Tech City UK’s Upscale programme, which supports the fastest growing tech companies in the UK, has announced the addition of 37 new companies for 2018. This marks the third year of the programme, which provides world-class advice and mentorship from successful tech entrepreneurs and investors such as Niklas Zennstrom, Saul Klein, Jess Butcher, Anthony Fletcher, and Lesley Eccles. The selected companies, with an average of 33 employees and revenues of more than £1.7m per year, represent some of the most promising early stage talent across the country. These companies have raised funds ranging from £17m to £470,000 and have the potential to become the next generation of household names in the digital sphere.
- The average number of employees is 33.
- The average funding raised by companies is £5.9m.
- The average annual revenue generated by companies is £1.7m.
- The average age of companies is 4.5 years.
- 43% of companies are Business to Business (B2B).
- 38% of companies cater to both consumer and business markets.
- 19% of companies have a direct-to-consumer focus.
- 10 out of 37 companies are regionally represented.
- 24% of companies have a female founder or co-founder.
Sectors that have joined Upscale
Tech City UK’s Upscale programme for 2018 showcases companies from various sectors, highlighting the increasing significance of domains such as Fintech, Cybersecurity, and data analytics. The programme encompasses a diverse range of businesses, demonstrating the emerging trends and developments in the industry.
- App & Software Development: Vita Mojo, JustPark
- Cybersecurity: B-Secur, AimBrain, Panaseer, Garrison Technology
- Data & Analytics: ASI Data Science, Peak, Decibel Insight
- Fintech: Bought By Many, Flyt, Monese, Cryptopay, Neos, Aire, VoxSmart
- Digital Entertainment: VirtTrade, nDreams, Azoomee
- eCommerce & Marketplace: Prezola, Cornerstone, BorrowMyDoggy
- EdTech: MyTutor, BridgeU, Makers Academy
- SaaS: Winnow, Veeqo, Beamery, Attest
- HealthTech: Vida, Elder
- InsurTech: Zego
- Robotics, AR, Connected Devices: Reach Robotics, Emotech, Senseye
- Al, Machine Learning & Automation: Rainbird, Prowler
According to Jos Smart, who leads the Upscale team, the launch of Upscale 3.0 is an exciting event as they bring in 37 of the most prominent scaleups in the UK to join the program. The Upscale team is set to work alongside the founders and leadership teams for the next 6 months, facilitating a series of deep dive workshops led by their world-class Scale Coaches, to uncover the secrets of successful scaling.
Apart from the workshops, Upscale is also passionate about establishing the most powerful scaling network in the UK. Having welcomed 100 companies since its inception in 2016, Upscale firmly believes that connecting the UK’s leading scaleup founders will lead to faster, smarter, and stronger growth of their respective companies when they work together.
The Minister for Creative and Digital Industries, Margot James, has announced a £21m investment to transform Tech City UK into a national organization with a view to boosting the tech sector’s strong regional growth. In her statement, she congratulated all the companies selected for the Upscale programme, which supports firms with significant potential to succeed. By offering support to these innovative companies, the aim is to make the UK the best place to start or grow a digital business, with benefits that will be spread across the country.
The CEO of Tech City UK, Gerard Grech, emphasized the significance of the Upscale program as a vital platform for showcasing some of the most promising startups in the UK. Despite the fortunate abundance of companies embarking on this journey, Grech stressed the need to continue supporting those who are daring enough to start or expand a business in the UK.
It is crucial to maintain support for this community of ambitious entrepreneurs, now more than ever. This pipeline of emerging businesses has the potential to make a significant impact on the global stage, and it is essential to keep the UK at the forefront of the industry that generates high-value, high-paying jobs throughout the country.
Rikke Rosenlund, the CEO and Founder of BorrowMyDoggy, based in London, expressed her excitement about the opportunity to access exceptional mentors, coaching services, and a robust community of founders. She believes that through this network, BorrowMyDoggy will gain new skills and knowledge that will enable them to scale their business.
The co-founders of Peak, based in Manchester, namely Atul Sharma, David Leitch, and Richard Potter expressed their belief that joining Upscale 3.0 would play a crucial role in advancing Peak’s scale-up strategy. They highlighted that the program’s benefits include providing the team with valuable experience gained from attending workshops, receiving mentorship, and engaging in peer-to-peer learning. Additionally, Upscale 3.0 would offer Peak an opportunity to connect and network with other businesses that share the same mindset.
Marc Zornes, the Founder of Winnow, expressed his appreciation for being a part of Upscale 3.0 and looked forward to the opportunity to learn from accomplished entrepreneurs and industry experts about the complexities involved in scaling up a startup. He described being a part of the program as a genuine privilege.
Lucy Stonehill, the CEO and Co-founder of BridgeU, expressed her dedication to developing a solution for the intricate and disjointed landscape of post-secondary education. BridgeU strives to equip schools with the tools to prepare today’s students for the future world. Stonehill is thrilled to collaborate with the Upscale team, as it will facilitate BridgeU’s growth and expansion following its Series A round. She eagerly anticipates the opportunity to join the programme in 2018 and scale BridgeU quickly and intelligently.
