At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top Manchester based Founder operating in the Financial Services space. If you think a Founder is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Hugh Campbell
Founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound
Hugh Campbell is a Founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound. Hugh is passionate about technology innovation and entrepreneurs with 15 years’ experience advising and investing in Europe’s current and future Unicorns. He has worked with all the leading growth equity funds in Europe and has sold businesses to Real Networks, Tesco, Disney, Accenture and Experian amongst others. Hugh started his career at Citibank in M&A before moving on to Goldman Sachs where he worked in Equity Research. Hugh is from an entrepreneurial publishing family who sold John Murray Publishers to Hachette in 2002 and founded an e-learning business, Pastest Limited, where Hugh is Chairman. In 2000, Hugh left Goldman Sachs and spent most of the year working and living in Beijing, China before going back to his investment banking roots by co-founding GP Bullhound. Hugh opened the Manchester office in 2013, is a Manchester Grammar School alum and graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford.
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About GP Bullhound: GP Bullhound is a technology advisory and investment firm that provides transaction advice and capital to entrepreneurs and founders.
Zach Harvey
Co-Founder and CEO of Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures
Zach Harvey is a co-founder of Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures, creator of the first Bitcoin ATM machine.
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About Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures: Lamassu jump-started the cryptomats industry by creating the world’s first Bitcoin ATM.
Josh Harvey
Founder of Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures
Founder at Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures
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About Lamassu Bitcoin Ventures: Lamassu jump-started the cryptomats industry by creating the world’s first Bitcoin ATM.
Adam Ward
CEO & Co-Founder of Airtime Rewards
Adam is the co-founder and CEO of Airtime Rewards Ltd.
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About Airtime Rewards: Airtime Rewards is an innovative loyalty platform pioneering unique rewards solutions with mobile operators.
Andy Bell
Chief Executive Office & Co-Founder of A J Bell
Andy co-founded AJ Bell in 1995, having spent a number of years working within the financial services sector. Graduating from Nottingham University in 1987 with a first class degree in Mathematics, he qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1993 and has built AJ Bell into one of the largest providers of low-cost, online investment platforms and stockbroker services in the UK. Andy is the principal driving force behind the business, and his focus is increasingly on future strategy and growth opportunities.
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About A J Bell: AJ Bell are one of the UK’s largest providers of online investment platforms and stockbroker services.
Issac Qureshi
Founder & Director Of Client Services of Ogilvy & Haart
Based in London, Issac Qureshi is a skilled financial professional with expertise in areas including hedge funds and tax strategy. Issac’s involvement in hedge funds began during his time in Scotland, where he was working as a tax advisor. He had many clients inquire as to how they could use their tax savings more beneficially, and as interest grew, so did Issac’s desire to provide them with a solution. He created Hemingway, a wealth-focused investment firm with a global reach. They are focused on investing in unique global markets, providing clients with multiple streams of income, and producing generational wealth that will last long term. Additionally in his career, Issac Qureshi has served as a Director of Client Services and Founder of Ogilvy & Haart. He specializes in adaptation to the world of commerce: while he surely can run a company, he makes it a point to learn the language of a company that is already established, note its strengths, spot its weaknesses, and turn the whole establishment over to discover its untouched potential. After years of diligent work in his education and in the field, Issac Qureshi knows how to find and run a company built for success in an ever-changing market. Accorded with the LloydsTSB Asian Jewel Award, EMBF Rising Star Award, the Tiger Award, and Royal Mail’s title of Regional Direct Marketing Campaign of the Year, it is no surprise that NW Business Insider Magazine recognized Issac in their “Top 42 Under 42” list in 2006. Issac’s contribution to business and excellence put him at the top of this list, as well as on the radar as one of the best businessmen in the UK. The year he earned his BA and Honors in Social & Economic History from Liverpool University in the UK, Issac Qureshi hit the ground running as an Account Executive at Kaleidoscope ADM in 1995. Starting his career right out of college allowed him to get his foot in the door, and see what the business world consist of. He adjusted the way of the business world quickly, acquiring tools like advertising, design, and marketing strategy which he would later employ. Completing his formal education, Issac Qureshi obtained his diploma from Manchester University Institute of Direct Marketing in 1998, and graduated with an MA in Marketing from Canterbury University in Ontario, Canada, in 2003. He later went on to graduate first honors with his Bachelor of Laws from The London School of Economics and Political Science. He completed his Master of Laws, with a focus in International and Commercial Trust Law, from UCL, also first honors. Issac always put education first, and strived to be at the top of his class. He believes those who worked hard in their education will be greatly rewarded in the future. Wasting no time, Issac Qureshi co-founded Urban Logic UK in 2004, a professional authority in property investment. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of his own company for two years, honing his skills in marketing programs, customer services, income maximization, and intracompany relationships, here he learned valuable skills that come with running your own company. A few years later, and well-versed in company management, Issac Qureshi began as the Chief executive Officer of LAKAS Investments PLC, dedicated to retail investment. With a background in strategy and management, Issac can adapt to any type of business and strengthen it for profitability. Before founding his own enterprises, he moved on to Marvel Marketing as a Non-Executive Director, and exercised his prowess in fundraising, campaign analysis, and working with shareholders and brokers. In 2014, he founded the highly successful Ogilvy & Haart, a wealth management and taxation consultancy. This was the cultivation of all Issac Qureshi’s hard work. Almost 20 years after graduating from college, he was able to create a company that embodied all the education that he had received previously. Having worked as the Ambassador for a charity Karma Nirvana and Mix-d, Issac Qureshi works best in communities. It is easy for him to see the value in an organization with which he has had no previous experience, which explains his ability to raise more than 7m in fundraising for companies he has no personal affiliation with. Issac Qureshi knows the importance of fundraising for companies after being apart of so many, he understands that funding is what makes the company successful in the long term. So, he’s able to use his expertise to help organisations as he’s helped his own companies. With experience in asset protection, stock market strategy, and marketing technique, Issac Qureshi is an unparalleled expert in his field, who continuously acquires up-to-date knowledge and readjusts his view of the market for optimal outcomes. In the kinetic and ever-changing business world, Isaac Qureshi is a prime developer. Issac prides himself on not only his mastery of the business field, but his ability to see a company’s strengths and flaws so clearly that he can create a new and fool-proof marketing plan catered to the respective enterprise’s profile. Follow Issac Qureshi’s innovative ideas on LinkedIn, and his personal website for ideas and discussion that you can bring to your own business.
