Things have been feeling a bit shaky in the world of tech over the last 18 months, with layoffs hitting the industry hard since mid-2022.
Recent research has found that 77 per cent of British tech workers are unhappy with their jobs and have looked for another one in the past six months. Eighty-three percent of tech workers want a four-day working week, 20 per cent want to leave their job ASAP, and just 11 per cent say they’re happy with the job they have.
For those in the sector who have found themselves in an environment of shifting sands, a job move to a fintech start-up with a good cushion of funding can be a holy grail career goal.
Smaller, with less procedures and bureaucracy, an early-stage company can offer workers a lot in terms of swift career progression, freedom to experiment and collaborate, as well as the opportunity to be intimately involved in the growth and evolution of the company.
Of course, there can be downsides too. Early-stage companies are often boot-strapping themselves to the next stage of their development, and the constant change and lack of structure isn’t the right fit for everyone.
The UK is a good environment for venture capital investment, ranking third globally, according to Dealroom. Home to more than 160 unicorns and in excess of 40,000 start-ups, in 2022, the top three investment areas were fintech, health and energy. Combined, these accounted for over half of total VC investment last year.
Reflecting global trends, VC investment dropped by 25 per cent last year and while that is a large drop, it remained 77 per cent higher than in 2020, showing that the ecosystem as a whole is in good shape.
The 10 best-funded UK fintechs
A recent ranking of the top 10 UK fintechs by total funding showcases the strength of the sector further – as well as providing a handy cut out ‘n keep guide for job seekers.
In number one position is property solutions company LendInvest, which has received £1.8bn in funding. Student loans platform Prodigy Finance is just under at £1.7bn, and in third place is card solutions provider SumUp at £1.6bn, which currently has open roles available, here.
Checkout.com comes in with £1.4bn in funding, while fintech Revolut comes in fifth place and has succeeded in raising £1.4bn. You can explore open roles at the unicorn now.
Sixth by total funding is Wise, a platform which allows funds to be transferred internationally at speed. In seventh place is Lendable (£1.3bn), which provides data-driven lending solutions to both individuals and businesses.
In eighth place is buy-to-let property financing platform Landbay, which has secured £1.3bn in funding, and is followed in ninth place by digital wealth management solution FNZ, with £1.1bn. In tenth place is Curve, which has achieved £960m in VC funding. It offers a way to combine all your debit and credit cards into one smart card.
Here is the list in full:
- #1 – LendInvest
- #2 – Prodigy Finance
- #3 – SumUp
- #4 – Checkout.com
- #5 – Revolut
- #6 – Wise
- #7 – Lendable
- #8 – Landbay
- #9 – FNZ
- #10 – Curve
Of course, there are plenty more companies across the UK’s tech ecosystems that are succeeding. In the fintech space, Monzo, Metro Bank, Zilch and GoCardless are four more fintechs worth a look for job-seekers.
When it comes to the energy tech sector, the UK is second only to Sweden in Europe for investment. Those keen to work in the sector can also check out Octopus Energy and its open roles now.
Explore thousands of tech jobs today via the Growth Business job board.
Kirstie McDermott works for our job board partner, Jobbio. Based in Dublin, she has been a writer and editor across print and digital platforms for over 15 years.
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