Post UK Tech Week Recap

UK Tech Week proving South Yorkshire is the Not-So-Secret Startup Capital of the UK.

And just like that the inaugural UK Tech Week is over. The first of its kind which brought to South Yorkshire a widespread array of events and networking opportunities, putting us at the top of nationwide activity.

Acknowledgements

First, we would like to express a great deal of gratitude to the organisers of UKTW, Stuart Clarke, Claire Clarke and their team who worked tirelessly to put this together. The conception of this festival of technology aimed to bring together the hubs of innovation and entrepreneurialism in the UK; still a global leader in the advancement of invention. This was the first inning of an annual operation which stands to strengthen the ties between the major centres of the UK’s Tech sector, showcasing how decentralised our industry really is. The importance of such a week cannot be overstated. UKTW offers a chance for us to explore the comparative advantages of our neighbours. This knowledge and connection empowers us to understand how we can work together as a whole for the benefit of all.

Second, we send a thank you to everyone who donated their time, energy and attention to making the first UKTW such a success. From us at Venture.Community we thank Sheffield Digital for all their work in co-organising. From Sheffield Technology Parks, Business Sheffield, SYMCA, Hallam iLabs, and Creative Space Management for all your support. And most importantly to Dot + Dash, INX Systems, The Bessemer Society, Andy Hanselman Consulting, StartUp MeetUp, and the DMC for organising the fantastic events we enjoyed through the week.

So what did this mean for South Yorkshire?

With only a month to prepare SY came in as one of the front runners, offering high quantities of high-quality events. From, Venture.Community’s get the most out of yourself as a founder, the Venture.Community Launch, Dot + Dash AI Experience Session, INX Systems hands-on IoT Expo, the Bessemer Society Dinner, Andy Hanselman Think in 3D, Gary Neville and Dan Blaney Startup Meetup of Meetups, Venture.Community’s UKTW Closing Party, and Sheffield Technology Parks Pizza Party.

The hills of SY were a ring with the buzz of activity UKTW brought to our door. The significance of this engagement is three-fold.

First

It proves that there is a large ensemble of like-minded connectors within our region, willing to quickly and efficiently mobilise to offer their expertise to others in our region.

Second

We were able to showcase how active a region we are to ourselves. Even within our community, the full extent of our capability is still largely unappreciated. This week gave us a flavour of just how powerful we can be when we all put our heads together and work towards a common goal.

Third

Putting South Yorkshire on the map on a national level. Those of you have been following Ampere, now known as Venture.Community, will be aware we have been flying the flag for Sssheffield, the secret Startup capital of the UK. But as Mel Kanarek so eloquently stated in her speech at Venture.Community’s Launch, now is the time for the Sssh to become a Shhhout! The proof is coming to light more and more that South Yorkshire is home to incredible levels of creativity, productivity and entrepreneurialism. Gone are the days when we should endorse this narrative of the inward-looking, humble Steel City. Gone are the times when we should watch as our region is overlooked as another former industrial powerhouse, failing to escape our reliance on manufacturing and mining.

South Yorkshire, a National Powerhouse

What came to light through this week of activity is South Yorkshire is blessed with innovation in its bones. From the phenomenal sense of community our region possesses. To the £2Billion our Startups have raised in the last five years. To the University of Sheffield, pound-for-pound spinning out more tech Startups than Oxford over the past five years, and having one of the highest rates of successful spinout raises across the entire UK. With over 500 Startups founded in SY last year alone and hundreds of companies moving here since the end of Covid-19. Maybe we are not the secret Startup capital of the UK, but the not-so-secret one.

What Next?

At Venture.Community, our aim is to be the rising tide that lifts all boats. We believe our purpose is to help enable the titan of SY to realise its full potential through our free open-door Pre-Acceleration (events), our soon-to-start Accelerator program, and the various fund assistances we are announcing to support these endeavours. As a region, we have demonstrated our capability and now we need to lay the foundations of support to supercharge and prove our prowess on a global scale.

We leave you with this call to action inspired by Mel Kanarek, Co-Founder of Sheffield Digital. Now is the time to celebrate our home of South Yorkshire. Now is the time to put these narratives of a quiet, humble, unsung region to bed. We implore you to join us as we come together as one voice to Ssshout about our successes. To let the rest of the country (and the world for that matter) just how brilliant we are. We hope that together we can make the hills of SY sing with the sound of our innovation, and bring the recognition that we deserve, improving the opportunities for all our tech companies.

We are so grateful to all who attended the first UK Tech Week, and we cannot wait for next year.

Nick Dytczak Midworth

Venture.Community