Founder Details Journey Building a Data SaaS in London
In a recent interview, Orchestra founder Hugo Lu shared his journey building a data SaaS startup from idea to Series A in London. He stressed that technical founders in the city must balance deep product work with constant investor alignment. Lu also noted that hiring is extremely difficult in London's competitive market, advising founders to "over-index on culture and learning velocity" to attract top talent.
Orchestra is navigating a complex UK funding environment; while the nation secured its rank as the second-highest funded globally in 2025 with $15.3 billion, early-stage funding has tightened significantly. Seed-stage investment fell 27% to $1.2 billion in 2025, and a recent report found that only 2% of UK startups now progress from Seed to Series A, a sharp drop from 8% just 18 months prior. The adtech landscape is being reshaped by the protracted deprecation of third-party cookies, forcing a strategic shift even as Google delays a full phase-out in favor of user-choice controls. This is accelerating the move toward first-party data strategies, privacy-preserving alternatives within Google
