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 London based Founder operating in the Social Impact 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.
Kirill Chliaifchtein
Founder & CEO of SwiftGift
Founder & CEO at SwiftGift
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About SwiftGift: SwiftGift is the world’s first Instant Gift Messenger App which allows you to send real gifts to anyone in your phone’s contact book.
Jessi Baker
Founder & CEO of Provenance
Jessi Baker is the founder of Provenance, building the future of supply chain transparency and product trust on the blockchain. She is an Art and Science hybrid, with Master’s degrees in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and Design from the Royal College of Art. She has worked with brands on technology strategy across the US and Europe, including Adidas, The Four Seasons, The Guggenheim Museum, British Airways and Will.I.Am. She is an associate researcher at the Intel Institute for Sustainable Cities and a regular speaker on technology and social business.
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About Intel, Provenance: Provenance is the leading software solution for sustainability communications
May Al-Karooni
Founder & CEO of Globechain
May Al-Karooni is the founder of Globechain – an award winning British reuse marketplace that connects corporates to charities and smes to redistribute free unwanted items, creating social impact data to its members. May previously worked within the investment banking and asset management industry, fundraising monies for venture capital, property and hedge funds for the last 10 years totaling over £120 million in funds raised. In 2013 May set up Globechain after seeing a demand for a new online circular economy within the waste management industry after her own employer expressed a need to reuse items in a more collaborative way. Globechain has gained huge momentum growing to 10,000 members with eBay as its mentors and securing contracts with some of the world’s largest brands as well as growing a large network of charities nationally and internationally. Globechain works within the retail, commercial and construction industry and last year diverted 5,100,000 kilos from landfill with items being re distributed within the UK as well as abroad as far as Sierra Leone, Guinea, Kenya, Libya and the Ukraine providing savings of over £1,500,000 to charitable causes.
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About Globechain: Globechain is a B2B reuse marketplace connecting businesses to charities, creating social impact data.
CARMEN HIJOSA
Founder & CEO of Ananas Anam
Carmen Hijosa Originally from Spain, Dr. Hijosa has a track record in the design and manufacturing of leather goods, selling through her own company and supplying key retail outlets such as Harrods and Liberties in London. While working in the Philippines as a consultant to the Product Development and Design Center of the Philippines in the ‘90s, Dr Hijosa became aware of the qualities of pineapple leaf fibres and began to explore possible ways to develop a new textile material that could be used as an alternative to leather and petroleum based textiles. As written in the Huffington Post, it took around 7 years to develop, what is now Pinatex. A strong and sustainable textile, that can be used in everything from bags to furniture. Even shoe companies like Puma and Camper have made prototypes with the textile. What started as an alternative to leather, have become its own product. Carmen believes that there is a place for Pinatex in the world, right between leather and petroleum based textiles.
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About Ananas Anam: Piñatex is a strong, versatile, breathable, soft, light, flexible textile that can be easily printed on, stitched and cut.
Anton Isaykin
Co-Founder of Fundraise Up
Anton Isaykin is the Co-Founder at Fundraise Up.
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About Campus On Fire, Fundraise Up: The new standard in online giving.
Andoni Piña Sigg
COO & Co-Founder of Novus World
Andoni Piña Sigg is the COO & Co-Founder at Novus.
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About Novus World: The impact banking app that turns your everyday spending into a force for good
Daniel Couchman Kendall
Managing Director & Founder of Mission Based Media
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About Mission Based Media: Mission Based Media creates and produces audio content that depends on the organization’s goals.
Tim Perkins
Co-Founder & Director of Nudge Global
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About Nudge Global: Brighter financial futures for everyone, everywhere
Jeremy Beament
Co-Founder & Director of Nudge Global
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About Nudge Global: Brighter financial futures for everyone, everywhere
Josh Thomas
Co-Founder, Head of Innovation of Karakoram
I’m Josh Thomas, an engineer, designer and innovation specialist with a career devoted to discovering and exploiting opportunities that arise when emerging technologies or business changes create new consumer and user needs. I build and lead cross-disciplinary teams of designers, engineers, developers, strategists, stand-up comics, and experiential artists who focus on new approaches to creating digital and physical products, platforms and organizational design.
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About BuyLevel, Glorious Labs, Karakoram: Karakoram is an award-winning innovation consultancy that creates breakthrough solutions for the world’s toughest humanitarian challenges.
