Sussex founder named UK and Europe’s most innovative company

Georgina Fairhall, Founder and CEO of WAC, a forward-thinking worker-tech company, has been named TechRound’s number one 29Under29 Winner. The annual list was judged by Kat Wellum-Kent (Fractional Finance), Namrata Sandhu (Vaayu), and Kimberley Waldron (SkyParlour) and celebrates the UK and Europe’s most innovative companies and initiatives founded by people under twenty-nine.

Fairhall was born in the West Sussex town of Burgess Hill and has built a successful business which is growing serious traction across the globe. In 2020, one week before a national lockdown, WAC was launched after Georgina chose to step away from a potential law career to champion low-paid workers. With years of experience working in hospitality, Fairhall encountered the same problem in every job – she wasn’t getting paid correctly. Hours would frequently be missed, breaks wouldn’t happen, and she was routinely expected to work beyond her finish time to support the team.

Georgina Fairhall, the driving force behind WAC, commented, "It’s truly affirming to be chosen as one of the most innovative companies across the UK and Europe, not only as a female founder but also as someone who struggled in my early education due to dyslexia and dyspraxia. Thankfully, seeing my dad’s determination and hard work from a young age pushed me to prove to everyone just how capable I am.”

Fairhall added “This recognition comes at a fantastic time for WAC as we’re seeking investment to scale the business further and generate substantial annual revenue. I’m unbelievably proud to have created a solution for the underpayment epidemic which is unfairly targeting the lowest earners."

Since WAC’s launch, Fairhall has raised close to £1 million through Angel Investment and through her determination to initiate change in the labour market has cemented herself as an emerging star in the tech landscape.

This achievement adds to an extremely successful few months as it comes after WAC earned Start-Up of the Year at Leeds Digital Festival - the UK’s largest open platform tech event - with Fairhall also named Entrepreneur of the Year and being featured on the cover of Insider magazine as their entrepreneur of the month for December.

WAC app enables workers from all sectors to track their hours, add their rota and get live payslip estimates, including deductions such as tax. The all-inclusive solution is initiating change for a workforce in need of support and users are even using the app to claim back wages after discrepancies in pay. The app is completely free and available to download from the App Store and Google Play store.