r/ukstartups

Quick context on me: I'm on the clinical/NHS side, not technical, and I'm self-funding the seed stage of this. Posting here because I want someone who's genuinely excited about the problem, not just the equity.

The gap: the UK just backed sovereign AI compute with real money — a £1.1bn AI Hardware Plan, a £500m Sovereign AI Fund with direct GPU-hour grants. At the same time, NHS and life sciences data governance is tightening hard — DSPT v8 now maps to the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework, genomics orgs got pulled into that regime in Sept 2025, and the MHRA is rewriting how AI medical devices get hosted and updated in production.

Nobody's building the thing that sits between those two trends. Generalist neoclouds (Nscale, CoreWeave, etc.) compete on raw GPU scale, not health-data compliance. Hyperscaler "UK regions" solve data residency but not real sovereignty — they're still exposed to the US CLOUD Act. And the compliance-software layer (TRE tooling etc.) mostly sits on top of someone else's infrastructure rather than owning the stack.

What we'd build: a UK-incorporated, UK-owned compute + compliance layer — GPU/AI infrastructure with DSPT/CAF-aligned, Five Safes-compatible, MHRA-AIaMD-ready governance baked in — for NHS trusts, genomics orgs, and pharma/health-tech AI vendors who can't or won't run regulated workloads on a hyperscaler or a generic GPU cloud. Starting point: lease sovereign GPU/data-centre capacity rather than build it (that's a multi-year, £100m+ problem on its own), and build the compliance/security/orchestration layer as the actual product — confidential computing, UK-sovereign key management, zero-egress-by-default environments.

What I need: a technical co-founder to own that build end-to-end — infrastructure architecture, security, and eventually the engineering team. This is a founding role, not a hire — you'd be shaping the technical roadmap from scratch, not executing someone else's spec.

Who I think this fits: solid infra/platform engineering background (GPU/cloud systems, distributed infra, or security engineering at real scale), genuine interest in confidential computing / key management / regulated data environments (health, finance, gov, defence all transfer), comfortable with pre-incorporation-level ambiguity, UK-based or willing to be.

Terms: 40% equity, standard 4-year vesting with a 1-year cliff, IP assigned to the company (standard invention assignment, not held individually). I'm funding the seed round myself, so there's a real runway to build against — happy to talk compensation/salary depending on your situation once we're actually talking.

Not expecting anyone to show up knowing both GPU infra and NHS/MHRA regulation — that combination is rare by design, which is kind of the point. If the problem is interesting to you, comment or DM and I'm happy to share more (including the full strategic write-up).

My small business was on the up just before lockdown happened. It changed everything. Funding cut, location shut. It was gut wrenching.

Would love to hear of any UK startups that had to start again/pivot after COVID. What did you do? How did you do it? Where are you now?

Wanting to set up again and would love some inspiration from fellow entrepreneurs!

As the title says, I started a side hustle with my wife 3 months ago. On the weekends we mow run a food stall selling legendary Biryani’s from South India.

From 8 years I’ve been living in East London and travelled across UK, EU and US and noted that almost everywhere Biryani is same, nothing different.

South India has 5 states, each one has a different type of Biryani and you won’t believe it, there are more than 15+ Varieties of Biryani across India and UK has seen less than 5 which all are focused on North India and Hyderabadi Biryani. I’m talking about widely available options even in any country side takeout. There are handful niche specific places I don’t deny, but I’m talking about the widely known to public.

But we focus on state of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka which are not represented at a Global scale.

We sell three varieties of Biryani and in 2 months we’ve got a good customer base selling in apartments of East London.

If this is of any interest, I’ll post on how I started this and where I intend to take this.

Spent the last week looking at the bank balance and we've finally hit the wall. 18 months in, cash runway is completely gone after two of our three main retainers pulled out back in May. We're sitting on roughly £16,000 in total business debt between unpaid suppliers, HMRC VAT, and a small overdrawn director loan.

Trying to make sure I don't mess up the legal side of closing this down properly. Spent yesterday going through HMRC guidance pages, looking into liquidation options vs striking off, and emailing our accountant to see what he'd charge for final filings.

The main headache is a £4,200 VAT bill due in a few weeks. We only have about £1,100 left in the bank account after paying off our cloud hosting and software sub for this month.

If anyone here went through a voluntary shutdown with HMRC debts, did you just let them object to a DS01 form or did you pay for a formal liquidation straight away? Just trying to avoid dragging this out forever.

EDIT : Appreciate all the replies and DMs. Spent the morning going through everything. Sounds like pushing a DS01 with unpaid HMRC debt will just get blocked immediately, so looking into a proper CVL instead. Booked a free call with Director First to review the loan account and liability stuff before deciding on the next step. Will update if anyone's interested in how it goes.

I’m looking to connect with someone who has:

1. A strong business idea or a real problem worth solving
2. Genuine domain knowledge and experience in that area
3. Some initial investment to contribute
4. The time and commitment to build a long-term business together

The initial investment does not need to be huge.

The quality and potential of the idea are more important.

However, some investment is necessary to cover the initial costs and demonstrate that both partners are genuinely committed.

WHAT I BRING TO THE PARTNERSHIP

I have over 14 years of experience as a software developer and digital consultant, including working as a HubSpot contractor.

I would take responsibility for:

1. Market research and idea validation
2. Competitor and market-gap analysis
3. Business model and product strategy
4. MVP planning
5. Technical architecture
6. UI/UX design and software development
7. Automations and integrations
8. Launch support
9. SEO, marketing technology and growth support

Ongoing maintenance, improvements and further development

This is not simply a case of building an MVP and handing it over.

Most software businesses do not generate money immediately.

After launch, the product will usually need maintenance, new features, improvements and changes based on real customer feedback.

I would remain actively involved throughout that process while we work towards making the business profitable.

Before any development begins, we would properly research and validate the idea. Anyone can ask AI for hundreds of business ideas today, but an idea alone has very little value.

It must be connected to a genuine market problem and supported by the partner’s domain knowledge.

I would contribute my own time to this research and validation stage without charging the other person.

If the idea cannot be properly validated, I would not take their money or start building it.

The initial contribution would be considerably lower than the normal cost of hiring a software company, potentially around 50%, depending on the project.

It would help cover the essential tools and development costs, but it is not intended as a discounted development service.

Building a product properly can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months.

It isn’t simply a matter of sitting down and writing code, it requires proper planning and technical architecture.

I cannot commit months of my time based only on someone having an idea, only for them to suddenly say, “I’ve changed my mind,” and leave me high and dry.

Unfortunately, I have experienced this before, which is another important reason why an initial contribution is required it demonstrates genuine commitment from both sides.

This would be a genuine partnership with shared ownership, risk and long-term responsibility.

All percentages, responsibilities and legal terms would be discussed and agreed before anything begins.

WHO THIS IS NOT FOR

If you already have enough money to:

1. Pay a software company the full cost of building your MVP
2. Hire SEO, marketing and growth agencies.
3. Cover the business costs while it is not generating revenue
4. Pay for ongoing maintenance and further development.
5. Hire a complete product, development and marketing team

Then this opportunity probably isn’t for you.

You already have the resources to build and grow the business independently.

This is for someone with a strong idea, relevant industry knowledge and some initial capital, but not enough funding to hire a complete team and continue paying for every improvement after launch.

Many startups can afford the initial MVP but fail afterwards.

They launch, don’t generate revenue immediately and then run out of money when the product needs more features, maintenance, marketing and further development.

That is where the long-term value of my contribution becomes most important.

WHY I HAVE UPDATED THIS POST

I received a couple of comments asking: “If the other person brings the idea and investment, what are you bringing?”

One fair comment came from Ethan Jak Anderson.

Thank you, Ethan Jack Andreson from another group your comment made me realise that my original post could make it sound as though I’m simply a developer looking for paid work.

That isn’t the case, so I decided to update the post and explain the partnership more clearly.

I’m not looking for a client or a development job.

I’m looking for the right business partner so we can research, validate, build and grow something together.

My preference is to work with someone based in the UK, mainly because it makes the legal agreements and documentation easier.

If this sounds relevant to you, send me a DM with a short explanation of your idea, the problem it solves and your experience in that industry.

If it looks like a good fit, we can arrange a call.

Hi

I am a startup accountant based in Uk and work with various founders if you have just started your company and need a strategic partner not only just another accountant. Please get in touch. I work on monthly payment so it avoids one off lump sum payment at year end and also gives you more visibility of your finances. If you also need seis/eis , pitch deck, cash flow projections etc Can help at founder friendly fees.

Thanks

Hey there,

Dev agency owner with Converge Labs here based out of London. Can't help but notice that most of our clients now come from the US and, although I like to think we're priced decently for the quality of our work. It just seems to be harder and harder to work with UK businesses.