Seth Ward
CEO & Founder of Pynk
Online since the ’80s, I grew up eating my cereals off of arcade game machines which led to my first thriving business aged 8 – running a lunchtime arcade sanctuary for my school buddies in my garage (in true Silicon Valley style). Serial tech entrepreneur and incubator since the ’90s. A hands-on, can-do leader, I’ve: – Raised investment (and delivered ROI) – Coded prototypes, alphas and betas – Set up data-driven analytics that enabled rapid growth – Recruited and led globally disperse tech teams – Built a business from $500 to eight figures in 4 years with zero investment – Pioneered digital download and mobile video streaming platforms for AOL, Vodafone, Orange and Universal Music – Co-founded a business which transformed professional soccer scouting before selling to an industry leader And I… – love to immerse myself in the most positively disruptive technology (from those arcade games and pre-WWW internet in the ’90s, web in the 90s, mobile in the 00s and now blockchain and AI in the 10s – learn to teach, and teach to learn; I feel most alive when I’m learning and applying new thinking – realise that as a society we need to actively shape our use of technology to help us reach our human potential rather than allowing it to rule our lives and diminish our connection to each other I first started mining Bitcoin in 2011. I’m currently focused on the blockchain space, dedicated to helping everyday investors and startups. I love blockchain, and I kinda love capitalism – both are broken right now, but could fix each other. Let’s make things better!
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About Pynk: Pynk is where everyday people invest better together.
Mark Little
Co-Founder, COO & CMO of Pynk
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About Pynk: Pynk is where everyday people invest better together.
Kaan Akın
Founder, CEO of Hackquarters
Tech investor, startup mentor and founder of Hackquarters Startup Accelerator. He is involved with corporate accelerator programs.
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About Hackquarters: Hackquarters accelerated 150+ startups and helped 40+ corporates to innovate with startup collaboration
Darren Smith
Co-Founder of Studio PI
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About News UK, Studio PI: Studio PI promotes awareness on social issues through photography and illustration.
Laura Degiovanni
CEO and Founder of TiiQu
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About TiiQu: TiiQu is a trust mechanism derived by immutable verifiable sources about one’s ID, Work, Knowledge, Performances
Robert Pasco
Co-Founder & CEO of Plend
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About Plend: Building a better way to borrow, where people are no longer held back by their credit history
James Pursaill
Co-Founder & CTO of Plend
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About Plend: Building a better way to borrow, where people are no longer held back by their credit history
Josh Russell
Co-Founder & Strategy Lead of Forward Democracy
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About Dashlabs, Forward Democracy, Metranet Communications: Forward Democracy organizes various activities and initiatives to improve the society.
Ilyanna Kerr
Co-Founder & CEO of See What I Mean
Ilyanna studied Design at Goldsmiths College, University of London and the SWiM app originated from a final year project focused on how linking speech to images can strengthen understanding and aid communication. Ilyanna’s work as a designer focuses on interaction and visual communication. She has worked at leading design agency Pentagram, where her clients included Maggie’s Cancer Care Centres, the Science Museum, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the Royal Academy of Arts.
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About See What I Mean: See What I Mean is a speech to image communication tool that translates words into pictures.
Peter Rogers
Co-Founder & CTO of See What I Mean
Peter is a senior computing tutor at Goldsmiths College, University of London and is the lead developer of the SWiM app. Peter also works as a designer and programmer. His recent projects have included social and speculative design in the sphere of citizen participation and mobile location aware services.
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About Goldsmiths, University of London, See What I Mean: See What I Mean is a speech to image communication tool that translates words into pictures.
Jim Clifford
CEO & Founder of Sonnet Advisory & Impact
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About Sonnet Advisory & Impact: Sonnet Advisory & Impact provides consultation services and solutions to impact-driven businesses.
Iskren Kulev
CEO, Founder of KindLink
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About KindLink: Online platform for businesses to manage and engage with employees through their social responsibility
Chris Skitch
Founder & CEO of Didgeroo
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About Didgeroo: DIDGEROO HELPS CREATIVE AGENCIES BUILD INNOVATIVE WEBSITES.
Melanie V. Eusebe
Co-Founder & Chair of Black British Business Awards
Melanie V. Eusebe is an entrepreneur and strategist. She is a Co-Founder and Chair at The Black British Business Awards. Aside from being the chair of BBBAwards, she was also the Executive Producer for the Women of the World Festival, a global gender equality festival. She also works as a news contributor at BBC. She graduated from University of Toronto with majors in Philosophy, Political Science, and French.
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About Black British Business Awards: BBB Awards is an awards program that celebrates achievements of black people in British business.
Melanie V. Eusebe
Co-Founder & Chair of Black British Business Awards
Melanie V. Eusebe is an entrepreneur and strategist. She is a Co-Founder and Chair at The Black British Business Awards. Aside from being the chair of BBBAwards, she was also the Executive Producer for the Women of the World Festival, a global gender equality festival. She also works as a news contributor at BBC. She graduated from University of Toronto with majors in Philosophy, Political Science, and French.
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About Black British Business Awards: BBB Awards is an awards program that celebrates achievements of black people in British business.
