Get To Know The Startups In London's Tech City

Shoreditch
wirewiping via Flickr

The British government has been buzzing in recent weeks about what it calls London's Tech City, dubbed the new technology capital of Europe.

Advertisement

It's true, East London has now become a hub for tech companies ranging from long established online design agencies to dynamic and nimble start-ups. With a buzzing community spirit, communal work spaces (see TechHub) and  just a five-minute stroll to London's financial center, the area is an attractive environment for innovating companies.

Some big names such as TweetDeck and Groupon have now set up shop in TechCity. We got in touch with some other companies, both big and small, that make up the landscape of London's tech scene to talk about the area as well as their businesses.

Expect to hear more about a number of these guys in the near future.

Advertisement

Twileshare lets you share files over Twitter

twileshare
Twileshare

Founded: December 2010

Founders: Danny Bull and Ryan Foster

What is Twileshare? “We’ve tried to keep it very simple: It’s a better way to share files on Twitter," says Bull. "It’s like Twitpics for files."

“You can share any of the major file types: PDFs, Word documents, Excel. It’s something that not many other sites allow you to do. So we thought there was a gap there.”

Why Tech City? “The area itself is a hive of activity for people like me. They might have a particular skill; they may be developers or designers and they may be working on similar things like online technology. I think that’s the biggest benefit. You always seem to meet someone who is interested in partnering or willing to help out and give you the peer-type backing you need to keep going.“

Twileshare going forward: “I think what we’re going to is make the possibility of sharing as many different types of files as you can in as many different places as you can. I think we’ll certainly build it up that way into different platforms above and beyond Twitter. “ 

 

 

Advertisement

MoodShare uses interactive "mood boards" to help ideas come to life

moodshare
MoodShare

Founded: 2009

Founder: Zoltan Csaki

What is MoodShare? “I would describe MoodShare as a tool, primarily for creative people, to tell stories around their ideas. Traditionally we’ve called things like this 'mood boards.' They are a way of putting flesh on the bones of the most brilliant ideas in the world."

 “What’s at the heart of MoodShare is a really powerful media search engine. There are other collaborative mood boards out there but they presuppose that you’ve already got everything good to go."

Why Tech City? “When I got here (six years ago) it was very much the area for digital design studios or digital advertising studios.  There’s always been this creative vibe about the place. I got here a little bit to late but it used to be extremely cheap. It’s just got a great energy to it. Now it’s into this second wave of start-ups as supposed to design and media companies and I think it’s just growing off the back of that. There’re lots of interesting people around.”

MoodShare going forward: “Like every product we’re learning constantly. We’re learning how we can make it better and how we can make it faster and respond faster to what our customers want. We know very well that what we don’t want to become is an online version of Photoshop. There are other people that are doing that way better than we’ll ever be able to achieve. We’re solving a different problem and it’s about sticking around that problem.“ 

Advertisement

WhoSampled can tell you where that backing-track came from

WhoSampled
WhoSampled

Founded: 2008

Founders: Ran Shani and Nadav Poraz

What is WhoSampled? “WhoSampled is a unique music discovery experienced based on the notion of exploring music’s DNA," says Poraz. "We have the world’s largest database of samples, cover songs and remixes and we know the connections; who’s sampled who and what songs are covered on what album."

Why Tech City?  "There’s several music start-ups, really exciting ones, around our area. In East London as well there’s the whole music scene so you can be close to the clubs and the DJs and the labels. I think that’s why you see certain characteristics to the start-ups you find in London."

WhoSampled going forward:  "We have very concrete plans on how to allow more interesting or widespread access to our data. A lot to with how that data is visualized and how it is accessed. Another thing we’ve done, which we’re very proud of is given our data to Stanford University, to its music research department, and just a couple of weeks ago they produced a paper showing the influence between artists."

