GREAT BRITISH FOUNDERS & GREAT BRITISH BOASTS
News Room
GBx Gala 2024 & Best in British Tech Award Winners
This November, the British tech ecosystem gathered in San Francisco for the GREAT GBx Gala, celebrating the UK’s booming $1 trillion tech sector—the largest in Europe and the third...
Welcoming GBx’s new Executive Director, Mark Charkin
Mark Charkin is a GTM revenue start-up executive who has worked at cutting edge B2C and B2B companies, in full-time operational roles and on a fractional basis. To date...
U.S. Expansion, Fundraising, and Exit: A Comprehensive FAQ
By Daniel Glazer, London Office Managing Partner, Wilson Sonsini American technology lawyer Daniel Glazer leads the London office and US Expansion group at the Silicon Valley-headquartered law firm Wilson...
Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial on the launch of the GBx Technology Innovation Impact Award
Q&A with Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial on the launch of the GBx Technology Innovation Impact Award, supported by Imperial What is Imperial – and what are your...
Member Profile: Ana Avaliani, The Royal Academy of Engineering
Ana Avaliani is the Director of Enterprise at the Royal Academy of Engineering leading the Academy’s global entrepreneurship and commercialisation programme portfolio. How does the Enterprise Hub help its...
AI Investment Frameworks with Francesca Warner, Ada Ventures
How do you quickly pitch (or for the angels among us, evaluate) a seed-stage company that is pre-revenue and perhaps even pre-product? Francesca (Check) Warner MBE is the co-founder...
Crafting the Perfect Pitch Deck: 10 Essential Tips for Fundraising Success
Fundraising is a critical part of being a founder, yet it can be intimidating and stressful, especially when combined with running a business. What founders often struggle with is...
How A Banking Partner Can Fuel Your Startup’s Global Growth
SVB shares in our mission at GBx: to support the innovation economy. SVB has supported the UK/US cross-border ecosystem for over 25 years. We talked to Sara Rona, Managing...
Five Leadership ‘Books’ That Have Shaped the Way I Work, by Growth Stage Investor Serena Dayal
I’m Serena Dayal, a growth-stage investor, currently based in Silicon Valley. I was asked to share my favourite leadership books with the GBX membership and I’ll confess, I’ve taken...
Chasing the American Dream
Navigating the path to success for European expansion into the US By Sara Rona, Managing Director, Head of Europe, MENA & ANZ, Global Gateway & Jake Ledbetter, Senior...
Member Profile: Max Buchan, Co-founder, Valarian
From bootstrapped billion-dollar growth to building a secure communication solution that’s already raised over $11 million: A Conversation with GBxer Max Buchan Max started his career in a multinational...
Member Profile: Elliott Grant, CEO Mineral (an Alphabet company)
Elliott Grant is an entrepreneurial leader focused on tackling ‘wicked hard’ problems with elegant solutions, and building teams that are enduring, impactful, and positive. He has 20+ years experience...
Bridging Cultures via Ballet: Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director, SF Ballet
Tamara Rojo, former artistic director of the English National Ballet, shares her vision for the “British Icons” production by San Francisco Ballet, strengthening transatlantic connections in the world of...
Landing US Customers – like Box and Nextdoor – as a UK Startup
Words by Adam Mitcheson, Director, APM International If you are a UK based startup looking to enter the US market, the first question I would ask is why?...
Member Profile: Lucy Yeomans, Founder, DREST
Lucy Yeomans is the Founder of DREST, the gaming company that opens up the exclusive worlds of luxury fashion, beauty and lifestyle to everyone, everywhere. Having served as Editor-in-Chief...
Member Profile: Gori Yahaya, Founder, UpSkill Digital
Gori Yahaya, Founder & CEO, UpSkill Digital As a serial entrepreneur and CEO of UpSkill Digital, Gori Yahaya is a trailblazer in the realm of digital education and inclusion....
Charity Partners: The British Benevolent Society
About the BBS As we enter the season of festive giving, GBx are shining a spotlight on our charity partners, The British Benevolent Society of California (BBS). As a...
Member Profile: Dr Vibhor Gupta, Co-Founder Pangaea
Dr. Vibhor Gupta Dr. Vibhor Gupta trained in oncology research and has a breadth of experience in life sciences through his work in industry and academia over the last...
GBx Gala 2023 & Best in British Tech Award Winners
The British tech ecosystem gathered in San Francisco this September for the GREAT GBx Gala, to celebrate the UK’s growing $1 trillion tech sector: the largest in Europe and...
