Leeds marketing consultancy LS MKTN wins North East, Yorkshire and Humber StartUp of the Year

Leeds-based marketing consultancy LS MKTN has been named Marketing & Advertising StartUp of the Year at the UK StartUp Awards 2026 for North East, Yorkshire and The Humber.

After an nine-year career working in-house and in three established Yorkshire agencies, 27 year old founder Lucy Smith felt that she could provide a better service to clients if she was in control, with an aim to keep founders at the centre of their own marketing.

So in 2024 she founded LS MKTN, which helps founder-led B2B businesses across the UK tell their own stories through creative content and strategic direction.

Lucy is blown away with the award.

“Winning is insane. To think I quit my job almost two years ago and now have an award-winning marketing business is absolutely incredible,” said Lucy.

“This recognition is a huge moment for the business and reflects the hard work I’ve put into building something different for our clients.”

The judges were equally direct in their assessment: “LS MKTN impressed through its clear rejection of the traditional agency model being built around senior marketing thinking, quality delivery and ethical client relationships. This is a sharp, values-led marketing startup with room to scale and the judges recognised the founder’s honesty about learning focus, boundaries and commercial clarity.”

With plans to recruit the first employee this month and on track to double turnover from Year One to Year Two, LS MKTN is demonstrating significant momentum. It has a strong base of retained clients across the UK, spanning software as a service (Saas), tech, construction and infrastructure.

LS MKTN’s focus on values and commercial clarity has provided a strong foundation for its next phase of growth as it heads to the national StartUp of the Year stage. The business will represent the region at the UK national final at Ideas Fest on 9th September 2026, held at Champneys, Tring, Hertfordshire.

The UK StartUp Awards, now in its fifth year, is the UK’s largest independent startup awards programme, receiving over 2,000 entries in 2026. The national final will take place at Ideas Fest on 9th-10th September 2026.

Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE, co-founder of the UK StartUp Awards, said: “New businesses are the driving force behind any thriving economy. Our regional winners represent the very best of British entrepreneurial talent, and they have earned their place at the national final on merit alone.”