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The best startup firms in the North West revealed

The fourth event of the 2023 StartUp Awards celebrated the best new firms and entrepreneurs across the North West.

The best startup firms in the North West have been revealed at the North West Start-Up Awards, which were held at Camp and Furnace in Liverpool and saw 30 different awards given out to new businesses in categories such as Education and Training StartUp of the Year, Green StartUp of the Year and Technology Services StartUp of the Year.

The North West Startup of the Year was won by The Fearless Academy. The Fearless Academy nurtures, coaches and develops anyone looking to retrain or up-skill in all things digital. Covering all the fundamentals of digital-marketing, it is creating industry-leading talent through a dedicated academy, delivered by the industry, for the industry.

“We are absolutely delighted to have been crowned the Overall Winner of the North West StartUp Awards 2023! Winning this award is an incredible milestone for us. It not only acknowledges the tireless efforts of our entire team but also recognises the life-changing opportunities we have provided to students from diverse backgrounds in such a short timeframe. We are now more motivated than ever to continue pushing the boundaries of diversity, positively impacting the lives of our students, and striving forward on our mission to re-skill 1,000 individuals by the end of 2025.”

The North West awards were sponsored by regional sponsors, Appleyard Lees, Boost Lancashire, Business Growth Hub Manchester, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership and Global HR Implementation Services. The awards were also sponsored by national sponsors including Starling Bank, Blackfinch Group, British Business Bank, BT, Creative Ideaz, Dream Factory, Tiny Rebel, Jeeves, Join Talent, Mountside Ventures, OVH Cloud, the Purposeful Project and ScoreApp.
The StartUp Awards were established in 2022 to highlight the success of start-ups across ten UK nations and regions and to celebrate the achievements of entrepreneurs in all sectors of the economy. Originally formed as the Wales StartUp Awards, the Awards Series has joined forces with the Great British Entrepreneur Awards to take the celebration of newly formed businesses nationwide.

Helen Bierton, Chief Banking Officer at Starling Bank says:

“Congratulations to all our StartUp Award winners in the North West. The standard of entries across all the categories has been exceptional this year. It’s been great to see so many new businesses firmly establish themselves in their respective sectors. From professional business services such as management consultants, to construction and building, fashion, beauty, and hospitality, it’s wonderful to see the North West prosper.”

Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, creator of the awards, said the events have celebrated the best new firms in the UK and recognised the amazing entrepreneurial talent across the nation. He said:
“In the second year of the North West Startup Awards, we have seen yet again the incredible contribution of new businesses to job creation, innovation, and prosperity across the whole of this entrepreneurial nation. It’s been an honour and a pleasure to read the stories of those individuals from across the North West who have spotted the opportunity and taken the risk to launch their own venture, especially at a time when the economy is still fragile after the Covid pandemic.

I am delighted that the Fearless Academy is the 2023 North West Startup of the Year. All of the judges considered this to be a high quality purpose driven business, with a strong mission and vision. More importantly, the founders have shown real passion for what they do in addressing a fundamental challenge in the UK in supporting digital skills in young people and setting themselves ambitious targets for themselves and achieving them. With a determination to continue to develop, grow and make a difference, this a business to watch in the future.”

Full list of winners:

  • The Fearless Academy – Overall Winner
  • Positive Planet – Business to Business Services StartUp of the Year
  • Accentus Language Services – Business, Consulting and Finance StartUp of the Year
  • Little Green Paper Shop – Cheshire StartUp of the Year
  • Excel TM Group – Construction and Building Services StartUp of the Year
  • White House Deaf Specialist Provisions – Consumer Services StartUp of the Year
  • Virtuopo – Creative StartUp of the Year
  • EdenFiftyOne – Digital StartUp
  • The Fearless Academy – Education and Training StartUp of the Year
  • Bealies Adaptive Wear – Fashion StartUp of the Year
  • Hydr – Fintech StartUp of the Year
  • Impossibrew – Food and Drink StartUp of the Year
  • Go Live Data – Greater Manchester StartUp of the Year
  • Armada Technologies – Green StartUp of the Year
  • GIGMATE – Hospitality and Events StartUp of the Year
  • Armada Technologies – Innovative StartUp of the Year
  • White House Deaf Specialist Provisions – Lancashire StartUp of the Year
  • Heatio – Liverpool StartUp of the Year
  • Argento Ventures – Marketing, Advertising and PR StartUp of the Year
  • Averywell – Medtech and Healthtech StartUp of the Year
  • no-boxx – Online Retail StartUp of the Year
  • Frost Money – Professional Services StartUp of the Year
  • AVERio – Rebel StartUp of the Year
  • Rogers Mchugh Recruitment Ltd – Recruitment StartUp of the Year
  • Stipendium – Rising Star Award
  • Acorn Scientific Marketing – Rising Star Award
  • RiskSmart – Rising Star Award
  • Happy Smiles Training CIC – Social Enterprise StartUp of the Year
  • HACE: Data Changing Child Labour – Technology Services StartUp of the Year
  • Barerooms Limited – Tourism and Leisure StartUp of the Year
  • Yello Hippo – Young Entrepreneur of the Year