UK Startup Ecosystem 2015 Review

by Startacus Admin
November
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Mass Challenge names the winners of its UK accelerator, with the Boston based programme giving £500K to 14 British startups.
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Virgin Media launched its new accelerator programme in association with seasoned pros Techstars.
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The number of self-employed people in the UK began to rise once more following a 7 month decline. As of November some 4.55m people were self-employed in the UK.
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The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement included unwelcome cuts to business growth support.
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The Maserati 100 Awards which celebrate entrepreneurs giving back to the next generation of Startups opened for nominations.
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Reward based crowdfunding platform Crowdfunder, launched its own crowdfunding campaign to raise £1m.
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TechHub teamed up with BT Sport to find the next generation of tech startups working to disrupt sports media and production.
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International venture development studio Venturespring, in collaboration with Tech.London and IBM Bluemix launched the Smart City Startup Challenge, a competition for ideas and startups which improve urban life. (The competition is still open for entries!)
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Big Issue Magazine announced a new scheme whereby vendors in some areas of Central London will now sell coffee as an extra means of income and employment training.
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Telecommunications giant telefonica launched the first ever UK healthtech accelerator.
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The UK launch of Amazon’s innovation marketplace ‘Launchpad’ saw huge media coverage across the country.
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Innovative Global mapping solution what3words raised $3.5m to continue it’s mission to bring an address to every corner of the globe.
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The annual, and much anticipated entrepreneurial event Pitch @ the Palace, which takes place in St James’ Palace was won by 3D-printed knitwear innovation Unmade.
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UK marketplace Lexoo, which matches UK SMEs with legal professionals on-demand raised $1.3m investment.
December
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The UK sees sales of £623m on its annual Small Business Saturday.
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Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC) launched a new 12-week incubator programme for startups working in cyber security, internet of things, or artificial intelligence. Applications are open until the 3rd of January.
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The World’s largest accelerator Mass Challenge announced that it will be opening a new programme in Switzerland, its second European location after the UK.
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Early stage startup accelerator Startupbootcamp received $2.5m investment from global tech company Cisco.
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UK DIY tech education startup ‘Technology Will Save Us’ which helps to get children excited about technology secured £1.2m in venture capital funding.
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Innovative gambling technology which helps betters assess the success rates of tipsters received 6 figure investment.
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A UK startup revealed that it uses Tinder to recruit staff.
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The network of online student newspapers ‘The Tab’ raised almost £2m to help it crack the US market.
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Wayfindr App which helps the visually impaired to navigate their way around the built environment received $1m in support from Google.
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Startacus HQ invited the winners of our weekly self starter awards to pitch to become our self starter of the year.
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Published on: 29th December 2015
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