Manchester Startups 2.0

Welcome to the first edition of Manchester Startups 2.0.

These 25 founder-led startups are not backed by venture capital. Bootstrapped, pre-seed or angel-backed, the enterprises are in the early stages of their journey and either building or harnessing a unique technology.

We invited nominations from our readers, key figures in Manchester’s tech scene and an array of incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces. Most of the successful companies applied with detailed explanations of their technology, successes to date and plans for the future.

Whether they are already making waves in the market or building a pre-revenue product with potential, the passion of this next generation of entrepreneurs is clear.

We wish them every success and will be following them on their journey.

TechBlast is taking Startups 2.0 to more UK cities this year and next – subscribe to our Wednesday lunchtime newsletter to keep in the loop and for a weekly dose of entrepreneurial stories, startup growth advice and investor news.

Amicis Group
Amicis Group claims that its ‘SecOps’ platform can provide full visibility of cyber threats within one day; within a week, it says an end-to-end threat map of your business can be established; while within a month, all threats can be mitigated or fixed. Founded in 2021 and employing eight staff, it was funded initially through savings, pensions and houses sold, and remains completely bootstrapped.
Ascension-Q
Ascension-Q automates the process behind clinical trials to speed up medical research. The cloud-based platform provides real-time metrics on study participants and allows for the design and management of studies with multiple cohorts and across multiple sites. Ascension-Q is already being used in 16 hospitals and has assisted 70 clinical trials.
Boodil
Boodil is a payments platform which aims to boost engagement between retailers & their customers. Its Pay-by-Bank solution performs an instant bank transfer – customers can check out within six seconds – while merchants can integrate effortlessly and benefit from substantially lower payment processing fees and chargeback elimination. Consumers earn points which can be redeemed within Boodil’s mobile app.
Collctiv
Collctiv is an app that helps group organisers collect money. It enables them to send just one link and receive payments in less than five seconds – regardless of banking or payments platform. Once a group collection is complete, it offers users the functionality to withdraw the money to their personal bank account, send the money to someone else or spend the money straight from their Collctiv pot through the purchase of a gift card.
Dap Dip Ltd
Dap Dip Ltd is the production company behind hit podcast The Price of Football. Hosted by comedian Kevin Day and football finance expert Kieran Maguire, TPOF hit seven million downloads of a show focused on the often murky side of football finance earlier this year. Dap Dip was founded by radio presenter Guy Kilty, who previously worked for BBC Radio 5 Live’s flagship business programme Wake Up To Money.
Digital Konnect
Digital Konnect is a modern platform to buy and sell technology businesses in the UK. With customers in more than 50 countries and listings from both founders and business brokers, it aims to simplify the exit experience for the next generation of entrepreneurs. Future plans include additional services such as legal and accountancy advice for founders, an education forum and subscription service.
EZHR
Alastair Swindlehurst’s startup EZHR offers a comprehensive platform featuring all the human resources documents a small business needs alongside bespoke HR advice. It aims to help SMEs make sense of the grey areas. With bronze, silver and gold packages available, it is aiming for a critical mass in its membership base to look at integration into accountancy platforms such as Xero and QuickBooks – driving down the price.
Fassion
A ‘shopping-first social marketplace’ for independent fashion, Fassion allows people to discover products and interact with shoppable images and videos from independent brands and content creators on social media. The aim is to help them compete with fast-fashion budgets while overcoming difficult supply chains. Fassion is currently building a waitlist of users and has more than 80 brands on its platform.
Flight Patrol
Anyone who has encountered a flight delay or cancellation will understand the disruption and stress this can cause. Flight Patrol offers a free compensation checker for delayed, cancelled or overbooked flights, which takes just 60 seconds and could see travellers entitled to up to £556 in compensation. It covers flights over the last six years and – unlike other claim companies – only takes a fee per flight claim, rather than per person.
GigPig
A live music marketplace connecting venues and artists, GigPig launched in 2022 with pre-seed investment and already represents more than 3,500 artists and 600 venues nationwide. GigPig claims to provide venues with a secure platform to discover, book and manage live music for up to 90% less than the standard industry cost – allowing them to showcase local artists – by cutting out third-party agents.
HACE: Data Changing Child Labour
HACE: Data Changing Child Labour, founded in 2020, aims to empower businesses to make timely and data-driven decisions to proactively tackle the disturbing problem of child labour in supply chains. Designed for financial institutions, the startup’s Child Labour Index, powered by artificial intelligence, scores companies on three aspects: Public Perception, Company Disclosure and Risk.
In-House Health
In-House Health promotes data-led workplace health via an app which tracks the wellbeing of staff and the impact of company investment into wellbeing initiatives. Founder Emma-Louise Fusari has bootstrapped development of its MVP, won paid proof-of-concept projects and on-boarded the Greater Manchester Combined Authority as full paying client.
INEVITABLE
