Digital dozen hailed as Wales’ hi-tech pioneers
The best digital companies and entrepreneurs in Wales have been honoured at the inaugural WalesOnline Digital Awards.
The awards, whose overall sponsor is Innovation Point, were held at the Mercure Cardiff Holland House Hotel, and attended by nearly 300 guests.
The winners, in 12 categories, included Matt Warren, chief executive of Swansea-based Veeqo, who was named Digital Entrepreneur of the Year, while his company took the Best e-Commerce award.
Serial tech entrepreneur Simon Powell, who is chief executive of InspireTec Group, was named Digital Ambassador of the Year.
Chief executive of Innovation Point David Warrender said: “The quality of all the finalists was outstanding, which made the judging process a challenging but a very rewarding one. All the finalists and winners clearly demonstrate that Wales not only has a vibrant digital sector, which is a key driver of the Welsh economy, but has the potential for even greater growth in the years ahead.”
The winners were:
Digital Entrepreneur of the Year (sponsor Mocka Lounge) – Matt Warren
Matt Warren is founder and CEO of Veeqo, a Swansea-based tech start-up that is powering a shift in the online retail industry.
Veeqo was born out of Matt’s frustration running a multi-channel e-commerce company. He wanted a way to manage all his orders, shipping and accounting – but there was nothing that did what he needed.
Over the past four years Matt has raised more than £2.5m for the business via crowdfunding. The company is backed by some of the world’s biggest retail and tech investors, including New Look founder Tom Singh.
Digital Ambassador of the Year (sponsor Spire Healthcare) – Simon Powell
Simon Powell has worked in the digital travel industry for more than 25 years. He recently set up the Inspiretec group, which consists of Cardiff-based Comtec, Eysys, Clarius Finance and Sequence, along with Canadian company Incentriq, and has a combined client base of more than 150 in 12 countries.
He has also invested in the Inspire Wales fund to provide finance and help to Welsh start-ups.
Best Use of Technology within Education (sponsor Kidney Wales) – Edukey Education
Edukey is an ed tech company based in Fishguard. The firm has grown substantially over the past four years and is now a leader in many aspects of the ed tech sector.
Among its many products are class charts combining data-rich seating plans and effective behaviour management, learning plans which streamline the process of managing SEN pupils, and online literacy assessment which provides an effective tool to evaluate the measures schools put in place to improve literacy standards.
Best Digital Start Up (sponsor Acorn Recruitment) – Delio Wealth
Cardiff-based Delio Wealth is a complete white label platform for private assets, helping a range of organisations and their advisers enhance their offering through connecting private deal flow with high net worth capital.
Delio is working with most of the UK’s private banks as well as some of the biggest banks across Europe, and providing an underlying platform for angel networks across the UK. It is creating investment ecosystems in countries that don’t currently have global financial hubs, and recently announced it is creating 30 new jobs as it targets the Middle East and Asia.
Best Emerging Technology (sponsor GE Aviation Wales) – ThinkBooker
A cloud hosting system, ThinkBooker allows customers to book quickly and easily online. The system increases bookings, maximises occupancy and revenue and decreases manual admin tasks by providing a flexible back office application.
A product of Cardiff-based marketing and technology agency UpriseVSI, ThinkBooker has been used by Fulham FC, Manchester United and Juventus soccer