Part 1: Expert Predictions For Startup Trends in 2024

Event Location: As Seen on Tech Round UK

Upon reflecting on the UK’s startup scene in 2023, it’s clear that the sector has been buzzing with activity. Amidst economic pressures, the startup ecosystem has demonstrated remarkable resilience, with a number of new businesses launched.

This activity comes on the heels of a substantial increase in public interest in starting new businesses, as evidenced by the 18,400 monthly searches for “how to start a business” in the UK, according to Microbizmag.

The UK government revealed that the UK private sector has seen steady growth in non-employing businesses by 26% since 2010, and employing businesses by 18%. This growth is reflected in the vibrant startup hubs across the UK, with cities like Manchester, Coventry, and Cambridge leading the way.

Our Experts:

Jacki Vause, CEO, Dimoso and Co-Host, The Rest is PR
Babs Ogundeyi, Group CEO & Founder, Kuda
Ellie Carlile, Founder, Byellie
Robyn Scott, CEO & Co-Founder, Apolitical
Volodymyr Levykin, CEO & Founder, Skyrora
Stephanie Downs, Co-Founder & CEO, UNCAGED Innovations
Ivan Nikkhoo, Founder & Managing Partner, Navigate Ventures
Conor Sheridan, Founder & CEO, Nory
Martin Reichenbach, Co-Founder & CEO, Apaleo
Ed Johnson, CEO & Co-Founder, PushFar

Jacki Vause, CEO, Dimoso and Co-Host, The Rest is PR

“I believe that 2024 will bring a myriad of SaaS and AI solutions for startups. From a PR perspective startups may be tempted to use the AI generated press release services that are becoming prevalent. A word of warning: select your services well and do not expect a magic wand.

While these services ‘seem’ to democratise the playing field they can often add up and not provide as much value as they first promised. For PR I urge caution – these AI generated releases are generally not very good and stand out a mile to seasoned journalists.”

Babs Ogundeyi, Group CEO & Founder, Kuda

“While fintech investment in Europe slowed down in 2023, this should not deter startups within the sector. Fintech will undoubtedly carry on innovating and utilising new technologies to expand offerings for customers. With this expansion of offerings – in tandem with a world that is only continuing to digitalise – next year, fintechs and neobanks can capitalise on this new banking journey to gain a greater share of market.

As such, we anticipate an inclination among younger generations towards neobanks, drawn by the potential of cross-border banking capabilities, diverse currency options, and the effortless transfer of funds across countries – reflecting their dynamic lifestyles.”

Ellie Carlile, Founder, Byellie

Get your company culture

“Hitting the business goals can’t happen if you don’t have the right culture within the business, having the right culture and teamwork boosts morale, productivity and accountability which means targets are not only met but exceeded. Everyone in the team should understand their role and how it fits into the bigger picture.

Invest in creators and content

In 2024, leaders, no matter their industry, should prioritise the creative space and invest in content creators – from UGC social media, and your websites to VOX pop working with content creators opens your brand to highly engaged audiences, building your credibility and ultimately growing the brand.

Work smarter, not harder

It’s about being more efficient and blocking out time, and that’s not just within the business but my personal life as well – for me, it’s as simple as booking a doctor’s appointment or spending time with my family. It doesn’t matter how many hours you work it’s about being strategic and tactical with your time to be as productive as possible to meet your company’s goals.

Letting comparison be the thief of joy

Competitor analysis and monitoring other brands in the industry is important for growth but their success doesn’t determine your worth as a small business. Worrying and spending time on other businesses means they are taking away time not spent on your own business.”

Robyn Scott, CEO & Co-Founder, Apolitical

“Enhanced skills training in critical areas such as climate and artificial intelligence must become a priority for governments globally in 2024 – and technology can help them achieve it.

As the world continues to grapple with extreme weather and natural disasters, the need for climate-ready governments becomes imperative. Politicians and senior civil servants are beginning to understand that their whole workforces need actionable knowledge on climate if they are to enable the creation of 21st century governments that work for people and the planet.

The AI boom of 2023 shows no signs of slowing down and will increasingly permeate every aspect of our lives – and the work of public servants is no exception. Data from our global platform of more than 200,000 government workers found that 54% are already using AI to help with their work for tasks such as research, writing and policy development, as well as exploring the use of AI in service delivery. For us to truly utilise all AI has to offer, we need to ensure that governments and their civil servants understand AI and how to use it effectively.”

Volodymyr Levykin, CEO & Founder, Skyrora

“2024 will be a landmark year for the spacetech industry, especially in the UK. Not only is a launch from British soil inevitable, so is a General Election. Whichever party wins power next year will determine how much emphasis will be placed on the space sector – will we see more funding? Changes to R&D? A stronger pipeline of skilled tech and engineering talent? The space industry generates billions of pounds and employs hundreds of thousands, as such, it is a key sector to get right for the future of the British economy and if the UK truly wants to cement itself as a science and technology superpower.

