We started the year with some research and the goal to list some of the most promising startups for every major European country. After looking at Germany, Italy and France, we’re now continuing with the UK.
Britain and especially the startup hub London has definitely one of the most vital startup ecosystems worldwide. Below you’ll find 10 of the UK’s hottest startups. All of them were founded within the last two years and each of the listed startups has something special to add to the business life or your personal web experience in 2016.
1. Weaveworks: The London-based tech statup is the creator of Weave – probably the most productive way for developers to connect, observe and control Docker containers. The startup was founded in 2014 and launched the first version of Weave in September, initially focusing on networking for Docker. Since then the product has added monitoring, visualization and control capabilities all aimed at enabling customers to achieve rapid success with Docker applications in production. Weaveworks raised $5 million from the well known VC firm Accel.
2. Carspring: A London-based startup which created a new way to buy or sell cars. With their online platform, Carspring cut the costs you’d experience with traditional dealerships, allowing both buyers and sellers to get better prices. With Carspring there are no more hidden fees and you don’t have to wait around for viewing appointments. Founded in 2015, Carspring raised roughly €4 million in the summer of 2015.
3. Revolut: Founded in 2014 and launched in launched in July 2015, Revolut allows you to exchange currencies at interbank rates, send them through social networks, and spend with a multi-currency card everywhere MasterCard® is accepted. The goal of the London-based startup is to completely remove all hidden banking costs. So far, Revolut secured roughly £1.84 million in seed funding.
4. Lystable: An easy to use enterprise tool which was founded in 4th quarter of 2014. Lystable offers companies a one-stop-shop for onboarding, managing, communicating with, and paying for their external workforce. With Lystable you have all your contractors and vendors in one place and accessible by all your employees. The London based startup secured about $4.11 million in venture capital so far.
5. Laundrapp: The dry cleaning & laundry app collects, cleans and delivers your laundry at a time and place that suits you. The collection and delivery is completely free, and with dry cleaning from just £1.60, Laundrapp is more affordable than most of the regular dry cleaners. The London-based startup was founded in 2014 and secured over £4 million in seed financing.
6. GENIAC: A London-based startup that provides essential business services for SMEs, all in one place, and all managed on their behalf. The team behind GENIAC created a single services platform to deliver integrated HR, Legal, Accounting and Insurance services for startups and SMEs. The platform provides you with a named GENIAC manager which gives startup/SME directors the ability to hand over work to be managed on their behalf. Founded in 2014, GENIAC raised about £23 million in venture capital.
7. Crowd2Fund: A platform which links investors with quality business opportunities automatically and without the need for a bank or middle man. The platform is easy to use and after investments have been made Crowd2Fund supports the businesses to maximise their growth capability. The London-based startup was founded in 2014. So far they secured about £2.5 million in venture capital.
8. HeadBox: Founded in 2015, HeadBox is a new online marketplace for creative, inspiring and offsite spaces. The platform directly links their guests (corporate and SME bookers) to their hosts (owners of those creative, inspiring spaces). HeadBox allows you to instantly search, book and pay in an easy and seamless way when planning an event or other space experiences. In October of 2015, the London based startup secured $1.8 million in seed financing.
9. ByeBuy: The London-based startup ByeBuy lets you explore and enjoy all your favourite products with pay-as-you-go. With ByeBuy you don’t need to pay thousands upfront to use your favorite product. ByeBuy buys it for you and you can just use it on a pay-as-you-go basis. ByeBuy was founded in 2015 and raised a total of $1.1 million in seed funding.
10. Hostmaker: A full-service hospitality provider for hosts on Airbnb. Hostmaker provides hotel-style cleaning services, linen rental and welcome packs for arriving guests as well as profile management services for hosts. With Hostmaker, listing, pricing and guest communication are all taken care of for you. The London-based startup was founded in 2014. In November of 2015, Hostmaker secured $2 million in venture capital.
By the way: If you’re a corporate or investor looking for exciting startups in a specific market for a potential investment or acquisition, check out our Startup Sourcing Service!