Announcing Four New Board Members
We are delighted to announce four British tech luminaries have joined the GBx board: Sam Chaudhary, Kathryn Parsons MBE, Alastair Paterson and Jamie Quinn. They complement our existing board,...
Member Profile: Ash Rust
Ash Rust is an entrepreneur turned investor. He is the Managing Partner of Sterling Road, a venture fund focused on pre-seed stage B2B companies. He was an advisor to...
Member Profile: GBx Co-Chair, Julian Green
As a serial entrepreneur, Julian Green is currently investigating applications of AI to help us plan for, cope with and prevent messing up our planet. Previously he founded Jetpac...
Member Profile: Rajeeb Dey MBE, Learnerbly
Rajeeb Dey MBE is a serial entrepreneur, whose work promoting British entrepreneurship has been recognised by the World Economic Forum and the Queen. We spoke to Dey about the...
Negotiating a Term Sheet | Key Takeaways
Kindly brought to you by Goodwin Law. Whether you are a founder or a VC, ensuring you get the best terms when negotiating a fundraising term sheet is...
Dinner with the Royal Academy of Engineering | US Expansion
The intimate networking dinner brought together GBx and the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub. The dinner formed part of the Enterprise Hub’s visit from the UK, supporting five...
Member Profile: Kathryn Parsons MBE, Decoded
“I’m proud to have campaigned to make code a mandatory subject on the UK national curriculum which was successful in 2014, making the UK one of the first...
Member Profile: Mikhil Raja, SonicJobs
Mikhil Raja is the CEO & Co-founder of SonicJobs, an award-winning job platform revolutionizing the way candidates search and apply for jobs. One of the fastest-growing business apps in...
GBx Salon Series: Web3
Hosted by British Consul General and Tech Envoy Joe White MBE at the British Residence, the first GBx Salon Series in 2023 centred around Web3, Blockchain and Crypto. Moderator:...
Member profile: Oliver Gunasekara, Impossible Metals
Mining and environmental preservation have traditionally been at odds with each other, but Oliver Gunasekara, co-founder and CEO of Impossible Metals is changing that. Serial entrepreneur and former VP...
Announcing the Best in British Tech at the GBx Gala 2022!
We’re delighted to share with you this year’s winners of Best in British Tech! Peek, Kadence, and Contact won in their respective categories for their outstanding innovation, business scale...
Thank you to the GBx New-Gen Board, 2022
GBx New-Gen Board 2022 We’d like to thank our New-Gen Board for their guidance and support over the past year Lisa Wehden Bio: Lisa is an investor at...
Fundraising in a Downturn: Lessons from Unicorn Founders and VC
The first installment of our GBx Salon Series was held on Thursday 22 Sept at the British Residence, with great success. Thank you to British Consul General and Tech...
Announcing the Best in British Tech nominees 2022!
Every year, the GBx community nominates and votes for startups that are exemplifying the Best in British technology, who are innovating in their market, scaling fast to make a...
Announcing Best in British Tech 2021!
We’re delighted to share with you this year’s winners of Best in British Tech! Frontier, Kheiron Medical Technologies, and Agora won in their respective categories for their outstanding innovation,...
Expanding to the US – lessons learnt from Index Ventures and British Consulate panel
On January 21, we hosted a panel on the US expansion with Index Ventures and the British Consulate in San Francisco. You can view the recording of the session here,...
Announcing the Best in British Tech nominees 2021!
Every year, the GBx community nominates and votes for startups that are exemplifying the Best in British technology, who are innovating in their market, scaling fast to make a...
Company Profile: Multiverse
Tony Blair’s ambition for half of young adults to go into higher education was reached in 2019, almost 20 years after the former Prime Minister made the call to...
Member profile: Aleksandra Pedraszewska, VividQ
The GBxx community won itself one more advocate in promoting women in tech when Aleksandra Pedraszewska joined our community. The Polish-born entrepreneur is the recipient of numerous prizes and...
Exit to US Buyers: Perspectives from Facebook, LinkedIn & Taylor Wessing
If you are planning to merge or sell your company in the US in the current environment, here’s a recap of our June 16th Zoom session, ‘British Founder’s Journey...
Member profile: Dr. Ronjon Nag, R42 Institute
“I wanted to build things that were in ‘Star Trek: The First-Generation’ TV series,” is what you would hear from Dr. Ronjon Nag on why he decided to become...
SPACs – What You Need to Know
Whether you are looking to pursue Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) as a route for your company as a founder or interested as a potential investor, here’s a recap...
