Tech Climbers Yorkshire List Reveal '23
The Tech Climbers campaign in Yorkshire came to a close with a fantastic list reveal event at the end of June. With standing room only and over 90 people in attendance, it was amazing to see so many people from the Yorkshire tech community come together for an evening of celebration and networking.
The main purpose of the event was to reveal which businesses of this year’s entrants made our inaugural Yorkshire Tech Climbers list for 2023, which you can download a copy of, here. However, the evening built up to the reveal with two sets of insightful speaker panels featuring founders and CEOs from some of this year’s entrants.
Mitali Mookerjee of CastRooms, Dr Matthew Bray of SatSense and Damon Bryan of HyperFinity made up our first panel, while the second panel was filled with Robin Hill of Pentest People, Rachel Swann, CEO of UMA and Will Smith of Tred.
As well as sharing more about their businesses, the speakers talked about their funding and growth journeys, as well as their own experiences around building a business in Yorkshire.
Here are a few takeaways from their talks:
Everyone’s funding journey is different
51% of our Yorkshire entrants founded within the last twelve months admitted to already receiving funding, and not surprisingly 71% of entrants are actively looking for funding for growth. However, it was clear as you heard each panellist talk that every business has a different experience accessing funds.
From CastRooms raising £175,000 through a friends, family and angels round, to Tred crowdfunding over £1 million in 90 minutes, it was great to hear different perspectives and approaches to investment.
Speaking on turning down investment opportunities, Damon Bryan mentioned how HyperFinity was in the privileged position of being able to grow the business organically. He spoke about the business’ focus on ensuring that if they went down the investment round, it was with an investment partner that could add value as they scaled.
As a spin-out from Leeds University, Dr Matthew Bray explained that SatSense has found it relatively easy to gain funding in the region. Having raised just under £3M to date, the business has the university as a shareholder, as well as Mercia Asset Management as their main investor, who he praised for their ongoing support.
Yorkshire is a great place to base a tech business
All members of the panel agreed that Yorkshire has a growing and communal tech sector, making it perfect for building a business. Highlighting the region’s facilities, Damon said, “It’s a really vibrant tech sector. There’s a hub of businesses, innovation, and a lot of collaboration. There’s a lot of advice and support where you need it. For the wider Yorkshire area, I’m hearing great things about Hull and Bradford. I think it’s starting to grow as a real hub”
Dr Matthew Bray added that they’re able to tap into the graduate talent pool that the region’s universities have to offer.
Something that we were keen to bring to light this year after to expanding to Yorkshire, is that the tech hub isn’t limited to Leeds, and is spread across the region. Being based in Halifax, Rachel Swann touched on her passions saying “Leeds is one part of an amazing tech sector. Whether it’s Sheffield, Huddersfield, Wakefield… there are tech businesses everywhere and I think, particularly with remote working, you don’t need to be city-based to be an amazing tech business.”
Businesses are actively working to attract & retain talent
100% of this year’s entrants are looking to hire talent, with an outstanding 301 jobs projected to be created over the next twelve months. In a candidate-buoyant market, it’s clear that businesses are having to make a conscious effort to attract and retain talent.
Robin Hill of Pentest People mentioned how the business prefers to have everyone working in the office but understands the reasons they might not want to. To overcome this, they’re trying to make the office and working for the company as attractive as possible, offering free gym membership & PT sessions, as well as weekly lunches and team socials.
He also mentioned that they work with both York and Leeds Becket universities, supporting courses and hosting occasional in-person sessions with the aim of creating a graduate network. Internally they have a fast-track graduate programme and an academy of apprentices, who gain experience and a fast-track career.
There is plenty of opportunity for more support
While talking about investment, Will of Tred highlighted that as the business had grown and they’ve looked to raise more funds, they’ve gradually received more local funding, with an estimated 90% to come from Leeds and surrounding Yorkshire regions in their next round, in contrast to previous rounds, where overwhelming amounts of investment have come from London.
Although this is amazing to hear, more investors in the region would be warmly welcomed. Both Rachel Swann and Mitali Mookerjee mentioned that although opportunities are growing in Yorkshire, there still isn’t enough to match the number of startups.