A round-up of Tech North’s Northern Stars competition
Image credit: Tech North
A game of chess or Jenga before heading into the event perhaps? Or a coffee in the lobby whilst going over that pitch one last time?
Tech North’s Northern Stars event hosted at UKFast kicked off with a warm welcome to all. It was the grand final of a competition designed to:
…support ambitious digital entrepreneurs from across the North of England, by connecting digital founders and showcasing their talent on the national and international stage.
There were 23 teams in the final and 10 would be chosen as the most inspiring companies in the North winning the ongoing support of the team at Tech North and tickets to events such as TechCrunch in London and SxSW hosted in Austin, Texas.
To kick things off, we heard from Lawrence Jones, Claire Braithwaite, Herb Kim and Jenny Tooth.
Lawrence shared some of his entrepreneurial stories, encouraging us to take risks, never doubt our abilities and the importance of a good working environment,
Founders, You need to motivate your team - treat them the way you would like to be treated!
- Lawrence Jones
Claire Braithwaite got us pumped for the pitches, expressing her enthusiasm for the afternoon’s events:
In a world where people are looking for safety, entrepreneurs put themselves out there and that inspires me!
- Claire Braithwaite
Some companies from the first round included, Airstoc - the first company to pitch. Giles wowed us all with their fantastic projects and plans for the future of drones, Geek Talent are revolutionising the way employers search for the most relevant employees for their vacancies and GoRaise are encouraging online shoppers to donate via retailers, helping hundreds of causes.
Round two was entertained by companies such as M14 Industries, full of catchy photos that show how they are recreating the way we date online - from beard lovers to fitness bunnies. Skignz posed the question of ‘Who owns the sky?’ and how they add signs for locations of friends, toilets, bars and more in your phone’s camera app.
And of course, our CEO Hannah Chaplin owned the stage with funky pictures and charm.
Image credit: Tech North
While the judging was taking place, guests and hosts mingled over champagne and an array of food throughout the break. Everyone was socialising, yet no one could resist snapping a few photos of the trendy offices - from the little pond to the social networking cushions, there’s no doubt the offices were catching everyone’s attention.
Image credit: Tech North
The event proved popular. There was a great crowd and massive buzz on social media as everyone got behind the event,
Just a quick announcement guys, #NorthernStars is now trending at number 5 in the nation via Twitter
- Herb Kim
We were nervous as the winners were announced but we were chuffed to be chosen as one of the 10 winning teams.
The winners were: Airstoc, EvaluAgent, Formisimo, Geek Talent, Gnatta, IN-PART, Leaf, M14 Industries, Peak and Receptive.
We can’t wait to attend Techcrunch next week and really proud to be part of such a fantastic programme supporting all the great companies in the North.
Thanks to everyone involved in organising a fantastic event; so much fun sharing the day with friends, colleagues and new faces alike!
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More on the Northern Powerhouse and Northern Stars from Business Quarter
