Introducing the Hustle Awards 2026 judges

The Hustle Awards offer a fantastic opportunity for startups, founders, and businesses within the ecosystem to celebrate their achievements, gain industry recognition, and showcase the fantastic work that they are doing all year round.

There’s a reason why the Hustle Awards is the unrivalled badge of excellence for the tech startup industry – it involves a rigorous judging process that’s completely independent and judged by business leaders. Our judges are handpicked by us for their knowledge, experience, and total integrity.

Introducing the Hustle Awards 2026 judges

Agata Nowicka – Agata Nowicka is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and the Managing Partner of Visionaries – an AI incubator launched in partnership with Google, focused on accelerating the growth of the most ambitious female entrepreneurs using AI. With 12 years of experience as a VC investor and founder across the UK, US, and Hong Kong, Agata is also the writer of the weekly Female Foundry newsletter and the author of the Female Innovation Index – Europe’s largest report mapping the funnel of innovation driven by female entrepreneurs.

Ashleigh Ainsley – Ashleigh is Co-Founder of Colorintech, a non-profit aiming to improve access, awareness, and opportunities for ethnic minorities to enter the tech industry. It runs Europe’s largest event for Black Technologists, Black Tech Fest, and works with a number of the world’s leading tech companies to run programmes to enable students and working professionals to access career opportunities. Having raised over >$250k for DEI work from Google, Ashleigh counts the likes of Meta, WPP, and Bloomberg as some of his business partners.

Eda Taskin – Eda Taskin is an investment and venture-building expert, currently a Manager at Tenity, where she works closely with startups, investors, and corporate partners to drive innovation and scale emerging businesses. Previously, at Antler, she played a key role in startup acceleration, investment readiness, and venture building, coaching early-stage founders, conducting due diligence, and evaluating high-potential startups for investment. She is passionate about early-stage investing, technology, and ecosystem growth and fostering innovation across the UK and beyond.

Irina Iozefson-Schneider – Irina brings a unique perspective that combines private equity investment expertise with hands-on operational experience scaling digital businesses. As a Partner at LetterOne, she focuses on value creation across retail portfolio companies, with particular emphasis on digital transformation, technology enablement, and data-led operating models. As a Non-Executive Director, Irina is a strong advocate for innovation, technology adoption, and building data-driven cultures at board level. Alongside her investment and board work, she mentors early-stage founders and startups, drawing on her own entrepreneurial experience to support teams in achieving product-market fit and sustainable growth – and occasionally backing companies as an angel investor.

James Church – James Church is an award-winning fundraising consultant and author of the Amazon best-selling book, Investable Entrepreneur: How to convince investors your business is the one to back. His approach has raised more than £200 million in early-stage funding. He’s on a mission to stop startups failing because of poor communication and is frustrated to see so many founders struggle to raise the capital they need because they’re unable to convince investors their business is the one to back. James is passionate about working with founders to present a clear, concise, and credible business case to investors.

Michelle Leviars – Michelle Leivars is an award-winning Masterplan Coach at Entrepreneurs Circle, supporting business owners to scale with clarity and confidence. Also known as The Female Business Mentor and host of the Yes SHE Can Project podcast, she has provided expert commentary for BBC News, Grazia, Investor’s Chronicle, Stylist, National World, Good Housekeeping, and many more, championing entrepreneurship globally.

Onyeka Nweze – Onyeka is a Chartered Company Secretary, board advisor, and tech entrepreneur with extensive commercial experience within the legal and corporate governance industry. Onyeka holds two legal degrees and has had a very successful corporate career within the legal and financial services sector. Onyeka has featured and represented the first ever tech business on one of the biggest business shows in the UK “BBC The Apprentice”. Onyeka is the CEO of Unikorrn, an AI and Blockchain powered startup focused around risk management in the fintech space, and is also the founder of the May She Prosper Journals for women in business.

Paulette Watson MBE – Paulette Watson MBE is the Founder and CEO of Academy Achievers and the global #BeMeDigitalInclusion initiative, championing equitable access to AI, Cloud, and emerging technologies. She advocates for greater representation within critical industries such as semiconductors, recognising that those who design AI chips and advanced technologies ultimately shape global power, policy, and opportunity. Paulette is the author of She Disrupts: A Black Woman’s Journey in STEM and AI Industries and was awarded an MBE for services to education in STEM, AI and Web. She also holds the Freedom of the London Borough of Newham for her impact in digital inclusion and leadership.

