The GREAT Tech Awards
The GREAT Tech Awards encourage high-growth technology companies in the US to select the UK as a place to set up and grow their businesses. Winners take part in a tailored business development programme in the UK.
Overview
The GREAT Tech Awards competition is run by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) (now part of the Department for International Trade (DIT)) and the British Consulates General in New York and Boston.
The third annual competition will take winning high-growth technology companies in the US Northeast on a business development trip to expand their innovative business to the UK. Premier sponsors of the awards include British Airways, Corinthia Hotel London, and MSD, Inc..
Watch this video to learn more about The GREAT Tech Awards.
Who could enter
The competition was open to US technology companies headquartered in one of the following states:
- New York
- New Jersey
- Connecticut
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Massachusetts
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Maine
Companies could apply in one of the following award categories:
- CleanTech
- EdTech
- FinTech
- Health
- Lifestyle
- Media
Additionally, the Best of British and Best of USA awards will be given to recognize transatlantic technology companies that have successfully established a presence on both sides of the pond.
Prize
Category winners will receive a customized business development package that includes:
- a roundtrip flight to London provided by British Airways
- five nights accommodation at Corinthia Hotel London
- accountancy services from BDO
- legal services from Fieldfisher
- recruitment services from Propel Executive
- real estate services from Knight Frank
- business development services from sector specialists including Advice Cloud, Device Access UK, Durham Lane, Gateway Europe, International Management Answers, and MedTech Logistics
- meetings with mentors and government officials
- attendance at the unBound Digital conference in London
Best of British and Best of USA winners will receive promotion and complimentary services from UK Trade & Investment to grow their businesses in their respective foreign markets.
Judging criteria
Applicants are judged on:
- their past growth
- how innovative their product, service or company model is
- how closely their product or service relates to the award category entered
- potential for business growth
Applying
The applications opened on 15 June 2015. Applications closed at 11:59 PM EST on 31 July 2015.
Finalists will be announced the week of 29 September 2015.
Winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony on 29 October 2015.
Judges & advisors
The award winners will be selected by a prestigious panel of judges including:
- Pete Cashmore, CEO & Founder of Mashable
- Glenda Bailey OBE, Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar and GREAT ambassador
- Ignacio Isa Martin, Sales Director at British Airways North America
- Michael Hayman, Co-founder of Seven Hills
- Marco Mohwinckel, Global Head of Integrated Care Solutions at Janssen Healthcare Innovation
- Gareth Jones, Co-founder and General Partner at FinTech Collective
- Anant Agarwal, CEO of edX
- Thomas R. Burton III, Chair of the Energy Technology Practice at Mintz Levin
The finalists are selected by UK Trade & Investment in cooperation with our advisory board, which includes:
- Thomas Apperson, Managing Director, Avalon Net Worth
- Maria Gotsch, President & CEO, Partnership Fund for NYC
- Gerard Grech, CEO, Tech City UK
- Jaime Melendez, Associate Director of Partnerships and Business Development, MSD, Inc.
- Paul Murphy, Co-founder & CEO, Dots, Partner, Betaworks
- Tarek Pertew, Co-founder, Uncubed
- Bob Schukai, Head of Advanced Product Innovation, Thomson Reuters
Contact
For general enquiries about the GREAT Tech Awards, email GREATtech@fco.gov.uk.
Find out how DIT services can help your company expand to the UK by contacting Patricia Young, patricia.young@fco.gov.uk, Telephone: +1 212-745-0451.
For media and PR enquiries, please contact Patricia Edwards, patricia.edwards@fco.gov.uk, Telephone: +1 212-745-0251.
Previous award winners
2014 winners
The winners in the catergories were:
- Education - Admittedly, which offers fun, interactive school profiles for education institutions to help students find the right schools and see what their chances of acceptance are.
- Finance - SeedInvest, an equity-based funding platform connecting accredited investors to leading startups.
- Health - CytoSorbents Corporation, a critical care immunotherapy company using blood purification to treat life-threatening illnesses.
- Internet of Things - Critical Mention, which allows users to monitor global TV, radio, and online news and receive alerts and reports about coverage for their brands.
- Lifestyle - TodayTix, a free app to buy last minute discount theatre tickets.
- Media - SeamlessDocs, a modern replacement for PDF forms.
ustwo, a global digital product studio launching products, services & companies, won the Best of British Award.
Kinsa, a smart thermometer technology, won the People’s Choice Award, which was voted on by attendees at the gala via text message.
2013 winners
The winners in the catergories were:
- Education - TeachBoost - a Brooklyn, NY based company that has created one simple online interface to manage classroom observations and teacher evaluations.
- Finance - Gust - a state-of-the-art financial services platform that supports the development, growth and funding of innovative start-ups around the world.
- Hardware - Floored - a company that builds software that turns 3D data into an interactive virtual experience.
- Lifestyle - Charitybuzz - a Manhattan-based company that helps nonprofits raise funds via online auctions with the world’s biggest celebrities and luxury brands.
- Media - ADstruc - a leading buying platform for the outdoor advertising industry, including both traditional and digital out-of-home media.
In October 2013, the winners travelled to the UK and met a senior representative at No. 10 Downing Street, as well as lawyers, accountants, recruiters and office spaces.
UK-based blippar received the Advisors’ Choice Award, which recognized a successful British tech company that had established a dynamic presence in the New York market. Blippar received a business reception hosted by the British Consul General New York at the Consul General’s residence, a complimentary British-American Business annual corporate membership, and more.
An additional award for People’s Choice was voted on by attendees at the The GREAT Tech Awards 2013 gala. The winner, Codecademy, is an innovative, web-based programming tutorial designed to teach the basics of coding, coinciding with reforms to the education curriculum to boost digital skills for UK school pupils.
Updates to this page
Published 1 May 2014Last updated 4 August 2014 + show all updates
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Applications have now closed and text has been updated to reflect this
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First published.