Bristol's Tech Scene is booming
My wife has just had our first baby, and we have relocated back to Bristol to be closer to family and friends, 18 years after we both graduated from Bristol University.
We were both really excited about moving back, as we knew our quality of life and that of our new baby girl, Myla, would be enhanced.
- Not only did it rank in 4th place on the Rough Guide top 10 cities (in the world), the only UK city on the list, but it was also named Britain’s coolest city, ahead of both London and Edinburgh.
- Bristol was the only English city to feature in the New York Times’ list of 52 places in the world to go in 2018, with the write-up stating: “Edgy, creative Bristol is aiming for another label in 2018: cultural powerhouse”.
- The Sunday Times voted Bristol as the “best place to live in Britain” in 2017. Sunday Times home editor Helen Davies, said: "The city is a worthy winner thanks to its ideal combination of extraordinary culture, impressive schools, buzzing culinary scene, exciting redevelopment and community spirit... We sum the city up as cool, classy and supremely creative."
- For a number of years, Bristol has been associated with the green movement and gained the status as the UK’s first ever European Green Capital. Bristol Green Capital Partnership brings together over 800 member organisations who are committed to working towards Bristol becoming a sustainable city with a high-quality of life for all.
- Bristol is UK’s kindest city: Bristolians do the most ‘good deeds’ per year
- The Campaign for Better Transport’s Car Dependency Scorecard ranked Bristol as the second best city for walking and cycling as an alternative to using cars. The investment continues as a ￡9.4 million Cycle Ambition Fund finances work to improve the area's cycle routes. Additionally, Bristol is the UK’s first Cycling City and is also a Fairtrade City meaning it trades fairly with nearly five million workers in 58 developing countries.
- It was named one of the 10 happiest cities to work in Britain by The Guardian in 2016. While in 2018, Bristol named the happiest city in Britain with rating of 7.3/10, while London got a rating of 6.7. The researchers even went as far as saying:
We could all take a lesson from the people of Bristol when it comes to happiness
But, moving out of London and relocating to a new city worried me on the work front.
I have been a sales, marketing and business development leader in London at some of the fastest growing tech startups in the UK/EMEA for 10+ years. Awards my portfolio of companies have won include:
- Deloitte Technology Fast 50 UK 2013
- Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA 2013
- UK Cloud Awards 2015
- The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise: International Trade 2016
- Event Technology Awards 2018
I'll be honest: I was a little worried that, even given the rise of remote working, I would struggle to find a tech company I was excited to work for in Bristol, as in London I have been lucky enough to work with some awesome founders, investors, and talent that have gravitated to the capital from all over the world.
- Would I be able to find a company serving a niche that I was truly interested in & passionate about taking to market?
- Would I get to work with world class pros like I was used to doing in London?
If you have any ideas for my next career move or can make any introductions… that would be awesome [email protected], 0044+ (0)77 194 90290 and if you are Based-based: let's meet up for a coffee and chat Friday-Monday, as I am still handing over at my current role at PepperHQ Tuesday-Thursday.
I really did not need to worry.
Bristol has retained all the bits we always loved about it. It is still quirky, creative and has an independent vibe and strong music scene. It is still a small(ish) city with a big heart. There were under 490,000 people living in Bristol back when I graduated according to the Office for National Statistics show, but by 2017, that number had climbed to 572,563 people, up 16%. Bristol has the highest rate of young people moving there in Britain: the number of 21 to 30-year-olds living in Bristol has soared by 40% in that time to 111,481 people. But it has also added a whole new dimension of tech entrepreneurialism since we last lived here.
Today Bristol is one of the top 10 cities in EMEA when it comes to technology, according to investment company CBRE. Beating Vienna, Cambridge and Rotterdam to bag sixth place, it was named a ‘super cluster’ which means there are between 50,000 and 70,000 people in high-tech employment. Bristol has an impressive concentration of international innovation and tech giants, so much so that some are calling it ‘Silicon Gorge’. Bristol is home to
- Just Eat
- Sony
- Amazon / IMDB
- EE
- BT
- Nokia
- Vodafone
- Dyson (although think much of it will be moving much of it over to Singapore)
- Oracle’s new global Startup Cloud Accelerator...
Today Bristol has become a startup hotshot
- around 2,795 new start-ups were launched in Bristol in the year 2016
- With over 27 starts-ups for every 1000 people, Bristol is a hugely entrepreneurial city and only Edinburgh, Leicester and London had a greater concentration of new businesses.
- Research released in 2019 by marketing agency YOURS SINCERELY looked at a number of factors critical for starting a business across Britain’s major cities - and the data shows that Bristol is currently the best city to start a business in the UK.
- A recent study by MoneySuperMarket ranked Bristol as the best business hub in the UK, ranking higher than the UK’s capital, with one of the lowest average business insurance costs (￡260), along with the fastest average broadband speed of all cities in the top five.
