Winners announced: Startup Awards 2024

The first-ever SeedLegals startup awards happened on 22 February 2024, and we’re thrilled to say it was a roaring success. The atmosphere of celebration was electric and it was incredible to have over 450 people from the startup community together. Here’s a recap of who won 👇

But first, a massive thank you to our sensational sponsors who made this all possible. We’re grateful to work with such awesome companies all doing their bit to fuel innovation:

HSBC Innovation Banking, Bamboo Orchard, Innovation Broking, Deel, Stripe, D&D Electric, SMB, Capchase, Incepteo, UNLTD, Borough22, Edmunds Cocktails, Alk Water, Prime Time Lager, OurGlass, Mochiya.

Startup Awards winners 2024

1,182 nominations, 57 finalists and 16 winners. Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to all the finalists and winners. Here’s who won in each category:

🦄 Soonicorn, brought to you by HSBC

A startup or scale-up with strong growth, traction and promising strategies for their path to becoming the next big industry disruptor.

Finalists: Togather, MyVoice AI, Homemove, Wild, Raffolux
Honourable mention: Togather
Winner: Wild

Wild makes natural and sustainable body care products that are kind to your skin and the planet. They were chosen as a winner due to their supersonic growth speed – with an impressive valuation in their last round and huge annual sales, doubling year on year.

🏃‍♀️Fast Mover

A company that closed a funding round super-fast on SeedLegals. Time taken = days from sending the Term Sheet to issuing shares. Minimum raise: £150,000

Finalists: Little car company, Home, Fundpath
Winner: Fundpath

Fundpath is a critical data and business intelligence service for the wealth and asset management industry. Fundpath has clearly stood out to investors, gaining an exceptional amount of traction and closing their funding round in just 29 days. This is one of the fastest moving funding rounds of this size we have ever seen on SeedLegals.

⚡Young Trailblazer

A founder under 25, who has driven exceptional growth in their company while reshaping industries and communities with their innovative ventures.

Finalists: Holly Simmons – Niya, Melanie Asor – Underpay, Lorenzo Bergamaschi – Allye
Winner: Melanie Asor – Underpay.

Underpay helps retailers reduce the cost of processing payments and helps shoppers save money and find the best deal. Melanie was chosen as our winner from a strong set of contenders in this category for how she’s navigated her academic life and financial obstacles, using them as fuel to bridge the gap for underrepresented groups in tech. She’s developed a new curriculum at Berkeley’s School of Information, teaching the tangible applications of data science and machine learning, driven by her desire to attract more women and minorities to the field.

📲Social Sensation

A startup with exceptional social media influence, audience growth, standout marketing campaigns, and measurable impact.

Finalists: Wild, MEDDICC, Zoplo, Roomix, The Padded Seat
Honourable mention: Padded Seat
Winner: Roomix

Roomix provides custom-made home products to fit your space and suit your lifestyle. Our judges loved Roomix’s vibrant content creator network of people renovating their homes with visually enticing videos and graphics as well as impressive growth across key social channels, with over 80k followers on Instagram (a gain of more than 30k since this application was submitted just four months ago; 50k followers on TikTok and over 775k monthly views on Pinterest). Their DIY mums campaign also catered to a group that is normally ignored and resulted in millions of views on their top performing video.

🙋‍♀️Community Leader

A founder who has made exceptional contributions to support the SeedLegals community. Voted for by SeedLegals Plus members.

Finalists: Phil Kemish, Mark Shepherd, Emmie Faust, Vasily Alekseenko
Winner: Emmie Faust

Emmie Faust founded Female Founders Rise – a community of over 2,000 members, helping female founders grow and gain education and training. Emmie was chosen as our winner because she’s demonstrated impactful leadership, advocacy for diversity and inclusion, innovative approaches, and a positive impact on others. Her passion for fostering collaboration and support within professional networks aligns perfectly with SeedLegals’ values and makes her a deserving winner of the SeedLegals Community Leader award.

💼Top Workplace

A startup with an impeccable workplace culture, that makes their company a top destination for talented employees.

Finalists: Olsam, Crezco, Lem-Uhn, MEDDICC, Foundervine
Honourable mention: Crezco, Lem-Uhn
Winner: Olsam

Olsam is on a mission to help independent brands grow fast with tools and expertise to succeed on Amazon and digital marketplaces, globally. The judges were impressed by Olsam’s comprehensive employee experience, from diverse job advertising to robust support systems covering wellness, mental health, and learning.  Olsam excels at gathering input at every stage to optimise their employee experience. The company’s core values, shaped by employees, shine through in all aspects of operations, from recruitment to rewards. A standout detail was the lunch for newcomers with the founder, which the judges found to be a fantastic touch.

⭐Star Employee

An unsung hero of startup success. Someone who consistently goes beyond their regular duties to make a significant contribution behind the scenes.

Finalists: Jessica Walker – MEDDICC; Amandeep Singh – Carbon Expert
Winner: Jessica Walker – MEDDICC

MEDDICC helps sales professionals drive efficient and predictable growth. Jessica was chosen as a winner because she’s emerged as an exceptional leader at a remarkably young age, achieving the role of Chief Media Officer before turning 30. Her journey is a testament to her unwavering commitment, hard work, and impactful contributions to MEDDICC. Her tenure at MEDDICC has been nothing short of extraordinary, exceeding every expectation and going above and beyond in ways that were unforeseen.

😇Angel of the year

A standout angel investor whose strategic investments and support have helped drive innovation and growth in UK startups.

