Startup Coalition

A few thoughts on the UK's Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) announcement: Startup Coalition has long advocated for reforms that equip regulators to better support innovators. As set out in our #StartupManifesto, gaps in regulatory expertise/capacity can hugely impact startups For lots of startups, the regulatory burden is real and a major blocker to innovation thanks to what can feel like complex, outdated + inflexible processes. RIO's mission could flip that narrative and become a beacon for the ecosystem and economic growth. It's really exciting to see Government take on the challenges of updating regulations, speeding up approvals, and driving regulator collaboration. But time is of the essence. To take on innovation “by the scruff of its neck” also requires the teeth for follow-through. A successful RIO will need 3 basics to succeed: 🔤 Resources to coordinate and skill-up regulators 🧠 Experts who understand how the startup ecosystem works and can develop the best fixes possible ✅ The ability to get heads together and drive change through the regulators I'm personally super excited as an effective RIO could breathe new life into our tech sector. But the devil truly will lie in the details. Please get in touch if you’d like to learn what our team’s got up our sleeves and what we’re currently working on regarding regulatory reform.

Fresh off our Built Different campaign launching last week, we're laying the groundwork for our final big ClimateTech push of 2024 - what does GB Energy mean for startups in the UK? This is our Supercharged campaign. GB Energy was launched by in July by the Labour Government and is the centrepiece of its ambitions to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030. With £8.3bn in its coffers and HQ'd in Aberdeen, GB Energy will be a publicly-owned energy company, and the Government says it will drive clean energy deployment, promote energy security and cut bills. Alongside this, long trailed changes to the regulatory framework for retail energy markets took a step forward yesterday, with Ofgem launching a consultation on "Innovation in the energy retail market". But what do these changes mean for cutting edge energy startups in the UK? UK energy startups are worth £12.7bn, having raised £7.4bn in investment over the last 14 years - it is the single biggest sector in ClimateTech. This is a sector already delivering the net zero transition, but its role has been conspicuously absent from the UK Government's plans to date. We want to change that. ⚡ Trailblazing startups and scaleups are already offering innovative retail energy products like smart tariffs, but need regulation to match. 📱 Data is locked up across the board, including from smart meters (the ones that work at least). Let's empower households by getting them access to this data using Smart Data. 🏭 Innovators at the vanguard of using tech to upgrade how we use energy through Virtual Power Plants need support in navigating fragmentation and stubborn incumbents. 🌊 One area that has been outlined is the intention for GB energy to accelerate novel renewable deployment, like tidal. Support can't come soon enough. What are we missing? GB Energy can be a critical catalyst in accelerating net zero, and it's clear that means more wind power and grid infrastructure - but it could be so much more than that. We want to hear from energy startups to help us build an agenda to truly transform the sector.

On behalf of Startup Coalition it was an honour to host a fireside chat with the Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kevin Hollinrake MP at SME Day at The Conservative Party conference on Sunday. It was an interesting discussion (or at least I thought so!), and having started and grown a business himself, Kevin has a strong understanding of what startups and SMEs need from government - and also when the best thing government can do is get out of the way.

Wrapping up Party Conference Season tonight with our Tech Drinks with Digital Tories! You still have time to RSVP - https://lu.ma/4db4f5ub

Big firms, regulators and red tape are holding back the decarbonisation of buildings and homes in the UK, and the growth of the UK’s £900m built environment startup sector. Today, Startup Coalition sets out a plan to fix this - a plan to make the UK Built Different. 💰 Evidence shows that insulating homes properly could save the UK economy £136bn over thirty years including £13bn to the NHS alone, but successive governments have failed to produce a credible plan to decarbonise buildings and homes. ⚙ UK Startups are building cutting edge tech to reduce bills, fix our leaky homes, and reduce the impact of buildings on our planet. They’re needed more than ever as Labour plans to put more spades in the ground, and energy bills continue to bite. 🌹 We're pleased to launch this just days after our panel at Labour Party Conference in partnership with Checkatrade where we dived into accelerating decarbonisation in the built environment, through tech, innovation, and combatting the skills challenge to power this transition. 💡Our blueprint has 10 steps, from building markets for low carbon materials, to developing a sandbox for retrofit tech which is currently drowning in red tape. It’s also time to empower homeowners to access their data from Smart Meters. 🌍 These changes will save cash and carbon. By following our steps, Labour can shore up the foundations for homes and buildings that work for people and the planet - powered by cutting edge, UK-made tech. Featuring superb tech startups at the forefront of this sector: AirEx Technologies - Smart Draught Control | Kestrix | Kamma | Switchee | The OAK Network

Tech Hub Day 1 - What a way to start off Labour Party Conference! We held our first ever climate day with special speakers like Claire Hughes & Andrew Pakes! We had the pleasure of talking to Claire about how we can accelerate decarbonisation through tech and innovation. Andrew joined us to talk about first-of-a-kind solutions to combat the climate crisis! Ending Day 1 was the, as always, very entertaining and charismatic Minister for Tech, Chris Bryant MP for our Building Tech for Everyone Party with Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, Connected by Data, Careful Trouble (Careful Industries and Promising Trouble), Open Data Institute and ZoomInfo! Thank you so much to everyone who helped us open the doors today! So excited to do it all again today.

To wrap up our amazing tech hub in Liverpool on Tuesday we will be digging into how AI can support growth with Zoom (who are kindly sponsoring the tacos), chaired by Drew Smith, we will be joined by Tom Hewitson, Jakob Mökander, Camilla de Coverly Veale and Minister for AI, Feryal Clark. Kanishka Narayan will be sitting down with Kraken Digital Asset Exchange Managing Director, Bivu Das, as well as Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) CEO, Ezechi Britton MBE , and Founder Tom Woodroof for a great discussion chaired by Camilla de Coverly Veale! Bringing us in for a landing, our final panel will be speaking with our friends from across the UK as we discuss the power of regional clusters! SO excited to end the three days with our friends at the UK Tech Cluster Group. The brilliant Katie Gallagher OBE and Jonny Clark, our very own Dom Hallas and Luke Charters to get into it. Such an exciting week ahead - cannot wait to bring the tech and policy worlds together!

Why save ✨ fun ✨ for the weekends? Join us on Monday night at Labour Party Conference for loads of fun kicking off at 6 pm (and going until 1 am) with our BIG Labour Tech Party with Labour Digital, Labour: Women in Tech, kindly supported by Zoom then fuel the rest of your eve with tacos at our Uber Eats (and Drinks!) Party!