This year’s Silicon Gorge pitching competition saw 24 early-stage startups looking for investment, with 12 going on to pitch live at our investor showcase last week.
Now that the 2025 competition has finished, we’re taking a moment to spotlight the brilliant founders and companies who made it to the semi-finals and final showcase.
We’ll be sharing a series of short interviews with each one. We’ll dive into their startup journeys, the challenges they’re tackling and what they’re looking for from investors. Next up in the series is: Ela McMorrow, CPO & Co-Founder at Opti Compliance.
1. What does your company do?
Opti Compliance is a B2B SaaS company transforming how building compliance is managed—starting with the fire safety sector. After the Grenfell tragedy, regulations became stricter, and compliance consultants saw their workload soar. Fire Compliance Software by Opti simplifies fire risk assessments by digitising workflows, centralising documentation, and automating admin-heavy tasks. This allows consultants to complete up to 50% more assessments daily, potentially generating £16,000 extra revenue per user, per month. By improving productivity and collaboration, Opti ensures safer buildings, faster reporting, and clearer accountability. We’re starting with fire safety but have a vision for scale—building white-label solutions that can expand into construction, health & safety, and beyond.
2. What problem are you trying to solve?
The compliance sector—especially in fire safety—is still reliant on manual paperwork, clunky systems, and disconnected tools. This not only slows consultants down but increases risk, hinders communication with stakeholders like the fire brigade, and often results in missed issues. Our solution addresses these inefficiencies by providing an all-in-one digital platform that simplifies the entire compliance process. Opti Compliance replaces fragmented reporting with an integrated system that’s fast, easy to use, and built for real-world workflows. By tackling outdated processes head-on, we’re reducing human error, increasing consultant capacity, and improving safety outcomes in the built environment.
3. What makes your solution unique?
Opti was built by and for the fire safety industry. Unlike generic compliance tools made by developers without domain expertise, our platform was co-developed with leading consultants, including our partner Prevention 1st. That means it’s intuitive, requires minimal training, and fits seamlessly into how fire professionals already work. Where competitors offer one-size-fits-all software, we offer tailored functionality and regularly update the platform based on live feedback. Our people-first approach, combined with deep industry understanding, ensures consultants see immediate value—saving time, reducing admin, and increasing output. With our white-label model on the horizon, we’re also uniquely positioned to replicate this success across other compliance-heavy industries
4. What are you most proud of so far?
We’re most proud of building software that professionals genuinely love using. Fire safety consultants are experts in their field, but often less confident with digital tools. We tackled this by working alongside them from day one—shaping our platform through their feedback, not assumptions. Our partnership with Prevention 1st gave us the access and insight to design a product that solves real problems with ease and efficiency. As a result, adoption has been smooth, feedback overwhelmingly positive, and the impact tangible: more assessments completed, fewer errors, and higher safety standards. That industry trust is our proudest achievement—and our biggest driver to keep evolving.

5. How much are you raising and what do you want to use investment for?
We are raising £500,000 to accelerate our growth and solidify our position in the market. The funds will be used to further enhance our fire compliance platform, grow our technical and commercial teams, and build white-label offerings that allow us to scale across health & safety, construction, and other sectors. We’ll also explore strategic partnerships in the insurance space, where our data insights can drive smarter risk assessment and unlock new revenue streams. Our long-term focus is defensibility, scalability, and continued innovation—creating a category-defining compliance platform across industries.
6. What tools/people/services/
Opti Compliance wouldn’t be where it is today without the support of our partners and backers. Prevention 1st, a respected fire safety consultancy, gave us hands-on industry insights and validation. The Alacrity Foundation UK has been instrumental in helping us shape our business model, product roadmap, and go-to-market strategy. And the Cyber Innovation Hub provided access to expert mentorship and technical resources that strengthened our foundation. These collaborations have helped us move fast, stay grounded in real-world needs, and build a solution that’s trusted by professionals.
7. Where can we find out more about you?To learn more:
🌐 Website: www.opticompliance.co.uk
🔗 LinkedIn: Opti Compliance
📈 Search “Fire Compliance Software” on Google—we’re #1.