Is it more of a marketing problem than a market problem? Curious if others services have experienced the same?

Co-founder sought - Real Estate start-up

Hi folks,

I'm an experienced UK real estate professional (Living Capital mostly) and I've set up a small Real Estate reporting business, aimed at prospective buyers and designed to be supplementary to surveys, legal advice, etc.

I've set up the business as a side hustle a few months ago and have already had some organic transactions through SEO, with zero advertising spend to date. I'm looking to ramp things up but alongside my other ventures/full-time work, I haven't been able to commit a lot of time to it. I'm open to working with someone who can challenge me/come up with other bright ideas and help grow the business/collaborate.

The product does not involve AI, it is not "proptech", it is not Fintech or some other buzzwordy bullshit. It's just a business that fills a gap in the market. We don't buy buildings or invest or require debt or capital or seed funding or any nonsense. I'm happy to go into more detail with select interested parties.

Long term plan would be to scale up, start to offshore or delegate the actual coalface stuff that I'm doing at the moment and then exit in a few years if it gets that far. The margins have a lot of fat in them.

Me:

\- Mid 30s

\- Deep understanding of UK residential property market, including UK property planning system and law.

\- Extensive black book of contacts in real estate

You:

\- UK-based (Must - preferably London/SE)

\- British national (or long-term resident)

\- Strong interest in UK property market

\- Deep understanding of online advertising, targeting prospective purchasers through social media, growing sales, SEO and sales conversion.

\- Willingness to commit to vision and dedicate time to turning side hustle into business

Not looking for any investment, just expertise and partnership. Please message me for a chat if it sounds fun.

Hi everyone,

I'm currently building an early-stage UK e-commerce business within the fashion industry and I'm looking for recommendations for an experienced e-commerce mentor or founder/operator.

We've already invested around £20k into getting the business off the ground and are currently rebuilding our website with a much stronger focus on CRO and getting the right foundations in place from the beginning.

I'd really value guidance from someone who has personally built and grown an e-commerce/DTC business and understands things like customer acquisition, conversion, retention, Shopify, marketing and the commercial realities of building an online brand.

Fashion experience would be a bonus, but strong e-commerce experience is more important.

I'm particularly interested in someone who's actually been through the journey themselves rather than an agency looking to sell marketing services.

Has anyone worked with a mentor or experienced e-commerce operator they'd genuinely recommend?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a co-founder to join me in building a consumer electronics startup based on a temperature logging product. I've already completed the initial market research, and I believe it has strong commercial and growth potential.
I'm particularly interested in connecting with someone studying or graduated in Business, Finance, Marketing, or a related field who wants hands-on startup experience and is excited about building a company from the ground up.
For international students, this venture may also provide a pathway towards applying for the UK Innovator Founder Visa if the business meets the relevant requirements.
If you're interested, or would like to know more, please send me a message.

I'm looking to connect with someone who has a business idea or has identified a real problem that could potentially become a business and needs the right partner to help bring it to life.

You bring the idea/problem, your knowledge and some initial investment. The investment doesn't need to be large. The quality of the idea and the opportunity are much more important, but some financial commitment is required.

We'll first validate the opportunity together. If it makes sense to move forward, I'll handle the planning, strategy, design and development at around 50% of the normal development cost, and continue supporting the business with technology, SEO, marketing and growth.

In return, I'm looking for a genuine long-term business partnership and equity in the business. The exact investment, ownership, responsibilities and legal structure would all be discussed and agreed before anything begins.

About me: Software developer and digital consultant with 14+ years of experience, including previous work as a HubSpot contractor.

I'm mainly looking for UK-based partners to keep the legal and business structure straightforward.

Interested? DM me with a brief description of your idea or the problem you've identified. If it looks like a good fit, we can jump on a call and discuss it further.

For UK startups selling to other businesses when did Cyber Essentials actually become something you had to think about?

Was it something you decided to get proactively or did a customer, contract or procurement process eventually ask for it?

I am particularly interested in smaller companies where there isn't a dedicated security person yet. It seems like there can be quite a gap between knowing you should have decent security practices and actually going through certification.

For anyone who's already been through it, what made you decide it was worth doing, and was the process what you expected?

We work on AI powered products so next product we can work on yours as well.

Currently working on multiple projects like web platforms and IOS app focusing on personalised experience with AI.