Saj Huq – Saj Huq is Plexal’s Chief Commercial Officer and CEO Designate, leading strategy, growth, and partnerships across government, industry, and emerging technology sectors. A recognised leader within the UK’s innovation ecosystem, Saj focuses on shaping and delivering impactful collaborations that connect startups, corporates, and the public sector to strengthen technological resilience and economic competitiveness. He’ll occupy the role of CEO from the end of March 2026. Saj has architected and led several of the UK’s most significant national programmes, including LORCA – which supported 72 of the UK’s leading cyber startups to generate over £68 million in revenue and secure more than £300 million in investment. He also drove the NCSC Innovation Partnership, which delivered NCSC for Startups and established a globally recognised model for public-private collaboration in national security and technology development.

Samantha Harland – Samantha Harland is an Innovation & Entrepreneurship Consultant specialising in early-stage businesses, startup ecosystems, and founder-led growth. She designs and delivers high-impact startup and scaleup programmes, mentoring, and innovation initiatives, supporting founders to build resilient, investable businesses. Samantha regularly contributes as a judge, mentor, and speaker across the UK entrepreneurship ecosystem, with a particular interest in inclusive and sustainable growth.

Shammi Raichura – Shammi Raichura is an Operations Lead at Uber where he is responsible for unlocking and growing new business opportunities. His role involves launching services and building teams for Uber in challenging markets, where reimagining how the world moves requires the principles and grit that built Uber’s business in its early stages. Shammi brings this experience to his mentoring and advisory work for startups where he coaches entrepreneurs and tech professionals looking to unlock high performance and navigate the challenges of building generation defining companies.

Steve Darken – Steve is a strategy and operations consultant, board advisor, and a former BBC The Apprentice quarter-finalist, helping founders and executives secure investment and turn ideas into scalable, high-growth businesses. He has partnered with household-name firms and fast-moving startups across financial services, fintech, sports, apparel, AI, and tech – shaping strategy, designing operating models, and leading transformations that unlock growth, efficiency, and lasting value. Combining corporate know-how with entrepreneurial energy and an authentic, people-first approach, Steve helps businesses grow, scale, and realise their full potential.

See Also

The InnoVEX 2025 Pitch Contest finalists

Tabitha Coker – Tabitha is an award-winning entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience building, scaling, and exiting businesses across multiple sectors. She is the founder of The Forty60 Club, one of the UK’s leading founder platforms helping entrepreneurs scale sustainably and grow beyond the critical three-year mark, where most businesses fail. She also is the exited founder of Lush Brow Bar, a beauty brand she grew to seven-figure revenue before successfully selling. Alongside this, she is the founder of Compliance and Governance Group, where she advises businesses on governance, risk, and operational frameworks to support compliant, scalable growth.

Tommie Edwards – Tommie Edwards is a dynamic leader and innovator, serving as the visionary founder and CEO of Tech1M, an intelligence hiring platform leveraging Conversational AI. Recognised as Business Woman of the Year 2024 and named among the 100 Women Tech Founders to Watch in 2025 by Founders Forum, Tommie brings deep expertise in data-driven innovation and inclusive talent ecosystems. Her leadership has driven Tech1M to achieve significant milestones, including securing major VC funding and partnerships with industry leaders while placing thousands of tech professionals globally. As the current UK President for G20 Young Entrepreneurs, Tommie fosters international collaboration and supports entrepreneurial growth. Her insights, shared on global stages including the United Nations, G20, and London Tech Week, position her as a valuable judge.

Vasily Alekseenko – Vasily is the founder of Rare Founders, one of the largest startup communities in the UK, bringing together high-growth founders and investors through industry-leading events. With a background in finance and entrepreneurship, Vasily has built a thriving ecosystem that helps early-stage startups gain visibility, secure funding, and connect with the right investors. His work focuses on identifying and supporting ‘rare founders’ – those building high-impact, scalable businesses.

Explore the categories and submit your entry for a chance to win at the Hustle Awards 2026!

To view the categories and participate, click HERE.

For further information and engagement, visit the Hustle Awards website.