The UK has a great pedigree in spacetech and has always been a leader in manufacturing small satellites. But now Britain has made significant strides when it comes to regulations and launch capabilities. Next year we’ll see these efforts come to fruition with multiple launches from Scottish spaceports. While there is value in being the first, it is also important to be successful; of which Skyrora plans to be both. We’re aiming to be the first British company to launch from UK soil, a feat that would be impossible without a launch vehicle licence from the Civil Aviation Authority.”

Stephanie Downs, Co-Founder & CEO, UNCAGED Innovations

“In 2024, I am focused on launching our sustainable leather alternative to the marketplace with our first fashion brand partners.The apparel industry, whilst open to change, is a major contributor to the climate crisis and being able to provide alternative and truly sustainable solutions can help it take a step in the right direction. We are also hoping to complete an equity seed round and produce the interiors for a concept car with one of our automotive partners.”

Ivan Nikkhoo Founder & Managing Partner, Navigate Ventures

“AI startups have been generating crazy valuations, but once the hype dies down, many VCs will be forced to re-examine their assumption. While AI encompasses a remarkable and transformative set of technologies, the fundamentals of building a successful AI company are no different to any other tech company – i.e., you must be solving a real problem. As always, the biggest returns will be in the use of AI in B2B enterprise SaaS as well as other sectors where the technology is being used to solve big problems. This will inhibit their growth in 2024 and make their lofty valuations a massive problem at the next raise as valuations will begin to regress to the norm.

We’re going to see more down/flat rounds as the market continues to correct. It is going to cause some distress amongst founders who were overly enthusiastic with their valuations when raising their previous rounds. We’ll also witness a reversion towards the norm in the year ahead, which will affect startups’ ability to fundraise. Investors are going to want to see more traction from startups before they invest, while later-stage investors are going to carry on holding off for all but the best quality opportunities.”

Conor Sheridan, Founder & CEO, Nory

“The mass market ‘adoption’ of AI stands out as the front runner when it comes to major tech developments this year. At least mentally, the market has adopted AI as inevitable and understands how much impact it will have. It’s become less of an abstract buzzword and something the general public are leaning into.

When it’s the topic of cafe or bar talk among friends and not the edges of tech chat then it’s there. In terms of how this will impact startup trends, I think we will continue to see AI deepen further into the mainstream – that means it will be embedded more deeply into workflows across industries.

There is a movement called selling the work not the product which means that AI agents/LLMs will be able to complete entire streams of work end-to-end and businesses will be built on selling the outputs like professional services. At Nory, we are targeting AI based payroll services – that is an AI agent can process, pay, submit and query manage the entire payroll process for organisations of 1000+ people. This will be a generational shift.”

Martin Reichenbach, Co-Founder & CEO, Apaleo

“It’s expected 2024 will be a watershed year for the hotel industry, as all-in-one property management systems start to die off in greater numbers. ‘Composable hospitality’ is still a relatively unknown term but this will change next year as more platform providers emerge who are determined to put an end to obsolescence with open APIs that turn technology improvements into a constant process.

This shift will empower operators of all sizes to curate tailored tech stacks made up of wide spectrums of third-party software, not only transforming the way they shape concepts and guest experiences but liberating them from reliance on a single technology provider too.

As this trend continues to gain momentum, smaller operators will no longer be bound by the limitations of a traditional PMS. The rise of API-first platforms will level the playing field for smaller operators and challengers, enabling them to access the same cutting-edge technology as larger chains, but at a more affordable price point because they will only pay for the tools they really value.

Looking ahead to 2030, it’s plausible that half of the world’s top hotel companies will be less than a decade old, underscoring the dynamic evolution underway in the hospitality sector and shaping a landscape where adaptability and innovation are paramount.”

Ed Johnson, CEO & Co-Founder, PushFar

“As we’ve seen this year, I expect startups to continue to focus on profitability, self-sufficiency and attainable, realistic growth, rather than the excessive, unachievable multiple forecasts we saw in previous years and the sky-high fundraising.

Startups are, now more than ever, having to prove value at an earlier stage and with investors generally more cautious than they were in 2022 and previous years, it is extremely important that they can prove growth and are not reliant on investments for longer-term success.

Undoubtedly, Artificial Intelligence will continue to be of great interest to investors and something more and more startups focus on embedding and implementing, however, I strongly expect that there will be a decline in those businesses that focus their models simply on the idea that the business is an “AI business.

Undoubtedly, AI can support streamlining of startups and support a huge number of tasks but at the end of the day, the businesses need to actually provide value and not simply become another gimmicky brand.

We have seen, time and time again, bubbles. The dot-com bubble, the crypto bubble, perhaps next year will present an AI bubble. AI alone is not exciting but what solid businesses can do with the help of AI is.”