Startups.co.uk just announced its Startups 100 list, revealing the UK’s most innovative companies launched in the last three years. CBR rounded up the top ten on the list who are making waves in the tech world.
1. Purplebricks.com – Property platform
Purplebricks has tapped into the soaring housing market with a property platform combining an online service with a traditional estate agent. Through the eZie platform, customers can manage the entire sale of their house including managing bookings, uploading photos and viewing feedback. Now the UK’s fastest-growing estate agent, the 24/7 service offers properties through Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation.
2. Currency Cloud – Currency exchange platform
This fintech startup provides enterprises with a secure payments engine, aiming to help businesses move money internationally. Founded in 2012, Currency Cloud now boasts 125 customers and its service has reached over 150,000 end-users, processing over $10 billion in payments per year. Helmed by veterans from Microsoft, American Express and IBM, the company is backed by venture capital firms Atlas, Anthemis Group, Notion Capital and X’Ange.
3. Flubit – Online marketplace
Just as Amazon took on physical retail by offering a more competitive price, Flubit presents users with a personalised price tailored to beat Amazon. The customer pastes the URL of the desired item into the Flubit engine and then answers a series of questions. Once they have signed up to the service they are given a private, better offer for the same item, which Flubit will then deliver to their door.
4. Hassle.com – Cleaner booking service
Hassle provides a website and app to simplify the process of booking a cleaner in a noble attempt to reduce the eponymous "hassle" of modern life. Users enter their postcode and specify the time required and how frequently they need the service. They are then provided with a list of local cleaners with reviews and ratings. There are tick boxes for additional services such as ironing. The service offers a flat price of £10 an hour.
5. RealityMine – Big data analytics
This Manchester-based company provides data tools for the market research industry. A large array of factors drives buying and RealityMine aims to help businesses better understand consumer behaviour and identify trends and changes. Their tools work with mobile, tablet, desktop and home routers. The service claims to measure not just what consumers believe they do but what they actually do, including their digital activity and the media they use.
6. Appear Here – retail space platform
A lot of the biggest game-changers in the tech start-up space, such as Airbnb, simply focus on combining a party that has something with a party that needs it. Appear Here connects landlords’ vacant spaces with people who have a business idea, allowing them to set up pop-up stores. The idea came about during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in the heady summer of 2012, where one of the founders had set up a pop-up store selling monarchist merchandise.
7. MOVE Guides – HR relocation programme
The London-based HR technology company works with clients to move and manage their employees, providing a Talent Mobility Cloud. Founded by Brynne Herbert, MOVE Guides supports all aspects of mobility to over 200 cities in six continents. It works with a network of over 1000 vendors and provides a dedicated team of "MOVE Advocates" to support the relocation.
8. Onfido – Online background check specialist
Onfido provides companies with online background checks on potential new hires. The London-based company was founded by graduates from Oxford University in 2012 and is backed by the same institutional investors who supported companies such as Uber, Spotify, Dropbox and Airbnb. The data analytics platform provides comprehensive screening services.
9. Uniplaces – Accommodation platform
Uniplaces is a student-specific accommodation platform that operates in the biggest university towns across the UK and Europe. The online marketplace targets students travelling abroad, providing detailed listings and incorporating a secure payment system. However, anyone can book through Uniplaces except on specific properties. It provides a portal for both landlords and renters.
10. PowerLinks Media – Native advertising
This native advertising platform helps to power marketplaces for native ads on all devices. It can integrate and distribute different content, including sponsored, search, e-commerce and responsive display and video. It also allows real-time trading of in-feed, in-video, in-image, in-text and in-display formats. The company was founded in 2012 by Kevin Flood and Mike Harty, and is headquartered in London, with offices in New York City and Manchester.