Advertisement

8fold uses a yoga influence and e-books to improve your "digital well-being"

8Fold
8Fold

Founded: 2009

Founder: Sinead MacManus

What is 8fold? "8fold is what I call a digital well-being company," says MacManus. "Digital well-being for me is using the web to work better. It’s about helping my clients navigate what’s out there whether that involves tools or social media or platforms they could be using for their business but in a really time effective way."

Why Tech City?  "I think it’s advantageous but I didn’t move here because of it. I do go to a lot of tech events and tech meet-ups. There is a sense of community and most people are very helpful and supportive."

8Fold going forward:  "The big thing I’m working on at the moment is expanding a digital assistant academy. I take low-income women, for example single mothers, and train them to create flexible income because it’s difficult for them to go out and find work. It’s a very big goal next year to roll that out in different boroughs around London."

Advertisement

BrightLemon is a bespoke online community agency

Brightlemon
Brightlemon

Founded: 2004

Founder: Leon Tong

What is BrightLemon? "BrightLemon's vision is to become the number one bespoke online community agency in the UK and eventually the world," says Tong. "We study social psychology, community creation and community growth to help us deliver useful communities for our clients."

Why Tech City? "We were one of the first tech companies to move into Tech City. We moved here when our landlord sold the building we were in, in Angel not far away. We have worked with neighboring companies on pitches and projects  so it's helped our business because the area is increasingly attracting talent."

BrightLemon going forward: "We need more good people to join us, particularly technologists. We need more links with universities. We also need faster Internet connectivity."

Advertisement

FundApps is introducing cloud-based software to hedge funds

FundApps
FundApps

Founded: 2010 

Founder: Andrew White

What is FundApps? "The average consumer on the street benefits every day from all the latest advances in technology. Financial Service companies don't," says White. "They're stuck with using mediocre software that was written in the 1990s which they pay a kings ransom to use. FundApps is changing that. Starting with the hedge fund industry we are introducing cloud-based software which is startling easy and pleasant to use, think more iPad than the controls of a Jumbo Jet."

Why Tech City? "London has the unique mix of tech, culture and banking. As the crow flies it is one mile from our base among the iPad toting hipsters of Old Street Roundabout to the pin-stripe suit wearers at Bank in the heart of the City of London. So Tech City really is uniquely located - it's hard to imagine a low-cost area full of talent only a stone's throw from Wall Street."

FundApps going forward: "World domination might be a big ask, but we certainly think that going forward more and more banks and hedge funds will realize the advantages of cloud and switch to our software. We really want that any institution large or small can benefit from our technology."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Advertisement

Sharkius Games makes safe but social games for kids

Sharkius
Sharkius

Founded: 2007

Founders: David Tenemaza Kramaley

What is Sharkius Games? "We make social games published on social platforms like Facebook," says Kramaley. "Currently the project we’re working on involves being partners with a big, well-known UK brand. They’re promoting our game with the aim of letting kids get the full Facebook experience from the safety of a children’s website."

Why Tech City?  "Everybody goes to each other’s events. You get to meet people, get introductions to people. When you’re hiring you can get recommendations and you can get a better hire than you would normally get. Because of the huge buzz going on about the area more people want to join start-ups. There’s a really good feeling about it now."

 Sharkius Games going forward: "We’re going to keep developing our ideas and try to get the next big hit in social gaming. We’re working on a game right now called “Fishing Stars” which features really famous people looking like fish. You’ve got to fish them out with special bait and you got to look out for them."

Advertisement

Squadify means you'll never be searching for a tennis partner ever again

squadify
Squadify

Founded: 2010

Founders: Nick Casey and Andy Davey

What is Squadify: "Squadify connects players and teams for all sports, at all levels," says Casey. "We’re a social sports network that allows you to search your local area for games and players, can suggest teams for you based on your ability and can even track your stats. Squadify is essentially online dating for sports."

Why Tech City? "For us it’s the access to the people in the other start-up companies that have made this such a worthwhile experience. TechHub (where the company is located) which is in the heart of Tech City has great transport routes to all areas within London, making it easy to commit to meetings. Locating in an area with an abundance of start-ups has allowed us to share experiences and gain valuable feedback."

