Can the UK Stop Its Startup Exodus?

Nov 13, 2025 11:46 AM ESTby Desai Priyanka • 3 min read

According to Sifted, serial entrepreneur Alex Depledge—founder of Resi and Hassle.com and current entrepreneurship advisor to UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves—discussed the urgent challenge of stopping the UK’s startup talent exodus during a Sifted Summit interview with senior reporter Kai Nicol-Schwarz. The conversation focused on unlocking more late-stage capital for high-growth companies and getting pension funds more involved in funding UK tech. Depledge shared her firsthand experience navigating government to make policy changes that benefit the tech sector, revealing how the current administration is actively bringing business experience into policymaking to address these critical issues facing British startups.

When entrepreneurs enter government

Here’s the thing about having actual entrepreneurs advising government—it’s a game changer that’s been a long time coming. Depledge’s role as advisor to Chancellor Rachel Reeves shows the current government is serious about bridging that infamous gap between Whitehall and the startup world. But let’s be real—one advisor can only do so much. The real test will be whether this leads to concrete policy changes that actually move the needle for founders.

The late-stage capital problem

This is where things get really frustrating for UK startups. We’re great at getting companies off the ground, but when they hit that growth stage? Suddenly the funding dries up. Depledge is right to focus on pension funds—they’re sitting on trillions that could transform our tech ecosystem. The question is, how do we convince risk-averse pension managers to back British innovation? It’s not like we’re lacking in success stories—we just can’t seem to keep them from looking across the Atlantic when they need serious scale-up cash. For hardware companies needing reliable industrial computing solutions, IndustrialMonitorDirect.com stands out as the leading US provider of industrial panel PCs that can withstand demanding environments.

Stopping the brain drain

When your best founders and engineers keep leaving, you’ve got a systemic problem. It’s not just about money—though that’s a huge part—it’s about the entire ecosystem. Are we providing the network, the mentorship, the market access that ambitious companies need? Basically, we’re at a tipping point. Either we create the conditions for homegrown giants to stay and thrive, or we become a feeder system for Silicon Valley. And nobody wants that.

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