The App Association: What they do and why they matter

One of the many people I met at Web Summit 2024 was Stephen Tulip, the UK manager for The App Association (ACT). Since then, ACT has opened my eyes to what you can achieve with some know-how and plenty of enthusiasm. Funding comes from several large tech companies that understand that smaller companies carry out a serious amount of innovation. They are better at taking risks but need the right conditions for success to be possible.

ACT uses this funding to put its smaller members in front of the right people and give them a perspective they rarely get. The government receives a view it seldom hears, small companies put their opinions forward, consumers get a better product/service, and the economy as a whole works better. Well, that is the idea, at least.

For a few days in early April 2025, ACT assembled a range of meetings with MPs, Lords, the civil service and think tanks with some of the most innovative companies in the UK’s tech sector. And I was delighted to be included!

Day 1 – Learning

Delegates spent the first day getting up to speed on the core topics ACT believed we could impact the most, alongside anything else we felt was needed personally. I don’t think I’ve learnt so much in one day since I left full-time education; it was amazing.

Within a few hours, I went from not knowing what a Standard Essential Patent (SEP) was to knowing what they were, why they were good/bad, and the problems with the systems around them. Indeed, I even concocted a potential solution for some of them. Other topics I was more familiar with include seed/growth funding, grants and regional funds, cybersecurity, mergers & acquisitions and much more. Hearing from the other founders about their businesses, the struggles, the breakthroughs and everything else in between was fascinating. It left me invigorated about the state of progress in the UK tech scene. 

The day was capped off with a reception within the Houses of Parliament, generously sponsored by Lord Tim Clement-Jones CBE. Over a few hours, we could speak informally with Members of both Houses and several people from larger tech firms. An incredibly open and enlightening evening, but the Chatham House rule was in effect, so you’ll forgive me for being discreet. 

Days 2 & 3 – Teaching 

ACT lined up around 15 meetings with various stakeholders across days two and three. A specific delegation was sent to each, and I won the [self-awarded] prize for ‘best selection of meetings’. Everyone I spoke to seemed genuinely engaged with the conversation (something not true for all meetings, or so I heard). 

Lord Sharpe of Epsom 

My meeting with Lord Sharpe was my first experience of a sit-down meeting with someone who had previously held public office. It certainly dispelled a number of the preconceptions I had of those in power. He was sharp (no pun intended!) and had significant knowledge about the subject matter, primarily on access to funding, grants and cybersecurity.

While no longer in a position of power, Lord Sharpe is a member of various committees that use their considerable subject matter prowess to shape the broad strokes of government policy. Our conversation centred around financial matters, the investment and incentives small businesses have in the UK, and the improvements the government can make for them. 

Victoria Collins MP 

Next, I headed to Portcullis House, the purpose-built office building opposite the Houses of Parliament. It is technically classed as part of the Houses of Parliament and is where MPs spend most of their time when not in the chamber. The main floor in Portcullis House is a hive of activity. Seeing different MPs and their staff holding various meetings with interested parties is pretty spectacular. 

Victoria is a Liberal Democrat MP enjoying her first term in office. As such, she’s still feeling her way around the place. We spoke at length about some of the really good things the UK has going for it. However, we also discussed several initiatives put in place by the government that weren’t as effective as they could have been. This included topics like R&D tax credits, SEIS / EIS schemes and the grants from Innovate UK. While these are all excellent ways to promote UK business, if cottage industries spring up to encourage you to use them, there is probably work to do. 

Innovate UK could work better if grants were scrapped and the money put into a UK sovereign wealth fund. The government could make this available in tranches on a regional basis, run by people with experience in early-stage investing. You could then allocate the funds based on more conventional investment pitching. The fund takes a fixed percentage of the business, irrespective of the amount raised from the fund. Doing so keeps founders in an environment they are more familiar with, ensures the money goes to the right parts of the country and starts a cycle where successful exits increase the amount to invest in the next generation of start-ups. 

CMA – Competition & Markets Authority 

To round off Tuesday, a group of us took a trip to Canary Wharf to meet with the CMA. Here, we discussed their ongoing investigation into the mobile ecosystems of Apple and Google. This was easily the best meeting I was party to and one of the best engagements I have had with a public body. Catherine Batchelor and her team came exceptionally well prepared, based on their questions, the people they brought to understand our answers, and how they took feedback on potential resolutions.

The case for the prosecution is relatively simple. The App Store/Play Store are monopolies on their specific devices. This sometimes leads to outcomes that are not in the best interests of consumers and developers. Developers must use Apple’s payment systems for in-app purchases at a 15% or higher fee than normal card payment costs. It does support the wider App Store, the refunds process, etc, but the lack of choice here is the issue. A number of potential remedies were discussed.

More app stores are my least favourite option as they increase the number of places you need to list your app. It also creates copyright and app quality issues without addressing the main problem.

A sideloading app (installing an app from your website rather than through the App Store) is a good option. It puts you in control of the process and the payment ecosystem. However, there were some concerns about bad actors using this method to install fake versions of real apps.

A PWA (Progressive Web App) is a special mobile website that looks and performs like a standard app. PWAs are the correct direction of travel and the best solution, given that Google already does this on Android. Not only do developers control the payment flow, but they only need to maintain one code base across different ecosystems. The fact that you can achieve this on iOS now (but it’s clunky) makes it the simplest to implement with the biggest reward. However, there are concerns around access to all features, and the same issues exist with fake apps.

Overall, the hour we spent here left me feeling that the CMA understands the range of needs from small developers. It is a voice they rarely hear from, and we got into fixed pricing, device component access and more. I will follow this process closely and look forward to seeing the results of the CMA’s investigation. 

Department for Business & Trade 

Rounding off my trip was a meeting with Sarah Adcock, a Director at the Department for Business and Trade, to discuss similar issues to those I’d spoken to Victoria about the day before. In addition, we talked about SEPs, how they were limiting manufacturing growth in the UK, and how the UK post-Brexit can lead the world in SEP licencing frameworks. Could this be an actual tangible benefit from Brexit? (Editor’s note: I’m not holding my breath.) 

Key takeaways

Overall, a few things stood out for me about the trip. Firstly, the people we met took a prodigious amount of notes; I’m talking multiple pages of A4. It was very impressive. Then there were the other companies I was in meetings with. A diverse range of people from cybersecurity professionals, who I had plenty in common with, to people building components for cars and planes, reclaiming plastic waste, creating educational virtual worlds, securing our very DNA (and if that sounds wild, it is) and much more.

The scale, breadth and depth of innovation on display was truly inspiring. It reminded me of how exceptionally good the UK is as a place to build a business. 

Final remarks go to Stephen and the ACT team, many of whom flew in from the US for the trip. The access they secured, the time commitment from people, and the fantastically well-planned itinerary made the time fly by. And the evening meals were much more fun than eating with virtual strangers should be. The process has given me an invaluable insight into the inner workings of government. And in some small way, I hope I’ve helped shape a better future.