In depth: two early-stage Edinburgh businesses feature in major Startups 100 list of disruptive new UK firms

High-profile recognition for early-stage Scots businesses on “the UK’s longest-running index of disruptive new start-ups”.

Two ambitious burgeoning Scottish firms have secured themselves starring roles on a prestigious roll call of the UK’s top start-ups that has previously featured major subsequent success stories Monzo, Deliveroo, and Notonthehighstreet.

Furthermore, those behind the list have found that while the Scottish representation is down on the four firms to rank last year, the majority of firms north of the Border are showing optimism regarding the year ahead, part of an “invigorating” UK-wide trend.

The newly unveiled Startups 100 list, which is compiled by Startups.co.uk, is billed as the longest-running index of the UK’s most promising new emerging businesses, having been running for 16 years. It selects firms from any sector that “exhibit innovation, solid financials, opportunity in their market, a great concept and a strong customer base or following”, and says the final list champions a “huge range of inventive and original ideas”.

Startups.co.uk also says its choosing of firms that have gone onto become major corporate names means “it is an extraordinary achievement for these promising businesses to have ranked on this acclaimed list”, which it adds not only celebrates the best small businesses in the UK, but offers an opportunity to grow a “community of like-minded entrepreneurs and business-owners who support and advocate for each other”.

Looking at the blossoming companies selected for 2024, the Scottish contingent comprises OK Positive and Ujamaa Spice, which are both based in Edinburgh, and ranked 77th and 81st respectively. The former is using tech to improve mental health, with the latter focused on ethically and sustainably sourced spices.

OK Positive is described as a platform that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify and pre-empt triggers that can cause mental health issues, enabling early intervention. It says it is on a mission to “revolutionise” the way we think about mental health, and is already helping more than 3,000 people with such support, with at least 40 content partners

It explains that its platform can start analysing preventative support to allow organisations, GPs, universities, and schools to intervene at an earlier stage to offer support, and it adds that its approach is based on the widely used method of acceptance and commitment therapy.

Ujamaa Spice was set up in 2022 by Jawahir Al-Mauly and Rist Van de Weyer to tackle issues such as low-quality spices. Picture: contributed.

The tech start-up was founded in 2019 by Charlie Winton, who has now welcomed with open arms its inclusion in the 2024 Startups 100 list. “It is great recognition for the efforts of the team over the last five years in building technology that can make a real difference to people's lives. We are working incredibly hard to provide access to mental health resources, services and support for people at the touch of a button in different sectors, and this recognition will provide more visibility to our work and the importance of preventative mental health support."

Turning to Ujamaa Spice, this enterprise sources and sells single-origin, ethical, and traceable spices directly from farmers in Zanzibar, and was set up in 2022 by Jawahir Al-Mauly and Rist Van de Weyer to address the issues of low-quality products of this type, criminal activities involving adulteration, and the economic plight of farmers. It says it sources its products directly from farmers without the use of wholesalers, providing them with fair compensation, and has established key partnerships with restaurants, cafes, organic grocers, and sustainability organisations. The company's ambitions are to become the leading ethical and sustainable spice company in the UK.

It was also nominated for this year’s Startups 100 Just Started award, which celebrates fast-growth firms founded in the year before their application was submitted.

Startups.co.uk adds that, to support the launch of this year’s Startups 100 list, which is calculated looking at finance, external validation, size of opportunity, innovativeness of idea, and strength of concept, it surveyed about 550 UK small businesses on their outlook for 2024, with Scottish customers identified as being the best at supporting local businesses. Eight in ten Scottish firms say strong customer relationships and loyalty have contributed to their success, while 53 per cent reported feeling optimistic about the year ahead, compared to just 13 per cent that are not feeling so hopeful.

Tech platform OK Positive says it is on a mission to 'revolutionise' the way we think about mental health. Picture: contributed.

Richard Parris, managing editor of Startups.co.uk, said: “The ingenuity and innovation of the brands featuring in our annual Startups 100 index never ceases to amaze, and this year is no exception. Despite the crises of the past couple of years, we’ve seen some incredible businesses from every corner of the UK in our rankings. They may be tackling different challenges to one another, but there’s a shared mood of opportunity and an optimism for the year ahead that’s invigorating to see as we begin 2024.”

The four Scottish firms to rank last year were Touchlab, Pawprint, WhisperClaims, and Gigged.AI, with their respective remits encompassing robotics, reducing carbon emissions, research-and-development tax claims, and recruitment. Touchlab, based at the National Robotarium at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh campus, ranked highest in 41st place.

Other prestigious lists to feature Scottish companies in the past year include Deloitte's 2023 UK Technology Fast 50 list. Those to make the grade were Glasgow-based software company The Original Fit Factory; Utopi, an environmental, social, and corporate governance technology platform for multi-tenant real estate; Edinburgh-based software development company Amiqus Resolution; and Aberdeen technology company Deep Casing Tools.

Furthermore, initiatives to encourage high-potential Scottish enterprises include Heriot-Watt University's DeepTech LaunchPad pilot; Sir Tom Hunter’s ScaleupScotland2.0 accelerator; and Scottish Edge, which at the end of 2023 unveiled the 38 “bold, brave and brilliant” winners set to share a £1.5m prize pot.