UK tech leaders are clear, back cyber startups before someone else does
The message from 66 founders, investors, and executives across the UK is simple: step up, or fall behind. The UK has the talent, the tech, and the timing. What it lacks is government-level commitment to early-stage cyber security firms. Strong public support drives faster growth. Delayed action opens the door to international competition. Cyber threats move fast. Startups that can counter them need to move faster, and they don’t get far if they can’t even access public contracts.
When government doesn’t act as a market maker, innovation stalls. That’s what’s happening today. The pathways from university labs or small teams into commercial traction are blocked, not by lack of innovation, but by outdated processes and closed networks. Public procurement favors large firms with long track records, while promising startups sit on the sidelines. If the UK is serious about being a global leader in cyber security, its own government needs to be the first big customer for British tech.
To decision-makers and executives, if you want a stronger, more resilient national cyber posture, this is where you start. You scale innovation by unlocking demand from within. You don’t need to look to Silicon Valley or Tel Aviv for benchmarks. The talent is already here. What’s missing is permission to compete.
Alastair Paterson, CEO and Co-founder of Harmonic Security, nailed it: “Britain builds brilliant technology. It’s time our Government became its best customer.” It’s clear. It’s actionable. And it needs to happen now.
Public procurement is blocking innovation. Fix it
If you’re running a startup in cyber or AI, getting through UK public procurement might feel like being asked to prove you’re a household name before getting past the lobby. That has to change. We’re not talking about giving anyone a free pass. We’re talking about reforming outdated systems that actively prevent new players from entering, even when they have better tech.
Right now, public contracts often come with legacy requirements, paperwork designed around vendors that have been in business for two decades. Procurement favors incumbents, so the public sector ends up with the same solutions, over and over again. Meanwhile, lighter, more advanced products from startups never even get a shot. It isn’t efficient, and it isn’t secure.
Executives should also think global here. Allowing startups to prove themselves domestically opens a fast track to international deals. If companies can show traction with UK Government departments, they gain trust beyond borders. But if they’re locked out at home, good luck scaling abroad, especially in the security space, where reference points matter.
Paterson put it straight: the closed networks and rigid procurement processes are not just annoying, they’re threatening the country’s ability to compete in a fast-moving global landscape. The better answer is open access to cyber-focused events, trust-building platforms, and bidding processes. Equip startups to win on merit, not size. That’s what actually drives better outcomes, faster, cheaper, smarter solutions to complex problems.
If your startup can’t get in the room, how does it show what’s possible? And if you’re running policy from the top, ask yourself: Is this system making it easy for the best talent to get through, or just the biggest vendors? Strip it down to that question, and the fix becomes a lot more obvious.
Incentivize smart money
If you want early-stage innovation to work at scale, capital must flow efficiently. That only happens when the rules encourage smart risk-taking. Right now, UK cyber startups are competing for funding under conditions that don’t reward long-term vision. That’s a problem worth fixing with targeted action, no vague ideas, just practical incentives.
Financial tools like R&D tax credits work, but they could do more. Expand them. Let founders reinvest gains without losing half to capital gains tax. Free up large UK companies to pilot new tech without getting crushed by budget risk. These are leverage points. They give investors confidence, make acquisitions easier, and lower the barrier for enterprise buyers to test new ideas. Most importantly, they signal that the government isn’t just a spectator but an aligned stakeholder in national innovation.
There’s more to pull from outside the UK, too. The US and Israel have built real, quantifiable momentum around their tech ecosystems by doing exactly this, offering capital-friendly environments and matching enterprise demand with front-line startups. Leaders in the UK should be replicating what works rather than over-analyzing solutions. The groundwork is already there. Just make it easier for the market to follow through.
The C-suite should care because this is about optionality. Stronger incentives mean more capital velocity and smarter downstream partnerships. When you reduce structural friction, you’re not just assisting startups, you’re accelerating your next strategic acquisition or partnership before your competitor does.
