From a niche of upstarts trying to make it, start ups have become the epicentre of London’s tech ecosystem. This development needs to be firmly represented in our policies, writes Jeff Lynn

Thirteen years ago, I co-founded an organisation called The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) to fight in the government for the needs of the UK’s tech startup ecosystem.

Back then tech startups weren’t the force they are today – in fact they were more of a curious oddity. Entrepreneurs like myself were to be found clustered in pockets of East London – nestled alongside cereal cafes and craft beers. At the time the idea of a “Silicon Roundabout” in Old Street was an inside joke.

We were a bunch of scrappy upstarts, but knew we needed a voice at the table on policy – because if we weren’t at the table we would be the ones on the menu.

Since then things have changed hugely, for the tech startup ecosystem and for our organisation, which we are today renaming the Startup Coalition.

British startups are no longer an amusing sideshow; they’re at the heart of our economic growth story. They can be found all over the country. Silicon Roundabout is no longer a joke; it’s now recognised as the place where it all began.

This transformation reflects something more profound about the UK economy. Virtually every sector of the economy is now embracing digital technologies. Startups are not just critical businesses in their own right; they are increasingly enablers of a more productive, tech-enabled vision for future growth in the AI age and beyond.

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