Introducing Newcastle Tech Trust

Last month, my friend and former co-founder talked about how Newcastle is failing tech entrepreneurs.

When I returned to the city after a two year absence (I’m now lucky enough work on one of the world’s most exciting technology projects and live in the North East), I caught up with startup founders and investors to ask how Newcastle’s tech scene is faring. Without exception, everyone’s comments mirrored the challenges and concerns outlined by Tristan’s post.

One of the more upsetting conversations was with a veteran entrepreneur from London who worked for one of Silicon Valley’s most successful technology companies, before relocating to Newcastle a year ago. After reaching out to people in city’s tech scene, the first person he met over coffee told him that if he valued his career, he should move back to London immediately.

This brilliantly lively, shouty, friendly city is my home. This is where I’ve built businesses, it’s where my children are growing up, so I feel compelled to contribute to what happens next. And hopefully, so will many others. We can’t sell saddles, Newcastle. We don’t need spectators. That’s not how things get better.

The most valuable contribution I think I can make, is use some of my free time to take forward a couple of Tristan’s suggestions, namely representation and founder support— to ensure technology startups have a voice; and to ensure that entrepreneurs with potential can connect with experienced, informed peers and mentors.

So I’m delighted to announce the launch of Newcastle Tech Trust, to support and empower ambitious technology startups and scaleups in Newcastle and North East England.

It’s early days, so beyond assembling a group of brilliant, willing people (all volunteering their time) and some broad objectives, there’s not too much substance yet. That said, we’ve already started advocating on behalf of technology startups in the region, through a series of meetings with the city council and others. Our steering group will meet for the first time before the end of the month, so you’ll see more bespoke activity in the coming weeks.

If we can crack this, we can play a broader role in informing a mid-to-long term strategy for both Newcastle and North East England by collaborating with other stakeholders — but there has to be representation before there can be collaboration, otherwise the needs of the sector will be misrepresented and diluted by the agendas of others.

This isn’t a closed forum, however. We’re still to decide how we structure the organisation so others can be involved, and we’re keen to hear your thoughts. Ideas, suggestions, concerns — we’d love to hear from you.