We have written several times about startups choosing London as their second base or moving there entirely. It is a logical step for many from the region.
To assist them in this process, there is the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), a commercial arm of the UK government. Their goal is to basically help UK based companies succeed internationally, while attracting international companies to set-up base in the UK. They typically hold consultation sessions, events, participate in the local startup scene in order to show companies what their options and opportunities are.
During Slush, they went a step further with the “Take That Tech To The UK” competition, where ten startups were selected by an external panel of industry specialists. The chosen companies looked most promising and ready for expansion, which might be a good indication of how well the companies are doing. Here are the top ten:
Bliu Bliu (Lithuania) – Language learning startup.
Booxmedia (Finland) – Allows to launch end-to-end TV services.
Diktamen (Finland) – Specializes in optimizing dictation and transcription.
Ecolane (Finland) – Transit scheduling software.
Etuma (Finland) – Understanding customers through big data.
Flyvice (Finland) – Helps managing workforce better.
GoWorkaBit (Estonia) – Just-in-time workforce
Plan Brothers (Finland) – Software for security and real-estate management, such as fireplans.
Transfluent (Finland) – Automated translation for your communications.
TribaLearning (Finland) – Making education better structured and relevant.
The selected companies got to pitch at the UK Embassy residence in Helsinki, Finland the day before Slush, where the judges evaluated the companies over a three course meal.
In a tough battle, with companies varying in stages, readiness and pitches the winners were selected: Plan Brothers and Diktamen.
Plan Brothers is a company moving all the security documents in the cloud. They have proven the need for the service with a Finnish brand – Pelsu that attracted over 10 000 customers. Now they are ready to move with a package that will set them up in London.
Talking about the competition, Arttu Vesterinen, the head of sales said: “The decision is made. We are going to London. The great thing about this competition is that you actually had to think about your own business when you presented. We had to plan our expansion strategy and how we will go there. I think it went pretty well.”
Diktamen specializes in improving speech-to-text and transcriptions, especially for the medical industry and will receive a package that will help them expand to Manchester.
“In this competition, the people you meet and the networks you get are even more important than the actual prizes.These connections are worth their weight in gold”, says Niklas Elers, CEO of Diktamen.
The runner-ups GoWorkaBit and BliuBliu were recognized for their efforts and will receive tickets to next summer’s London Technology Week.
“When organising the competition we were looking for brilliant minds from Finnish and Baltic tech companies that were ready to up their game and step out onto the world stage via the UK. And I’ve been delighted to discover how many dynamic tech companies there are in Finland and the Baltics”, explains Mark Prisk, MP, UK Prime Minister’s Investment envoy for the Nordic and Baltic countries.
In total there were 68 companies participating from Finland and Baltics.
Winners Announcement:
