Tangerine creates a platform for the next wave of tech innovators

Now in its 2025 edition, and third year in our hometown of Greater Manchester, Tech Climbers shines a spotlight on the founders and teams driving the region’s tech ecosystem forward. With a network of over 600 founders and advisors, and more than 100 people attending each event, the Tech Climbers community is thriving and highly active.  

Nominations are now open to provide the opportunity for startups and scaleups based in Greater Manchester to be profiled and celebrated with UKTN, opening the doors for connections with investors, advisors, and a wider audience to accelerate growth. 

Our events and campaigns team proudly hosted the 2025 launch event, which took place in the beautiful venue of Campfield, just a stone’s throw from Tangerine’s headquarters. Hosted by Becca Harvey, Programme Manager at one of the region’s most prolific accelerators Baltic Ventures, entries and nominations officially opened. 

Two fascinating panel discussions explored the key opportunities and challenges for Mancunian startups at this moment in time.  

Uncovering the story behind the innovation 

The first panel had Tech Climbers partners consisting of Surayya Munshi, from CG Professional, Ryan Sorby from Palatine Growth Credit, Gabriela Bennie from Rathbones, Nick Howsley from Corpay, and Caitlin Morris from Marks and Clerk.   

When asked specifically about why Manchester is outpacing other tech hubs in the UK, Ryan explained that at the core, it’s because Manchester is an attractive place to live, to work, and to stay long-term. Therefore, Manchester is not just attracting talent but it’s keeping it. There are fantastic university links where students see the value in Manchester and decide to stay post-graduation.  

“At a macro level, what Manchester has done particularly well in terms of attraction is investment from outside of the region … The support that the universities bring in, the links that the universities have with business, with accelerators, with programs like Tech Climbers, it’s important. A younger, more exciting, vibrant kind of culture attracts the people who are going to be working here for a long time to go.”  

Surayya echoed this when she joked that after the event, when she makes her way back to the office, she’ll probably struggle to find a seat despite there being no formal policy requiring employees to come in. 

So, it’s Manchester’s authenticity and the social opportunities that differ from different UK cities. It’s truly a place to build a life, not just a career. People want to actively be in the office, making the most of the city. This has played a massive role in pioneering startup tech businesses, 4 of which were explored in the founder panel that came next.  

Managing risks for startups   

At the core of Tech Climbers, the purpose is to create valuable connections. In these conversations at the events, founders are introduced to the right people who can help share guidance.   

The language we often use around tech startups revolves around concepts of risk, agility, being fast-paced, and solving problems in a brand-new way. But where do we draw the line? This was a topic explored by Nick, who underlined how cost should never be underestimated when looking at global markets for growth.. He asked, what is the cost going to be in that country in six months? What is that cost going to be in 12 months? No one can control currency markets, especially now.  

Financial security is fundamental for the longevity of startups. This doesn’t mean we need to sacrifice agility. All the panellists agreed that support and advice are always available.  

Corpay actively invited early-stage businesses to speak to them about looking at new markets. 

Tech ecosystem support   

This support goes much further than financial growth challenges. Both the Partner panel and the Founder panel distinguished that in Manchester, you won’t find a culture that bills you by the minute when asking questions to people within the tech community. Amongst the incredible turnout for the Tech Climbers launch, Markella Mikkelsen from MolMart, contemplated on how encouraging it was that around 30% of attendees at the Tech Climbers launch were familiar faces to her, a sign of people consistently showing up for one another and investing their time in the community. That kind of commitment, she noted, can be hard to find outside of Manchester. 

Amongst Markella on the Founder Panel was Andrew Ash from Netacea, Perdita Barran from SebOMIX, and Ben Davies from VYPR.  

How Manchester is shaping the AI wave in 2025 

It wouldn’t be a tech panel without the mention of AI. The Founder Panel discussed how their businesses rely on AI and specifically how AI integration is used for the greater good, with considerations to governance. For example, Markella highlighted how AI is helping MolMart scale and help more prospective parents understand risks about any rare genetic diseases that could be passed down. This wouldn’t have been possible before.  

For Andrew, AI is at the core of Netacea – a bot protection solution. He asked the room to raise a hand if they couldn’t secure Oasis tickets. He revealed this was down to bots and how this is changing the online space: “Machine traffic, and over 50% of the internet web traffic is it comes from non-human resources. As we go through the next five years, I would think that 90% of traffic on the internet will be bots … So, we’re already looking at, how do we protect this? How do we derive intent of web traffic to prevent our customers from being defrauded by malicious bots?”  

The importance of maintaining momentum 

Momentum was a keyword of the launch event – not just for individual startups, but for Manchester’s wider tech ecosystem. For founders, momentum is about taking the recognition, networks, and investor interest sparked at events like Tech Climbers and translating them into sustained growth. For example, current momentum for SebOMIX looks like growing the team with the right talent, and Perdita invited anyone interested to speak to her if they are looking for an opportunity.   

At the city level, momentum means keeping Manchester firmly on the map as a destination for innovation. The Tech Climbers’ list is a testament to this, showcasing the breadth of innovation and Manchester’s reputation as a city.  

Keeping this momentum growing means building on the collaborative culture, university links, and growing investor confidence to ensure the region continues to outpace other UK hubs.  

Enter or nominate a business today 

Tech Climbers Manchester’s launch event was a testament to the incredible buzz and innovation happening across Greater Manchester’s tech scene. The Tangerine team is excited to see the 2025 Tech Climbers list taking shape, with a wide variety of inspiring entrants, but it’s not too late to get involved. If you know a business in Greater Manchester that deserves recognition, now is the time to nominate them. No matter how new or established the business is, Tech Climbers celebrates ambition and impact across the region.