The Mad World of MadTech: April Roundup

MadTech has many verticals, with April proving just that, going down as a month of awesome coverage, impressive awards and enviable partnerships. Check out our top four updates from the Collider alumni.

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1. Good-Loop's Amy named by BBC as an ‘entrepreneur women using tech for good’

Not only did Amy impress our audience on Demo Day, she's now stunned the BBC thanks to her inspiring storing on why she decided to fund her startup.

Shocked by the huge existent inequality between countries and with a background in advertising, Amy decided to try and make the world a better place using adtech. Good-Loop aims to make a real positive impact by rewarding viewers of video ads with donations to their chosen charities.

Such a great example to follow! Read more here.

2. Emily from Seenit wins Entrepreneur Award from ‘10 Digital Ladies’

Our very own class of ’14 alum are making us proud again!

This time Seenit Founder and CEO, Emily Forbes, was a main guest at the event run at google HQ celebrating women who have successfully launched their own digital business. And not only that, but she ended up being crowned the Entrepreneur Award winner of the year.

From a background in film production and with almost no digital experience, Emily has built into a £1.1m business in just three years.

Big congrats to you Emily! Read more here.

3. LivingLens partner with world leader in experience management

The new product LivingLens and Qualtrics are releasing together will allow organisations to form a better customer understanding, giving them the ability to tell their stories and share feedback, all thanks to LivingLens' rich video content ability.

Read more here.

4. Sonovate name Pixoneye as ones to watch

The Pixoneye team have been spotted on the '50 Fastest Growing Companies in the UK' list by Sonovate. Congrats!

The Mad World of MadTech: March Roundup

March was such a crazy month. So crazy, that we're posting this half way through April – we know, we know, oops. But needless to say, the amount that went on for our startups, both our recent grads (wahoo class of 2017!) and alumni was pretty impressive. So, without further ado...

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1. Huge bunch of our Startups spotted in KPMG MadTech Shift 100

MadTech is not only making our daily life more comfortable but also taking the lead in the current digital world. This is why KPMG has created ‘The Shift 100’ highlighting those entrepreneurs responsible for this new era we’re living in, with consumers being able to get far more quick, efficient and flexible services than ever before.

And whilst all of this industry development is incredibly exciting, party poppers and streamers went off in the office this March as a huge list of our alumni were selected as part of the MadTech Shift.

Big congrats to all of you! Read more here. 

2. We made it! Collider's Big Day was quite a success

The end of the month saw our annual Demo Day, which took place at the incredible Unruly offices.

Needless to say, it was PACKED, and with its unique commercial focus, we saw many brands from the likes of Microsoft, Yahoo and Ogilvy, impressive investors and awesome startups.

With our new-stye Demo Day, not only our fifth cohort startups pitched but some of our impressive alumni, ending with Good-Loop being crowned the winner of the popular vote.

You can read more about it here.

3. Pixoneye spotted on the ‘50 most disruptive UK companies in 2017’ list

As we know, the UK is standing out because of its innovative and entrepreneurial mindset in all industries, and tech is taking the lead, with the Pixoneye team clearly playing an important role.

‘Future 50’ ranking by Real Business has awarded a deserved position to our class of ’15 alumni this year. Great work guys!

Read more here.

4. Cooala landed in the Top 100 Europe award 2017

March saw yet another win for one of our alumni, Cooala, who found themselves listed in the Red Herring Top 100 Europe Award.

A huge congratulations to our class of ’14 team for this brilliant achievement. Read more here.

The Mad World of MadTech: February Roundup

1. Startup alum Locomizer rank in AI Tech Startups to Watch 2017

Following a number of pretty exciting updates (including a cheeky interview in Forbes), our class of '13 alumni are making us proud again.

Tech.eu has highlighted the biological intelligence tech team as one of the startups tech enthusiasts should keep an eye on for the upcoming year.

Great work guys. Read more here.

