The 2022 LinkedIn Top Startups list reveals 15 emerging UK companies gaining attention. Backed by unique LinkedIn data measuring different elements of growth and demand, the list reveals companies like Monzo, Britishvolt and Beam that you should be paying attention to.
Starting and growing a company has always been tough, but it’s especially tough right now. As the working world navigates widespread inflation and economic uncertainty, it has become more challenging for young companies to get investment and grow quickly. We recently asked startup founders and entrepreneurs whether fundraising had become more difficult in the past few months and we received hundreds of responses – the overwhelming response being “yes”.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom as some new funding opportunities are on the horizon. Venture capital firm Northzone recently announced a new €1bn (£890m) startup fund, while Japanese tech giant SoftBank is reportedly considering setting up a third Vision Fund.
While it’s a challenging moment, some argue that innovative ideas are born in times of uncertainty. Operating under constrained resources and limited capital can push young companies to prioritise assets and values and adapt quickly.
Our 6th annual LinkedIn Top Startups list is the resource to find the startups to pay attention to right now, featuring 15 UK companies that are rising to the challenges of the moment and continuing to innovate and gain attention in 2022.
To compile the list, we looked at LinkedIn data across four pillars: employee growth; jobseeker interest; member engagement within the company and its employees; and how well these startups pulled talent from our flagship LinkedIn Top Companies list. (You can learn more about our methodology and eligibility requirements at the bottom of this article.)
This list is ultimately meant to be a resource for jobseekers excited by the opportunity to innovate, solve big problems and grow their skills. If joining a startup is the right fit for you, check out which roles, functions and skills are in demand at each company – and click on them to find the associated LinkedIn Learning courses to study up. If you see a company that sparks your interest, take a look at who you may know and turn on job alerts to stay on top of future opportunities.
Here are this year’s 15 Top Startups in the UK – and join the conversation using #LinkedInTopStartups.
Full-time headcount: 2,451 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2015 | Most common skills: Digital Literacy, Leadership, Business Management | Most common job titles: Financial Consultant, Back End Developer, Software Engineer | Largest job functions: Customer Success and Support, Finance, Engineering | What they do: Monzo is a mobile banking app with more than six million customers to date. Despite a few brushes with UK regulators in recent years, Monzo is arguably the UK’s fastest-growing personal bank, hitting the 1 million customer mark in 2018, and expanding to the US in June 2019.
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Full-time headcount: 1,479 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2015 | Most common skills: Business Management, Digital Literacy, Data Science | Most common job titles: Account Executive, Product Team Manager, Software Engineer | Largest job functions: Sales, Engineering, Operations | What they do: Revolut’s mission is to build the world’s first global financial “superapp”. Launched in 2015 as a fintech app offering money transfer and exchange services, Revolut now provides a plethora of financial products to more than 20 million users worldwide.
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Full-time headcount: 275 | Headquarters: Blyth, Northumberland | Year founded: 2019 | Most common skills: Business Management, Project Management, Manufacturing Operations | Most common job titles: Category Manager, Project Manager, Engineering Team Lead | Largest job functions: Operations, Engineering, Purchasing | What they do: Britishvolt is a battery technology developer and manufacturer that’s aiming to supply lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and sustainable energy storage. If it comes to fruition, its planned gigaplant in Cambois, Northumberland will be the fourth-biggest building in the UK.
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Full-time headcount: 183 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2018 | Most common skills: Business Management, Communication, Digital Literacy | Most common job titles: Customer Experience Manager, Project Manager, Customer Service Manager | Largest job functions: Operations, Healthcare Services, Marketing | What they do: Peppy is a health app for employers that want to support their staff, particularly around pregnancy and early parenthood. The app gives employees access to health experts through chat, live events and virtual consultations, as well as vetted multimedia resources and programmes.
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Full-time headcount: 140 | Headquarters: Solihull, Birmingham | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: Digital Literacy, Communication, Graphic Design | Most common job titles: Graphic Designer, Marketing Executive, Strategic Partnerships | Largest job functions: Business Development, Marketing, Arts and Design | What they do: Lounge Underwear is an online retailer selling women’s underwear, lounge wear and swimwear under its slogan “comfort made sexy”. The firm was set up by husband and wife founders Daniel and Melanie Marsden and the duo saw their sales grow 288% in 2021.
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Full-time headcount: 3,000 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2015 | Most common skills: Digital Literacy, Communication, Leadership | Most common job titles: Energy Specialist, Customer Services Manager, Brand Representative | Largest job functions: Operations, Engineering, Sales | What they do: Since its 2015 inception, Octopus Energy claims to have become “the UK’s most-awarded energy supplier”, supplying 3.2 million UK customers through fixed and “flexible Octopus” tariffs. The group currently consists of 10 businesses, having expanded into Germany, the USA, Spain, Japan, Italy, France and New Zealand. It is also one of Europe’s largest investors in renewables.
