Bristol firms and individuals operating in areas as diverse as apps, touchless technology and healthcare were among the winners at the SPARKies – the awards celebrating the best of the region’s tech sector.
Nick Sturge, director of Bristol’s highly successful Engine Shed enterprise hub, won the Lifetime Achievement title at the awards ceremony, which attracted more than 300 people from across Bristol and Bath’s tech and digital community to Bath’s Komedia club. 
Nick, pictured below with his award, is also South West regional chairman of the Institute of Directors and previously ran the BristolSETsquared business acceleration centre. He was described by the SPARKies judges as a “high-profile and vocal promoter for tech in the South West”.
They added: “The transformation of SETsquared during his tenure has been phenomenal, rightly gaining national and international acclaim.”
Bristol-based Wriggle, the mobile app that sells last-moment opportunities for food and drink at a reduced price, won two awards on the night – Best App and Best Digital Marketing Campaign.
The judges said: “Wriggle has achieved staggering results with an impressively small team and a tiny budget. Really considering consumer behaviour, they’ve capitalised on the loyalty of true brand ambassadors.” 
The award for Most Exemplary use of Virtual or Mixed Reality went to Ultrahaptics, the high-growth Bristol-based developer of touchless technology, which is now being commercialised in areas such as automotive and consumer products.
“The technology developed by Ultrahaptics allows its users to touch virtual objects in mid-air. It pushes boundaries, is hugely fun, immersive and has massive potential,” said the judges.
The ‘Totally Killing It’ Award was won by the VR World Congress for cementing Bristol’s place on the regional, national and international map, while the Best Place to Work in Tech Award was claimed by Edo (formerly Sift Digital).
The judges said Edo had gone above and beyond to ensure their staff were made to feel valued both in the workplace and outside of it. 
“From eating together on a day-to-day basis to foster community, to supporting their staff with mental health awareness, this is a shining example that many companies could take inspiration from,” they said.
Best Mentor/Advisor Award went to Ash Phillips nd Neha Chaudhry – who has invented an innovative walking stick for people with Parkinson’s disease – landed the FutureSPARK title.
Judges said of her: “Neha is a young entrepreneur who’s identified a real-life problem and addressed it through technical innovation.
“She has shown commitment and initiative to design and deliver the product and clearly has ambitious plans for her company – the world needs more innovators like Neha.”
Diane Douglas of Vigiles Group walked away with the Founder/Entrepreneur of the Year Award, pictured below. The fact that she started and grew her business while being treated for cancer demonstrated determination beyond belief, said the judges. “Coupled with knocking down public speaking fears and ultimately growing the business globally, this was a hard one to rival,” they added.
Other winners included Bath-based Healthcare sector web developer Mayden, which scooped the People’s Choice title, selected on the night by guests at the ceremony. Designability, based at Bath’s Royal United Hospital, won the Good Award, which recognises technology that does good, while Best Digital Design Award went to interactive production company Complete Control for its Bits and Bricks project with Lego.
Bath:Hacked, the award-winning, joint council/community initiative, landed the Data, Data, Data award and the Best Start-up title was clinched by Keymailer for its “staggering growth in the highly competitive ever-changing marketplace of gaming – reaching 20% of the market and attaining global reach”.
SPARKies director Abby Frear said: “It’s been an exceptional year for the SPARKies. We received a record number of applications, the quality of which was incredibly high.
“The judges were truly impressed and it wasn’t always easy for them to pick the winners.
“The ceremony at Komedia was sold out and brought together many key players, shakers and movers in the region’s tech community.”
Full list of SPARKies 2017 winners:
Best App: Wriggle
Best Digital Design: Complete Control (Bits and Bricks)
Data, Data, Data: Bath:Hacked
Best Mentor/ Advisor: Ash Phillips
Most Exemplary use of Virtual or Mixed Reality: Ultrahaptics
FutureSPARK: Neha Chaudhry
The Hard Award: Motion Impossible
Founder/Entrepreneur of the Year: Diane Douglas (Vigiles Group)
Best Digital Marketing Campaign: Wriggle
The ‘Good’ Award: Designability
Lifetime Achievement: Nick Sturge
Best Start-up: Keymailer
The ‘Totally Killing It’ Award: VR World Congress
Best Place to Work in Tech: Edo (formerly Sift Digital)
The People’s Choice: Mayden
All photos by Jon Craig. More photos next week.