Squadify going forward: "Squadify is launching in private beta in London over the next few weeks and as we come out of beta will be spreading to the rest of the UK. We intend on increasing our reach and expanding into multiple geographies and languages as quickly as demand, finances and strategic partnerships permit."


Advertisement

PeerIndex tells you who to pay attention to online

peer index
peer index

Founded: 2008

Founder: Azeem Azhar (CEO)

What's PeerIndex?  “PeerIndex is a company that identifies the people that are most influential and authoritative on any topic or category by looking at the data that they’re sharing on the web," says Azhar. "There are so many smart people on Twitter, there will be more smart people on Twitter, but there’s a noise problem. So how can I figure out how to find those smart people?"

Why Tech City? "It’s a really lovely place to work; there are nice restaurants, there are cool people. It’s the only place where you can run into the CEO of Tweetdeck while you’re having coffee. It’s actually reasonably priced compared to other parts of London. Also, because everybody’s there, everybody’s there."

PeerIndex going forward: "(At the moment) We’re scratching the service with the predictive capability of our data. The two key things will be firstly to improve the consumer experience and the second thing will be to be better, clearly and more detailed about what we provide in terms of data.”

Advertisement

Red Leader creates online goodies especially for artists while being named after a Star Wars character

Red Leader
Red Leader

Founded: 1999

Founder: Katherine Green

What is Red Leader: "We specialized in working with art-related organizations and we specialize in making websites, apps and social media marketing for that audience," says Green. "That makes us quite different, the fact that we choose to work with an arts and culture based client list."

Why Tech City? "The fact that there's now all this buzz about being a Tech City and that the government has recognized it is good. Just the fact that it's a really dynamic exciting area to be in. There's so much creativity going on." 

Red Leader going forward: "I'd really like to continue working with arts organizations, particularly outside of London. In a smaller town  you can make a much, much bigger impact, so I'm really interested in working with people outside of London."

Advertisement

Pick Live provides real-time, in-game fantasy sports and betting

Picklive
Picklive

Founded: 2010

Founder: Tim Morgan (CEO)

What is Pick Live? "By combining gaming mechanics with the fastest sports data in the world we have turned fantasy sports into synchronous social games," says Morgan. "We are the only company that make real-time play-along games, we know because nobody else has the data fast enough to do it. We built our system having tried every major provider of sports data in the world and none could provide us with data fast enough and granular enough for this type of gaming."

Why Tech City? "Tech City chose to locate itself near us! There are lots of people going through similar challenges to us and there are lots of good places to eat."

Pick Live going forward: "We are going to expand into the USA, but we need to find an alternative to gambling."

Advertisement

33Seconds is a tech publicity company run by former MySpace honchos

33Seconds
33Seconds

Founded: 2011

Founders: Alice Regester, Dominic Cook, Seb Underhill

What is 33Seconds? "33Seconds is a specialist agency working entirely in the social space," says Director, Regester. "We provide PR to social tech companies, including SoundCloud, ThingLink, EyeEm and Moviepilot, and social media marketing to brands, organizations and content owners. We’re different from other agencies because we have a totally holistic view of the social space"

Why Tech City? "It is the heart of the thriving UK tech scene, and arguably of the European tech eco-system. Some of our clients are based in other flourishing European tech hubs, like Berlin and Helsinki, but as a London-based agency it was the natural place to be. There’s so much buzz around the area and it’s an incredibly exciting and motivating environment to work in."

33Seconds going forward: "Our goal is to be the ‘best in class’ agency for any company who want to lead in the social space. As an agency we want to stay at the forefront of social innovation and at the intersection of culture and technology, while providing the best possible service to all of our clients."

