduce their travel costs with VR viewings, and then they can manage and book properties via their smartphones. All the complicated admin such as reference checks, contracts, processing of rental payments is all handled by Resooma as part of our main service.

So that ultimately makes it much easier to rent on both sides of the marketplace.

David Janczewski

CEO

Coincover

Coincover removes the risks associated with owning cryptocurrency. We have created the world’s first insured protection against online cryptocurrency theft and our technology platform has removed the risk of anyone ever losing their cryptocurrency. We are making owning cryptocurrency as safe as any other financial investment and enabling wider adoption for the large and fast-growing numbers first-time cryptocurrency investors.

Why did you choose to base your company in your place or region?

South Wales has a thriving tech and start up scene with a growing support network for sectors like FinTech and an established pool of talent. There is funding, development and technical support available from the Welsh Government, Angels Invest Wales and local universities such as Cardiff Met. Having worked in the area, we knew we could access talent and office space at a lower cost. The good transport links were also a major factor. We are big supporters of flexible and remote working with team members all over the UK and investors and customers in London.

Coincover is a company founded in Wales, based in Wales and with significant Welsh investment but our reach and our aspirations are global. We have a global product at the forefront of cryptocurrency and blockchain – probably the fastest growing areas in the financial sector in the world today. The market for digital assets has grown from nothing to $350Bn in value in just 11 years and is predicted to be worth trillions over the next decade.

Afroditi Konidari

Director

Tendertec

What problem is your business solving/addressing?

Tendertec, the Cardiff-based, award-winning startup, opening the door to personalised, preventative, and cost-effective elder care. Established in 2017 by Dr. Afroditi Konidari and Rui Zhang, Tendertec develops AI powered room sensing technology to support independent living for elderly and vulnerable people, providing their families the peace of mind that if anything harmful happens at their loved one’s home, it won’t go unnoticed.

What challenges are you facing in your business?

• Lack of local talent in the areas of Machine Learning, Embedded Software Engineering & Hardware Design.
• Candidates with experience coming outside Wales are demanding London style salaries regardless of the lower costs of living in Wales
• Graduate candidates pose a management challenge as they lack woking life and soft skills.
• It'd be great if London based Accelerators, Hubs, Platforms and Events could provide virtual participation to startups based in other parts of the UK whose transport links to London are too costly or time consuming

Chris Ganje

CEO

AMPLYFI

What about your place or region has enabled you to scale your business?

The funding and long- term support available from organisations such as the Development Bank of Wales and the Welsh Government more broadly, have also been pivotal to helping us to succeed in this location. As one of the UK’s fastest growing tech clusters, Cardiff hosts leading innovation ecosystems. This is underpinned by hubs such as Tramshed Tech, where AMPLYFI is headquartered, as well as programmes such as NatWest’s flagship Accelerator in Cardiff, that gave us access to free office space, coaching, leadership development and an entrepreneurial community.

How could your place or region be better suited to the creation of billion-dollar value businesses?

The one missing ingredient impacts when exciting enterprises start to scale and seek to raise their Series B and beyond. Up to this point, strong local investor networks working alongside the Development Bank of Wales provide readily accessible levels of capital for early-stage enterprises. For those with true unicorn ambitions and potential, the need to engage with top tier VCs from Series B onwards to raise the capital amounts needed to grow to a global scale inevitably means – at the moment – turning to London, the USA, or, increasingly, Asia. Such investors are generally unaware of the opportunities that this region offers.