Jamie Hinton, CEO and Co-founder of technology consultancy Razor, explores Sheffield’s sharp growth in tech and what makes it such a unique proposition for startups and big business.
Sheffield is built on seven hills, up for a steep challenge? It may well be the place for you. Our tech and digital community has been moving mountains for years and we’re not even close to peaking.
There’s been a transformation here and in the wider Yorkshire and Humber region. Manchester and Leeds might be blazing the Northern tech trail but we’re not far behind.
Between 2015 and 2019, a huge £74m was invested in emerging tech, and last year, the region boomed with 196 new tech startups launching. The challenges 2020 has already presented to us may be unprecedented in their nature, but I believe this city is up to the test with or without a global crisis.
When we’re through this, our numbers will soar. We’re a city built on steel, and its strength is in our DNA. Sheffield will continue to scale up its tech and digital ecosystem.
And I can tell you exactly why…
The people of Sheffield
When I founded Razor, there was no question that we’d call Sheffield home. I was born and raised in the city but the decision ran much deeper than a sense of nostalgia. Sheffield’s identity is extraordinary – although we’d never admit to it.
Our people don’t tolerate inflated egos, arrogance and selfishness. Those who prosper here, want to help each other, they thrive on sharing knowledge and getting on. This united spirit makes success easier for fledgeling companies and individuals. We’ve seen companies spawning new startups alongside horizontal moves between organisations, with a sense of encouragement and collaboration triumphing over competition and rivalry.
Gremlin Interactive – formerly one of the big players in the games development industry – is a stand-out example of this movement. Bought out in 1999, early Gremlin employees went on to establish Sumo digital, which later gave life to startups, including the successful Dumpling Design. There are engineers in Sheffield’s games dev scene who have got 20 plus years’ experience born out of formative years spent at the company. Those decades of experience and the movement of specialists within the industry are both huge assets for Sheffield and its growth.
Access to startup investment
Sheffield is incredibly well placed for startup investment. There are some excellent locations and opportunities – take the manufacturing startup arena. We have the tech talent, two universities, the AMRC and a whole host of manufacturers and engineers on our doorstep all waiting to combine to make magic happen.