Advertisement

HipSnip can tell you the best way to spend you money

HipSnip
HipSnip

Founded: 2010

Founders: Phillip Woodward and Jos Shepherd

What is HipSnip?  "We are a personal shopping application that helps you get advice before you buy," says Woodward. "The best way to explain it is to focus on the problem we’re trying to solve. That’s the consumer’s choice; trying to figure out what the best product to buy is."

"It’s actually very difficult to get advice on what to buy from the right people. We’re a bit like shopping 'Q & A.' You just post your shopping question and then we connect you with our community of experts."

Why Tech City? "From a programmer's point of view it's good to be able to mix with other CPOs and say things like, 'I've got a problem,' and get advice. From my perspective, as a CEO, it's good because we've actually built up a CEO support group of 12 early stage mobile and tech companies. We meet every couple of weeks and talk through problems and issues that we have."

HipSnip going forward: "We're going to try to push it forward quite hard now. Things have gone really well over the past four or five months. We've got over some milestones: Can we build it? Will people pay for it? Will people use it? Those are all happening."

"We're hoping that once we've established a significant foothold in the UK we can move forward into other markets, the U.S. being the obvious one."

Advertisement

Ultra Social will train you to use and understand social technology

Ultra Social
Ultra Social

Founded: 2011

Founders: Claire Wardle and Sue Llewellyn

What is Ultrasocial?  "We’re partnered with a company called Ultra Knowledge. It develops web technology platforms; really cool, clever and smart technology," says head of business development Jenni Wardle. "It was doing amazing things but had no way of selling them. It was hard to sell their technology because the market didn’t understand it. So we partnered with them. We train organizations and on the back of that we can use the technology that Ultra Knowledge has developed"

Why Tech City?  "There are clear benefits to be based around companies with experience. I still feel there’s potential for someone to really own this community a bit more and really drive it. There’s lots of opportunities and obviously being able to bump into someone in a sandwich shop and overhear a conversation about  something that they’re working on is a great benefit."

Ultrasocial going forward: "We’re developing an online training product. Hopefully we’re going to have something that’s accredited, so there’s a formal path of training that people will take to guide them through social media learning."

Advertisement

WorkSnug can tell you the best coffee shop to set your laptop up in

WorkSnug
WorkSnug

Founded: 2009

Founder: Richard Leyland

What is WorkSnug? "If you’re a knowledge-based worker you can work pretty much anywhere that’s got wi-fi," says Leyland. "But there are all these factors that let down the romantic notion of mobile working. WorkSnug is a solution to that. We do reviews of laptop friendly work spaces all around the world."

Why Tech City? "This is a really interesting city to be located but the bare reality is that we’re located in East London because I live in East London! We’ve got no dependencies on Tech City as a movement or a PR campaign. But, it’s nice that there is a vibrant encouraging climate for tech companies in that part of London, I think that’s a positive thing."

WorkSnug going forward:  "There is a lot for us to do in terms of market awareness and growing our user base. We have an active user base in excess of 100,000 which we’re quite proud of in the niche mobile working space but we’re going to get a lot higher than that."

Advertisement

Techlightenment has numerous products that help shape big-name social media platforms

Techlightenment
Techlightenment

Founded: 2007

Founder: Gi Fernando and Ankur Shah

What is Techlightenment? "We deal with two things in social networking: the acquisition of new customers for large global brands and retaining those customers," says Shah. "To that end we have a couple of products, for example the first ever ad-management technology for Facebook a couple of years ago, a product called Alchemy. Our world is about playing with social data."

Why Tech City?  "The area’s changing: It used to just be strip clubs, it’s not now! There’s a lot of money coming to the area but it’s retaining it’s character. There’s hundreds of start-ups here now it’s fascinating and at the end of the day the City is just five minutes’ walk down the road so there is money splashing about, we’re not in a baron part of London."

Techlightenment going forward: "We’re global. We’re going global and we’re getting bigger. We want to be the key supplier for the type of technology that we deliver. We want to be the key enterprise technology supplier in the social space. Very few people are doing what we’re doing right now.”

Advertisement
Technology Social Media Internet
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.