Build a culture that doesn’t undermine its own entrepreneurs
Startups don’t grow in a vacuum. Culture is infrastructure. If universities, investors, and government bodies send mixed signals about the value of entrepreneurship, outcomes stay small. That’s what’s holding back much of the cyber security talent coming out of the UK. The capability is there, but transitioning from research to business doesn’t happen unless the surrounding system is set up to reward it.
The proposal here goes beyond finance. It’s about giving founders status and strategic visibility. That means publicly backing innovators at international trade missions, offering more direct links between universities and private capital, and removing unnecessary friction for creating tech spinouts. This shouldn’t be complicated. It just needs follow-through from leadership.
Right now, commercial success is too often sidelined in favor of academic prestige or public-sector hierarchy. That distorts incentives. If the UK wants to grow a cyber industry that scales globally, entrepreneurs need to be recognized, not just when they win, but while they’re building. Recognition builds momentum, and momentum attracts talent. That’s when you get a flywheel effect on company creation.
Decision-makers should prioritize founder visibility not for optics, but because it drives trust. The more visible and validated your domestic innovators are, the higher their credibility abroad. That makes a difference when they’re sitting across the table from multinational buyers or overseas investors. It’s how markets start to view UK-born companies as global tech exports, not just regional footnotes.
Strengthen the cyber ecosystem with what you already have
The UK has a strong cyber foundation, Ministry of Defence, National Cyber Security Centre, and proven veterans across both public and private sectors. What’s missing is a coordinated push to channel those assets into real support for early-stage cyber companies. The infrastructure is there. The opportunity is to align it toward growth, not just resilience.
The signatories are calling for the government to scale existing initiatives like the Strategic Defence Review and the Joint Cyber Reserve Force. Doing that doesn’t just strengthen national security, it strengthens business opportunity. When experienced cyber professionals and founders with international credentials are integrated into ecosystem-building, startup quality goes up fast. These people bring network strength, technical credibility, and battle-tested experience. They turn raw talent into operational companies.
Another overlooked asset here is brand equity. UK cyber institutions have built international trust over years. That trust should be put to work for startups. When emerging firms are linked to the NCSC or MoD brands, through partnerships, endorsement, or visibility, they gain immediate recognition in overseas markets. That cuts through red tape and earns them a seat at the table with enterprise buyers across borders.
For C-suite leaders thinking globally, this is about unlocking scale. International cyber clients don’t always know which UK companies to bet on. But when startups come pre-validated by national cyber entities, due diligence becomes simpler. That’s the kind of competitive edge the UK should be giving its startups, especially in sectors as high-stakes as cyber.
The support from this proposal isn’t theoretical. It’s backed by leaders already operating in this space. Signatories include Alexander Gunz, Fund Manager at Heptagon Capital; Fergus Hay, CEO of the Hacking Games; Richard Yorke, Co-founder of Halceon; James Baker, Investment Manager at Amadeus Capital; Henry Mason, Partner at Dawn Capital; and Alex Bateman, Founder Managing Partner of Ambition Capital. These aren’t academics, they’re active decision-makers, putting real capital behind cyber ventures. They see where the friction is, and they’re telling policy leaders how to remove it. What happens next depends on whether leadership turns insight into execution.
Key takeaways for leaders
- Government support is critical for cyber startup growth: Leaders should treat public sector demand as a growth engine for early-stage firms, using procurement power to accelerate innovation and position the UK as a cyber security leader.
- Procurement reform unlocks competitive innovation: Outdated procurement rules create structural barriers for startups, modernizing these processes allows newer firms to prove value and scale into enterprise and international markets.
- Targeted incentives accelerate investment and adoption: To stimulate meaningful commercial traction, the government should expand R&D credits, improve capital gains relief for founders, and model international best practices to increase strategic risk-taking.
- Culture reform drives entrepreneurial scale: Recognizing entrepreneurs, empowering universities to spin out businesses, and backing innovators on global stages builds credibility, attracts investment, and shifts the perception of startup success.
- Build the ecosystem using existing national assets: Leaders should amplify the impact of institutions like the NCSC and MoD by linking them with startups, creating credibility abroad and integrating experienced cyber talent into early-stage venture growth.