Member profile: Jacob Waern, EduMe
Richard Branson once said to “train people well enough so they can leave, and treat them well enough so they don’t want to”. The founder of Virgin Group was...
Member Profile: Emma Sinclair, EnterpriseAlumni
Last February, Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder, and CEO of Bumble, became at the age of 31, the youngest female CEO in the US to take a company public. Yet...
Member profile: Adam Mitcheson, my2be
Years before diversity and inclusion training became trending in the post-pandemic workplace, Adam Mitcheson was interested in developing opportunities for people to grow and thrive at their jobs. He...
Fundraising for Founders – Raising Seed & Series A For Enterprise Startups
If you are planning to raise money in the US for your enterprise tech startup in the current environment, here’s a recap of our ‘Fundraising for Founders ’ session...
Member profile: Maria Davidson, Kojo
Maria Davidson always wanted to be an astronaut and explore the unknown, however, she turned out to be a “perpetual immigrant”. Born in Russia and raised in Israel, Davidson...
Bridging the Expectation Gap: UK Startups & Silicon Valley Investors
If you missed our roundtable discussion on Thursday, March 18, here’s everything you need to know about some of the differences in expectations between UK startups and Silicon Valley...
Member profile: Megan Neale, Limitless
Being raised in a Welsh village of 200 people by a family of entrepreneurs led Megan Neale not only to value human connections, but to take this passion to...
How to raise your Seed or Series A in the mid-pandemic U.S.
If you’re currently thinking of raising your Seed or Series A for your consumer tech startup, we have a treat for you – a recap of our ‘Fundraising for...
Member profile: Julian Gay, DEXI
Having a new set of eyes and ears onboard is a good thing especially when this person brings a unique background and experience to the table. Meet Julian Gay,...
Eight insights about accelerators and angel investment
After each GBx event we summarize the key questions and the most helpful insights from the session. On February 25, Angels & Accelerators Virtual Roundtable covered different approaches to...
Member profile: Amber Atherton, Zyper (acquired by Discord)
Founder and CEO of Zyper, Amber Atherton is tackling the challenge of helping brands get closer to their true fans and building communities on social media. In January 2021,...
Member profile: Frank Furnari, founder, VRTuoso
During this time, when entrepreneurs’ creativity is being tested and innovation pushed forward, a London-based company is leading the XR industry by disrupting the way corporations manage training, sales...
And the winners of Best in British Tech are…
Now, in its third year, the GBx Best in British Tech award celebrates UK and US-based startups and founders for their outstanding innovation, business scale and global impact, all...
Best in British Tech Awards 2020 are here!
It’s time to celebrate the Brits who stand out by innovating and growing their business on a fast track! The nominees of 2020 deserve a special shout out as...
Member profile: Zuleyka Strasner, founder, Zero
In light of current events, today when we hear ‘supply chain’ and ‘doorstep delivery’, they have a new, more personal meaning to all of us. Welcome to the rise...
Member profile: Sam Chaudhary and Liam Don, founders of ClassDojo
“Education is the most important problem in the world. If we could solve it, give everyone the education they want and need, we’d have a world where everyone grows...
Classroom app ClassDojo wins Best in British Tech Award at the GBx Gala
300-strong British startup community gathers in San Francisco for the annual GBx Gala Classroom communication app ClassDojo has been selected as the Best in British Tech by the British...
GBx experts support Brits by the Bay Participants
GBx experts support Brits by the Bay Participants GBx aims to provide a peer to peer network for mutual help and support and a community those from the UK...
Vote for the Best in British Tech!
When a Brit endeavors in the United States, only another Brit can understand the kind of pickle one might be found. Accessing the market, fundraising, talking to the media...
Announcing Brits by the Bay startups
We’re thrilled to announce the Brits in the Bay participants – the most exciting UK startups looking to expand their business into the US. Aiden.AI – Marie Outtier, Co-founder &...
Member profile: Alastair Paterson, Digital Shadows
Digitalization has changed our experiences forever. We store our knowledge online and place our trust in the cloud. Companies dealing with big data have a much larger responsibility, as...
Member profile: Zumper’s founders – Anthemos Georgiades and Russell Middleton
Making the first move is always hard. Thanks to technology, most of our daily decisions have become easier and effortless. One click is all it takes. However, when the...
Member profile: Nicky Goulimis, Nova Credit
Moving to a different country opens minds and new opportunities, but also brings infinite challenges. Credit access is often the toughest obstacle for most non-Americans. Stanford graduate student Nicky...
