The fifth cohort, which is made up of 30 businesses in total, will span the widest range of sectors yet, from tech for good, fintech, edtech, health tech and aerospace.

Exchange is being supported by programme alumni, Candle to provide all members access to its award-winning on-demand mental health support platform. It helps people get effective peer support from colleagues, family, friends, and professionals, making mental health support more accessible. Research from NHS England shows that entrepreneurs are 50% more likely to report having mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.

Exchange is based at Department Bonded Warehouse in the heart of Enterprise City, St. John’s, giving members access to the tech ecosystem in Manchester city centre. Alongside the complimentary workspace, members will receive support from the growing list of industry and venture partners, mentors and advisors, Entrepreneur in Residence, Mark Kuhillow and the ever-growing alumni community.

Over the last four cohorts, and three years, Exchange has supported more than 450 people from over 102 tech businesses, creating over 140 jobs and raising more than £11 million in funding.

Alice Pickersgill, Head of Exchange, commented: “We are thrilled to welcome 17 exciting new businesses to the Exchange programme in Manchester. We received the highest number of applications ever this time round, many referrals from existing members and alumni, and the quality of applications was outstanding.

“We are continually looking at how we can provide additional support to members, and we are delighted to be supported by Candle to ensure our members have access to peer-to-peer mental health and wellbeing support through the ups and downs of the start-up journey. Candle also understands the challenges of being an entrepreneur in detail as alumni of the programme, so are a perfect fit. We are confident we can provide these early-stage innovators with the personal and professional support they need to accelerate their growth.”

Toby Nolan, co-founder at Candle, commented: “Being an entrepreneur can be challenging, especially in the early days. Every founder needs to be able to take time away from the pressures of start-up life and have an open chat with someone who understands their circumstances. But sometimes that’s the hardest thing to ask for. By providing our support platform to the latest cohort we hope to make peer support more accessible, informal, and effective to make the start-up journey a little less lonely.”

Introducing Exchange cohort five

First up joining the scheme and hoping to scale are HACE: Data changing child labour, In-House Health, myonlinecoach and carma.

Health tech is a prominent theme with AVERio, Spotlight Pathology Ltd, and HYPE BURST joining existing member PharmAppy.

Ed tech businesses Plytime and SYNTHO are joining fintech companies Rupee Solutions and PollenPay, alongside aerospace and space tech start-up Aeroknite, and construction tech, Trunk.

Whilst the scheme’s two data analytics and business intelligence companies Attendist and Krowd Innovation are staying for another six months. They are joining new members cybersecurity tech Cytix and social media app Linkup.

Following the Covid boom in e-commerce and marketplaces, Shopit and Fassion are seeking to grow alongside retail tech no-boxx , fashion tech THE KILLER MUSE.

Also carrying on their Exchange journey is immersive gaming tech AVimmerse, operations management app aquaint, SAAS platform U-See Technologies, AdTech Snippit, influencer marketing platform SoSquared, HR tech Ten Space , edtech EdenFiftyOne and data driven music company Trusic.

Sam Royle, CEO of SoSquared, commented: “The first six months on Exchange have been a real catalyst for growth. Not only for the business itself but also my journey as a tech start-up entrepreneur. I am a firm believer that my network is my net worth and I am richer in experience for being part of the scheme. I want to learn and feed off those around me, making the environment of Department Bonded Warehouse and the community the ideal fit. I feel privileged to now be sitting on the board of multiple fellow member businesses as well as being recognised as one of Tech Nation’s North West rising stars, all in six months.”

Applications are now open for the first Exchange cohort in Leeds, set to launch in April 2023. Exchange will be based at Department Leeds Dock, the former waterside casino which has been transformed into a home for creative, media and tech businesses of varying sizes.