Eleven of the most promising tech start-ups in the UK came together to pitch to investors yesterday (Wed, 16 September ) at the Vitesse Media Tech Invest Manchester forum.
The event, sponsored by law firm Mills & Reeve, was held at the Radisson Blue Edwardian Hotel in Manchester’s city centre. It is the first time the investment forum has been held in Manchester and it follows the London event in June of this year.
As well as the pitches a panel of investors, comprising of Jon Coker from MMC, Ben Partridge from Ashby House, Matt Mead from Mercia Find and Darren Gowling from the Co-Angel Investment Fund, took questions from delegates in the afternoon.
They discussed the best way for entrepreneurs to approach investors, the emergence of fintech as a hot sector and the likelihood of the tech sector heading for a new bubble.
Companies presenting on the day included local business Formisimo. Fronted by Tom New, it helps e-commerce companies pinpoint where they are losing customers through the payment process and helps them to minimise the impact to their business.
>See also: Superfast broadband boost for Manchester tech scene
Some presenters came from further afield, including London e-commerce business The Idle Man – founded by former ASOS menswear founder Oliver Tezcan.
The forum is intended to highlight the vibrant tech scene across the North along with the large number of investors who are either based in the region or looking to move into the area looking for backing opportunities.
Currently more than 100,000 professionals work in the technology sector in Manchester, along with the city hosting more than 7,000 technology-related businesses. Many of these are based in Salford’s Media City which the BBC made its home recently.
There are also signs of a tech revival in other parts of the North. Professionals working in cloud-related roles in Leeds can expect to earn an average of around £48,000 pa. Along with Bristol, this is the highest average salary for the sector in the UK outside London.
Full list of companies who presented on the day:
The Idle Man
Fluency
Formisimo
CANDDi
deliverd
3Rings
Jam – Pan Learning Market
Kairos Analytics Ltd
Cake Solutions Limited
ShareOptic
MeasureMyEnergy
Further reading: Manchester SMEs working ‘The Northern Way’