Member profile: Robyn Exton of HER
When in 2016, BBC News covered HER, a dating app for lesbian, bi-sexual and queer people, it had 1M users, no revenue and has just moved its headquarters to...
Member profile: Srin Madipalli, Product Manager, Airbnb, co-founder of Accomable
Transcript from a conversation with Srin Madipalli, Product Manager, Airbnb, co-founder of Accomable. Listen on Soundcloud. Suz: Our guest today is Srin Madipalli in his own words – which...
Revisiting the Delaware flip
Early-stage (Seed and Series A) US venture capitalists often insist they will invest in a UK company only if the company “flips” its corporate structure and establishes a US...
Do you know Alan Partridge?
“Shy bairns get nowt” became the standout phrase from the last time I visited Silicon Valley and San Francisco. A trip during which, I ended up on San Francisco...
Introducing Youth Think Tank
Young people highlight challenges in agricultural industry The Youth Think Tank (YTT) is a research initiative launched by Mastercard Foundation and GBx’s partner Restless Development that works with young...
Restless Development entrepreneur profile: Eva gets water
Eva Tolage, a young campaigner from Tanzania, launched Stand With Eva back in February 2015 and since then has been campaigning locally and nationally to get a clean supply...
Member profile: Michael Acton Smith of Calm
Meet Michael Acton Smith, co-founder and CEO of Calm. Tell us a little bit about yourself I’m the co-founder and co-CEO of Calm.com. I was the CEO/founder of Mind...
RocketSpace new joiner benefits for GBx members
If you’re a GBx member new to RocketSpace looking for office or meeting space – perm, visiting or virtual, you’re in luck. RocketSpace has teamed up with GBx to...
Women and GBx
We’ve been listening to women (and men) from the GBx community about the challenges for women in tech and the opportunities for us to do more in our individual...
SVC2UK and GBx welcome new GBxers!
Special welcome to new members who have joined GBx as part of our partnership with SVC2UK, as we help to connect the SF Bay Area community with UK entrepreneurs....
SVIP: Gain developers, redress gender imbalance in tech
Opportunity: gain highly qualified software developers while helping to redress gender imbalance in tech Silicon Valley Internship Programme (SVIP) is an organization set up to give something back to the...
HealthTech event: what we’ve missed about the NHS, and more
Thank you to our awesome panel and the GBxers who contributed to an interesting discussion on HealthTech applying understanding of not only UK or US models and technologies, but an...
Restless Development entrepreneur profile: David starts a fishing business
David joined the Restless Development Youth Empowerment program in 2009 in Uganda. Beyond his success in actively engaging youth in decision making and development processes in his community through...
Member profile: Alex Young of Virti
Meet Alex Young, founder and CEO of Virti. Tell us a little bit about yourself I’m a surgeon by training and built and sold an events company during med...
The importance of the network
Most great achievements come with the support of a strong community. As technology professionals, it is incredibly important to build strong networks with our peers as entrepreneurs and we...
GBx partners with Restless Development for positive change
Half the world is under 30 and 9 out of 10 young people live in developing countries. Restless Development has trained and supported over 20,000 young people to become...
Paying it forward – Cambridge University needs our help
Can you help? The University of Cambridge is looking for mentors based in the US to advise their portfolio companies and help them grow into global leaders. They selected five...
GBx launches UK entrepreneur membership at SVC2UK
At the close of 2017, I was fortunate enough to represent GBx and join the SVC2UK delegation visiting Cambridge and London to meet some of the hottest startup and...
Continuing the conversation…on Faster Close
After each GBx member-only event we’ll include a summary of the burning questions during the session. Respecting the confidentiality of those in the room who shared their stories we...
We need to talk about ‘xit
Brexit news is here to stay, and GBx members have been invited to access to the Brexit Brief by the British Embassy in Washington. The latest edition covers: Theresa...
Get to know our members
Unless you’re an active participant in our LinkedIn or Facebook groups, you may not know your fellow GBx members that well. In 2018, we’re kicking off a series of...
So many channels, so little time
At GBx, we want you to stay informed and engaged, but not overwhelmed by content we share with you. With email, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Slack and carrier pigeons, we...
GBx – what’s in the name?
Since its inception in 2016, GBx’s mission has been to build a supportive and expertise-driven community of British entrepreneurs, technology executives and investors, based or looking to expand to...
GBx members-only area is here
Happy Holidays – we got you a present! Welcome to our brand new GBx members-only website. At GBx, our members have been building connections through in-person events, one-to-one ‘coffees...