⚡ How this Wearables Start-Up Changed Workplace Safety Forever
Morning Innovators ⚡ In less than 5 minutes, we’ll cover…
🥳 The best funding opportunities, events and jobs in the Start-Up world this week
📰 This week’s biggest news stories in the Start-Up world
⌚️ How did this wearables Start-Up change workplace safety forever?
🗞 How you can use outdated habits to go viral
🎙 A tool that enables you to translate languages in real time on video calls
✨ Last weeks most clicked link was this link taking you to Evio looking to put $250,000 into Pre-Seed/Seed stage health companies.
🥳 We’ve only got a few tickets left for our next Cardiff event on the 9th of April with exited Founder James Taylor at Kuku. We’ll be putting on food and drinks with 150+ Founders in the room - you can grab a ticket here!
Happy hustling,
Rich
🎤 Opportunities
🤖 Perplexity AI have launched a $50m Pre-Seed/Seed fund for AI companies, whilst you can’t apply yet - read more and keep your eyes on it here!
😇 Rare Founders are giving £1,000 to on Start-Up that leaves the most brutal story of their fundraising journey in the comments here!
💸 SFC have announced a new £25m fund to invest in regional British Start-Ups, you can find out more here - always be sure to do your Due Diligence!
💼 Start-Up Jobs
🌳 Head of Software Engineering, Zero
🧑💻 Full Stack Engineer, CarbonOS
👷 Quality Assurance Engineer, Reedsy
🪫 More than half of Founders experienced burnout last year Sifted
🕵️ Y Combinator deletes posts after a Start-Up’s demo goes viral TechCrunch
👤 CEO of Clearview AI, a controversial facial recognition Start-Up, has resigned TechCrunch
🚛 Plural VC leads £27m investment in logistics Start-Up Relay. UKTN
Carta is a platform that helps people manage equity, build businesses and invest in the companies of tomorrow. Our mission is to unlock the power of equity ownership for more people in more places. Carta is trusted by more than 40,000 companies, over 8,000 investment funds and a million employees for cap table management, venture capital solutions and more. In the UK, we support founders who are raising money through SEIS/EIS, helping with Advance Assurance, round modelling and more. To find out more, take a look at their website, or get in touch with jack.lemon@carta.com.
Not too long ago, everyone read newspapers, now? Hardly anyone reads them! I can’t remember the last time I saw someone reading a newspaper out in the public. This is exactly why Hootsuite’s newspaper campaign worked so well!
Hootsuite decided to mock up some fake newspapers, hand them out and get people to just sit out on the street pretending to read them! On a good day, it’s rare you’ll see someone reading the newspaper. If you see loads of people all reading the same paper in the same area, on the same day, it’s going to spark your interest. As with most guerrilla style stunts, this then continued to go viral on social media and reap the rewards for months afterwards.
How can you take an old fashioned habit and bring it back to give you a seriously viral marketing campaign?
Each week we highlight our favourite tools - either something we’ve been using in our businesses, or tools that our innovator community have recommended.
Pinch is a virtual conferencing platform designed for cross-lingual communication. Real-time voice translation allows you to appear as a native speaker of over 30 languages..
Spacebands: Revolutionising Workplace Safety with Wearable Tech
Protecting Workers and Capturing Critical Safety Data
In high-risk industries like manufacturing and construction, workplace safety is a top priority - but ensuring compliance and mitigating risks can be a challenge. Enter Spacebands, a cutting-edge wearable technology company that helps businesses protect their employees by alerting them to workplace hazards in real time.
Their innovative devices monitor risks such as hand-arm vibration exposure, loud noise levels, and machine-to-person proximity, while also reminding workers to wear protective equipment in designated areas. But Spacebands isn’t just about preventing accidents - it also collects and analyses safety data, helping companies make smarter decisions to improve their health and safety (HSE) policies.
With impressive early traction, the company has already:
- Completed the Lloyd’s Lab insurance market accelerator, securing trials with the world’s largest insurance broker
- Built a growing sales pipeline, including Komatsu, Kier, and Biffa, alongside 50+ other potential clients
- Signed up 10 paying customers
- Won prestigious industry awards, including The Start-Up Awards Young Entrepreneurs of the Year and Lloyds Bank Business Transformation of the Year Award
The Story Behind Spacebands: A Partnership Built on Friendship
Co-founders Ronan and Harry have known each other since they were 11 years old, having met at school. Their entrepreneurial journey began in 2020, when they launched a COVID-19 contact tracing wearable. The product was an instant success, generating £450,000 in revenue within its first year, with a £225,000 EBITDA—an impressive feat for a self-funded, two-person team.
But as the pandemic eased, they saw a bigger opportunity: pivoting their technology into workplace safety solutions. By November 2021, they had successfully transitioned to their new focus—living and working together to build Spacebands into the company it is today.
From First Customers to Scaling Up
Like many early-stage startups, Spacebands had to be scrappy when it came to finding its first customers. The team relied heavily on Google Ads, which proved to be a key driver of early sales.
From there, word-of-mouth referrals, email outreach, and social media marketing helped expand their reach and grow their customer base. But what truly set them apart was their personalised approach - they made a point to call every new customer to personally thank them, a small gesture that paid off in loyalty and referrals.
As demand grew, the team knew they needed to scale beyond their initial customers. In November 2021, they raised their first investment round, allowing them to expand their team and ramp up marketing efforts.
Lessons Learned and What They’d Do Differently
Despite Ronan’s background in running multiple businesses - including mobile apps, a marketing agency, and other product ventures - Spacebands presented a whole new learning curve.
Understanding the complexities of the health and safety sector took time, and looking back, Ronan acknowledges that he would have spent more time upfront researching regulations and industry needs before launching.
Another key takeaway? They should have raised investment sooner. While bootstrapping helped them maintain control, operating as a two-person team for two years limited how quickly they could scale. With more funding and a larger team, they’ve been able to move faster and build a stronger company.
Funding the Future of Workplace Safety
To date, Spacebands has raised £1.3 million and is currently in an open fundraising round. Those interested can reach out to Ronan directly.
Their journey to securing funding wasn’t easy. The team relied on cold outreach - finding their first angel investor through LinkedIn cold messages and calls. Once they secured early investors, they shifted their focus to VCs and institutional investors, leveraging their network and accelerator programmes to gain traction.
Overcoming the Challenges of Hardware Development
Building a hardware product from scratch is no small feat. One of the biggest hurdles Spacebands faced was the long and unpredictable product development cycle.
It took countless prototypes and iterations to refine their devices into what they are today, and in hindsight, the team underestimated how long it would take to get the technology right. Despite these challenges, they persevered, learning valuable lessons along the way.
The Road Ahead
With a strong foundation and growing momentum, Spacebands is poised to make a major impact on workplace safety. By combining wearable technology with data-driven insights, they’re not just reducing risks—they’re shaping the future of how businesses approach health and safety.
Looking ahead, the team is focused on expanding their market reach, refining their technology, and continuing to innovate. And if there’s one thing their journey has proven, it’s that persistence, adaptability, and a strong vision can turn an idea into a game-changing business
Next week I’ll be highlighting another awesome Start-Up, as well as sharing all the usuals including funding opportunities, Start-Up news, plus plenty of awesome tips, tricks and tools.
P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn…
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