The best start-up firms in London and the East of England have been revealed.
The StartUp Awards National Series was established in 2022 to highlight the success of start-ups across nine UK nations and regions and to celebrate the achievements of entrepreneurs in all sectors of the economy.
The awards for London and the East of England were held at Wembley Box Park in London and saw 28 different awards given out to new businesses categories such as digital start-up of the year, global start-up of the year and innovative start-up of the year. Sponsored by BT, Fearless Adventures, Moblox, ClearCo, Dell Technologies and Intel, EY Breakthrough Incentives, Moja Group, Dent, ConXhub, Accountancy Cloud, Fladgate, JD&Co, ScoreApp, Work Extraordinary, Dream Factory and GS1UK.
The awards (all winners below) were judged by a panel of prominent local judges including Hugh Chappel, a serial entrepreneur, Roger Gorman of ProFina, Chris Kenna of Brand Advance and Amer Hasan of Minicabit.
The Startup of the Year for London and the East of England was won by AudioMob, the pioneers behind non-intrusive audio advertising in mobile games, one of the fastest growing media segments globally. Audiomob can access 1.5 billion players around the world and clients include Disney, Universal Music, Sony Music, Warner Music Group, BMG, Samsung, Intel and Meta. It recently raised $14M at a $110M valuation with investors including Google, LightSpeed Ventures and Makers Fund.
Originally formed as the Wales StartUp Awards in 2016, the Awards Series has joined forces with the Great British Entrepreneur Awards to take the celebration of newly formed businesses nationwide. Creator of the awards Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, said the inaugural events have celebrated the best new firms in the UK and recognised the amazing entrepreneurial talent across the nation.
“He added: "We’re so proud of the amazing reception from all parts of the country for the first year of the StartUp Awards National Series. Across the regions, we had over 2,500 entries and from that, judges chose 900 finalists. When you consider that between them, they are generating £300m annually and employing over 5,000 people - the awards have shown that start-ups can make a difference in so many ways.
“More importantly, it was incredible to see that so many amazing entrepreneurial firms have not only been started during the Covid pandemic but have grown during the worst recession in over three centuries. And as the economy slows down over the next few months, we will again need the creativity, innovation and tenacity of every entrepreneur to ensure that jobs and prosperity continue to grow in every part of the UK
“A huge congratulations to all the award winners last night but especially to AudioMob which, in less than three years, has quickly become a significant player in a fast-growing market. Both the founders are amazing role models in so many ways and the development of this business should act as a positive inspiration to all those seeking to start and develop their own high-growth ventures”.
Tom Engel, director of external communications and digital Iimpact at BT, said: “The UK’s start-up space is filled with amazing talent and is rife with innovative businesses doing incredible things. It has been a privilege to help judge these awards and experience first-hand the high quality of all the entries.”
“As a company, BT is committed to supporting small businesses and start-ups, and the critical role they play in powering our economy. We have a host of products and services that are dedicated to these types of enterprise, and we are continually innovating to help these firms realise their true potential. I am proud that BT is a headline sponsor for these awards, rewarding the businesses that have gone above and beyond.”
The winners
London and the East of England Start-up of the Year
Business-to-business services Start-up of the Year
Construction and building services Start-up of the Year
Consulting and management services Start-up of the Year
Consumer services Start-up of the Year
Creative Start-up of the Year
Digital Start-up of the Year
Drink Start-up of the Year
Fashion and Beauty Start-up of the Year
Fintech Start-up of the Year
Food Start-up of the Year
Global Start-up of the Year
Graduate Start-up of the Year
Green Start-up of the Year
Hospitality and Events Start-up of the Year
Innovative Start-up of the Year
Manufacturing and Engineering Start-up of the Year
Marketing Advertising and PR Start-up of the Year
Medtech and Healthtech Start-up of the Year
Mobile and Emerging Technologies Start-up of the Year
Online Retail Start-up of the Year
Professional Services Start-up of the Year
Recruitment Services Start-up of the Year
Social Enterprise Start-up of the Year
Technology Services Start-up of the Year
Tourism and Leisure Start-up of the Year
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Natalia Cortazar, The Good Egg Agency
Rising Stars
