Firestarter – Are you or do you know one?

Hey, hey, hey
I’m the trouble starter, punkin’ instigator

Recognise these opening lyrics?

Very few of us can see the word “Firestarter” and not start to hear those instantly recognisable first beats of iconic rock band the Prodigy’s anthem “Firestarter”. I was even lucky enough to see them (sadly without the legend frontman Keith) at the recent Isle of Wight Festival 2024 last month (highly recommended BTW).

Prodigy performing Firestarter at IOW Festival 2024. Courtesy of Caroline Falkingham
We choose the Firestarter label for the raw, young, disruptive startups and emerging tech companies because of the Fire reference, but the Prodigy’s anthem does epitomise what we love about them: Young, full of energy, disruptive, edgy. But of course they are also many other things: professional, ingenious, sometimes a little rough around the edges and not-VC backed (yet!)

The fact they are on the first steps of the journey means we give them a bursary to fund their entry (which although small is still a cost and we didn’t want that to be a barrier) so if you know any amazing young startups in enterprise tech, point them in our direction. We can help them get on the world stage and help them along on their journey (our judges love them too!). They can enter any of our tech categories too. No restrictions as long as they fit that category. Deadline is not too far away and great things are calling!

Article by Rose Ross, Chief Trailblazer and Founder of the Tech Trailblazers