Startup Coalition

Startup Coalition

Technology, Information and Internet

The Policy Voice of Tech Startups & Scaleups in the UK

About us

We work with digital startups and policymakers to create better policy for the digital economy. Founded by tech entrepreneurs, the Startup Coalition (formerly Coadec) is a non-profit that campaigns for policies to support tech startups in the UK. We conduct research, host events, and run campaigns on behalf of the UK’s startup community.

Website
http://startupcoalition.io
Industry
Technology, Information and Internet
Company size
11-50 employees
Headquarters
London
Type
Nonprofit
Founded
2010
Specialties
Public policy and Startups

Locations

Employees at Startup Coalition

Updates

  • Startup Coalition reposted this

    View profile for Charlie Mercer, graphic

    Policy Director at the Startup Coalition

    Fresh off supporting the launch of the new ClimateTech APPG earlier in the week, today we're launching our third annual ClimateTech Policy Coalition report. Spoiler alert, initially enthusiastic ClimateTech founders are a little underwhelmed with the first five months of the new Govt... In partnership with techUK, Tech Nation, Cleantech for UK, Tech Zero, and Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation, we release these reports annually, including fresh insights from the frontline of climate innovation, along with priority areas for Government support. This year we grounded the report in a series of roundtables with founders and investors, and a survey of 59 founders - the results are in: 👍 Most surveyed Climate founders (38) thought that Labour’s election victory was a good thing for their business - with only a handful (5) saying it was bad. ⚡ There was good recognition of the key policy priorities of the Govt, including GB Energy, the Warm Homes Plan, and there was significant support for the renewal of EIS and VCT investment incentives. 👎 Respondents were less positive about how things have gone since July 4th, however - only 11 founders said that the first five months of the new Govt had been good for their business, with 14 saying that it had actually been negative for them. 📢 To steady the ship, ClimateTech founders want the Government to focus on ensuring that innovation is built into its priorities, including GB Energy and the Industrial Strategy. 🗺️ As always, this isn't a moan - we are focused on the reality of innovating to combat climate change *and* the constraints on the Govt. We've rounded off the report with a refreshed blueprint of steps that the Govt can take to unlock climate innovation, building on its political priorities. 🎆 2025 gives us the opportunity to refocus on action. At the moment there is a general sense of consultation overload - but the hope is that there's action at the end of the questions, and this is what ClimateTech founders sorely need. 👇 Find the full report below, cheers to Sifted for the feature in yesterday's newsletter, and thank you as ever to all those who have engaged with us and the Coalition this year. Alyssa Gilbert | Cathal Hughes | Sammy Fry | Sarah Mackintosh | Charlie Garner | Sophia Kesteven | Craig Melson | Weronika Dorociak

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  • Startup Coalition reposted this

    View profile for Jordan Sullivan, graphic

    Head of Economic Policy, Startup Coalition | Ex-HM Treasury

    In our new report today, the Startup Coalition uncovers the UK’s eCommerce startups and scaleups that are transforming retail, driving innovation, and creating jobs. By analysing Beauhurst data we can see that across startups, third-party marketplaces and the software driving the retail engine rooms, in 2023 alone, the sector: 📊 Generated £95.7bn in economic activity 👥 Employed 464,000+ people 💡 Raised £13.6bn in investment The UK has a huge opportunity to leverage this growth to revitalise high streets, improve productivity, and future-proof UK retail. As small businesses increasingly blend online and offline models (63% of high-street small businesses sell online), the government must prioritise tech adoption. To harness the eCommerce ecosystem, we’re calling for: ✅ Tax incentives for small business tech adoption – inspired by Australia's "Small Business Technology Investment Boost." 🏬 Rethinking business rates – enabling flexible, tech-enabled high streets and pop-up stores. 🛠️ Hackathons for urban innovation – piloting solutions like Singapore’s "Build for Good." From the spending review, to business rates and tech diffusion, decisions made in 2025 will define the future of UK retail. Our report sets out the foundational data and policy ideas that will support UK retail to thrive.

