Sponsor Spotlight: Sunderland Software City

We love the North East. In particular, we love the startup ecosystem which is made up of passionate individuals and organisations who are working hard every day to support existing or aspiring entrepreneurs with big ideas. One of these hardworking organisations is Sunderland Software City, who provide fully funded start-up support to technology businesses across the region. Sunderland Software City have been there with us from the start and so we are delighted to have them onboard as a ‘Premium Sponsor‘ of Newcastle Startup Week 2019.

We have had the privilege of seeing the support given by Sunderland Software City to entrepreneurs first-hand.

One of our favourite stories is the entrepreneurial journey of US entrepreneur Mindy Carr who, after attending all 5 days of our first Newcastle Startup Week festival in 2017, decided to register her HealthTech business mySysters / Vorsdatter Ltd in Newcastle 8 weeks later with support from organisations she met including Sunderland Software City, who have continued to help drive things forward.

MySysters is just one of many businesses supported by Sunderland Software City. Since starting in 2008, they have helped over 500 startups with free advice on topics such as marketing, PR, social media, market research and technical developments. They also provide office and co-working space to technology businesses.

Alongside these services, Sunderland Software City are helping grow the digital industry through coordination of various projects, including the Digital Catapult | North East & Tees Valley. This project is aimed at developing regional strengths in the manufacturing, automotive and social sectors through the application of emerging technology. The service is supported by Innovative Immersive Labs, one of which is situated at Gateshead-based PROTO: The Emerging Technology Centre. Why not pay it a visit on our ‘Day 2‘ of Newcastle Startup Week?

In addition to the Digital Catapult NETV, Sunderland Software City are working with organisations from all backgrounds to help them become more future-ready by adopting newer and older technologies within their business models. In addition, Sunderland Software City have partnered with various organisations and authorities to address the digital skills gap in the region using education and training opportunities. One example is their Go Reboot programme which supports unemployed individuals into careers or education.