Bradford business shortlisted for two regional StartUp Awards

Bradford-based startup, ExecQua, has been named a finalist in two categories ahead of the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber final of the StartUp Awards.

The UK StartUp Awards was launched to recognise the booming start-up scene across the UK which has accelerated over the last few years with over 900,000 new businesses founded in the UK in 2023, a 12% increase from the year before.

Over 900 businesses have been shortlisted for this year’s UK StartUp Awards and the contribution of these firms – all of which were started in the last three years – is significant, having created nearly 6,000 new jobs since they were established and generating annual sales of £480 million.

ExecQua is a platform that helps self-employed administration professionals (also known as virtual assistants) get found. It also helps business owners, who want to work with a VA, to find brilliant business support. It was founded by Danielle Armstrong in 2024 and the business has been nominated for the AI StartUp of the Year Award and Innovative StartUp of the Year Award in North East, Yorkshire and the Humber.

Danielle Armstrong, founder of ExecQua, said: 

“I’m honoured that ExecQua has been shortlisted for two regional UK StartUp Awards. In today’s evolving tech-driven world, our mission is to empower self-employed virtual assistants to demonstrate their client-focus, human expertise and AI abilities. This recognition reflects the transformative impact AI is having on business support services, and it motivates me to continue working to strengthen VA businesses for the future.”

Supported nationally by ScoreApp, GS1 UK, Starling Bank, OVHcloud, GiftRound, Airwallex, the programme will celebrate the achievements of the amazing individuals who have turned an idea into an opportunity and taken the risk to launch a new product or service.

The cohort of finalists will be considered for the regional prizes by a panel of seasoned judges with experience founding or supporting entrepreneurial ventures. The winners from each region will then be invited to the first UK final taking place at Ideas Fest, the Glastonbury for Business festival in Tring, Hertfordshire on 12th September 2024.

Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, the creator of the UK StartUp Awards, said: 

“Start-up businesses are the lifeblood of any economy, being responsible for new jobs, innovation and wealth creation across the UK. All the finalists this year represent the best of those entrepreneurs who have spotted an opportunity and through their sheer hard work, talent and perseverance, have created amazing new businesses that are creating real impact in their sectors. Building on the success of previous years, we are now looking to identify the ‘best of the best’ with all the finalists who win their category in their region going on to represent their region at the first ever UK National StartUp Awards final later this year”.

The UK StartUp Awards was created in collaboration with the team behind the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, one of the most successful awards programmes in the UK. The UK StartUp Awards are running for the third year after launching in 2022. 

This year’s regional UK StartUp Awards finalists can be found online at https://startupawards.uk/