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About Ogilvy & Haart: Wealth management and taxation consultancy founded by Issac Qureshi
Richard Hayes
Co-Founder & CEO of Mojo Mortgages
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About Life’s Great Limited, Mojo Mortgages: Mojo is digital mortgage broker, using technology to revolutionise the way people find and apply for mortgages online.
Keith Jones
Co-Founder of Jobs The Word
He is passionate about leveraging my experience, expertise and networks to help Entrepreneurs build successful businesses and realise their dreams. Actively seeking Angel Investment Opportunities, providing both seed and growth capital.
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About Jobs The Word, Key Ventures Consulting (KVC): Jobs The Word is an employment service utilizing big data technologies to tap into candidate markets and promote employment brands.
Stuart Law
CEO, Co-owner & Founder of Assetz Capital
Stuart Law is the CEO and founder of the Assetz group of companies incorporating one of the largest private investor customer bases in the UK. He founded the Assetz Capital businesses, including Assetz SME Capital, as a solution to the shortage of capital available to businesses and property developers from the failed banking system and in order to provide enhanced and diversified returns for Assetz group investors who wish to invest in this new asset class. Stuart is a serial entrepreneur and a highly experienced businessman having run his own businesses for 30 years.
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About Assetz, Assetz Capital, Assetz Exchange: Assetz Capital is a lending business that provides its services for SME finance, bridging, and property development sectors.
Jonathan Farnell
Co-Founder and Director of Arro Money
With over 17 years’ experience working in the UK banking sector, Jonathan specialises in regulatory & operational risk management, compliance and the development of business performance and management information systems. He has undertaken a number of directorships and senior roles, including Risk Management Director at a UK based money remittance consultancy and Director of Management Information at a General Insurance Brokerage.
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About Arro Money: Arro Money is a fast-growing provider of personal and business accounts.
Muhammad Asim
Co-Founder and Director of Arro Money
Awarded the Youngest Successful Business Entrepreneur by the Ministry of Information, Government of Pakistan, Muhammad Asim is a business start-up expert having previously established and developed a number of successful companies. With a particular expertise in strategic planning, brand development and marketing, Muhammad Asim has undertaken a number of senior roles, including Finance Director and General Manager of Administration at AA Exchange Company (PVT).
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About Arro Money: Arro Money is a fast-growing provider of personal and business accounts.
Mahmood Kamran
Co-Founder and Director of Arro Money
A former Inspector of financial institutions for the State Bank of Pakistan, Mahmood Ali Kamran’s areas of expertise include finance, audit and business administration. He has held a number of senior leadership team roles in different multinational companies in United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.
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About Arro Money: Arro Money is a fast-growing provider of personal and business accounts.
Alan Wilson
Co-Founder and Director of Arro Money
Alan Wilson is the Co-Founder and Director at Arro Money. A financial services expert with over 30 years’ experience working in the UK banking sector, Alan has undertaken a number of directorships and senior roles, including Regulatory Compliance Director & Money Laundering Reporting Officer for a large UK based Money Services Business and Compliance Director for an FCA regulated Insurance Brokerage. Areas of expertise include the European Payment Services regulations, anti-money laundering policies and training & competency schemes.
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About Arro Money: Arro Money is a fast-growing provider of personal and business accounts.
Renate Kalnina
Founder & CEO of Gratuu
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About Gratuu: Gratuu is a compliant tipping solution that allows customers to tip staff directly into their bank accounts via a mobile device.
Laura Clarke
Founder and Director of FinTech Global Careers Ltd
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About FinTech Global Careers Ltd: FinTech Global Careers are an executive talent agency specialising in World-Class talent within the FinTech niche.
George Gardiner
Founder and Developer of CreditLadder
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About CreditLadder: CreditLadder is using the latest in OpenBanking technology to further enhance the experience for their users.