Today we’re delighted to announce the companies joining the Future Fifty programme in 2017. We’re also celebrating 26 companies graduating from the programme and the remarkable success of Future Fifty Alumni
Future Fifty gives the 26 fast-growing companies immediate access to a valuable peer network; expert-led classes and workshops designed to take their businesses to the next level; and a higher profile amongst the wider tech ecosystem.
The 26 Companies Joining
All 26 companies have been identified by a highly experienced and respected judging panel made up of some of the most successful entrepreneurs and investors in UK tech. They believe these companies have the potential to scale rapidly and build significant businesses.
FinTech: Azimo, ClearScore, Ebury, Onfido, Receipt Bank
Data, Analytics & Cybersecurity: Blis, Track Global, Ve Interactive
eCommerce & Marketplace: Bloom & Wild, carwow, Festicket, Gousto, LoveCrafts, Swoon Editions, Tails.com, Thread, Threads
Digital Advertising & Marketing: UNiDAYS, SuperAwesome
Digital Entertainment: Spitfire Audio
EdTech: Kano
Enterprise Software & Cloud Computing: Condeco
Hardware & Devices: Epos Now, ROLI
SaaS: Fairsail, Interact
History of the Programme
Of the 77 companies that have been through the programme since 2014, Future Fifty’s track record now includes:
- Five IPOs on the London Stock Exchange, raising $1.5 bn
- 17 mergers and acquisitions of which 11 in the last year, including SwiftKey (Microsoft), Housetrip (TripAdvisor), One Fine Stay (Accor Group) and Skyscanner (Ctrip)
- Over $3.8 bn raised in funding, across the 77 companies, including more than $1.5 bn in 2016
- The companies have created 27,000 jobs around the world, demonstrating the extent to which tech is rapidly creating jobs and wealth throughout the UK
- A string of alumni companies that are household names including Just Eat and Zoopla.
Parveen Dhanda, Programme Lead for Future Fifty at Tech City UK, said: “We’re delighted to be working with this year’s intake. Together, they represent the diversity and depth of the UK technology sector. Their passion and talent has seen them do amazing things so far and we look forward to helping them to take the next step.”
Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said: “The UK has a world-renowned tech and digital sector and the value of the Future Fifty programme has been to support the fastest-growing, most pioneering companies in their final push to build mainstream businesses. The fact that so many Future Fifty companies are now household names is testimony that it works.”
Cherry Freeman, co-founder of LoveCrafts, said: “We are really excited to have made it into the prestigious Future Fifty, alongside such inspiring alumni and peers. We’re proud of the diverse team we’ve built from our London head office, and that we have proved British technology businesses can have global success in new sectors, including crafts.”
Nick Corrie, group CEO and co-founder of Trak Global, said: “Being part of Future Fifty will give us access to a breadth of expertise and experience from people that have walked in our shoes, and a chance to learn from their ‘war stories’. This will be of real value and will help us to achieve our ambitions over the next two years.”
Husayn Kassai, CEO and co-founder at Onfido, said: “From humble beginnings as the first venture from three young Oxford graduates, Onfido has, over the last four years, experienced monumental growth and success. We are looking forward to moving the company to its next stage, with the support of the Future Fifty network, and think that being among a community of innovators will be invaluable.”
New Companies:
- Azimo (azimo.com) is an online international money transfer service that allows people to send money to any internet-connected device in over 190 countries
- Blis (blis.com) uses location data technology to create audiences for advertisers
- Bloom & Wild (bloomandwild.com) provides flower delivery through the letterbox
- Carwow (carwow.co.uk) is the most convenient, stress free way to find and buy a new car.
