But before we dive into the names, let’s recognise the people behind the shortlist – our esteemed judging panel.

2025 judges: 

• Onyeka Nweze, former The Apprentice contestant and entrepreneur
• Shammi Raichura, Operations Lead at Uber
• Ashleigh Ainsley, Co-Founder of Colorintech
• Yvonne Nagawa, Founding member of Black Seed Ventures
• Lee Chambes, Founder and CEO of Male Allies UK
• Agata Nowicka, serial entrepreneur, investor and the managing partner of Visionaries
• Rory Chambers, Founder and high-performance coach of ROARFiTT
• Eda Taskin, investment and venture-building expert, currently a manager at Tenity
• Vasily Alekseenko, Founder of Rare Founders
• Cynthia Davis CBE, CEO and Founder of Diversifying Group
• Charlotte Bloom, CEO of VSNRY and award-winning Author
• Tommie Edwards, CEO of Tech1M
• David Kaiser, CEO and Founder of Oneder

Fair, rigorous, and expert-led judging

This year’s judging was more thorough than ever. Every submission underwent a two-phase review. The first phase involved judges independently scoring entries against set criteria. The highest scorers advanced to the second stage: a full-day deliberation session hosted at MYO Bankside on May 15th. There, our panel of experts – including leaders from Uber, Google, Tenity, and more – debated, discussed, and selected the best of the best.

“The calibre was staggering. The conversations were passionate. And the final shortlist truly reflects the brilliance in our ecosystem.”
— Tennessee Watt, Google Brand Marketing Manager & previous Hustle Awards judge

"We really get to go into depth into theses organisations and the impact that a lot of these organisations have had – it is incredible to see."
— Cynthis Davis CBE, CEO, and Founder of Diversifying Group & Hustle Awards judge

Most Innovative Tech

• Arbe Perception Radar (Phoenix)
• Mindgard
• Ono
• PRSNT
• Taxd Company Accounts
• Vox Aeris
• YASO
• YEO Messaging for Business
• CleverFi
• Duamentes

Early-Stage Innovation

• 3R Innovation
• AnyFeast
• B&T Products Ltd
• Inodash
• Lagom Hem
• Legacy Compass
• NeuroEM Therapeutics
• shizl
• femaleadvisoryboard.co.uk
• Vox Aeris

Founder of the Year

• Charlotte Williams, Elysian - elysianuk.org
• Dan Archer, Visiting Angels - visiting-angels.co.uk
• Garreth Wood, Kids Operating Room - kidsor.org
• James Green, Taxd - taxd.co.uk
• Hugh Frost, CoolRun by Hubl Logistics - coolrun.co.uk
• Mark Sweeny, de Novo Solutions - de-novo-solutions.com
• Melissa Gauge, SpareMyTime - sparemytime.com
• Mohammed Alsalehi, ComplyCube - complycube.com/en
• Royden Greaves, Jarvis - getjarvis.app
• Viviene Bish-Bedeau, CEO - ceopportunities.co.uk

Eco Warrior(s)

• AnyFeast
• CarbonTrac
• Genous
• Mosscrete by Greendezeen

Inspirational Woman of the Industry

• Caroline Marshall, Upsource
• Charlotte Williams, Elysian
• Grace Graham, WorkSpa
• Marie-Josée Lamothe, McGill Dobson Centre
• Naomi Owusu, Tickaroo
• Rebecca Oatley, Wilful Group
• Sami Wunder
• Selene Sari, Vox Aeris
• Trudi Roscouet, Vitality 40 Plus
• Viviene Bish-Bedeau, CEO

Young Entrepreneur Award

• ClearEar
• Hair Syrup
• Gunpowder House
• CarbonTrac

Most Successful Scaleup

• Blend
• Brdge
• de Novo Solutions
• FuturePlus
• Hair Syrup
• multifi
• ProcurePro
• PRSNT
• Visiting Angels
• YASO

Outstanding Startup Support

• Biotope by VIB
• Burning Heroes Founders Association
• Cherish PR
• Hatch Enterprise
• NEC X’s Elev X! Venture Studio
• Oxford Innovation Space
• Rare Founders
• Reddie & Grose LLP
• Tech Zero
• Verticode

Social Impact Hero(es)

• Boshhh Group
• Entrepreneurs Unlocked
• WCorp
• GiveWheel
• Gretel
• Blip
• McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship
• Orli
• PivotSimply
• Rachel Dunford, The Impact Specialist

Top Performing Team

• Allia Ltd
• Tally Workspace
• The Flywheelers
• YASO

Workspace of the Year

• ARC - Advanced Research Clusters
• Barnsgrove
• Better Space
• The Brew
• Bruntwood, Centre City
• Clockwise
• colbea
• The Dryden Enterprise Centre (DEC)
• Somerset House Exchange
• Workshed

Game-Changing Investor

• Adam Scott
• LongeVC
• Oxford Innovation Finance