We ended 2023 with a flurry of new faces on the Cooper Project whilst we also waved goodbye to several startups that moved on from our coworking space - The Cooper Lounge - to take their own office space (still here at the Tech Parks, hooray!). If you’ve started the new year with an entrepreneurial itch, read on. These stories might be the motivation you’re looking for.

Welcoming new startups to the Cooper Project

We had some brilliant founders joining our community in the autumn; from the creator of a popular open source Ruby AI library, to an eco-chemistry duo working to cut harmful emissions in the global production of chemicals.

Alex Rudall, a software developer, has written the leading ruby-openai library and is now pouring his expertise into consulting businesses on how to add AI to Rails apps. He’s joined the Cooper Project so that he can continue to develop his idea as a profitable business, whilst learning from and contributing to the work of others on the Cooper Project. Take a look at Alex’s website.

We’ve also welcomed Lewis Sharman, a building retrofit advisor helping businesses and homeowners to make their properties more energy efficient. Lewis is on the Cooper Project for three months whilst he explores and develops the use of scanning technology in this process. Find out more on his website.

Eutechtics is developing sustainable chemical technologies that decarbonise key elements of the chemical industry. Founded by Armando Leal and Dr. Mauricio Murillo in 2022, Eutechtics came to the Tech Parks after relocating from York to Sheffield and we’re excited to have this innovative company on the Cooper Project.

Last but not least, Aaron Pritzloff has come on board as he rolls out his new business venture. Kind Services is a digital services consultancy that promises to do good whilst helping organisations to use technology in the most effective ways. Aaron has more than 20 years’ experience working for companies like The Guardian, BP and Sheffield-based Nimble, so it’s great to have him join our community and his contributions are already being felt.

Moving on up

TUBR, Cheribim and In-House HR are three businesses that really took off in 2023, graduating from the Cooper Project and moving into their own offices at the Tech Parks. It’s fantastic to see the hard work of founders Dash Tabor, Katie Steele and John Moody respectively pay off as they grow their teams, secure investment and increase their income. Well done to you all!

Introducing Emma

Emma Marshall perhaps won’t need any introduction to many of you as she’s a friendly and well known face in Sheffield’s tech community. She joined us in the Autumn as Business Incubation Manager, covering the role whilst Rose Tran takes maternity leave after welcoming her beautiful baby boy Austin into the world.

Emma is an experienced consultant and mentor with a passion for supporting and strengthening the city’s tech ecosystem, so it’s brilliant to have her join the team.

What are your next steps?

You might be the next entrepreneur to walk through our doors on the Cooper Project. Everyone you’ve read about in this post reached a point when they decided to go for it, or at least to start exploring the possibility of being a tech founder. If you’ve drifted into 2024 feeling frustrated, bored and in need of change - maybe this is the time for you?

The monthly Sheffield Startup Meetup is a really good place to start. Having grown out of its home here at the Tech Parks, January’s event will be at the Workstation on the 25th, 5:45pm. It’s free to attend and the perfect place to find out more about starting a business from those who have done it and are doing it, however early on you are in the process. You can find the full details and book a spot here.

We’d love to hear from you to chat about your idea and to kick start your journey as a tech founder. Take a look at what we offer and get in touch here.