UMi Reviews 55

The UMi team have been extremely supportive of the business over the last 5 years, providing the business with a second loan following completion of the first, and have been particularly cooperative and flexible given difficult economic conditions throughout this time.

UMi provided clear, practical, and genuinely supportive guidance during the early stages of my business journey.

The team explained funding options,

processes, and next steps in a structured and easy-to-understand way, without unnecessary pressure or jargon.

Communication was professional and responsive, and I always felt encouraged rather than judged.

Their support helped me better understand how to plan, document, and move forward with confidence as a small business owner.

I would strongly recommend UMi to anyone starting or developing a business in Northern Ireland.

We cannot recommend Julie Cuthbertson and the Get Funding team at UMi highly enough. They have been absolutely instrumental in helping us achieve a lifelong dream. This month we opened our very first pharmacy and we can say, without exaggeration, that it simply wouldn’t have happened without Julie and her team.

Although I have 20+ years of experience in pharmacy, we had zero experience in starting our own business. The idea felt daunting and, at times, almost impossible. Julie changed that. She guided us through the minefield of funding and finance with clarity, patience, and a level of expertise that made an untraceable landscape suddenly feel navigable.

Her knowledge and contacts opened doors we didn’t even know existed. She connected us with the right people at the right time and made every step feel achievable. More than that, Julie and her team acted as our sounding board throughout the entire journey. They were indeed our Northern Star when everything felt overwhelming. Nothing was ever too much trouble, whether it was detailed advice or simple reassurance on a tough day.

The perfect blend of authenticity, professionalism, expertise, and warmth -the team at UMi are genuinely lovely people who care about the businesses they support. If you’re considering starting a business and the process feels intimidating, talk to Julie. She made our dream possible, and we’ll always be grateful.

Highly, highly recommended.

Extremely helpful and proactive in finding support and signposting just like a satnav!

As a lone director, starting a business can be daunting. The ideas are flooding in so there are many opportunities potentially overlooked.
UMi provide a well needed guide to all aspects, funding, advice and direction.
I find UMi and my advisor invaluable. There's no bias or pitches, just an amazing font of knowledge. Thank-you!

Thank you for the support and guidance you have given me. Thank you very much for all the favors you have done.

Prompt response and a lot of useful information

A random conversation at a networking event highlighted the fact that James from UMI was able to support us in getting our email issues sorted.

Although I was aware that UMI supported businesses with digital issues I had no idea that it covered supporting clients on a one to one basis with something like switching their email accounts over.

We booked in a Teams meeting and James provided amazing support online from signing up to the new email system right through to getting the current accounts forwarding emails to the new address, and to making sure all accounts filtered through to our overall preferred operating system.

James was very knowledgeable, patient and supportive. An amazing service and one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

Jan - Jan Cook Wills and Trusts Ltd

Cold Calling - not a first time - gave me a call and hang up - TPS protected phone number - still calling!

Michelle, a Sat Nav adviser, has been helpful so far by providing me with useful information and keeping me up to date with useful tools for my business. I am so happy that I signed up with UMi Sat Nav and would recommend their services to start-up businesses like mine.

Very good service and the right information Knowledge from the staff...

Michelle, my Sat Nav Adviser at UMI, was incredibly helpful in guiding me through funding, grants, and support schemes tailored to my business. Her advice was clear, and it made a big difference. The tools, resources, and exclusive partner deals she shared were a huge bonus too! Highly recommend her support to any start-up business owner looking for funding and direction. Thank you, Michelle!

I attended the Innovation Skills Bootcamp at We are UMi and was very impressed. The sessions were engaging, hands-on, and packed with useful tools to apply innovation in real-world business scenarios. The facilitator Sarah Cox was knowledgeable and supportive, creating a collaborative and energising learning environment. I left with fresh perspectives, actionable strategies, and a renewed sense of confidence. Highly recommend to anyone looking to boost their innovation capability!

I've recently completed the Innovation Bootcamp which was excellently facilitated by Sarah Cox. The ten sessions were engaging and practical and I've come away seeing things from a fresh, innovator's perspective. I'm really looking forward to putting what I've learned into practice!

Had a fantastic time on the Innovation Bootcamp over the last 10 sessions. Really informative and helpful sessions to support my work going forward, and great to spend time in the lovely UMI offices!

Not as expected

My Response to UMI's reply: Exactly as expected, with the important 'why' missing; please do not patronise customer experience. You make up your excuses to suit your own needs. Try to be honest and admit failure. I hope others take heed of my comments.

The two UMI advisors were very knowledgeable in the topics we sought guidance
Next steps advice was clear

This session was an eye opener for me as I am not well versed with Search Engine Optimisation tools. I found it very interesting.

Great 1-2-1 with James, discussed lots of ideas and initiatives which will really help.

If you haven’t already and it’s been offered I would highly recommend your digital health check review.

Offers helpful hints and tips on making the most of UMi Sat Nav