And to my genuine surprise, Bristol is today the UK’s foremost tech hub outside of London having overtaken Reading. Tech Nation identified Bristol as the most productive digital cluster in the UK and third for a total digital turnover of ￡8.1bn after London and Reading.
- More than 35,924 digital jobs
- More than 225 start-ups
- Accounting for 17pc of the UK’s high-growth firms
- Fastest-growing part of the UK economy outside London
A viable London alternative?
- Over the last few years, Bristol has built itself up to be a strong tech startup alternative to London, and has been attracting some key players in the tech world and the more tech companies, innovation hubs and vibrant industries that make Bristol their home, the more talent the city will attract.
- Speaking to BusinessCloud last year, KPMG’s Kay Drury said Bristol is becoming more recognisable globally:
People are recognising that there’s a really good talent pool down here; it costs a fraction of what it does in London, and it’s a great place to live… I think the profile is getting there and that’s largely down to the efforts of the people in the region, raising that profile collectively
- This is echoed by Tom Morris, managing director at CBRE in Bristol:
Our strong universities and vibrant urban environment have made Bristol a magnet for young development talent and the city is attracting tech companies of all sizes
And what were only a few years ago innovative startups are now world leaders e.g.
- AI chipmaker Graphcore is one of Europe’s must-watch deep-tech unicorns
- Graphcore raised $200m in a funding round at the end of 2018 that values the company at $1.7bn
- This investment comes just a year after one of Silicon Valley’s leading venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital, invested $50m in a Series C round in the company
Here is a list of other really cutting edge sci-tech start-ups that I’ve been really enthused by that call Bristol home; I'd love to see some of these become global leaders in the near future (if there any brilliant startups you reckon I should check out, please comment below, as there is so much going on down here, and I don't want to miss any early-stage tech giants).
- Blu Wireless Technology
- Brightpearl
- Duel
- FiveAI
- Fusion Processing
- Green Hedge
- Kets Quantum Security
- Mongoose Energy
- Open Bionics
- Reach Robotics
- Trackener
- Ultrahaptics
- Xmos
- YellowDog
- Zeetta Networks
It is a massively exciting time to be in the Bristol Tech scene; the place is buzzing with innovation and cutting edge thinking, as my recent visits to meet with the new breed of tech leaders testify at the likes of
- Runway East
- Engine Shed
- SETsquared
- Webstart
- Venturefest
- TechSpark
- High Tech Bristol and Bath
- new lab space and science incubator, Unit DX
I am yet to find the founders and investors whose vision I will take to market, but I am really excited to be in the city during this digital revolution and will keep you all informed once I find that elusive team and product that I will be dedicating my time to.
If you have any ideas for my next career move or can make any introductions… that would be awesome
[email protected], 0044+ (0)77 194 90290, LinkedIn profile
- 15+ Years as a growth engine for startups
- Proven to accelerate growth for B2B Technology Providers e.g. Cloud / IT Services / MSP, Software / SaaS, Digital Marketing, Fintech, Apps…
- Early stage startup / SME looking for first clients? Proven, lean go-to-market leader
- Established business with traction looking to scale-up? Generate a predictable and scalable pipeline for SMBs by working ‘smarter’
- Ideally seeking a permanent / full-time role, but open to consultancy / interim / strategic advisory contracts
- Ideally Bristol-based (I am in Windmill Hill / Bedminster), but open to working remotely
WELL-ROUNDED CROSS-FUNCTIONAL LEADER
- 20+ recommendations and 3k+ LinkedIn skills endorsements across Sales, Marketing & Business Development disciplines
MODERN SALES PROFESSIONAL
- resourceful self-starter; constantly up-skilling; use latest tools and tactics e.g. top 1% LinkedIn Social Selling Index
STRATEGY & PROCESS PLAYBOOK
- fast return on investment strategies, growth hacks, and systems
HANDS-ON LEADERSHIP
- expert at nurturing, training, and managing high performance teams… but always lead by example with inspiring work ethic and process excellence
ADAPTABLE
- well versed in various types of sale e.g. challenger or complex, consultative solution sales... selling into small businesses or international enterprise / blue-chip corporates… individual contributor / hunter or account management
POWERFUL NETWORKER
- proactively leverage my network of senior decision makers e.g. 19k+ 1st level LinkedIn connections (I have two LinkedIn accounts that I should get around to merging)
BOARD LEVEL INFLUENCER
- experienced at working at C-Level; excel at opening doors to ‘hard to reach’ C-suite / CxOs and closing them through strong commercial nous and aligned value propositions
TRUSTED ENVANGELIST
- strong influencer and passionate about technology, and so able to monetise innovative / disruptive solutions
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