Revealed! The Startups 100 2020

2020 has been a year of uncertainty, but startups.co.uk is sure about one thing – now more than ever, it’s vital to celebrate the hard work and dedication that makes starting a successful business such an incredible achievement.

The unveiling of the Startups 100 has long been a key date in the business calendar, but this year, we want it to be something more. We want 2020’s index to be a totem that brings the startups community together, in a climate where it may feel like there isn’t much worth celebrating.

We were humbled to receive hundreds of applications from startups from all around the UK, and whittling down our top 100 was a tough task. From disruptive tech to pure play powerhouses, we enjoyed learning about every single business that entered our inbox.

Open to all UK startups that have launched in the last five years, it was great to see some familiar faces, and lots and lots of new ones. We were also really happy to see such a variety of business sectors represented.

Startups 100 alumni include Deliveroo, Monzo, and Revolut – all of which have gone on to become major household names. So, with this year’s list seeing some seriously impressive figures, products, and ideas, we can’t wait to see what great things the future has in store for our 2020 applicants.

Want to get straight into the list? Look no further – start reading here!

Introducing the Startups 100 2020

Two of the most important ranking factors for the Startups 100 are finances and turnover. As such, we were incredibly impressed to discover that 2020’s applicants have collectively raised £650m in finance and investment, with a collective annual turnover of £650m. What’s more, the businesses predict a massive increase in the coming months, with £1.3bn projected turnover between them for the next financial year.

But our sophisticated scoring system doesn’t stop there. We also look at the strength of the business idea, add weight to scores based on when the business was founded, and ask successful entrepreneurs to give us their thoughts on our pick of the best startup businesses. If you’re interested, you can read a full ranking methodology here.

Not only does this allow us to make a fair judgement,  it also gives us deep insight into startup trends – from the businesses making the world a better place to the ones disrupting their industries. It also enables us to recognise standout businesses in several categories: Tech, Family, Social, B2C, B2B, and Regional.

So, after a week of discussions, spreadsheets, and points allocation, we’re now ready to reveal the Startups 100 class of 2020. Start reading through today!

The Startups 100 Top 5

As the world becomes increasingly reliant on digital technology, more innovative online startup ideas are coming to the table. This is evident in the Startups 100 top 5, which sees five web-based businesses take the top spots.

• Trouva
• Neos
• Cudoni
• Perlego
• Tempo

1. Trouva

Helping over 900 independent boutiques around the world compete with ecommerce giants, Trouva bridges the gap between the high street and peoples’ living rooms. In fact, throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Trouva has been a lifeline for its partners, enabling 70% of them to continue trading. This determination, along with its super-strong financials, has earned it the top spot on the Startups 100.

2. Neos

Snatching second place overall on your first ever Startups 100 application is no mean feat, which goes to show that having a distinctive and disruptive product can really make a difference. Neos enables customers to purchase its smart home gadgets and integrates with leading insurance companies to offer smart home insurance. This combined product offering saw customer acquisitions surpass 150,000 in less than a year – impressive stuff.

3. Cudoni

Buying and selling luxury items is very different to the everyday eBay listing, which is why Cudoni has seen a lot of early stage success. It provides ‘absolute convenience’ by taking care of everything, from photography to fulfillment. And its figures speak for itself – working on commission, Cudoni is expecting to sell more than 100,000 luxury items to 100 countries in 2020. No wonder it’s trusted by celebrities like Millie Mackintosh.

4. Perlego

College, university, even online courses – they’re expensive pursuits, and become even more expensive when you take into account the reading material required to complete the course. Perlego saw a gap that needed to be filled. Offering subscription-based access to a vast digital library of academic texts, the startup has seen a 116% month-on-month increase in new subscribers, and has just secured $9m dollars in funding. Certainly a worthy 4th place winner.

5. Tempo

We can all agree that recruitment is hard work. It takes time, money, and a lot of patience. Thankfully, Tempo exists to up the pace. Claiming to reduce the ‘time to hire’ to just four days and cut costs by 65%, its machine learning pairs candidates and businesses based on ‘rich-format CVs’. With the likes of Monzo, Bulb, and ASOS on board with its intelligent approach to recruitment, Tempo’s third Startups 100 entry sees it cruise to 5th place.

---

2020’s Startup 100 entries have amassed some impressive figures. Having collectively secured £650m in investment and £650m in turnover for the last financial year, pre-Covid provided a healthy climate in which startup businesses could flourish and ripen.

Now, with countries opening back up and industries raring to go, we have all of our fingers crossed that our Startups 100, our applicants, and the rest of the startups community sees the projected growth and positive finances they’ve worked so hard for.