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  • Startup Coalition reposted this

    View profile for Charlie Mercer, graphic

    Policy Director at the Startup Coalition

    This week we supported the launch of a new All Party Parliamentary Group on ClimateTech - and brought the sector to Westminster for a festive farewell to 2024. APPGs are forums for parliamentarians of all political stripes to get together over a shared interest, engage with a wide range of industry and civil society folks engaged in that area, and advance discussions about policy to move the needle. There's no shortage of APPGs focused on climate change (there's at least three already), but there was a gap for a group focused on the role of tech as a means to mitigate emissions, adapt to locked in change, and make the UK the home of the industries of a low to no carbon future. That's why we're excited to be the secretariat of the ClimateTech APPG - we also want to work with these other groups towards our shared goal. Under the chairmanship of the excellent Steve Race, this APPG will bring ClimateTech entrepreneurs to Westminster, showcasing awesome technology UK founders are building *right now*, and shining a light on how government can support them to scale and maximise climate impact. To mark this launch, we hosted our third annual ClimateTech reception, this year in partnership with Octopus Energy and for the first time in the House of Commons. We were joined by founders, investors, officials, and some superb speakers, including Claire Hughes MP, our APPG Chair Steve, and Climate Change Minister Kerry McCarthy. 2024's been a momentous year in UK politics, but climate change doesn't wait for political strategy, milestones or missions. We need solutions now, deployment now, and political action now - we hope that this APPG can play a small role in accelerating this action. This won't be our final ClimateTech news pre-xmas - stay tuned for more from us, and our friends at the ClimateTech Policy Coalition before the end of the week... techUK, Tech Nation, Cleantech for UK, Tech Zero, Undaunted: Tackling climate change with innovation.

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  • Startup Coalition reposted this

    View profile for Jordan Sullivan, graphic

    Head of Economic Policy, Startup Coalition | Ex-HM Treasury

    Excited to announce the release of our first report as part of the Startup Coalition's Funding the Underfunded campaign on Unleashing Regional Startup Investment. Nearly half of all UK startups that have raised over £100k are based in London. Of those startups founded in 2023 and 2024, 72% of all investment went to London-based firms, according to Beauhurst data. Regional innovators are starved of the capital they need to grow, despite driving innovation in areas like software, advanced manufacturing, health tech, and green technologies. Our recommendations today would make a huge impact on improving the current situation, they include: 1️⃣ Scaling up the British Business Bank (BBB): Mandate the BBB to tailor regional programmes to local business needs through data-driven evaluations. 2️⃣ Democratising access to VC: Require those benefiting from the Enterprise Capital Fund to participate in regional demo days to connect with local talent. 3️⃣ Invest in talent: Create mission-based investment programmes to back high-potential founders across the UK. 4️⃣ Build sector-specific funds: Channel capital into regional centres of expertise, moving beyond the Golden Triangle, including expanding ECF and corporate venture activity. 5️⃣ Leverage convertible bonds: Collaborate with mayoral combined authorities to issue regional bonds, funding infrastructure and high-growth startups. 6️⃣ Strengthen spinouts: Reform how university research becomes commercial startups, ensuring fair equity terms for founders. 📍 We kicked off the campaign yesterday alongside Manchester Digital’s Emerging Tech Conference with startups based in the North of England. Engagement with founders on the ground was key to developing these recommendations, including the super UK Tech Cluster Group, and will be key as we work to implement them. Would love to hear your thoughts! Let’s discuss! 👇

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  • Charlie Mercer and the rest of the team have been busy this week!

