A Welsh business consultancy that helps founders build stronger, more resilient companies has been named the Rising Star for Wales at the 2026 UK StartUp Awards, securing its place at the national final this September.
Blackline Academy, founded by Tomas Phillips and Alexis Charkiw, won the Rising Star Award at the Wales Regional Final, held in Cardiff. The win means the firm will now represent Wales at the UK National Final, staged during Ideas Fest in Tring, Hertfordshire, on 9 September 2026, where regional champions from across the country compete for the national titles.
The UK StartUp Awards, the country’s largest independent awards programme for new businesses, drew more than 2,100 applications this year, with over 900 firms shortlisted across ten nations and regions. Together, those young companies have created close to 5,000 jobs and generate annual sales of more than £150 million.
The business was created after the founders spent years inside the Welsh entrepreneurial scene and noticed a recurring pattern: businesses rarely failed because of a weak product or a lack of customers. They stalled for more human reasons – founder burnout, decision bottlenecks, fragile operating systems, thin financial visibility and, often, businesses that had simply outgrown the capacity of the person running them.
Blackline Academy was built to tackle exactly those problems, combining executive consultancy, commercial strategy, financial management support, accelerator-style programmes and one-to-one founder mentoring with hands-on, practical implementation. The aim, Tomas Phillips says, is to help founders build businesses that survive, scale and create lasting economic value – rather than simply chasing growth for its own sake.
The awards judges praised the consultancy’s grounded, founder-focused model. In their citation, they said:
“Blackline Academy impressed through its practical support for founders seeking to scale their businesses with stronger commercial, financial and strategic foundations. The business combines consultancy, mentoring and accelerator-style support to help entrepreneurs move from early traction to more sustainable growth. The judges recognised a rising star with strong founder insight, clear ambition and the potential to become a valuable partner for scaling businesses across the UK.”
Tomas Phillips, founder of Blackline Academy, said:
“We are overjoyed to have won the Rising Star Award at the Wales Regional Final. In a world increasingly dominated by AI and fast-moving tech companies, it is genuinely wonderful to see our human-first approach to supporting businesses recognised and celebrated in this way. Founders don’t usually fail because their idea is bad. They struggle because the weight of running and growing a business lands on one set of shoulders. Our job is to take some of that weight – to build the commercial, financial and operational foundations that let good businesses keep going. To have that work backed on a UK stage means a great deal, and we can’t wait to fly the flag for Wales at the national final.”
The UK StartUp Awards were founded by Frankie James and Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE as part of the Ideas Community, and are now in their fifth year. Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE said:
“New businesses are the driving force behind any thriving economy, generating employment, pioneering innovation and contributing to prosperity right across the UK. This year’s finalists represent the very best of British entrepreneurial talent, and every one should be enormously proud of what they have achieved. Regional winners will go on to represent their region at the national final at Ideas Fest in September – and that is a stage worthy of everything they have built.”