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Full-time headcount: 420 | Headquarters: London (fully remote) | Year founded: 2019 | Most common skills: Business Management, Digital Literacy, Leadership | Most common job titles: Business Development Representative, Account Executive, Software Engineer | Largest job functions: Sales, Human Resources, Operations | What they do: Omnipresent is an HR platform that helps companies hire international talent. The platform, which allows firms to pay, tax, manage and support their overseas employees, is currently focusing on global expansion.
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Full-time headcount: 75 | Headquarters: Bristol (remote first) | Year founded: 2019 | Most common skills: Business Management, Leadership, Digital Literacy | Most common job titles: Full Stack Engineer, Quality Assurance Engineer, Customer Support Representative | Largest job functions: Engineering, Business Development, Marketing | What they do: Ecologi is an environmental firm that provides climate action services to individuals and businesses through its paid membership scheme. So far its members have planted more than 50 million trees and offset 2.2 million tonnes of CO2.
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Full-time headcount: 140 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2019 | Most common skills: Business Management, Digital Literacy, Apparel | Most common job titles: Media Producer, Customer Experience Manager, Accountant | Largest job functions: Marketing, Media and Communication, Business Development | What they do: Pangaia is a materials science lab and clothing retailer that tries to create new textiles to improve on the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Since its inception, it has created a variety of patents including Pprmint Oil Treatment, which allegedly keeps body odour at bay for around 50 washes, and biodegradable C-Fiber, which is made of eucalyptus pulp and seaweed powder to reduce the water usage in manufacturing.
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Full-time headcount: 85 | Headquarters: Heathrow, Greater London | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: Manufacturing Operations, Automotive, Digital Literacy | Most common job titles: Design Engineer, Technician, Mechanical Engineer | Largest job functions: Engineering, Operations, Information Technology | What they do: Based in West London, Charge Cars is creating an Electric Mustang muscle car. The £350,000 four-wheel drive Mustang has a 63kWh battery, a range of 200 miles and goes from zero to 60mph in 3.9 seconds. However, Charge only plans to make 499 of them.
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Full-time headcount: 186 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2020 | Most common skills: Development Tools, Web Development, Data Storage Technologies | Most common job titles: Software Engineer, Product Manager | Largest job functions: Engineering, Product Management, Human Resources | What they do: Primer claims to be the world’s first no-code automation software platform for payments and commerce. It works as a back-end programme for businesses that automates the payment chain and integrates with most pre-existing electronic payment systems. It also provides insights on how people are spending their money with your company.
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Full-time headcount: 70 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2017 | Most common skills: Communication, Leadership, Digital Literacy | Most common job titles: Strategic Partnerships Specialist, Operations Lead, Customer Service Manager | Largest job functions: Operations, Business Development, Marketing | What they do: Funded by the Mayor of London, among others, Beam is a crowdfunding platform for homeless people and refugees. It uses technology and traditional funding methods to help disadvantaged people get into stable work and support themselves through education and personal planning, before going on to link them to a wide range of jobs.
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Full-time headcount: 62 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2019 | Most common skills: Communication, Leadership, Digital Literacy | Most common job titles: Information Technology Project Manager | Largest job functions: Operations, Business Development, Product Management | What they do: This (Plant Meat Limited) was set up in 2019 by two meat-lovers who found vegetarian options limited. The company, which makes plant-based products designed to be similar to meat items, claimed to be the fastest-growing meat alternative brand in the UK in 2021, with year-on-year growth of 333%. It has a range of 11 products, which are now available in Tesco and Waitrose, as well as restaurant chains like Chillango and Honest Burger.
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Full-time headcount: 700 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2016 | Most common skills: Communication, Business Management, Leadership | Most common job titles: Business Coach, Software Engineer, Software Account Executive | Largest job functions: Business Development, Sales, Human Resources | What they do: Founded by Euan Blair (former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s eldest son), and Sophie Adelman, Multiverse is a tech startup that offers an alternative to university and corporate training. In June, it announced a $220m Series D funding round with a post-money valuation of $1.7bn, making the company the UK’s first edtech unicorn. In September, it became the first apprenticeship provider to be granted a licence to award degrees on the job.
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Full-time headcount: 304 | Headquarters: London | Year founded: 2018 | Most common skills: Business Management, Development Tools, Data Science | Most common job titles: Software Engineer, Recruiter, Account Manager | Largest job functions: Engineering, Information Technology, Sales | What they do: Copper is a London-based, but Swiss-regulated, fintech firm that provides custody and infrastructure for trading in digital assets. It boasts big-name investors including LocalGlobe and MMC Ventures. Conservative peer, Lord Philip Hammond, is an advisor.
Source : https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-startups-2022-15-uk-companies-rise-linkedin-news-uk/?trackingId=fi7NebWgt5w6litzrIuqdQ%3D%3D