Finalists for the Midlands in a new UK-wide awards initiative championing the best in start-ups and entrepreneurial activity can been revealed.
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 nascent 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 Midlands startups that made the shortlist are a true snapshot of the future economy, with a collective turnover of over £15m and employing 547 people between them. Of the region’s great passion for entrepreneurship, one finalist said: “The Midlands is full of exciting and wonderful opportunities, with its open countryside and wide variety of events.
“It’s also built on the foundations of some fantastic entrepreneurship, from Rolls-Royce to Bombardier, and many more. I've been supported by many Midlands businesses in a range of sectors and by families recommending me by word of mouth.”
The cohort of finalists will be considered for the regional prizes by a panel of seasoned judges with experience founding or supporting entrepreneurial ventures. This includes Midlands-based Piers Linney, serial entrepreneur and Dragons Den investor, and Heather Gorringe, founder of Great British Florist.
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 , 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 Midlands in this first year and truly look forward to crowning the winners.”
The Midlands final will take place at The Crane Birmingham on 16th June 2022.
This year’s StartUp Awards National Series finalists from the Midlands are:
Marketing, Advertising & PR StartUp
Barbell Marketing, Founded by Adam Karmi & Kateryna Bashkivska
Destination Digital Marketing, Founded by Debbie Porter
iOB Business, Founded by Kamran Awan & James Mohamed
Reformed IT, Founded by Joe Burns, Joe Miller & Scott Lynam
Rewind Creative, Founded by Alice Price & Matthew Layton
Unknown Agency, Founded by Joe Yates
B2B Services StartUp
Colleague Box, Founded by Natalie & Adam Bamford
DUKE Distribution, Founded by James Robinson
The SaaSy People, Founded by Reece Couchman
Tickd, Founded by Richard Price
UK Fire Door Training, Founded by Jonny Millard
Victress Digital, Founded by Emma Glover
B2C Services StartUp
I’m Lucky, Founded by Lucy & Kim Evans
The Scent Corvus., Founded by Jessica Messenger
Tom’s Yard, Founded by Thomas Pearson
What's your strength? , Founded by Katherine Jennick
Construction & Building Services StartUp
Construo, Founded by Tom Spilsted
ICI Architecture Studio, Founded by Jordan Kirkham
Praxis Construction Contractors, Founded by Kriss Taylor & Paul Wright
TRH Plumbing & Heating, Founded by Tom Harley
Creative StartUp
Fairley Bohemian , Founded by Harriet Fairley
isin, Founded by Daljit Singh
La Fille Créative, Founded by Natalie Goudge
Saint Associates, Founded by Neilroy Gunn
SBLTV, Founded by Carl Jones, Chris Pritchard & Mark Allsop
Digital StartUp
Beesting Digital, Founded by Heather Murray
Digital D, Founded by Gurpreet Dhillon
FranScape, Founded by Theo Millward
Live Tech Games , Founded by Nathan Moore & Samuel Worsley
Office Tech Services, Founded by Joe Carballo
Fintech StartUp
Hummingbird, Founded by Vishal Mishra & Himanshu Sharma
Pay iO, Founded by Mandeep Nagra & Jon Singh
VOILO, Founded by Ravi Ranjan & Ronan Hynes
Food and Drink StartUp
Cidentro Cider House, Founded by Hiranthi Cook
Flav's, Founded by Ligia Enoki & Flavio Pizzolotti
Local MasterChefs, Founded by Ali Mirza
SkinnyDips, Founded by Nitesh Mall & Andrew Vanezis
Global StartUp
Instinctive Solutions, Founded by David Jones
Katie King & Co. , Founded by Katie King
Mums In Marketing, Founded by Claire Ferreira
Victress Digital, Founded by Emma Glover
Graduate StartUp
Legless Games, Founded by Lily Brown, Alistair Moss & Thomas Doherty
Local MasterChefs, Founded by Ali Mirza
Maze, Founded by Juliet Edjere, Sarah Nantume & Winner Adebayo
VOILO , Founded by Ravi Ranjan & Ronan Hynes
Green StartUp
FACC IT, Founded by Oli Strong
LAVA-LITE, Founded by Dominic & Kieron Tompkin
MKKF, Founded by Matej Kapinaj
ZeroSmart, Founded by Eliana Vanekova & John Munn
Innovative StartUp
Innovation Consulting & Solutions, Founded by Hadeel Tawfik
Saucestream, Founded by Peter Neath & Ian Worton
Skyfarer, Founded by Elliot Parnham
Twio, Founded by Barny Dillarstone
Manufacturing & Engineering StartUp
Fyous, Founded by Thomas Bloomfield & Joshua Shires
Digital Manufacturing Centre , Founded by Kieron Salter
Certa Design , Founded by Jordan Jackson
Online Retail StartUp
Ellyla , Founded by Sarika Talwar & Ian Kane
Circle of Style, Founded by Muna Nageh
Local e Sourced , Founded by Hamish Light
My Urban Trail, Founded by Laura Purcell
Violet Jordan , Founded by Edward & Lucy Forrester
Professional Services StartUp
Distribute Digital, Founded by Andrew Hill
Hooperhyde, Founded by Catherine Hyde
MOJITAX , Founded by Munachiso Ogu-Jude
PROPFINIUM UK, Founded by Richard Hooper
The Leadership Coaches, Founded by Zoe Lewis
Rising Star Award
Apakama Technologies , Founded by Kelechi Apakama
Bloom VA, Founded by Katie Peggs
CAPTIVATIUN, Founded by Raj Sharma
Gentlemen's Scrub Club, Founded by Laura Burton & Paul Doughty
Hands And Paws Photography, Founded by Robert Simpson
Impactivity: Talking Without Limits, Founded by Andy Ryley
Maze, Founded by Juliet Edjere, Sarah Nantume & Winner Adebayo
Myshoots , Founded by Georgina Bowman
Rialto Training , Founded by Eloise Idoine
Ones Trainers, Founded by Sam Lambeth & Simon Caulton
Thackray Brown , Founded by Victoria Williams
The Avenue Estate Agents, Founded by Jack Durkin & James Humphries-Stone
Work Simplr, Founded by Shrevan Marath
the facelet, Founded by Jolene Pole
Social StartUp
Chronically Brown, Founded by Sukhjeen Kaur
Team Norse Thunder CIC , Founded by Dave Scotford
ZeroSmart, Founded by Eliana Vanekova & John Munn
Tourism & Leisure StartUp
All things leisure, Founded by Rupert Hough & Wayne Dyke
Dog Holidays UK, Founded by Sian Humphreys
Sleeping Bubbles , Founded by Paulo Jamece
RUN OF A KIND, Founded by Lucy Canham
UK Hoopers, Founded by Sarah Fenby
DMCFinder , Founded by Jo Joshi
Young Entrepreneur
Fairley Bohemian , Founded by Harriet Fairley
Unknown Agency, Founded by Joe Yates
Live Tech Games, Founded by Nathan Moore and Simon Worsley
ZeroSmart, Founded by Eliana Vanekova and John Nunn
Birmingham Start-Up
The SaaSy People, Founded by Reece Couchman
Violet Jordan, Founded by Edward & Lucy Forrester
Beesting Digital, Founded by Heather Murray
Distribute Digital, Founded by Andrew Hill
For the full list of national finalist click here.
