Being Included In The Future Fifty Will Help Us Accelerate Our Global Expansion

Unruly was today named among the second 25 companies in the Future Fifty programme. Unruly COO and co-founder, Sarah Wood, shares her excitement at being included in the government-backed scheme, which rigorously selects the UK’s highest potential, high-growth companies

It’s 3 years since the launch of TechCity and I’ll never forget the day it was announced by David Cameron on Brick Lane.

The event was held in the Truman Brewery, where we were based at the time, and when we heard that UK Tech royalty and Government were descending on our corner of the world a cohort of Unrulies ran downstairs into the street and staged a flash mob outside the event – holding up our social media cushions and our Unruly logo cushions so that everyone saw us as they exited the building.

Some people thought we were picketing the launch, others thought we were sponsoring the launch!!! It was the best guerrilla marketing move evuh.

There’s no doubt that Tech City has been successful at building Britain’s international reputation as a digital economy and a leading European tech centre; whether I’m in Barcelona, Berlin, Chicago or Singapore, Tech City is usually the first thing that people mention when they hear Unruly is headquartered in London.

The next stage of the mission is to help home-grown tech companies take their businesses to the next level, and that’s where the Future Fifty programme comes in.

The programme is for selected high-growth companies providing bespoke access to support from Government and the private sector. Unruly’s US business is already exploding and we’re hoping that being part of the Future Fifty will help us accelerate international growth still further.

Cutting through red tape can be a challenge – a hotline to UKVI (UK Visas and immigration) is worth its weight in gold. We’re a small team with a lot of pressure on resources – we welcome all the help we can get!

It’s a honour to be part of a cohort that includes awesome companies such as Moo, Mind Candy, Hailo, DataSift, Naked Wines and NotontheHighstreet.com, and I’m looking forward to learning from the inaugural class of ’13!

As members of the Future Fifty, we were invited to the opening of market trading at the London Stock Exchange this morning (pictured above).

There were no traders on the floor below. But, as it turned out, there was plenty of hustle and bustle on the balcony itself. Entrepreneurs are an unruly lot!