Pets 2 Places, founded by Claire Harris, has won TC Group’s Next Big Thing start-up pitch challenge at Milton Keynes Tech Week.
Eight businesses presented five-minute pitches to a judging panel at x+why, Unity Place, on Friday 16 October. Property technology business Novus finished runner-up, while Synthaveil received Highly Commended recognition for its approach to protecting personal information when using AI.
Pets 2 Places is developing pet travel safety products, drawing on engineering, testing and Claire’s experience of transporting pets over more than 12 years.
Claire said: “I’ve seen first-hand where existing pet travel products and safety guidance can fall short. My ambition is to build a scalable pet travel safety brand, combining product development with education and behaviour change to help make safer pet travel the norm.”
Her pitch outlined plans to reach customers through direct sales, social commerce, pet professionals and retail partners, with international expansion a longer-term ambition.
As the overall winner, Claire can choose between product development and commercialisation support from Inond and Hooper Quinn, or founder growth and investment mentoring with angel investor Jeremy Hindle.
Both options include three additional hours of personalised mentoring and business growth support from Barclays Eagle Labs, alongside one year’s R&D tax credit advice, preparation and submission support from TC Group.
The support package is valued at up to £12,500, depending on the option selected and eligibility. The R&D element, valued at up to £8,000, depends on qualifying activity being identified and approved by TC Group’s R&D Compliance Lead.
Novus, represented at the final by Farid Umar and Aliyu Aliyu, will receive the alternative headline package, together with support from Barclays Eagle Labs and TC Group.
The UK-based business is developing a platform intended to make new-build property transactions more transparent. It brings title records, payment information, construction milestones and handover documents into a structured record for each property.
Buyers, developers, lawyers, lenders and contractors can be given relevant access. Its AI functionality is designed to answer questions using verified documents and identify the source of each answer.
Farid said: “We have a live pilot with a property developer in Abuja and we’re now exploring the UK new-build market, including growth areas such as Milton Keynes. Our longer-term ambition is to build a global record for new-build property sales.”
Synthaveil, represented by Nonna Alomaja, is developing tools that replace identifiable information with realistic stand-ins before data is shared with AI tools or external providers.
Its planned applications include documents, spreadsheets, AI prompts, automated processes and vendor data feeds, with the aim of helping organisations retain greater control over sensitive information.
TC Group created the competition to connect founders with business expertise, mentoring and potential investment networks. The final formed part of the closing programme for Milton Keynes Tech Week.
Felix Medd, director and head of R&D at TC Group, hosted the challenge. He said: “We received an incredible number of applications, so whittling them down to just eight finalists was our first challenge. Then, on the night, choosing our winners was no easy task. The quality and variety of the ideas presented made for an exciting final, but Claire’s experience, ambition and determination to tackle a genuine problem really stood out. Huge congratulations to Pets 2 Places, Novus and Synthaveil, and to every business that stepped up and pitched.”
The judges were Owen Moran, ecosystem manager at Barclays Eagle Labs; Stephen Henson, associate director of client services at TC Group; Benn Klewpatinond, founder and innovation and product realisation partner at Inond; Jeremy Hindle; and Greg Edwards, founder of Hooper Quinn.
Stephen said: “I was really impressed by the superb mix of applicants. It really highlighted the diversity of talent we have here in Milton Keynes, which has been celebrated throughout the week.
“The winners’ ideas resonated with me on a variety of levels, from the concepts themselves and their market opportunities to the regulatory considerations underpinning them and, of course, the quality of the pitches.
“A big thank you also goes to Protospace CIC and the organisers of MK Tech Week 2026 for shining such a huge spotlight on Milton Keynes and its incredible tech community, and for giving us the opportunity to host the ‘Next Big Thing’ and close out a truly memorable week.”
Greg said: “The atmosphere was genuinely one of the friendliest I’ve experienced, with a real sense of support for the businesses pitching and some great new connections made. It was a pleasure to be part of the evening.”
Owen added: “There are some brilliant ideas across the area that, without events like this, we might never hear about. It’s a great way of supporting the local business community and giving those ideas the opportunity to be seen.”
Pictured: Pets 2 Places founder Claire Harris, centre, with fellow award recipients and judges at TC Group’s start-up pitch challenge at Milton Keynes Tech Week. Photo: Chris Henley / Milton Keynes Tech Week.
