Reflections from the GRAFT Regional Tech Champions roundtable
Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining fellow leaders from across the North East technology ecosystem for the GRAFT Regional Champions North East roundtable. The session brought together representatives from industry, universities, investors, public sector organisations and eco system support networks to discuss one simple question - what does the next chapter of the North East tech story look like?
If there's one characteristic that defines the North East technology sector, it's our willingness to work together.
Whether it's businesses sharing opportunities, universities commercialising world-class research, or organisations connecting founders with support, collaboration runs through everything we do. What is particularly distinctive about the North East is the genuine desire here to help others succeed because we know regional success benefits everyone. It's something I've always admired about our region.
The North East has built a reputation for capability, credibility and collaboration and that's something worth protecting as we continue to grow.
The discussion highlighted something I've felt for a long time, the North East already has an authentic technology identity.
Our industrial heritage has evolved into a modern maker culture. We're producing outstanding businesses in software, gaming, health technology, data, AI and digital innovation. Our universities continue to create a growing number of exciting spinouts, while initiatives across the region are helping develop clusters of excellence.
Around the table we agreed that the challenge isn't creating that identity but telling the story more confidently.
Too often the North East is viewed externally as simply part of "the North", rather than a region with its own distinctive strengths. We need to get better at showcasing the incredible businesses being built here and demonstrating that world-class technology companies can grow from the North East.
While start-up activity continues to grow – although there was a consensus in the room that we need to encourage more activity here – the conversation quickly moved to the barriers businesses face as they begin to scale.
Access to talent, leadership experience, investment and national visibility all remain significant hurdles. Many businesses still find themselves travelling to London to raise their profile or secure investment as they still struggle to access the right funding, at the right stage, from within the region.
The irony is that we have no shortage of great ideas. What we need is stronger support that helps those ideas become nationally and internationally significant businesses without feeling they have to leave the region to do so.
Funding naturally dominated much of the discussion, but one theme stood out – this isn't simply about increasing investment. It's about improving access, reducing complexity and creating confidence by fostering an ecosystem where founders can easily seek advice and guidance.
Founders need certainty. They need clear pathways through grants, private investment, angel networks and scale-up funding. They also benefit enormously from experienced entrepreneurs who have already navigated the journey, while of course capital matters, so does knowledge. The more successful founders we can keep engaged within the ecosystem, the stronger our next generation of businesses will become.
One of the most thought-provoking discussions was whether we do enough to make entrepreneurship feel like a realistic and achievable career path for young people in the region.
Perhaps the next generation should grow up believing success can also mean creating a business instead of joining one. That doesn't mean everyone should become an entrepreneur, but we do need to make starting and scaling a business feel more achievable. That means teaching commercial skills earlier, improving enterprise education, celebrating successful founders and, importantly, normalising failure as part of the entrepreneurial journey.
If there was one overriding message from the roundtable, it was that the North East has all the ingredients needed to become one of the UK's leading technology regions.
We have exceptional universities, innovative founders, strong public-private partnerships and a culture built on collaboration. What comes next is ensuring those strengths translate into more successful scale-ups, better access to investment, stronger national visibility and an environment where ambitious businesses choose to stay and grow here.
For Leighton, part of playing our role in this ecosystem is helping to connect great technology capability and ideas with real customer problems, creating the opportunities that allow people and businesses to grow.
I'd like to thank Prolific North and our fellow sponsors – Muckle LLP and UNW – as well as everyone who joined us for bringing together such an honest and constructive conversation. The enthusiasm around the table gave me real confidence that the best chapters of the North East's technology story are still to be written.
Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining fellow leaders from across the North East technology ecosystem for the GRAFT Regional Champions North East roundtable. The session brought together representatives from industry, universities, investors, public sector organisations and eco system support networks to discuss one simple question - what does the next chapter of the North East tech story look like?
If there's one characteristic that defines the North East technology sector, it's our willingness to work together.
Whether it's businesses sharing opportunities, universities commercialising world-class research, or organisations connecting founders with support, collaboration runs through everything we do. What is particularly distinctive about the North East is the genuine desire here to help others succeed because we know regional success benefits everyone. It's something I've always admired about our region.
The North East has built a reputation for capability, credibility and collaboration and that's something worth protecting as we continue to grow.
The discussion highlighted something I've felt for a long time, the North East already has an authentic technology identity.
Our industrial heritage has evolved into a modern maker culture. We're producing outstanding businesses in software, gaming, health technology, data, AI and digital innovation. Our universities continue to create a growing number of exciting spinouts, while initiatives across the region are helping develop clusters of excellence.
Around the table we agreed that the challenge isn't creating that identity but telling the story more confidently.
