The Hustle Awards – Shining a light on startups

Entries were judged by professionals who are at the very top of the industry and who understand why innovation in technology, standards and best practice is so important.

The awards were hosted by the hilarious Laura Lexx, an award-winning comedian, writer, and actor.

Anna Flockett, Editor of Startups Magazine said: “The talent and innovation found in the award submissions seriously impressed the judges and we believe it is important to champion these triumphs long after the event is over.”

Here are the winners:

MOST INNOVATIVE TECH: aisle 3

aisle 3 has built a top-down marketplace that shows shoppers all of their buying options and saves everyone hours of scrolling through endless ads, opening a myriad of tabs and checking a bunch of sites just to find a pair of sneakers in a size that fits.

Its AI and ML models match product offers and ensure that shoppers can see the best deals and checkout in one-click across as many retailers as they want. It was built remotely during the pandemic with offices in London and India.

The potential use of big data analysis and standardisation really impressed the judges.

EARLY STAGE INNOVATION: ZipCharge

The ZipCharge Go is a game-changing solution to solve the biggest barrier to adoption of electric vehicles – charging anxiety. Over 40% of car owning households can’t charge at home as they don’t have off-street parking.

The Go is low-cost, battery-based EV charger that is easy to use, small, compact, and portable – it’s a power bank for an EV. It provides low-cost; convenient charging no matter where you park. However, the Go is much more than an EV charger – it’s a smart energy storage device that will intelligently manage energy more efficiently to lower costs and support grid resilience.

All the judges were excited by the huge potential of ZipCharge’s technology to overcome major hurdles currently affecting this sector.

MENTOR OF THE MOMENT: Kaitlin Fritz

Kaitlin Fritz is an award-winning entrepreneur, enterprise educator and business mentor who has supported 400+ entrepreneurs and student founders since 2020. As a Forbes 30 Under 30 alum she combines her lived experience as an edtech founder with proven mentoring frameworks to propel UK and international teams’ potential.

She leads every session with the empathy of a founder and honesty of a mentor. Her expertise ranges from customer development and validation to business communication and pitching. She has worked with institutions like UCL; Brunel; and Kingston; as well as acceleration programmes such as the Hult Prize; UCL Hatchery; MSDUK Accelerator; and Startup Leadership Programme.

The judges unanimously agreed that what Kaitlin is doing for the younger generation today is truly inspirational and crucial. It goes beyond mentorship. It is equipping youngsters with long-lasting knowledge and a changed approach to learning, and most importantly, making it fun.

FOUNDER OF THE YEAR: SEON

SEON is using AI to redefine what it means to fight online fraud in today’s world. From its humble beginnings in a dorm room in Budapest, the business has emerged as one of Europe’s leading fraud tech startups.

Because of its technology, strong business model and exceptional leadership the company received the largest Series A investment in Hungarian history in 2021 and is now primed for further investment in the coming months.

The judges said that this kind of success can only be possible when driven by a fantastic leadership team.

GREEN AWARD: measurable.energy

measurable.energy is on a mission to eliminate wasted energy from buildings. Through a commitment to innovation and moving away from the status quo, measurable.energy has created a platform capable of delivering real and tangible reductions in GHG emissions while saving substantial amounts of rising electricity bills.

The judges were very impressed by measureable.energy’s results and evidence of compelling work.

MOST SUCCESSFUL SCALE UP: Doctify

Doctify shows the power of patient feedback in driving the right improvements and innovation in the healthcare industry. By giving providers the right tools to capture the patient voice, Doctify has successfully scaled up helping more than 50 million patients make informed decisions about their healthcare.

The judges loved Doctify’s innovation that solved a very real problem in a sector that often gets overlooked.

INSPIRATIONAL WOMXN OF THE INDUSTRY: Dr Pauldy Otermans

Dr Pauldy Otermans is the Founder, Chair and Principal of Otermans Institute – a young international company that is upskilling a generation of underserved learners from remote UN camps to villages in remote and developing/underdeveloped countries and neurodiverse learners in the UK.

She is also one of the leading experts of AI in Education and building curriculum to improve employability among students. Her research has helped build OIAI; an AI-driven virtual teacher serving refugee learners by giving them a 24/7 personalised teacher for learning and her work has served over 30,000 learners across 10 countries in just 2021.

The judges were gripped by Dr Pauldy Otermans entry and she was a unanimously agreed winner.

OUTSTANDING STARTUPS SUPPORTER: Raising Partners

The startups that have worked with Raising Partners have been able to scale and grow as a direct result of the capital secured and advice received. Whether it be via direct investment strategy support and campaign management, or the education provided for free on Runway, Raising Partners exist to empower the founders and leadership teams of startups in the UK.

The judges thought that their entry gave a clear and strong demonstration of a business that truly supports and helps companies grow and thrive.

SOCIAL IMPACT HERO: Care Matched

Care Matched is the first care planning app with an extensive focus on cultural matching. It provides personalised care for care workers and gives its clients the competitive edge. Care Matched technology gives back to those more vulnerable members of our society, ensuring that care receivers live a higher quality of life.

The judges loved that this tool improved the experience of care seekers, enabling them to receive care that truly matches cultural and religious understandings.

TOP PERFORMING TEAM: Altnets

The Altnets team provides incomparable customer service to their clients. Their top-notch knowledge of the telecoms industry and strong relationships with their manufacturing partners means they can fully support customers through the whole procurement process, save them time and money and solve any problems arising in the supply chain.

Between February 2021-April 2022 the team’s success led to a 700% growth in Altnets’ turnover, 100% client retention and successful on-boarding of over 80% of the total client base.

The judges loved the humanity of this entry.

WORKSPACE OF THE YEAR: The Allia Future Business Centre

Allia’s Future Business Centres offer flexible workspace and a supportive innovation environment where startups can build their networks and their businesses – from coworking to private offices to free events and meeting room space, all backed up with free business support.

The judges say it was a joy to see evidence of so many success stories.

John Bowman, CTO, Anglia Unicorn said: “We congratulate and applaud all these companies and individuals for driving real innovation in their chosen fields, we are honoured to be standard bearer for this vibrant community.”