BenchBee Named in TechRound100 2025

Three months in, and BenchBee has been ranked number 74 in the TechRound100, a list that recognises some of the most innovative and impactful tech start-ups across Europe.

It’s a milestone worth acknowledging. Not because rankings define success, but because they signal something else: the market is paying attention.

The problem hiding in plain sight

The IT consultancy sector has a structural inefficiency that’s become so normalised, most firms treat it as an unavoidable cost of doing business.

Brilliant consultants sit idle at one firm while another pays £15,000 or more in recruitment fees to find the exact same skillset. The expertise exists. It’s just invisible. And the system designed to connect supply with demand, traditional recruitment, takes a slice of every transaction without solving the underlying problem.

The numbers are stark. UK consultancies lose an estimated £3.06 billion annually to bench costs. That’s not a rounding error. It’s capital that could be deployed on delivery, growth, or simply better margins.

A different approach

BenchBee was built from a simple frustration: why are consultancies competing for the same talent when they could be collaborating to share it?

The platform connects IT consultancies directly. No commissions. No middlemen. A peer-to-peer network where firms can monetise their bench time and access specialist skills without paying premium fees to external recruiters.

It’s a model that treats consultancies as partners rather than competitors – because in practice, the consultant sitting idle at one firm today might be exactly what another firm needs tomorrow.

The TechRound100 recognition validates what we’re hearing in every conversation: there’s a genuine appetite for a smarter, more collaborative way to manage talent across the ecosystem.

Early momentum

In the three months since launch, the response has been encouraging. Consultancies are joining not because they’re desperate, but because they recognise the opportunity. The chance to improve utilisation rates, reduce dependence on expensive external hires, and build relationships with peer firms across the industry.

What’s particularly striking is the quality of conversations we’re having. 

• Resource managers dealing with the daily reality of bench costs. 
• Operations leaders frustrated by the gap between what recruiters charge and what they deliver. 
• Founders who’ve spent years watching good consultants sit idle while their competitors scramble for talent.

These aren’t theoretical pain points. They’re operational realities that consume time, money, and energy across the sector.

What this means

Being named in the TechRound100 doesn’t change the work ahead. But it does confirm something important: the industry is ready for alternatives.

The traditional recruitment model has dominated IT consultancy hiring for decades. It’s familiar, established, and expensive. BenchBee offers a different path, one built on the premise that consultancies can solve each other’s resource challenges more efficiently than external intermediaries.

We’re proud to be recognised alongside some impressive companies across Europe. Congratulations to everyone who made this year’s list.

For BenchBee, this is just the start. The problem we’re solving is too big to ignore, and the opportunity is too good not to pursue.

We’re only getting warmed up.

To see how IT consultancies are reducing bench cost and filling specialist gaps faster, book a demo.