2. LivingLens secures £1.3m funding AND becomes finalist for SXSW Accelerator Competition

The LivingLens team are having a pretty impressive few weeks with two top announcements, starting with an incredible £1.3m funding round.

The mix of investors includes the Angel CoFund, angel investors from their involvement in our accelerator programme and successful marketeers and financiers.

This follows their recent win after being selected as a finalist for SXSW Accelerator Competition, in which only those leading startups from around the world are selected to take part in.

Good luck for the upcoming pitch event on March 12th!

Read more here.

3. Seenit and SyncSpot's founders stopped Forbes 30 under 30 list

A huge congratulations to Emily from Seenit and Jubair from SyncSpot for making the Forbes 30 under 30 list – a serious achievement.

Read more here.

It's official! Collider set to launch in Amsterdam

We officially announced our big news today – Collider will be launching in Amsterdam next year! Below is our official press release. Please feel free to share to all, and if you'd like to get involved with our next step, we'd love to hear from you.

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For Immediate Release

Collider to launch new madtech accelerator in Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s startup scene continues to draw interest from overseas, as London’s leading marketing and advertising tech accelerator announce their plan to launch in the city.

Now onto their fifth cohort, Collider invests in early stage, madtech startups to help them become sustainable, rapidly growing businesses through investment, a highly structured programme and access to a wide, relevant network.

The accelerator focuses on the sweet spot between startups and brands and the commercial benefits they bring to one another.

Amsterdam will be the company’s first office outside of the UK.

Rose Lewis, Co-Founder and CEO of Collider said: “Amsterdam has a huge marketing and ad presence – the third largest in Europe – and many big brands have their global or European HQs there.

“The startup ecosystem is growing thanks to some great initiatives in the city, so it makes perfect sense for it to become Collider’s second city.”

The accelerator saw their first exit in 2016 with Class of 2013 cohort member, Avocarrot, selling to Glispa for $20 million.

The way the business works with corporates sees startups scale up with significant speed, reaching product market fit and ultimately secure deals. Collider UK partnerships include Unilever, Ogilvy, Haymarket and The Financial Times.

Ellen Bark-Lindhout, who's heading up the Amsterdam branch said: “Collider UK has a proven track record of accelerating marketing and ad tech startups and I am convinced there is lots of potential to do the same beyond London.

“One, because this year again we received a record number of startup applications from all over Europe, and two, because there are many great brands around Amsterdam that want to be close to the latest digital tech to innovate in marketing and e-commerce.”

Earlier this year, Collider hosted a popup in Amsterdam, connecting companies such as Heineken, Philips, NN Group and Ahold with a group of Collider startups.

Ellen said: “The positive reactions from both corporates and startups strengthened our plan to launch a programme in Amsterdam next year.”

Amsterdam’s Deputy Major, Kajsa Ollongren said: “I am pleased to welcome Collider and feel confident that their office in Amsterdam will be an excellent addition to the London office.

"Not only is Amsterdam Europe’s most connected tech city, it is also home to a vibrant creative industry. Collider's presence will lead to even more innovation in our marketing and advertising sector and attract entrepreneurial digital talent."

For more information Tazz Gault tazz@collider.io 07828672000

Collider alumni Avocarrot sold to Glispa for $20 million

"Mobile ad exchanger and Collider alumni, Avocarrot, has been sold to Glispa Global Group for $20 million dollars."

That was the news this September, and one that just shows the impact of the Collider accelerator programme. Congratulations to the team!

Avocarrot joined Collider's first ever accelerator programme in 2013 when we had just six brands and nine start ups, all operating from a back alley off Leicester Square. But it didn't take them long before they headed off to San Francisco to continue their journey in the tech space.

The team accelerated at an incredible pace, and in under four years sold to a fantastic collaborator for the future.

This news shows that we're beginning to see the results of our efforts to create a successful, thriving and in demand MadTech community, all stemming from London.

We can't wait to see what happens next.