Too often the North East is viewed externally as simply part of "the North", rather than a region with its own distinctive strengths. We need to get better at showcasing the incredible businesses being built here and demonstrating that world-class technology companies can grow from the North East.
While start-up activity continues to grow – although there was a consensus in the room that we need to encourage more activity here – the conversation quickly moved to the barriers businesses face as they begin to scale.
Access to talent, leadership experience, investment and national visibility all remain significant hurdles. Many businesses still find themselves travelling to London to raise their profile or secure investment as they still struggle to access the right funding, at the right stage, from within the region.
The irony is that we have no shortage of great ideas. What we need is stronger support that helps those ideas become nationally and internationally significant businesses without feeling they have to leave the region to do so.
Funding naturally dominated much of the discussion, but one theme stood out – this isn't simply about increasing investment. It's about improving access, reducing complexity and creating confidence by fostering an ecosystem where founders can easily seek advice and guidance.
Founders need certainty. They need clear pathways through grants, private investment, angel networks and scale-up funding. They also benefit enormously from experienced entrepreneurs who have already navigated the journey, while of course capital matters, so does knowledge. The more successful founders we can keep engaged within the ecosystem, the stronger our next generation of businesses will become.
One of the most thought-provoking discussions was whether we do enough to make entrepreneurship feel like a realistic and achievable career path for young people in the region.
Perhaps the next generation should grow up believing success can also mean creating a business instead of joining one. That doesn't mean everyone should become an entrepreneur, but we do need to make starting and scaling a business feel more achievable. That means teaching commercial skills earlier, improving enterprise education, celebrating successful founders and, importantly, normalising failure as part of the entrepreneurial journey.
If there was one overriding message from the roundtable, it was that the North East has all the ingredients needed to become one of the UK's leading technology regions.
We have exceptional universities, innovative founders, strong public-private partnerships and a culture built on collaboration. What comes next is ensuring those strengths translate into more successful scale-ups, better access to investment, stronger national visibility and an environment where ambitious businesses choose to stay and grow here.
For Leighton, part of playing our role in this ecosystem is helping to connect great technology capability and ideas with real customer problems, creating the opportunities that allow people and businesses to grow.
I'd like to thank Prolific North and our fellow sponsors – Muckle LLP and UNW – as well as everyone who joined us for bringing together such an honest and constructive conversation. The enthusiasm around the table gave me real confidence that the best chapters of the North East's technology story are still to be written.
Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining fellow leaders from across the North East technology ecosystem for the GRAFT Regional Champions North East roundtable. The session brought together representatives from industry, universities, investors, public sector organisations and eco system support networks to discuss one simple question - what does the next chapter of the North East tech story look like?
If there's one characteristic that defines the North East technology sector, it's our willingness to work together.
Whether it's businesses sharing opportunities, universities commercialising world-class research, or organisations connecting founders with support, collaboration runs through everything we do. What is particularly distinctive about the North East is the genuine desire here to help others succeed because we know regional success benefits everyone. It's something I've always admired about our region.
The North East has built a reputation for capability, credibility and collaboration and that's something worth protecting as we continue to grow.
The discussion highlighted something I've felt for a long time, the North East already has an authentic technology identity.
Our industrial heritage has evolved into a modern maker culture. We're producing outstanding businesses in software, gaming, health technology, data, AI and digital innovation. Our universities continue to create a growing number of exciting spinouts, while initiatives across the region are helping develop clusters of excellence.
Around the table we agreed that the challenge isn't creating that identity but telling the story more confidently.
Too often the North East is viewed externally as simply part of "the North", rather than a region with its own distinctive strengths. We need to get better at showcasing the incredible businesses being built here and demonstrating that world-class technology companies can grow from the North East.
While start-up activity continues to grow – although there was a consensus in the room that we need to encourage more activity here – the conversation quickly moved to the barriers businesses face as they begin to scale.
Access to talent, leadership experience, investment and national visibility all remain significant hurdles. Many businesses still find themselves travelling to London to raise their profile or secure investment as they still struggle to access the right funding, at the right stage, from within the region.
The irony is that we have no shortage of great ideas. What we need is stronger support that helps those ideas become nationally and internationally significant businesses without feeling they have to leave the region to do so.
Funding naturally dominated much of the discussion, but one theme stood out – this isn't simply about increasing investment. It's about improving access, reducing complexity and creating confidence by fostering an ecosystem where founders can easily seek advice and guidance.
Founders need certainty. They need clear pathways through grants, private investment, angel networks and scale-up funding. They also benefit enormously from experienced entrepreneurs who have already navigated the journey, while of course capital matters, so does knowledge. The more successful founders we can keep engaged within the ecosystem, the stronger our next generation of businesses will become.
