Last week Startups the leading on-line resource for emerging businesses in the UK, released their list of the top 100 start ups, from the UK. Bizk.it entered in at 33. We are very pleased with this recognition and would like to thank everybody for their support to date. See the listing here and the full list of 100 here
It was a great night at exclusive members club, One Alfred Place, on Wednesday 19th May 2010, where we were chosen to receive a special award along with 3 other companies at the Smarta 100, in West London.
Richard Westbrook, attended on behalf of Bizk.it to pick up the award. We are proud of our acheivements having been launched, just 6 months.
To see more of what happened on the night visit here
Paris, France – Red Herring announced its Top 100 Award in recognition of the leading private companies from Europe, celebrating these startups’ innovations and technologies across their respective industries.
Red Herring’s Top 100 Europe list has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising new companies and entrepreneurs. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, YouTube, and eBay would change the way we live and work.
“Choosing the companies with the strongest potential was by no means a small feat,” said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. “After rigorous contemplation and discussion, we narrowed our list down from hundreds of candidates from across Europe to the Top 100 Winners. We believe Bizk.it embodies the vision, drive and innovation that define a successful entrepreneurial venture. Bizk.it should be proud of its accomplishment, as the competition was very strong.”
Red Herring’s editorial staff evaluated the companies on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, management quality, strategy, and market penetration. This assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the track record and standing of startups relative to their sector peers, allowing Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the list a valuable instrument of discovery and advocacy for the most promising new business models in Europe.
Although only launched 6 months ago, things are really beginning to gather momentum here at Bizk.it. We grabbed Co-Founder and Head of Strategy, Matt Hagger, to give us an insight onto what we can expect over the next six months….
“It has been absolutely fantastic for us. We’re still in Beta at present and so there is a lot of hard work ahead. I think that turning any idea or a start up into a scaling enterprise can be THE massive challenge. We are very early stage, but with great passion and ambition for where we want to see things go.
To launch such a sophisicated infrastructure, is great testimony to the entire team and since January our feet have hardly touched the ground.
We have paying customers who are enjoying using the service and now we are coming out of the proof of concept phase and working towards gaining traction.
It was important that we launched softly, because we have a small team VS a very sophisticated service. We had to get the balance right. Shortly the beta signs will come off and we can hit the ground running.
“It’s very pleasing to gain such recognition at an early stage. To be listed as one of the UK’s 100 smartest companies by Entrepreneurs of the callibre of Michael Birch and Deborah Meaden was exciting for a service just 3 months old, but then to actually win an award was increadible for us.
We then followed this, by being listed in the top 100 technology companies in Europe, via Red Herring. We ranked very high and therefore have been put forward to the Global Red Herring later in the year, in San Diego.
I am very happy for the team and our investors. Getting the plaudits is wonderful but we now focus our attention towards turning high potential into reality over the next 12 months.”
So what annoucements are you making over the next 12 months?
“I cannot go into great detail, obviously. Our investment team comprise some of the most successful business men in the UK.
We have raised private investment from a non tech VC background, so in some sense our route to market is not traditional for a technology company. I have a great deal of respect for the Y combinators, SV Angels and Seedcamps’, where young entrepreneurs surround themselves with some of the greatest mentors and connections in the technology world. We, on the other hand, have a team that comprises a multitude of sectors encompassing real-estate and finance through to on-line security. This has given us a fantastic balance in the decision making process.
So in terms of announcements we are making a high profile appointment to the executive team as part of our expansion. We are in the process of agreeing key partnership deals with giants in telco’s, insurance and mobile and to top the year off, we’ll be doing something very exciting at Adobe Max 201o in Los Angeles at the end of the year.”
Watch this space…..
London, United Kingdom, – 14th May 2010 – Bizk.it announced today it has been selected as a finalist for Red Herring’s Europe 100 award, a prestigious list honoring the year’s most promising private technology ventures from the world European business region.
The Red Herring editorial team selected the most innovative companies from a pool of hundreds from across Europe. The nominees are evaluated on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration into their respective industries.
This unique assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the actual track record and standing of a company, which allows Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the list an invaluable instrument for discovering and advocating the greatest business opportunities in the industry.
“This year was especially difficult,” said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. “Despite the global economic situation, there were many great companies producing really innovative and amazing products that we had a difficult time narrowing the pool and selecting the finalists. Bizk.it shows great promise therefore deserves to be among the Finalists. Now we’re faced with the difficult task of selecting the Top 100 winners of Red Herring Europe award. We know that this year’s crop will grow into some amazing companies that are sure to go far.”
Finalists for the 2010 edition of the Red Herring 100 Europe award are selected based upon their technological innovation, management strength, market size, investor record, customer acquisition, and financial health. During the several months leading up to the announcement, hundreds of companies in the telecommunications, security, Web 2.0, software, hardware, biotech, and clean tech industries sent in their submissions to qualify for the award.
The Finalists are invited to present their winning strategies at the Red Herring Europe Conference in Paris, May 25-27, 2010. The Top 100 winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony on May 27 at the event.
We will be announcing our partnership with Samsung mobile innovator very soon.
But we can reveal that Bizk.it is coming to the Bada platform…..which an exclusive offer to the OEM.
Bizk.it is proud to be working with Adobe and we are happy that we have chosen flex as our platform for development bizk.it RIA.
Take a look at bizk.it as part of adobe’s flex showcase here
Bizk.it is currently hiring.
If you have what it takes to become part of a rapidly growing technology start up, based in the West end of London. You’ll be dynamic, a great team player and flexible to the needs of a changing environment.
Account manager (Sales) EMEA
Senior php developer
Flex Developer
Mobile application developer
To apply go to http://bizk.it/careers
NO AGENCIES PLEASE.
Bizk.it has been chosen by a judging panel including Deborah Meaden and other leading entrepreneurs such as Bebo Founder Michael Birch as a winner of Smarta.com’s inaugural ‘Smarta 100’.
The Smarta 100 is the ultimate business accolade, recognizing the UK’s smartest small businesses. Smarta.com has uncovered remarkable companies who have gone the extra mile to differentiate themselves from the market or found clever ways to compete, from their marketing plan to their ethical stance. The result is a fascinating insight into the unique business ideas that are thriving in the current economic climate.
The finalists proved to the judges that they have what it takes to run a successful venture, from spotting a new opportunity to making it a reality. And the high-profile panel were delighted to see that ambitious people are saving hard and raising finances to turn their ideas into flourishing businesses.
Deborah Meaden commented:
“Discovering great new businesses is a passion of mine as is encouraging businesses to think and work better. The Smarta 100 does both of these things – and celebrates the best of British business at the same time. I was delighted to see ambitious people saving hard and raising finances to turn their ideas into flourishing businesses ”
Smarta.com founder Sháá Wasmund said:
“Socially conscious, disruptive businesses that are not afraid to challenge the status quo are being set up in the four corners of the country. I founded Smarta to make sure these enterprises are supported at any stage of development. The results speak for themselves – the Smarta 100 list is a collection of remarkable success stories.”
The full results and details of the winning companies can be found at smarta.com/smarta100.
A special Congratulations to Matt Hagger our Co-Founder and Strategy & Marketing Director who has been listed as one of the top 30 young enterpreneurs in the UK under the age of 35. His official title of ‘Young Gun’ was unveiled at Kensington Roof Gardens were he joined the other 29 listed along with some of the past Young Gun alumni from previous years.
We will upload the feature article on Matt very soon.