Entries and nominations for the inaugural Greater Manchester Tech Climbers list are officially open, as the hunt for the best performing innovative tech businesses across the whole region begins.
Tech Climbers is an annual list which showcases the top performing, innovative product-led technology businesses in the region and aims to gather data to showcase Greater Manchester as a leading, global tech destination. First launched in 2019, the project has welcomed a range of partners including tech investors, local government, inward investment, and academic institutions to date.
Submissions opened for 2023 on the 19th of July, following a launch event at Bruntwood SciTech’s No.1 Circle Sq in Manchester city centre. The event hosted by Mo Aldalou, advisor at Tech Climbers and programme director at Baltic Ventures, brought together panels of founders and investors, to talk about their lived experiences of raising investment, with over 90 attendees from the Manchester tech scene.
Raising investment in Manchester
Sadra Hosseini, CEO at Ryft said:
“It’s tough out there to fund raise at the moment, but what’s good about Tech Climbers is that it raises the regions profile and shines a light on the investor opportunity here. Manchester is a very personable place, and an ideal location to build a business - we just need to make it easier to raise funding.”
Kiran Mehta, Investment Manager at Mercia Ventures spoke from an investor perspective, and added:
“Founders must really think about how they’ll stand out. On average, we spend about a matter of minutes reviewing the hundreds of pitch decks we receive each month, so it’s important to get the value proposition front and centre on page one. Think about investment as like a sales call - don’t waste time talking about how the underlying product works but focus on the value proposition and how it can solve a problem.”
At the event, Tech Climbers also announced a brand-new national partnership with techUK, to elevate the work of Tech Climbers across the country.
Anna Heyes, Founder of Tech Climbers and CEO at Active Profile said:
“Tech Climbers is meant to be simple. There’s no first or second prize – in our eyes, you’ve won if you’ve made the list. That’s a list of 20-25 tech businesses that are performing well under our three main headings – innovation, impact (social and environmental), and investment readiness.
As we go, we’re gathering growth data on the tech businesses so we can tell a story about the tech sector in each region, and that’s where Tech Climbers is different. We’ve partnered with techUK as the first of multiple national partnerships in our plan.
We’re planning a big list reveal event in Manchester in October, open to anyone who enters to attend. It’s a fun couple of hours networking and celebrating with the community.”
Matt Robinson, Head of Nations and Regions at techUK added:
“techUK is delighted to be working with and supporting Tech Climbers. We are in an important period for the UK tech sector with many technological changes helping drive new ideas, concepts and companies. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy for scaling tech companies. That’s why it’s important we celebrate and recognise companies doing brilliant things, growing, collaborating in new ways and securing new investment. I encourage people and companies to enter, and I can’t wait to find out more about them and their work”.
Anyone that becomes a Tech Climber will be sent a brand pack – which is important for credibility, particularly to those earlier stage start-ups. And on from there, partners put together support packages for our winners to access. These include investment-readiness workshops, IP audits, and certain discounts.
This year’s sponsors for Manchester Tech Climbers include: Brabners, Burns Sheehan, MHA Baker Tilly, Marks & Clerk, Mercia Asset Management and TD Synnex. Associate partners are The Data City, Exchange, Innovateher, Manchester Digital, Manchester Angels, Manchester Tech Festival, STFC and techUK.
If you’re a tech business in Manchester making a social or economic impact, that is set up to scale, is investment-ready and driving innovation, enter your business (or nominate one you know!) today via the Tech Climbers Website.
Entries close on the 16th of August, with a celebration event to reveal this year’s Manchester Tech Climbers in October 2023.
