When I found out Bearhat had been named a regional finalist in the UK StartUp Awards 2026, I had to read the email twice.
Over 2,000 entries. Ten nations and regions. And Bearhat Marketing – not even two years old, built from scratch with no investors, no team, and no inherited clients – made the shortlist for Marketing & Advertising StartUp of the Year in the Midlands.
Whaat? That’s a big deal.
What the UK StartUp Awards is
The UK StartUp Awards is the largest independent awards programme for new businesses in the country. It’s now in its fifth year, and the standard this year has been exceptional – the finalists combined are generating over £150 million in annual sales and have created nearly 5,000 jobs since founding.
As a Midlands regional finalist, Bearhat will now compete for the regional title. Regional winners go on to the national final at Ideas Fest (think Glastonbury, but for entrepreneurs) on 9th–10th September 2026 at Champneys, Tring.
No pressure then…
Why it means something
I didn’t start Bearhat to win awards. I started it because I’d spent twelve years watching ambitious small businesses get priced out of senior marketing expertise, or handed a junior team by an agency and told that was good enough.
Bearhat exists to fix that. One point of contact. Full accountability. Strategy built on data. Execution led by someone who cares whether it works.
In under two years, one of my clients went from 25 inbound leads a month to over 400. That’s a 1,500% increase in qualified leads, and a business that shifted from a £250,000 loss to a forecast £100,000 profit in a single financial year. Another client saw a 125% jump in website conversion rate within ten days of me making targeted changes to their website.
That’s what this is about. Not the hat (though I am fond of the hat). The results.
What comes next
Competing for the Midlands title, and then – fingers crossed – the national final at Ideas Fest in September. Either way, 2026 is shaping up to be the year Bearhat really levels up.
If you want to see the full shortlist: startupawards.uk/shortlist
And if you’re a business owner wondering whether your marketing is working as hard as it should be – let’s talk. Get in touch.
