Tech companies recognised among best in the UK
Two North West tech firms have been recognised nationally as ones to watch in the future.
Liverpool-based EdTech scale-up SupplyWell, and CGHero, from Manchester, are among the 10 most exciting early-stage technology companies in the UK as part of a prestigious competition run by national growth platform, Tech Nation.
The Rising Stars competition is the only national early-stage tech scaleup competition in the UK, designed to showcase the most exciting companies at Seed to pre-Series A from all areas of the country.
Both firms beat stiff competition from more than 330 UK companies and are now recognised as companies that are at the very forefront of UK technology.
SupplyWell is the brainchild of co-founder and CEO, Michael Heverin. Having worked as a teacher for 15 years, the pressure and stress of the profession took a toll on his mental health resulting in him leaving the education sector.
However, recognising there needed to be a fundamental change in the way schools and recruitment agencies functioned to support the needs of teaching staff, he co-founded SupplyWell with recruitment specialist Raina Heverin and marketer and technologist Dan Price in 2019.
In using the SupplyWell platform, schools across the Liverpool City Region are saving significant sums of money, reducing teacher absence, while improving teacher pay and wellbeing.
Michael Heverin said: “Only 18 months ago we were a small start-up company operating from one desk. We have grown immensely since then and now employ almost a dozen staff with immediate plans to hire more as we look to expand across the UK. What’s more, we’ve not only survived, but thrived despite the challenges of the pandemic.”
He added: “It was my personal experiences as a teacher that has shaped and underpinned SupplyWell’s ‘tech for good’ ethos. We are serious about the problems we are solving in education and we hope this award will enable us to help even more schools, teachers and students.”
CGHero is a collaborative marketplace for 3D & CGI content creation, bringing together the world’s top talent to work on feature productions across gaming, architecture, TV and film, automotive and retail.
It says it is is the ultimate platform for outsourcing 3D CGI production, providing access to the world’s top CG artists and studios on demand.
The platform has been used by the likes of Valvoline, Sega, B&Q, Unilever, and NHS.
Stephen Kelly, Tech Nation chair, said: “The Rising Stars announced today are great examples of the strength of the UK tech ecosystem.
“The winners highlight that innovation, determination and ambition in this fast-growing sector can be found right across the UK. What the Rising Stars competition, and indeed Tech Nation, does is provide a platform to showcase these exciting and innovative companies.”
On average the Rising Stars winners go on to raise £352,000 after the competition and grow their workforce by 70%.
