From Newcastle to Manchester to London, tech startups have really taken hold as an ongoing phenomenon for the UK economy.

Following on from our Start Up Advice Day, the final Thinking Digital Sessions of 2017 we’ll be featuring tech startups and scaleups and learning about their innovative business models and their plans to survive and thrive in 2018 and beyond.

Speakers

Sam Morton & Gary Hunter of Redu

Founded in 2014, Redu delivers high volume incremental sales for brands and retailers via social, mobile and data driven affiliate marketing. Home to the Ashleigh Money Saver brand, Redu has grown an audience of over 1 million women in the UK and now sells in excess of £40m worth of products for retailers every year.

Tom New of Formisimo

In 2014 Tom, along with his business partner Al Mackin, launched Formisimo, a SaaS analytics platform that uses behavioural data to provide market leading insights into peoples’ online shopping habits, and in particular how people interact with online forms and checkouts. Clients include international brands such as Capital One, DFS, Travelex, William Hill, Sainsbury's Bank, Samsung and Unicef. Formisimo is based at MediaCity, and has been through the Seedcamp accelerator, raised two rounds of funding and won numerous awards, including being a Northern star in 2015. Tom was named the IoD's Start Up Director of the year in 2015, and is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Ignite Accelerator

Caroline Makepeace of Public

Caroline has spent 10 years in and around the UK’s public sector, working in strategy, operations and digital policy, including spells at Tech City UK and with the UK government’s trade department in London and India. She joined Public as Chief Operating Officer in October 2016, right at the start of the company's journey. Caroline started her career in the live entertainment team at BBC Worldwide, and she still harbours a passion for the performing arts.

Paul Smith of Hyperloop One

As part of the management team at Hyperloop One, Paul's role involves engaging and working with governments and partners, as well as managing processes and operations across the business development team. Paul has worked with technology startups for the past decade. As CEO and co-founder of Ignite, one of the first startup accelerator programmes outside the US, he supported and invested in over 100 early-stage businesses. He continues to run and support initiatives to support female tech founders.

Schedule

4.00pm - 5.00pm: Registration with refreshments

5.00pm - 6.30pm: Talks with Q&A

If you would like to attend the Digital Union Xmas Social following this event, please register here: https://design-christmas-social.eventbrite.co.uk/

'Digital Futures', Generator's business support programme, is designed to meet the business development needs of the North East's creative and digital businesses. This programme is part-funded by England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. Places at this event are FREE OF CHARGE for creative and digital businesses from North East England, thanks to ERDF funding.*

*County Durham, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear (excluding Tees Valley)