Startups.co.uk is proud to reveal the Startups 100 2021, with Multiverse, the business using apprenticeships to create a diverse group of future leaders, taking the coveted top spot.
This is the 13th year for the renowned ranking, which celebrates the UK’s most disruptive and innovative businesses founded in the past five years.
Around a year and a half after the start of a pandemic that changed the way we lived and worked, possibly forever, this year’s crop of businesses proves once again the resilience and adaptability of the UK’s startups scene.
Some were founded in 2020, either in spite of, or in response to, issues created by COVID-19, while others were founded a few years before the start of the pandemic. But all are behind truly remarkable ideas that are changing lives and transforming sectors.
This year’s list features apps tackling homelessness, healthtech that’s improving outcomes for the vulnerable, an online will-writing service, and even some really good guacamole.
Between them, the Startups 100 2021 have collectively raised £951m in funding and have a combined revenue of £696m.
We hope you’re as inspired as we are by our 13th ranking of the UK’s 100 most disruptive and innovative businesses.
For more, see our full Startups 100 2021 list
At Startups.co.uk, we're here to help small UK businesses to get started, grow and succeed. As well as rounding up some of the biggest success stories in our annual Startups 100 list, we have resources to help new businesses get off the ground.
The top five businesses of the Startups 100 2021
Heading up this year's Startups 100 are five companies that have show remarkable growth over the past few years. Not only have they weathered the economic storm and cultural disruption of the pandemic, but they've actively thrived throughout it:
1. Multiverse
Founded by Euan Blair in 2016, Multiverse (formerly WhiteHat) is bringing apprenticeships into the digital age, and making top jobs in law, media, tech and finance accessible for those from ethnic minority and lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The Multiverse platform measures potential beyond academic achievement, using applied learning programmes and matching software to help its 16-24 year-old candidates secure jobs at the likes of Google, Facebook, and KPMG.
2. Cera
Digital-first healthcare company Cera provides nurse and carer visits, home medication delivery services and telehealth calls to those in need. Since appearing 24th in last year’s ranking, Cera has seen astonishing growth. It has over 6,000 staff and delivers more than 30,000 healthcare visits a day – equivalent to 40 NHS hospitals. Now licensing its technology to more than 2,000 businesses, and having expanded to Germany and Spain, Cera is showing no signs of slowing down.
3. Farewill
The admin surrounding a death in the family isn’t something many of us like to think about until we absolutely have to. Thankfully, though, Farewill is thinking about it. Founded in 2016, Farewill is on a mission to make “everything to do with death simpler, faster, and fairer” by bringing it online. Its will writing service costs just £90 and can be completed in 15 minutes, and it claims its funerals can be £2,500 cheaper than a traditional funeral.
4. KIDLY
KIDLY was founded by James Hart, the first employee at ASOS. Given that pedigree, it’s no surprise that his own ecommerce venture is proving so successful. KIDLY is a one-stop shop for products aimed at 0-5 year olds. It now sells more than 4,000 products, and generates 15% of its revenue from its own brand products. It’s the details that we admire about KIDLY: all its packaging is recycled or biodegradable, every product is tested by kids and approved by parents, and its live chat is staffed entirely by parents.
5. Virti
Virti is the startup using virtual and augmented reality to allow professionals in healthcare and Fortune 500 companies to learn and train for infrequent, high-risk, high-pressure scenarios. Its education analytics software then enables video analysis and CGI training simulations in order “to treat employees like high-performance athletes”. Claiming to improve knowledge retention by 230% and decision-making speed by 17%, Virti is already used internationally by large healthcare providers, and has secured early customers in oil and gas, aviation, and corporate training.
Want to find out who else made the list? See the full Startups 100 2021 list
via https://www.AiUpNow.com
October 4, 2021 at 04:25AM by Henry Williams, Khareem Sudlow
