Enter TechRound’s 50 Women In Startups And Tech 2026!
TechRound is proud to announce our 3rd annual 50 Women In Startups and Tech campaign, designed to spotlight and celebrate the female entrepreneurs changing the tech and startup landscape across the world.
Women are the backbone of the startup world. And yet, they still face barriers in getting investment for their businesses.
In 2024, female-only founding teams received just 2%-2.3% of global venture capital (VC) investment, this is despite 12% of the businesses with at least one female founder having successfully exited (as of April 2018). This compares to 9% of all-male founded businesses.
And now, it’s time to celebrate the women breaking barriers in the startup world.
So, whether you’ve been growing a business for 20 years or just 2 months, this is an opportunity to have your story heard.
Enter for free for a chance to be featured as one of our top 50 entrepreneurs. Each company featured will get an individual write-up, so it’s great publicity!
Founded in 2016, TechRound is the UK’s best-known and fastest-growing startup and tech news site. This is where decision-makers, investors and startups of all sizes and nature come to find out the latest developments and trends within the industry.
Entries Open: 4th February
Entry Cost: Free
Entry Deadline: 19th February, 5pm GMT
Winners To Be Announced: 26th February
Why Enter?
- Featured in front of an audience of 200,000+ visitors per month
- Top 50 placements get a full page write-up (see example)
- Recognised by VCs, investors, journalists and industry leaders
- Free to enter
Our Criteria
- All entrants must work in either tech or startups
- Revenue not a deciding factor
- New entrepreneurs and established businesses leaders welcome
Meet The Judges
Tania Rahman, Founder at Korra Ventures VC
Tania is a founder-turned-VC with over 15 years of experience across high-growth startups and venture capital. She began her career building and scaling an award-winning hospitality brand before transitioning into VC, where she has led investments across the UK, Europe, and MENA. Tania became an investor after experiencing firsthand the lack of representation during her own fundraising journey. She is excited to back purpose-driven founders building category-defining businesses.
Maggie Lusk, Founder at Saela Sync
Maggie Lusk is a founder and operator building systems that align daily life with female biology. Her work sits at the intersection of health, performance, and adaptive intelligence, grounded in lived experience rather than population averages. She believes women-led companies are the future and should never ask for permission to take up space.
Find out more about what Maggie is looking for from entrants in her interview here.
Kayla Manthey, Writer and Designer at TechRound
Kayla is TechRound’s design lead with a strong creative streak and a passion for storytelling. Kayla regularly writes features championing female founders, helping to profile their stories and the companies they are building.
Emma Robertson, CEO of Transform
Emma is at the forefront of driving data and technology-led change for businesses navigating the complexities of modern transformation.
With over 25 years of experience, Emma has guided both blue-chip and emerging organisations through the complexities of shifting consumer expectations. Emma is a leading voice in the industry, recognised as Best CEO Leadership in DE&I, included in Management Today’s Top 25 Women in Leadership Power List, and ranked 15th in TechRound’s Top 50 Women in Tech.
Megan Bennett, CEO & President, Light Years Ahead (LYD)
Megan has been on the LYA team for over 23 years. She started working at LYA just a year after college and fell so in love with public relations that she stayed on and helped build the company into what it is today. Her expertise focuses on managing clients, engaging with top national media daily, and securing meaningful media placements. She has spearheaded and implemented countless successful PR campaigns for numerous brands and is proud of the positive, lasting relationships she cultivates with the media on an ongoing basis.
Nikita Sachdev, CEO at Luna PR
Nikita is an American entrepreneur and a prominent figure in the blockchain and Web3 space. She began her journey in crypto in 2017 with Huobi Exchange (now HTX), where she gained valuable industry experience. Following a successful exit from her first venture, Luna Management, she founded Luna PR, a global agency that has scaled into an eight-figure, bootstrapped company. Beyond PR, Nikita runs a private investment firm that has deployed over $10 million into the Web3 ecosystem, backing innovative projects and technologies shaping the industry’s future. With over 150,000 followers across her social platforms, she leverages her voice to champion innovation, accessibility, and impact.
Important! Advice From The Judges
Use the first line to describe your business, what it does and what you are about in two sentences…what makes you tick?
With our judges reading through hundreds of applications, we are looking for a clear description of your business, its concept, its success and plans for growth.
Try to avoid waffle and discuss your business clearly and concisely.
Model application example 1 >>
Model application example 2 >>
Enter The 50 Women In Tech 2026