AWS level 1 startup funds acquired, one platform going live this month.

Curious how other UK founders and small business owners manage Companies House admin once there’s more than one thing to keep track of.

What do you currently use for things like:

• accounts filing deadlines
• confirmation statements
• director or PSC changes
• registered office changes
• Companies House notices or alerts

Do you mainly rely on:

• Companies House email alerts
• your accountant
• spreadsheets or calendars
• practice/company management software
• manual checks
• something else?

Also interested in whether this becomes more difficult if you’re involved in multiple companies.

What works well for you, and what part of the process is still annoying or easy to miss?

I recently launched a 24/7 flexible beauty workspace in London, built around a simple idea, making commercial space more productive through utilisation.

The first site is around 600 sq ft with 7 bookable stations. Beauty professionals book a fully equipped workspace by the hour, day or through monthly packages, rather than taking on a permanent chair or salon lease.

At 50% utilisation, the space would generate 84 booked chair-hours per day. At a standard rate of £15.50 per hour, that represents around £1,300 in potential daily chair revenue.

We also have our own booking platform, which lets us track occupancy, revenue per workstation, repeat bookings and revenue per square foot. The goal is to use this data to improve the economics of the first site before expanding.

We soft-launched recently with no public launch or paid advertising and generated £3,250 in the first week.
I’m still early and would value mentorship from people who have experience with multi-site businesses, PropTech, commercial property, marketplaces or strong unit economics.

For those who have scaled something similar, what metrics would you focus on at this stage? And where have you found experienced mentors who genuinely helped you become a better operator?

I’m doing a research masters in control engineering. My backup plan in case I don’t get into a PhD afterwards is to setup shop in a studio flat in a cheap city like Hartlepool. I have some passive income and in Hartlepool I can self fund some R&D in my field which actually doesn’t require that much money given it’s mostly software and embedded boards.

My idea is to try to find potential applications for advanced control techniques that are only found in academia but not so widespread in industry. My reasoning is that nobody knew MPC could enable reusable rockets before they tried it. Maybe the same is true for robust control nonlinear control etc.

Do I need a PhD or prior work experience to be successful applying for grants? Or is anything possible as long as I have a sufficiently valuable prototype?

I’m looking for one UK startup where I can act as a fractional CPO for 1 day a week, free of charge, for 12 weeks.

I have take two companies from just me to > £70m valuation and 100s of members of staff with 90% CSAT. Seed, Series A and Series B.

What would I actually do?

One focused day a week helping you:

1. Identify the highest-value customer problems worth solving using an Opportunity Solution Tree
2. Put proper continuous discovery in place
3. Enable a clear Product Operating Model so product isn’t just a feature factory
4. Respectfully Challenge roadmap items that aren’t likely to create value
5. Coach your PM/product team where useful
6. Connect product decisions more directly to revenue, retention and growth

It’s to help answer:

Are we building the right things, for the right customers, for the right commercial reasons?

Why free?
I want to build a strong, measurable case study around what happens when a startup introduces senior product leadership without hiring a £240k+ full-time CPO (my last salary)

My dad recently died. I need to do something new now but not full time. I need some time for family and I. ❤️

So there is a trade: you get 12 days of my time. I get permission to document the before/after journey and results (anonymised if necessary).

Best fit: UK startup, existing product/customers, founder-led, SaaS, probably 5–50 people, with enough traction that prioritisation and product strategy are becoming real problems.

If that sounds like your company, DM me with what you build, team size and the biggest product problem keeping you awake……

Hey everyone, first post here, so hopefully I’m doing this right! We’ve reached an exciting point with a startup we’ve been building.

We’re already live with an institutional customer, have recently signed a partnership with a leading institution in Africa, and are now working towards the next stage of growth.
We’ve made strong progress on the commercial and distribution side, and we’re now looking for an exceptional AI engineer who wants to take real ownership of the technical and AI side of an early-stage company.

Role:
Lead the AI strategy and technical direction of the platform.
Design, build and evolve our AI systems end to end.
Own our LLM architecture, prompting, evaluation and deployment approach.
Drive experimentation, rapid iteration and product innovation.
Help shape both the product vision and long-term engineering roadmap.

We’re intentionally keeping some details about the product out of the public post, but happy to share much more privately with the right people.

We’re London based and ideally looking for someone in the UK who is excited by an early-stage equity-ownership opportunity and transitioning to full time salary as we secure funding.

Let’s chat!