Best Startup
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 Cheshire based Founder operating in the Information Technology 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 โ Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth โ Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management โ Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact โ Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data โ 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.
Stuart Marks
Founder and Chairman of L Marks
Stuart Marks is a successful entrepreneur who has built and sold four businesses over the past 25 years. They have spanned several sectors including CRM, location-based services and digital media. Every company applied innovation to challenge existing business models. Stuart has worked with a diverse and international customer-base including Sainsburyโs, British Airways, Unilever, Vodafone, BMW and various government agencies across the world. His previous company, ITIS Holdings plc, was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was Europeโs leading provider of real-time traffic information and connected car technology. The first company to commercialize crowdsourced data from GPS devices and mobile phone networks, Stuart sold the firm in 2011 to Washington-based INRIX before going on to establish L Marks to invest in the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
Follow Stuart Marks:
About a2om international, L Marks: L Marks is the trusted partner for global businesses, powering corporate innovation and fuelling growth
Chris Haslam
Founder of exit(0);
Follow Chris Haslam:
About exit(0);: Digital & Open Source Consultancy
David Pollock
Founder & CEO of Chess ICT
David established Chess in 1993, one of the UKโs fastest growing companies, listed in the Sunday Times Fast/Tech Track 100 and in the 100 Best Companies to Work For the last eight years. In 2017 and 2016 Chess was named the 2nd in 100 Best Company to Work For, the 2014 European Business Awards Customer Focus Champions and the Institute of Customer Service Quality Service Provider of the Year 2011. Acquisitions play a big part in Chessโ growth having completed over 100 to date. Chess employ over 500 people throughout the UK serving over 30,000 business customers in the Information Communication Technology sector. In 2017 David was named Best Leader by The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For. He won the Ernst and Young UK Technology Entrepreneur of the Year 2007, Telecoms Industry Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 and Institute of Directors โ Cheshire Director of the Year 2009, he was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Cheshire in 2012. His business career began at school promoting bands to his friends, moving on to music videos in Los Angeles, he has established many successful businesses from utilities, property, energy, organic food to online marketing. In his charitable work David, an active supporter of the Princeโs Trust, has been Chairman of the NW Development Committee since 2010. He enjoys physics challenges, In 2008 he led a team that won the Princeโs Trust Costa Rica Challenge, in 2009 his team came 2nd out of 42 teams in the Princeโs Trust Wild UK Challenge, in 2011 and 2012 his team won The Princeโs Trust Mersey to Tyne Challenge. In July 2012 he summited Mont Blanc and Kilimanjaro in July 2013. He is also a Trustee of Active Cheshire a charity that encourages health and well being through activity and is a Vice President of East Cheshire Hospice.
Follow David Pollock:
About Chess ICT: Chess ICT provide services including product supply and installation, storage, hosted and cloud solutions.
Matthew Hickey
Co-Founder and Director of Hacker House
Follow Matthew Hickey:
About Hacker House: Hacker House provides offensive security solutions to the information security industries.
Ben Nicholson
Founder and Sharedo Product Manager of slicedbread
Follow Ben Nicholson:
About slicedbread: slicedbread provide a single place where all work can be managed effectively.
Lloyd Hopkins
Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Interlink Software
Lloyd brings more than 25 years of high tech and management experience to his role as CEO of Interlink Software. Prior to Interlink Software Lloyd worked in IT Operations and Systems Management areas at Barclays Bank. Over the past 16 years, Lloyd has grown Interlink Software: a modern, exciting, profitable software company that delivers exceptional innovative technology to some of the largest companies around the globe. Lloyd believes that the greatest asset Interlink Software has is its people and is proud of the team heโs built up over the past decade comprising of individuals who, like himself, share a common goal in building a software company that organisations consider their business partner and not just another supplier.
Follow Lloyd Hopkins:
About Interlink Software: Interlink Software is a software development company with a strong customer focus.
Adam Butwilowski
Founder / CEO of CiiVSOFT
Follow Adam Butwilowski:
About Bubble Jobs, CiiVSOFT: Recruitment automation tools and technology