- ClearScore (clearscore.com) is a company that provides free access to credit scores and reports
- Condeco Group (condecosoftware.com) helps companies manage their meeting and office spaces more effectively
- Ebury (ebury.com) is a financial services company that helps small and medium enterprises grow internationally with foreign exchange, business lending and cash management solutions
- Epos Now (eposnow.com) is a point-of-sale software and hardware provider that automates small business banking
- Fairsail (fairsail.com) provides cloud-based human resources and people management software to mid-sized organizations
- Festicket (festicket.com) is an online marketplace to discover and book musical festival experiences
- Gousto (gousto.co.uk) provides innovative recipe boxes with pre-portioned ingredients packaged and delivered to the door each week
- Interact (interact-intranet.com) provides intranet software and professional services to help companies solve internal communication and collaboration challenges
- Kano (kano.me) creates computers and coding kits for all ages
- LoveCrafts (lovecrafts.com) is an online community and marketplace for the crafts sector
- My UNiDAYS (myunidays.com) connects brands and services to a verified audience of students around the world
- Onfido (onfido.com) is an identity verification platform that helps over 1,000 companies ensure their customers are who they claim to be
- Receipt Bank (receipt-bank.com) automates small business bookkeeping
- ROLI (roli.com) is a music technology company that makes a modular music creation system that opens up new possibilities for musical expression
- Tails.com (www.tails.com) is an online pet nutrition service that makes and delivers tailormade food for an individual dog’s unique diet and nutritional needs
- Thread (thread.com) is an e-commerce company that uses human stylists and machine learning to help men dress well without going shopping
- Threads Styling (threadsstyling.com) is a company reinventing luxury goods commerce for the Snapchat generation
- Spitfire Audio (spitfireaudio.com) provides virtual instruments to composers and producers to produce and earn royalties on quality musical samples
- SuperAwesome (superawesome.tv) powers a kid-safe digital media ecosystem with products that are designed for kids’ data privacy requirements
- Swoon Editions (swooneditions.com) is an online furniture brand that works directly with suppliers to provide better quality products at a better price than traditional retailers
- Trak Global Group (trakglobal.co.uk) is a telematics company that uses embedded devices to gather data and manage driver risk
- Ve Interactive (veinteractive.com) provides software that helps companies with digital advertising and online conversion
Existing Companies:
- Adzuna (adzuna.com) is a search engine for jobs ads that lists every job, everywhere
- Algomi (algomi.com) enables all market participants to securely and intelligently harness data to make valuable financial trading connections
- Brandwatch (brandwatch.com) is the world’s leading social intelligence company
- buddi is a personal emergency response service
- Busuu (busuu.com) is the world’s largest social network for language learning
- Crowdcube (crowdcube.com) is a leading investment crowdfunding platform
- Deliveroo (deliveroo.com) was founded in 2013 to provide the ultimate food delivery experience
- FundApps (fundapps.co) provides cloud-based regulatory compliance monitoring SaaS to financial institutions
- GoCardless (gocardeless.com) is the easy way to collect Direct Debit payments
- iwoca (iwoca.com) offers flexible credit to small businesses across Europe
- Just Giving (justgiving.com) is the Number 1 platform for online giving in the world
- LMAX (lmax.com) was established to deliver the benefits of exchange quality execution to both buy-side and sell-side trading institutions
- Lost My Name (lostmyname.com) is an award-winning independent technology and publishing business
- MWR InfoSecurity (mwrinfosecurity.com) is an independent cyber security consultancy with research at the heart of what they do
- NewVoiceMedia (newvoicemedia.com) powers customers connections that transform businesses globally
- Performance Horizon (performancehorizon.com) is the leading provider of SaaS solutions for digital partner marketing
- Qubit (qubit.com) empowers businesses to customise and optimise websites in real-time using qualitative and quantitative visitor data
- RateSetter (ratesetter.com) is one of the largest P2P lending platforms in the UK
- scoota (scoota.com) is an online advertising technology company that enables advertisers to create, activate, measure and optimise brand campaigns to scale
- Space Ape (spaceapegames.com) is a gaming company focussed on mid-core games
- The Floow (thefloow.com) designs the world’s most insightful, feature-rich and cost effective telematic system to make vehicles safer and cheaper for all
- TransferWise (tranferwise.com) is an international money transfer platform
- WorldRemit (worldremit.com) lets people send money to friends and family living abroad, using a computer, smartphone or tablet
- Yieldify (yieldify.com) founded in 2013, helps marketers convert visitors easily