What is Tech Climbers?

Tech Climbers, started by Active Profile, is an annual list of the fast-growing and innovative tech start-ups in a given city. Originally launched in 2019 here in the Liverpool City Region, it has since expanded to cover Greater Manchester and Yorkshire thanks to a growing range of partners including investors, local government, and academic institutions. The mission behind Tech Climbers is to shine a light on the most innovative, product-led UK tech start-ups, encourage sector growth, and connect founders to their local ecosystem. Each year, there is a main Tech Climbers list and an accompanying ‘Ones to Watch’ list featuring up-and-coming businesses.

Harker is a ‘One to Watch’!

After a highly competitive application cycle, Harker is proud to join the 2025 Ones to Watch as first-time applicants! We’re honoured to be recognised alongside some start-ups with incredible missions, such as our friends at MyCardiumAI and fellow Baltic Ventures Launchpad 2025 cohort member Scenegraph Studios. We’re excited to follow through and demonstrate our growth and impact over the next year, particularly as we start to get Harker into the hands of local homelessness charities. We’ll definitely be ready to apply for the 2026 list, aiming to make the main Tech Climbers list!

Our time at the Tech Climbers 2025 event

At the Tech Climbers event last month where the 2025 list was unveiled, James Barber (our CEO & Co-Founder) was invited to speak on a panel chaired by Sonya Barlow alongside Dr. David Tully (Scenegraph Studios) and Jamie Wainwright (Nest Box Live), both fellow 2025 Ones to Watch businesses. James shared insights on his entrepreneurial journey, how he came to found Harker, and why Liverpool is the ideal place to build Harker as a community that refuses to accept the status quo. The event was a fantastic opportunity to catch up with friends across the ecosystem, whilst forming new relationships with local founders and sector partners.

James Barber, CEO & Co-Founder, said:

Harker is thrilled to be recognised on such a prestigious list, one that I have personally anticipated and admired over the last few years. It is a privilege to be recognised amongst so many other incredible businesses and we look forward to climbing even further as Ones to Watch and, who knows, next year we could even make the main list.

Thanks to Tech Climbers and Active Profile for their recognition and for inviting James to speak on the panel. We’re immensely excited to be building Harker within such a supportive and collaborative start-up community. Congratulations to all the businesses who made the 2025 lists, which you can check out here.

If you’re interested in learning about how Harker will solve homelessness with data through our AI-enabled, fit-for-purpose software solution, please get in touch for a chat.