Steven Clarke is the founder of Nuuri, a platform revolutionising how families discover and enrol in nurseries across the UK. His startup journey began not in tech, but in commercial property. As a new father navigating a fragmented childcare system, Steven encountered first-hand the friction and inefficiencies families face when securing early years education.
Balancing a newborn, a full-time job, and a growing sense of urgency, Steven began his journey in the evenings—researching, validating, and slowly mapping a path forward. That spark became Nuuri: a two-sided platform helping parents easily enrol while giving nurseries digital tools to save time and cost.
After launching an MVP in Edinburgh and gaining traction, Nuuri expanded into England and closed a major funding round. This case study explores how Steven went from concept to execution—with Techscaler by CodeBase playing a catalytic role in his development as a founder.
The idea for Nuuri emerged from a deeply personal frustration. After the birth of his daughter in 2023, Steven found the nursery search and enrolment process to be outdated, scattered, and full of friction. There was no single digital touchpoint—just inconsistent websites, paperwork, and long waits.
Rather than ignore it, Steven got curious. For four months, while managing a full-time job and new parenthood, he researched evenings and weekends—testing whether this was a widespread issue or just a personal one. The result was a simple but validated insight: both parents and nurseries were underserved by tech.
From that insight, he built a vision deck, scoped potential solutions, and gradually began assembling the foundation of what would become Nuuri.
Steven began his founder journey with no technical background, no startup experience, and no industry network. What he did have was a clear problem to solve and the motivation to figure it out—bit by bit.
He needed structured learning to test assumptions, understand user behaviour, and avoid costly mistakes.
He also wanted access to advisors, tech collaborators, and founders who had walked the path before him. Techscaler by CodeBase filled those gaps.
Techscaler’s impact extended well beyond the curriculum. Steven was paired with a mentor early in the programme—a relationship that continues to guide him today. These regular check-ins provided not just tactical advice, but a sounding board for product, growth, and leadership decisions.
During the same period, Steven engaged a freelance developer to help him build an MVP. That timing was no accident. The structured support from Techscaler gave him the clarity to act and the confidence to test. Together, mentorship and momentum enabled him to validate the product in Edinburgh, setting the stage for Nuuri’s next major step: expansion into England.
Techscaler offered Steven both a practical education and a crucial mindset shift. The early-stage accelerator programme provided a taught process for validating assumptions, testing ideas, and moving forward with confidence.
Rather than rushing toward product development, he learned to be deliberate in his decisions—avoiding founder bias and ensuring real customer need guided each step.
As a first-time founder coming from commercial property, Steven also lacked a network in tech. Techscaler’s ecosystem opened doors.
The programme offered structured mentorship, peer interactions, and easy access to the broader startup community—something Steven highlighted as far more accessible and supportive in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK.
The flexible format allowed him to balance learning with the realities of early-stage building.
Nuuri solves a double-sided challenge: helping families navigate nursery enrolment while giving providers tools to operate more efficiently. After building and launching an MVP in Edinburgh—a market with 100 private nurseries—Steven validated parent demand and onboarded 20% of providers locally.
Knowing that 85% of the UK’s nursery market is in England, Steven then expanded south. Within just four weeks, Nuuri grew from 20 to nearly 80 nurseries, debuting at a major London exhibition and receiving positive national feedback.
A £275,000 SEIS round—oversubscribed* above its £250K target—now sets Nuuri up for 12–18 months of growth.
Techscaler, delivered by CodeBase, played a pivotal role in Steven’s transformation—from curious parent to ecosystem-connected founder. It provided the structure, insight, and momentum that enabled Nuuri to move from concept to traction with purpose and pace.
His advice to new founders? Don’t wait for perfect conditions. If you’re curious, take a step. Techscaler meets you where you are—whether you have an idea or are still looking. In Steven’s words: it’s “a resource that is very valuable.”
Follow Nuuri on LinkedIn to track its continued expansion across the UK.
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