    View profile for Charlie Mercer, graphic

    Policy Director at the Startup Coalition

    🛤️ 500 miles later... Touching back down in the Capital having whizzed around the North of England in the last 24 hours to host roundtables in Manchester and York to launch our new paper on funding regional founders. Today we've launched the first in our series on "Funding the Underfunded", a project outlining steps that the Government must take to get cash to underfunded founders. This is about cutting beneath the platitudes - identifying tangible levers that policymakers can pull to move the needle on complex problems. Our first intervention is on regions: amongst other steps, we want the Government to mandate the BBB to tailor regional programmes to local business needs through data-driven evaluations, and also collaborate with mayoral combined authorities to issue regional bonds, funding infrastructure and high-growth startups. To launch this report, we hosted a roundtable with founders in partnership with Manchester Digital yesterday, and were joined by colleagues from DSIT to discuss the Government's Industrial Strategy. And then this morning we hosted a roundtable with founders and Barclays Eagle Labs in York, this time joined by Luke Charters MP to discuss his regional mission focus. We're serious about escaping the noise and pushing for real change that gets cash in founders' pockets up and down the UK - but regions is just the start of this 'funding the underfunded' journey. Over the next six months, we'll be launching interventions exploring the experiences of female, non-white, and working class founders. No market failure is off limits. With a mission-driven Government comes the opportunity to unlock entrepreneurship everywhere - get in touch to get involved.

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  • Startup Coalition reposted this

    View profile for Jordan Sullivan, graphic

    Head of Economic Policy, Startup Coalition | Ex-HM Treasury

    🔔 NEW: Today, as covered in POLITICO's tech morning brief, Startup Coalition are sharing our response to the government’s Industrial Strategy green paper, which makes the case for technology as the backbone of any modern industrial strategy. There is nothing modern about a strategy that simply places a sticking plaster on legacy industries. Startups are the vehicle through which technological developments translate into economic growth. Our response sets out how and why startups must be supported to be the core enabler of the UK making a step change in its long-term growth trajectory, and the government achieving its growth mission - some highlights include: ⁉️ Why not put technology at the core of the strategy? There is a world in which this modern industrial strategy, rather than being led by DBT (and HMT), was led by DSIT - as this is where future growth in the economy will come from. 📊 We need to consider how traditional data sets reflect and understand the economic impact made by venture-backed technology companies. 🔖 The four key areas that are non-negotiables continue to be: access to finance, talent, regulation, and markets. We of course have thoughts and recommendations on all four in the response. 🛡️ We should not forget the "Invisible" Industrial Strategy - we've created a thriving early stage software ecosystem (e.g. through EIS, SEIS and share options) - the industrial strategy should cement our world-leading tax incentives and focus on supporting these businesses to grow into the billions with growth capital... 🥼... whilst also paying particular attention to the challenges of deeptech. With other nations clearly focusing on how to develop deeptech national superstars, the UK needs to do the same. 🪙 UKRI is well-financed, but the funding is not being efficiently distributed. Many feel they are messed around by the system that tell startups to contort to fit it, rather than it reflecting their growth journey. 📞 We hear that European competitors are calling British startups with attractive offers to relocate. The UK (perhaps via the beefed up OFI) needs to not merely play defence and instead proactively create and attract the best venture-backed technology companies. This is only the beginning of our engagement with government on the strategy. We would love to hear what you think about the details of our submission, what have we got right, where should we go further, and what have we missed. Do get in touch! Link to report in the comments. Startup Coalition I Dom Hallas I Tom Bristow I Charlie Mercer

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  • Startup Coalition reposted this

    View profile for Charlie Mercer, graphic

    Policy Director at the Startup Coalition

    Today we convened a group of the UK's leading startups decarbonising homes and buildings to meet with the Housing Minister responsible for innovation, Baroness Sharon Taylor. 🏘️ Fresh off the back of our Built Different report published earlier in the year, we discussed the need for the Government to build differently using cutting edge, low carbon tech. 💸 We also want to see households empowered to use technology to lower the energy bills and improve the efficiency of their homes. 📜 We also discussed how upcoming reforms to EPCs, the Home Energy Model and Net Zero Buildings Standard must accelerate the use of best in class low carbon tech, and match the ambition of the Government's climate commitments. Bringing innovation to the heart of Westminster is what Startup Coalition does best, but the conversation is only ever a means to an end. Read our report below for the specific steps the Government must take to build different 👇

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