Finalists: Katie Ramsey, Steve Rigby, Abhi Desai, Jonny Clark
Honourable mention: Katie Ramsey
Winner: Jonny Clark

Jonny has made a clear, positive impact on his home region whilst investing in and mentoring ‘Over-looked’ founders at their early, formative stages. Jonny received remarkable praise from his portfolio companies, who rely on him as a trusted soundboard, support and friend. He’s doing impressive work running Slush Liverpool, co-founding Baltic Ventures and still doesn’t leave his early and small startups behind.

🤩Anthony Rose’s Outstanding Achievement Award

An exceptional founder in the SeedLegals community who’s made remarkable achievements.

Winners: Tom & Ross from Just Move In.

Just Move In is the Home Setup Service that makes moving home simple and easy for everyone involved. On announcing them as winners, Anthony Rose said, “over the years I’ve watched their business grow. I’ve seen first hand through them the sheer grit, hustle and hard work that goes into fundraising and growing a business. I love how they’ve embraced Agile Fundraising more than anyone else I’ve seen. In fact they are the inspiration, way back in 2018, for our Agile Fundraising products. More than anyone they – without knowing it – kickstarted a trend that has transformed UK fundraising.”

📖Star Storyteller

A startup that has delivered compelling pitches, capturing the essence of their ideas and projects in a way that resonates with investors.

Finalists: Fixed Construction, Jade Autism, Alterist, Made with Intent, The Wonki Collective
Honourable mention: Jade Autism, Made with Intent
Winner: Fixed Construction

Fixed Construction is revolutionising the construction industry by providing a digital hub where construction workers can showcase their skills, experience, and certifications. They stood out to our judges  for their collective approach to storytelling, involving different members of the team to show passion for their mission, and clearly articulated the problem they are solving.

🪴Eco Innovator

An outstanding startup dedicated to sustainability or excelling in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives.

Finalists: Allye, Electrogenos, Materials Nexus, The Wonki Collective, Unwasted
Winner: Electrogenos

Electrogenos helps reduce fossil fuel dependency and facilitates renewable energy sources using their advanced electrolysis technology. They were chosen as our winner because of the incredible work they’ve done to reshape the global energy landscape using highly advanced technology.

📈Star Scaleup

A company which has demonstrated significant growth on SeedLegals, including successful fundraising and hiring employees.

Finalists: Sol-Gel, Cudo Ventures, Green Lithium, Hop Financial Solutions
Winner: Green Lithium

Green Lithium is pioneering the sustainable production of battery-grade lithium, crucial for powering a greener future. With a focus on meticulous planning and strategic partnerships, they’re rapidly advancing towards their vision. Since joining SeedLegals in 2021, we’ve witnessed exceptional growth – they’ve successfully secured  funding, increasing headcount by 200%, and are on track to build the UK’s first large-scale lithium refinery that will employ over 250 people.

💪Customer Champion

A startup that excels in customer engagement, backed up by impressive Net Promoter Scores (NPS) and outstanding customer service achievements.

Finalists: Bellevie, Honest Mobile, ComplyCube, Zero Gravity, ConferWith
Honourable mention: Bellevie, Honest Mobile
Winner: ConferWith

ConferWith is the market-leading personal shopping service for eCommerce. They transform the customer experience by enabling shoppable video calls with brand ambassadors. We choose ConferWith as our winners because we loved their focus on NPS, and how they have correlated NPS against the number of products, images and videos showcased on customer calls – that’s really clever, and an innovative use of NPS feedback. Plus, their product helps other companies offer a better customer experience.

🚀Game Changer

A startup that has revolutionised their industry through exceptional innovation, technological advances and/or creative disruption.

Finalists: WNWN Food Labs, Bioataraxis, Pip & Henry, Axiom Data, Seafields
Honourable mention: Pip & Henry
Winner: WNWN Food Labs

WNWN Food labs is the world’s first ever company to bring cocoa-free chocolate to the market, using cutting-edge science. Their groundbreaking cocoa-free chocolate blends innovation with a dedication to eco-friendly practices and dramatically lowers CO2 emissions, making them true game-changers and a deserving winner of this award.

💸SEIS Fund of the year

A fund that has demonstrated exceptional commitment, innovation and impact in nurturing and supporting the growth of innovative small businesses through SEIS.

Finalists: SFC, QVentures, Haatch
Winner: SFC

SFC is a leading early-stage investment firm, renowned for its dedication to discovering and supporting the UK’s most promising tech startups.  They were chosen as our winner because of their dedication to discovering and supporting the United Kingdom’s most promising tech startups. SFC has established itself as a pivotal player in the venture capital ecosystem, providing not only financial investment but also strategic support to foster innovation and growth within the UK’s vibrant entrepreneurial community. In the last 12 months alone they’ve invested a record breaking £12m in 90 companies.

🏆Startup of the year

The top-performing startup for 2023, chosen from the entire list of finalists. This company received the grand prize of £50k equity investment.

Winner: Seafields

Seafields is helping to heal the climate crises and restore oceans by catching and growing Sargassum, a seaweed that naturally captures CO2. Our judges selected Seafields as the winner of this award for numerous reasons – they’re hugely innovative, going out to solve one of the biggest problems of the next 20 years, they have an amazing team behind them, from the World Bank, to the UN, and experts in their specific fields and their pitch teaser video and ask was exceptionally clear, even whilst explaining some complex concepts.

🚲Raffle winner

Thank you to D&D Electric for donating a state-of-the-art ebike towards our raffle. The lucky raffle winner was Oscar Diaz from Zinetika. We hope you love the bike, and reader – be sure to check out D&D Electric’s sustainable transport solutions.

Stay in the loop: SeedLegals Startup Awards 2025

We’re already prepping for the next one. SeedLegals Startup Awards 2025 will be even bigger and better. Stay up to date and make sure you know when applications open and tickets go on sale 👇