Without its ‘AI-as-a-Service’ product, INEVITABLE says, many startups could not scale – they wouldn’t be able to overcome the ‘chicken-and-egg’ problem of needing a scalable service to get the customers… to get the data… to make the AI… to create a scalable service. Providing AI development and consultancy services for firms of all sizes, it has a clear focus on helping early companies to establish ethical AI and data practices from the outset.
Lockular Limited
Lockular, a blockchain solution for securing company data, was founded by CEO Gary Mawdsley in 2018. Providing a complete ‘Chain of Custody’ – proving how data has been accessed, by whom, when and with which application – the invention has applications anywhere requiring data security and in any regulated environment. It is now looking for investors to help deliver sales, delivery and support capability as well as introductions to a customer base.
MAPT
MAPT is a marketplace that offers a streamlined approach for the creation, discovery and monetisation of ChatGPT applications. The platform aims to simplify the development process and user experience of AI apps, in the process fostering a vibrant and profitable ecosystem for these. A key target of the startup is to enable user memory in the apps, which will enhance personalisation and improve user interactions by referencing their history.
Mr Investa
Mr Investa offers a bespoke service for investor-to-investor sales on properties. It utilises technology such as live stream and virtual reality viewings to give clients insight into their potential purchases from a remote location. Founded by Ryan Hughes during the 2020 lockdown, it recently announced its first influencer collaboration with Channel 4’s ‘Married At First Sight’ star Sophie Brown.
NanoGraft
NanoGraft is the startup behind a two-part wearable medical device which helps lower-limb amputees feel the ground when they walk. The first part is inserted into the shoe of the prosthetic leg and detects pressure from when the amputee steps onto the ground; the second part is a wearable haptic band, worn around the thigh. This helps the amputee locate their foot without having to look down.
Pet Trust UK
Pet Trust UK is building an online platform for responsible pet-buying and selling. Prioritising animal welfare and secure transactions, it employs advanced algorithms for a robust screening process to identify reputable breeders adhering to ethical practices. Integrating with veterinary clinics and labs to verify a dog’s breed lineage and health history, it aims to ensure transparency and reduce genetic health risks.
Piing
The future of live events is mass-participation, says Piing, with fans inside stadiums interacting digitally with others via devices while brands directly communicate with the highly connected crowd. In the last 18 months its games have engaged crowds at The Commonwealth Games; football clubs including Manchester City; leading European basketball teams; and Tampa Bay Rays in Major League Baseball.
Plytime Learning
Plytime Learning – launched in 2020 and funded via sweat equity, an Innovate UK grant and angel investment – aims to make personalised learning affordable and accessible to all. The platform, currently focused on primary school maths, includes practice, answer reviews, help videos, real-time performance tracking and rewards to motivate children to improve.
Snippit Mirrors
Snippit offers a smart mirror unlike any other. It has three unique features: patent-pending ClearScreen technology; a two-screen design – displaying entertainment at the top and peripheral advertising at the bottom – and full customisation for clients. Snippit has worked with HD Cutz London, barber to football stars including Manchester City treble-winning heroes Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
SoSquared
Marketing professionals are currently facing an inflection point – pivoting away from traditional bloated agencies to more efficient tech alternatives. SoSquared has positioned itself, via its software and services solution, to sit adjacent to this change in behaviour. Its tools connect brands with influencers and assist with content creation. As it continues to deploy capital into technology and establish a network effect within the marketplace, the startup says it is soon to launch a pure SaaS play.
SPLACE
SPLACE is a social network allowing people to place content anywhere on a map: from the real-time position of players in a game world – with screenshots and hints – to the actual location of a cyclist in the Tour de France. Implementing a software development kit (SDK) and web API, the possibilities are endless. Billed as a ‘world of communities’, it aims to move people away from the walled gardens of existing social networks.
Vulse
Vulse uses AI to help users create LinkedIn posts based on industry, trends and relevance. Its personal branding platform has worked alongside Manchester Metropolitan University as part of the region’s four-university AI Foundry. Led by Rob Illidge, founder of social media agency Social Republic, it recently secured a pre-seed round of angel investment while Cardiff-based software developer CarbonCode has taken a 10% stake in the platform.
WhistleHQ
WhistleHQ is a ride-sharing platform featuring a ‘phantom phone network’ to make booking easy via automated phone call bookings. It also offers booking via integration with Facebook Messenger, while its language algorithm matches users with drivers who can communicate in their preferred language. It has also developed a learning academy for them, hosted in its app, which features training materials, courses and certifications.

Manchester Startups 2.0

Amicis Group

Ascension-Q

Boodil

Collctiv

Dap Dip Ltd

Digital Konnect

EZHR

Fassion

Flight Patrol

GigPig

HACE: Data Changing Child Labour

In-House Health

INEVITABLE

Lockular Limited

MAPT

Mr Investa

NanoGraft

Pet Trust UK

Piing

Plytime Learning

Snippit Mirrors

SoSquared

SPLACE

Vulse

WhistleHQ

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