Ben Taylor and James Duez, co-founders of Rainbird, a company based in Norwich, expressed their excitement upon being selected for the Upscale 3.0 programme. They acknowledged the strong alumni associated with the programme and considered it a significant privilege to be part of it. They also expressed their delight at Rainbird’s recognition as one of the UK’s most compelling scale-ups. They believe that this recognition is just the beginning of an amazing year for the company and their clients.
The programme:
Upscale is a program that brings together founders and leadership teams from the UK’s most promising tech companies with top-notch Scale Coaches. The program offers a range of carefully curated workshops and mentoring sessions to 37 selected companies. This unique opportunity allows these companies to learn from some of the most influential tech entrepreneurs from the UK and beyond. Additionally, they can access powerful advice on how to overcome growth barriers.
Upscale 4.0 Applications
Upscale 4.0 Applications are now open for companies intending to raise series A funding in 2018. Interested companies can express their interest by registering. Once registered, applicants will receive an email notification when applications open in the autumn.
Upscale supporters:
Our Upscale programme owes its success to the invaluable assistance and backing of our programme partners. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Cooley, Founders Keepers, Founders Pledge, OracleNetsuite, and Silicon Valley Bank for their generous support.
List of Upscale 2018 companies:
- AimBrain offers a Biometric Identity as-a-Service platform for financial institutions worldwide.
- Aire aims to promote fairness for all participants in the credit ecosystem.
- ASI Data Science empowers clients to solve business problems using AI.
- Attest is a platform that involves target consumers in business decision-making.
- Azoomee is a kids’ digital TV and game app featuring over 1,000 games and videos.
- B-Secur uses an individual’s heartbeat to establish a connection between them and their devices.
- Beamery provides software for companies seeking top talent without traditional applications.
- BorrowMyDoggy matches dog owners with borrowers for walks, sitting, and holiday care.
- Bought By Many aims to create better insurance options for everyone.
- BridgeU empowers schools to offer intelligent, modern university and career guidance.
- Cornerstone offers quality men’s toiletries through an online subscription model.
- Cryptopay simplifies digital currency banking.
- Decibel Insight reveals user behavior online, enabling businesses to improve their experience.
- Elder is a platform that offers personalized live-in carers to customers.
- Emotech is an AI startup that aims to enhance human-technology relationships.
- Flyt connects consumer apps with physical venues.
- Garrison Technology provides secure web access with scalability, performance, and affordability.
- JustPark empowers drivers to find, reserve, and pay for parking spots in seconds.
- Makers Academy helps beginners learn to code and land their first tech job.
- Monese enables easy banking in 20 countries like a local.
- MyTutor connects secondary school learners with university students.
- nDreams offers VR games and experiences.
- Neos helps consumers protect and insure their homes through an app.
- Panaseer measures security automatically.
- Peak offers data analytics-as-a-service to help businesses grow with data and AI.
- Prezola is an online wedding gift list company.
- Prowler is the world’s first principled AI platform for generalized decision-making.
- Rainbird is an AI-powered automated decision-making platform.
- Reach Robotics offers robotics, gaming, and augmented reality.
- Senseye forecasts machine failures without requiring expert manual analysis.
- Veeqo streamlines retail operations, allowing businesses to focus on growth.
- Vida builds technology to deliver a new model and standard of care.
- VirtTrade is a leading publisher of Digital Trading Cards.
- Vita Mojo is a restaurant chain and software company.
- VoxSmart provides secure software solutions for highly regulated industries.
- Winnow develops cutting-edge technology to help chefs reduce food waste.
- Zego offers flexible insurance policies to workers who can choose how, when, and where they work.
Scale Coaches:
- Saul Klein, Co-founder Local Globe
- Verne Harnish, Author Scaling Up
- Jess Butcher, Co-founder & Director Blippar
- Brent Hoberman, Executive Chairman Founders Factory
- Suranga Chandratillake, Partner Balderton Capital
- Tracy Doree, Founding Partner Kindred Capital
- Simon Calver, Partner BGF
- Siraj Khaliq, Partner Atomico
- Thor Mitchell, CPO Crowdcube
- Greg Marsh, Co-founder One Fine Stay
- Asi Sherabi, Founder & CEO Wonderbly
- Shane Corstrophini, General Manager Skyscanner
- Divina Knowles, COO & Director Pact
- Benjamin Grohl, Investment Partner Head of Growth
- Toby Moore, Co-founder & CTO Space Ape
- Patrick Campbell, Co-founder & CEO Price Intelligently
- Amir Kfir, Board Member Million Peacemakers
- Anthony Fletcher, CEO Graze
- Joel Gasgione, Co-founder & CEO Buffer
- Matt Buckland, Head of Talent Lyst
- Steven Rose, Sales Coach Commvault
- Louise Plamer, CEO & Board Advisor Kornferry
- Simon Wright, Founder Simon Wright Associates
- Andrew Graham, Non-Executive Director/Advisor Movement Strategies
- Luke Lang, CMO Crowdcube
- Alex Gayer, CFO Receipt Bank
- Placid Jover, VP HR, UK & Ireland Unilever
- Meri Williams, CTO Moo
- Ian Sutherland, CFO Wonderbly
