Today marks an extraordinary chapter in our journey at OneClickComply. As I reflect on the past year since we founded the company, I'm filled with immense pride to announce that we've secured £580,000 in additional funding, including £275,000 from Northstar Ventures' Venture Sunderland Fund, alongside angel investors and a significant grant from Innovate UK's North East investor partnership programme.
From Vision to Reality: Our First Year of Growth
When Conor and I founded OneClickComply (formerly FAT32) in January 2024, we set out with a bold vision: revolutionising how businesses approach cyber security compliance. In under 12 months since our last investment announcement, we've transformed from a startup idea into a thriving company already making waves in the £16 billion UK cyber security market.
Our growth metrics tell a compelling story:
- 👩💻 Team expansion: From our founding team to thirteen dedicated professionals – a 433% increase in headcount
- 😀 Customer satisfaction: Maintaining 100% customer satisfaction ratings
- 👨🎓 Audit pass rate: 100% pass rate across all standards
- 🔧 Average time from buy to first-fix: 1 hour
- ⚙️ Efficiency gains: Helping customers complete compliance tasks up to 20 times faster than traditional methods
- 💸 Cost savings: Delivering potential cost reductions of up to 70% for our customers
- 💵 Total funding raised: Over £1.2 million secured to date, including this latest follow-on funding.
- 📈 Supported Standards: 6 new standards added since August 2024.
- 🕵️♀️ Non-conformities found: Over 6 thousand.
- 🍕 Pizzas ordered for late nights: Too many
Building in Sunderland: A Strategic Choice
Our decision to establish OneClickComply in Sunderland wasn't just about finding a home – it was about contributing to and benefiting from the region's burgeoning cyber security cluster. As the first investment from the Venture Sunderland Fund, we're proud to be at the forefront of the city's digital transformation.
The North East has proven to be the perfect launchpad for our innovation. With the region's cyber security workforce growing by 11% annually and the UK cyber market generating £13.2 billion in revenue, we're positioned at the intersection of tremendous opportunity and urgent market need.
When Connor and I embarked on this journey in January of 2024, we knew that we had a truly game-changing idea. Leveraging our combined experience in automation and cyber security, we have brought to market a truly novel and game changing solution which makes compliance simple, affordable and accessible to organisations of all sizes. I am incredibly proud of what we, and the wider team, have built, and we look forward to continuing to disrupt the compliance software space. - Conor Sizeland, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder - OneClickComply
Addressing the Critical Skills Gap
The UK faces a chronic shortage of cybersecurity professionals, with over 17,000 unfilled roles in 2024 and a skills gap that threatens to leave businesses dangerously exposed. This challenge is particularly acute for SMEs, who often lack the resources to employ large cybersecurity teams or expensive consultants.
This investment is a powerful vote of confidence in Sunderland’s growing reputation as a hub for digital innovation and enterprise. OneClickComply is a fantastic example of the kind of forward-thinking, high-impact business that can thrive here. When I visited the team, I was genuinely impressed by Connor’s vision and the ambition behind the company’s work. It’s great to see skilled jobs being created in our city and a Sunderland business leading the charge in such a vital sector of our economy - Lewis Atkinson MP, Member of Parliament for Sunderland Central
This is precisely where OneClickComply makes a difference. Our automated compliance platform ensures access to enterprise-grade security compliance, enabling businesses of all sizes to achieve and maintain critical certifications like ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, and SOC 2 without requiring extensive in-house expertise.
Innovation at Our Core
What sets OneClickComply apart is our unique approach to compliance automation. Unlike traditional solutions that merely identify compliance gaps, our platform takes the crucial next step by auto-implementing recommendations at the click of a button. This isn't just about saving time – it's about fundamentally changing how businesses approach security compliance.
Our Trust Centre provides real-time access to compliance information for customers and auditors alike, bringing transparency and efficiency to what has traditionally been an opaque and cumbersome process. We integrate continuous threat monitoring, vulnerability management, penetration testing, and vendor risk management into our core packages to provide a comprehensive security solution beyond mere compliance.
Investment in Our People and Community
This funding isn't just about technology – it's about people. We're committed to creating high-skilled jobs in Sunderland and contributing to the North East's economic growth. Our "buy local" policy ensures that we're investing directly in the regional economy, supporting other local businesses and creating a multiplier effect that benefits the entire community.
As we expand our team, we're focused on addressing the industry-wide talent crisis by creating opportunities for cybersecurity-experienced professionals and those entering the cybersecurity field. Each new role we create helps build the region's capability to meet UK businesses' growing cybersecurity challenges.
💼We’re hiring
We’re currently hiring for many roles at OneClickComply. Do you want to be part of our innovative team helping small and medium-sized organisations defend against tomorrow’s threats?
→ Click here to see what roles we’re hiring
The Road Ahead
The cybersecurity landscape is evolving rapidly. High-profile incidents at major retailers like M&S and Royal Mail highlight the devastating impact of breaches, and the security automation market is projected to reach $39.65 billion by 2034. Thus, the need for accessible, effective compliance solutions has never been greater.
Our mission remains clear: to empower organisations of every size with sophisticated yet accessible cybersecurity solutions. This investment enables us to:
- Accelerate product development and enhance our automation capabilities.
- Expand our team with top talent from the region and beyond
- Scale our operations to serve more businesses across the UK.
- Continue our research into AI and machine learning applications for compliance automation.
OneClickComply was part of our first CyberNorth innovation centre cohort, and it's been fantastic to be part of their startup and growth story. Watching businesses like them grow and develop is the reason we launched the innovation centre - as a way to nurture regional cyber talent and create more, sustainable organisations. Having innovative businesses like this and determined entrepreneurs in the North East community is vital to the growth and sustainability of our regional economy, and we hope OneClickComply continues to develop and encourage other innovative cyber businesses that we know we have in our community. - Danielle Phillips, Chief Executive Officer - CyberNorth
A Thank You to Our Supporters
This milestone wouldn't have been possible without the incredible support we've received. I want to thank Tom O'Neill and the team at Northstar Ventures for believing in our vision, our angel investors for their confidence and guidance, and Innovate UK for recognising the potential of our innovation.
I want to thank our Chairman, Kelvin Harrison, for his invaluable expertise and my co-founder, Conor Sizeland, for his unwavering dedication to our mission.
I'm also grateful to Lewis Atkinson MP for his support and recognition of OneClickComply as a catalyst for positive change in Sunderland's digital economy. I also thank Phil Jackman, Danielle Phillips and the CyberNorth team for nurturing regional cyber talent through their innovation centre.
Finally, a huge thank you to our team, who tirelessly seek innovative ways to ensure small and medium-sized businesses' security, continuity, and integrity.
Join Us on This Journey
As we embark on this next growth phase, we're looking for passionate individuals who share our vision of making cybersecurity compliance accessible to all. Whether you're a seasoned cybersecurity professional or someone looking to enter this exciting field, we want to hear from you.
Together, we're not just building a successful business – we're establishing Sunderland and the North East as leaders in the global cybersecurity sector. This is just the beginning of our story, and the best is yet to come.
Here's to transforming compliance from a burden into an enabler of business growth, one click at a time.
💼We’re hiring
We’re currently hiring for many roles at OneClickComply. Do you want to be part of our innovative team helping small and medium-sized organisations defend against tomorrow’s threats?