The South East’s most exciting new businesses have been shortlisted as part of a brand new awards programme.
The StartUp Awards National Series has been launched to recognise the booming startup scene across the UK which has accelerated since the pandemic began. In 2020, when most of the world was shutting down, more than 400,000 startups were set up in Britain, with similar increases seen in other European countries.
This marked boost in newfound entrepreneurship is mirrored by a huge 2,500 applications which have been received in response to the Startup Awards National Series’ first ever call for entries.
The South East startups that made the shortlist are a true snapshot of the future economy, with a collective turnover of almost £15m and employing 362 people between them. Of the region’s great passion for entrepreneurship, one finalist said: “The South East is incredible for its network of like-minded businesses. They are extremely forward-thinking; the companies in our region care about technology and their impact on the environment.”
The cohort of finalists announced today will be considered for the regional prizes by a panel of seasoned judges with experience founding or supporting entrepreneurial ventures. This includes South East-based Joel Dalton, co-founder of Clone Media, Jo Tutchener-Sharp, founder of Scamp & Dude, and Kate Hills, founder of Make it British.
Supported nationally by BT, EY, Dell & Intel, the programme will celebrate the achievements of the amazing individuals across the UK who have turned an idea into an opportunity and taken the risk to launch a new product or service.
Co-founded by the team behind the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, the new series follows the success of the Wales StartUp Awards, after organisers recognised the exceptional potential in the startup scene across the other British regions.
Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, the creator of the StartUp Awards National Series, said: “New firms are important for generating economic prosperity, employment opportunities and innovation. Since 2016, the Wales StartUp Awards have celebrated this amazing annual contribution to our economy by entrepreneurs and the impact they have on communities across the nation.
“Given the sheer volume of phenomenal startups we’ve heard from since then, as well as the huge post-pandemic shift in people’s desires to take their career in a new direction and set up a business against the odds, we felt it was the right time to take the programme nationwide. We’ve been blown away by the standard of entries from the South East in this first year and truly look forward to crowning the winners.”
The South East final will take place at Reading SU on 21st June 2022.
This year’s StartUp Awards National Series finalists from the South East are:
B2B Services StartUp
Evolution Engineers, Founded by James Lee
HRS Communications, Founded by Harriet Smith
Rebellion Marketing, Founded by Jade Scotney
Seeblue Marketing, Founded by Helen Brown & Orla Murphy
Think Wow, Founded by Rebecca & Daniel Brown
Cognomie, Founded by Kate Hesk
B2C Services StartUp
Build & Breathe Scoliosis, Founded by Emily Hale
Car Guide, Founded by Olli Astley & Mima Rybanska
MRG Coaching, Founded by Meg Roundell Greene
REALWORK, Founded by Fleur Emery
FourState, Founded by Patrick Brown & Robert Kemp
Construction & Building Services StartUp
The Room Boutique, Founded by Elise Jalon
The XtraHand, Founded by Alan Gillett
Absolar Solutions, Founded by Nic Cory
Creative StartUp
HanSpringett, Founded by Hannah Springett
LVL/UP, Founded by Aysha Powell, Francesca Moody & George Perrin MBE
The Healing Hub, Founded by Nikki Owen & Robert Wagner
ZEG, Founded by Tushar Sharma
Digital StartUp
Cook My Grub, Founded by Shabbir Mookhtiar
Digikind, Founded by Kathy Kyle Bonomini & David Worsell
Car Guide, Founded by Olli Astley & Mima Rybanska
Product Smart, Founded by Deborah Reid
WeComm, Founded by Terry Cannon
Fintech StartUp
Alphaletz, Founded by Richard Jackson
Astmoor Finance, Founded by Jamie Stokes & Daniel Stanton
Emergo UK, Founded by Les Jeal
fumo, Founded by Kevin Ludford
Food & Drink StartUp
DuelFuel, Founded by Tim Davies & Michael Naylor
Esprala Drinks, Founded by Imran Hamid
Freddie’s Farm, Founded by Alex Lewis & Charlie Fermor
Seeks Beer, Founded by Tom Dale
The Keto Collective, Founded by Suzie Walker
Global StartUp
The Metal Packager, Founded by Alex Fordham
Penta Studio, Founded by Samuel Freeman
NEAT, Founded by Ryan McSorley
Graduate StartUp
anydaymade, Founded by Jessica Muscio & Molly Cook
GEN Z TALENT, Founded by Remy Beaumont
George Bacon Media, Founded by George Bacon
WellEasy, Founded by Sonny Drinkwater & Joshua Barley
Green StartUp
Roots and Hoots, Founded by Shiv Misra
EVE EV, Founded by Alex Watson
KinKind, Founded by Victoria Coe
Sustainable Design Studio, Founded by Rory Dickens
The Electric Car Scheme, Founded by Thom Groot
The Rainforester, Founded by Jonathan & Thomas Mbu
Innovative StartUp
Angel Alliance, Founded by Maddelena Bergen
Paperbell, Founded by Laura Roeder
Traffic Matters, Founded by Christopher Denman, Rolandas Lakavicius & Stephen Goldsmith
MOVEability, Founded by Debbie Medlin & Mandy Nicholls
Manufacturing & Engineering StartUp
Green Room Fabrication, Founded by Luke Smith & Chris Hibbert
The Online Wine Tasting Club, Founded by Alex Taylor & Jamie Smith
RECOVERY ROOM, Founded by Mike Mockford
Mobile & Emerging Technologies StartUp
Fact360, Founded by Paddy Lawton
Car Guide, Founded by Olli Astley & Mima Rybanska
Meek, Founded by Ricky Laub-Turner & Alexander Milan Varmuza
Online Retail StartUp
Green Tees, Founded by Simon Hassett
Handmade in Harpenden, Founded by Farhana Haque & Henry Draine
Randy Cow, Founded by Dave Weller
Your Preloved Stories, Founded by Elizabeth Cook & Gemma Wareham
Professional Services StartUp
Customs Management, Founded by Paul Reilly & Joe Corcoran
Edison Search, Founded by Ben Wallin & Daniel Cox
Middle Group, Founded by Sarah Roads & Anna Smith
Polymensa, Founded by Daniel De La Cruz
Pitch Hill Partners, Founded by Ray Nicholls
Social StartUp
Naturally Talented Me CIC, Founded by Nikki Mears & Nick Boothroyd
Formy Books CIC, Founded by Ebony Lyon & Curtis Ackie
Sussex Against Bullying, Founded by Benjamin Checkley
Tourism & Leisure StartUp
Attendable, Founded by Catherine Grinyer & Sarah Florence
True North Travel, Founded by Chris Beaumont & Simon Richardson
Unmissable England, Founded by Chris Brant
Rising Star Award
&ASIAN, Founded by Aimée Kwan, Linda Wei, Francesca Verceles-Zara & Yin Ting Lau
Arma Karma, Founded by Ben Smyth
nookary, Founded by Jacqueline Hamilton
Petto Smart Nutrition, Founded by Eduardo Salazar & Julio Guijarro
Sea Sense Flip Flops, Founded by Luke McMillan
Shogun Social, Founded by James Gayle
Soulshine Digital, Founded by Georgia Macaulay
The 3D Printers, Founded by Jo & Darren Howton
Wing, Founded by Sina Sadrzadeh
Yumshi, Founded by Jonny Leung
Young Entrepreneur
Fourstate, Founded by Patrick Brown & Robert Kemp
Astmoor Finance, Founded by Jamie Stokes & Daniel Stanton
Edison Search, Founded by Hannah Chapman, Ben Wallin & Daniel Cox
HRS Communications, Founded by Harriet Smith
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