One of the most thought-provoking discussions was whether we do enough to make entrepreneurship feel like a realistic and achievable career path for young people in the region.
Perhaps the next generation should grow up believing success can also mean creating a business instead of joining one. That doesn't mean everyone should become an entrepreneur, but we do need to make starting and scaling a business feel more achievable. That means teaching commercial skills earlier, improving enterprise education, celebrating successful founders and, importantly, normalising failure as part of the entrepreneurial journey.
If there was one overriding message from the roundtable, it was that the North East has all the ingredients needed to become one of the UK's leading technology regions.
We have exceptional universities, innovative founders, strong public-private partnerships and a culture built on collaboration. What comes next is ensuring those strengths translate into more successful scale-ups, better access to investment, stronger national visibility and an environment where ambitious businesses choose to stay and grow here.
For Leighton, part of playing our role in this ecosystem is helping to connect great technology capability and ideas with real customer problems, creating the opportunities that allow people and businesses to grow.
I'd like to thank Prolific North and our fellow sponsors – Muckle LLP and UNW – as well as everyone who joined us for bringing together such an honest and constructive conversation. The enthusiasm around the table gave me real confidence that the best chapters of the North East's technology story are still to be written.
Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining fellow leaders from across the North East technology ecosystem for the GRAFT Regional Champions North East roundtable. The session brought together representatives from industry, universities, investors, public sector organisations and eco system support networks to discuss one simple question - what does the next chapter of the North East tech story look like?
If there's one characteristic that defines the North East technology sector, it's our willingness to work together.
Whether it's businesses sharing opportunities, universities commercialising world-class research, or organisations connecting founders with support, collaboration runs through everything we do. What is particularly distinctive about the North East is the genuine desire here to help others succeed because we know regional success benefits everyone. It's something I've always admired about our region.
The North East has built a reputation for capability, credibility and collaboration and that's something worth protecting as we continue to grow.
The discussion highlighted something I've felt for a long time, the North East already has an authentic technology identity.
Our industrial heritage has evolved into a modern maker culture. We're producing outstanding businesses in software, gaming, health technology, data, AI and digital innovation. Our universities continue to create a growing number of exciting spinouts, while initiatives across the region are helping develop clusters of excellence.
Around the table we agreed that the challenge isn't creating that identity but telling the story more confidently.
Too often the North East is viewed externally as simply part of "the North", rather than a region with its own distinctive strengths. We need to get better at showcasing the incredible businesses being built here and demonstrating that world-class technology companies can grow from the North East.
While start-up activity continues to grow – although there was a consensus in the room that we need to encourage more activity here – the conversation quickly moved to the barriers businesses face as they begin to scale.
Access to talent, leadership experience, investment and national visibility all remain significant hurdles. Many businesses still find themselves travelling to London to raise their profile or secure investment as they still struggle to access the right funding, at the right stage, from within the region.
The irony is that we have no shortage of great ideas. What we need is stronger support that helps those ideas become nationally and internationally significant businesses without feeling they have to leave the region to do so.
Funding naturally dominated much of the discussion, but one theme stood out – this isn't simply about increasing investment. It's about improving access, reducing complexity and creating confidence by fostering an ecosystem where founders can easily seek advice and guidance.
Founders need certainty. They need clear pathways through grants, private investment, angel networks and scale-up funding. They also benefit enormously from experienced entrepreneurs who have already navigated the journey, while of course capital matters, so does knowledge. The more successful founders we can keep engaged within the ecosystem, the stronger our next generation of businesses will become.
One of the most thought-provoking discussions was whether we do enough to make entrepreneurship feel like a realistic and achievable career path for young people in the region.
Perhaps the next generation should grow up believing success can also mean creating a business instead of joining one. That doesn't mean everyone should become an entrepreneur, but we do need to make starting and scaling a business feel more achievable. That means teaching commercial skills earlier, improving enterprise education, celebrating successful founders and, importantly, normalising failure as part of the entrepreneurial journey.
If there was one overriding message from the roundtable, it was that the North East has all the ingredients needed to become one of the UK's leading technology regions.
We have exceptional universities, innovative founders, strong public-private partnerships and a culture built on collaboration. What comes next is ensuring those strengths translate into more successful scale-ups, better access to investment, stronger national visibility and an environment where ambitious businesses choose to stay and grow here.
For Leighton, part of playing our role in this ecosystem is helping to connect great technology capability and ideas with real customer problems, creating the opportunities that allow people and businesses to grow.
I'd like to thank Prolific North and our fellow sponsors – Muckle LLP and UNW – as well as everyone who joined us for bringing together such an honest and constructive conversation. The enthusiasm around the table gave me real confidence that the best chapters of the North East's technology story are still to be written.
