To follow on from our maiden Tech Invest event, we’ve profiled some of the most exciting technology companies in the UK.

GrowthBusiness has now produced a new 2014 version of Tech Innovators, where we have again profiled some of the best technology ventures in the UK through interviews with founding entrepreneurs.

Bounty Network

Based in: London Founded in: 2012 No. of employees: 5 Company founder: James Uffindell

Founder profile:

James Uffindell started his first business (Oxbridge Applications) in his last year at the University of Oxford. Clients include more than 200 leading recruiters such as Goldman Sachs and innocent. He has been featured in national media including The Economist and The Times as well on Radio 4, ITV, CNN and Channel 4.

Background business profile:

Bounty Network is a peer-to-peer job marketplace for people to refer their friends for jobs and for companies to post their jobs and only pay when they hire. The business aims to fundamentally disrupt how recruitment works by removing expensive middle-man recruitment consultants and low-quality job boards.

Inside track:

The recruitment sector is a crowded one at the best of times. But for entrepreneur James Uffindell, he’s hoping to secure his slice of it by offering up ‘bounties’ for job placements.

He is trying to ensure that everyone can be a headhunter, reaping financial returns for putting mates, colleagues or acquaintances forward.

With £300,000 of investment already in the bank from investors including industry experts, Bounty Network is focussed on improving the product platform and going after companies.

‘We’ve started a hard mailing campaign to recruiters in London, and we’re also taking it to existing recruiters who look after graduates,’ Uffindell says.

With a reported £3.5 billion industry to infiltrate, Uffindell is drawing upon his previous experience in the sector to create a business which he hopes will remove the middle-man recruitment consultants.

‘On the technology side, we’re talking to a head at a major marketplace business. Bringing him on board will be very exciting as it will bring extensive experience,’ Uffindell reveals.

‘The strategy is not to spend millions on some fancy website as it doesn’t need to be super advanced. But now we’ve learnt how referrals works, we are going to build a new product through our in-house team which will be live in January.’

Further fundraising is on the cards for Bounty Network. But in a market where metrics are constantly being re-evaluated, the amount and date of said fundraising will remain undecided for now.

Recent milestones:

• Product launched and stable
• First clients on board including Seatwave, Just Giving, Macmillan Cancer Support, Secret Escapes
• Referrals being made generating high-quality CVs
• Final-round interviews secured including first case study

Upcoming milestones:

• Roll-out of second, more advanced version of the product
• Extensive B2B business development campaign targeting companies that are looking to cut their cost of hiring
• Ramp-up of B2C marketing campaign to drive user traffic to 1000+ unique visits a day

Investors:

• Zach Miles – former CEO of Vedior, the world’s largest recruitment business
• Michael Jackson – former chairman of FTSE tech business Sage
• Three other high-net-worth angel investors

25 of the most exciting fast growing technology companies in the UK