I tried to imagine an ordinary working day and see which UK startups are working

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This started as a bit of a game. I wrote down a normal day, from the commute to bedtime, and then looked for UK startups that tackle some part of it. I didn’t expect to find much, but it turned into a longer list than I thought. Here’s how the day went.

Morning starts with the commute, which for a lot of us is a lottery. One fault and the whole network falls over. I found Moonbility, a Birmingham company that offers real-time simulation of how disruption ripples across public transport networks. It’s aimed at the people running the networks rather than the people stuck on them, but that’s probably the right place to fix it.

By lunchtime I’m usually dealing with money, and for anyone who pays suppliers or contractors abroad, that means exchange rates. Oku Markets is a London company offering currency accounts, international payments and FX risk management for businesses and private clients. I’d never thought much about FX risk until I read about it, and it clearly matters if your costs are in another currency.

The afternoon is when I started thinking about the cost of running things. Open Power, based in Manchester, helps small generators and businesses export and sell surplus electricity to the grid. If you generate your own power, being able to sell the surplus is an obvious benefit, and it’s something I had assumed only big operators could do.

Then there’s the evening, when a lot of us are tired, stressed and not switching off properly. AdagioVR offers virtual-reality programmes for stress, trauma and emotional regulation, for individuals, employers and healthcare. I can’t say whether VR is the answer for everyone, but it’s interesting that someone is taking it seriously as a wellbeing tool.

What struck me is how different these four are. Transport, currency, energy and wellbeing have nothing in common on paper, yet they all fit into one ordinary day.

So here’s my question: what would your version of this day look like? Which part of your routine do you wish someone would fix? I’d be keen to hear about any UK startups you know of that I should add.

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