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 Market Research 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.
Alex Vratskides
Co-Founder & CEO of Persado
Alex Vratskides is the CEO of Persado, which he co-founded in 2012. Previously, Alex co-founded Upstream in 2001 and served as the company’s CEO between 2004 and 2012. During his tenure, the company grew to become a global leader in mobile marketing, with mobile operator clients in more than 40 countries. Alex was responsible for setting Upstream’s strategic direction and spearheading its international sales expansion and product innovation. Prior to founding Upstream, Alex worked as a management consultant at OC&C/McKenna Group, based out of Boston. He is the first angel investor for Luluvise, where he is also a board member, and serves on the board of advisors of Seyyer. Alex holds a BS in Applied Mathematics from Columbia University and a Masters of Engineering in Operations Research from Cornell University.
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About Persado: Persado Marketing Language Cloud delivers AI-generated language that resonates the most with any audience, segment or individual.
Tugce Bulut
Founder and CEO of Streetbees
Tugce is passionate about the power of data and the positive change it can bring to the world. She is a published author and Master’s graduate from Cambridge, specialising in poverty alleviation and global living standards. Before founding Streetbees, she spent 6 years as a strategy consultant advising technology and consumer companies to accelerate growth in international markets.
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About Streetbees: Streetbees is a human intelligence platform that collects and analyzes offline consumer behavior.
Oliver May
Co-Founder and CCO of Streetbees
Oliver May is a mathematics and data geek who’s found his true calling in the vitality of the mobile tech world. After 5 years at Morgan Stanley as a trader, Oli co-founded and bootstrapped Fairshare, an elegant app designed to transform the shared living experience. He’s passionate about data and geolocation tech, and making the world more accessible with Streetbees. He also hits a mean forehand at table tennis.
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About Streetbees: Streetbees is a human intelligence platform that collects and analyzes offline consumer behavior.
Margo Polishchuk
Co-Founder & Director of proSapient
Margo Polishchuk is the Co-Founder & Director at proSapient.
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About proSapient: proSapient is a research platform that gathers networks of insights from executives and SMEs via global consultations and surveys.
Ammad Ahmad
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Atheneum
Ammad has a comprehensive understanding of the key levers that drive better business performance given his experience in implementing industry specific best practices across various Fortune 100 companies. Prior to founding Atheneum, he spent 13 years in the United States, with significant experience at Kaiser Associates, and the Advisory Board Company. Ammad is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, and has a Masters from the WHU School of Management together with the Bucerius Law School in Germany.
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About Atheneum: Atheneum is a knowledge sharing platform that offers corporations access to up-to-date market insights for better business decisions.
Ivo Spigel
Co-Founder and Editor of Tech.eu
Co-founder of IT solutions company Perpetuum Mobile and Croatia’s premier startup program, ZIP. Former editor at The Kernel; regularly writes columns for Forbes Croatia and is working on a book with interview of European startup founders.
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About Perpetuum-Mobile, Tech.eu, ZIP – Zagreb Entrepreneurship Incubator: Tech.eu provides tech news, data, market intelligence, and insights into startup activity.
Jeremy King
CEO & Co-Founder of Attest
Jeremy King is the CEO & Founder at Attest
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About Attest: Attest is a consumer research platform that delivers consumer data that drive predictable and repeatable growth to businesses.
Tony Hunter
Co-Founder of Attest
Tony Hunter is the COO & Co-Founder at Attest
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About Attest: Attest is a consumer research platform that delivers consumer data that drive predictable and repeatable growth to businesses.
Allister Furey
Co-Founder & CEO of Sylvera
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About Sylvera: Sylvera develops machine learning-based tools to track the performance of carbon offsets.
Patrick Hable
Managing Partner, Founder of 2iQ Research
Patrick is a founding member and Managing Director of 2iQ Research. He is responsible for sales and business development. Prior to his work with 2iQ, Patrick Hable spent four years working in the portfolio management division of DWS, Germany’s leading fund management company, and was responsible for the portfolio management of various European equity funds.
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About 2iQ Research: 2iQ is the leading Insider Transaction data provider with a global coverage of 60,000+ stocks.
Jason Kingdon
Co-Founder of Telectic
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About Blue Prism, Telectic: Telectic applies artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret the Web and discover insights about the professional world.
Iain McLaren
Co-Founder of Telectic
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About Telectic: Telectic applies artificial intelligence (AI) to interpret the Web and discover insights about the professional world.
Ed McDermott
Co-Founder and Managing Director, UK of EMMAC Life Sciences
Ed McDermott is the co-founder and managing director at EMMAC Life Sciences.
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About EMMAC Life Sciences: EMMAC is a medical cannabis company that works to join together the latest science and research with cutting-edge cultivation.
Hugo Amos
Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of Black Swan Data
Black Swan Data is one of the UK’s fastest growing technology companies counting PepsiCo, Unilever, McDonald’s and Google amongst its clients. It combines cutting edge data science with publicly available social data to accurately predict trends in consumer behaviour. Hugo Amos works closely with clients to help them transform their insight, innovation and marketing programs through the application of Social Prediction technology. Prior to setting up Black Swan, Hugo spent 10 years in consumer and digital marketing for PepsiCo in both the UK and North America.
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About Black Swan Data: Black Swan’s SaaS solution uses data analytics to allow brands to more accurately predict future consumer trends
David Kershaw
Co-Founder ,CEO & Exec Director of M&C Saatchi
David Kershaw is a founding director of M&C Saatchi. He joined Saatchi & Saatchi in 1982 after obtaining an MBA at London Business School. He became managing director in 1990 and was made chairman and chief executive of the UK agency in 1994.
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About M&C Saatchi: M&C Saatchi Group is a creative company that connects specialist expertise, fuelled by data and technology.
Cameron Gordon
CTO and Co-Founder of OnePulse
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About OnePulse: OnePulse is a mobile app that connects people and businesses with opinions and reward them through PayPal.
Erwin Werring
Co-Founder & CEO of Attrace
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About Attrace: A Decentralised Affiliate Marketing Platform.
Claire Enders
Founder of Enders Analysis
Claire Enders founded Enders Analysis in 1997. Claire is one of the most experienced analysts and forecasters in UK and European media and telecoms, with more than 30 years in strategy development and market research in these sectors. Claire is particularly valued for her independent views and insights regarding cyclical and structural impacts on companies in the media, telecoms, technology and retail sectors. Claire is a graduate of Yale and of the London Business School. Enders Analysis supports a wide range of charities in the UK with which Claire is actively involved, including the NSPCC, and many cultural enterprises. Claire is a Trustee of Glyndebourne and a Trustee of the Natural History Museum development trust.
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About Enders Analysis: Enders Analysis is a TMT analysis firm providing senior corporate managers with an alternative perspective on 3G and the internet.
Tom Adams
Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer of 60 Decibels
Tom Adams is an entrepreneur and an economist. He currently co-run the social enterprise 60 Decibels and has previously held leadership positions across impact investing and various UK Government departments. He started his career dabbling in traditional finance and now have over 15 years of experience working both in the UK and internationally. He is passionate about entrepreneurial solutions to poverty and policies that promote more equitable societies.
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About 60 Decibels, Acumen: 60 Decibels brings speed and repeatability to social impact measurement and customer insights.
Singe (StJohn) Deakins
Founder and CEO of Citizenme
StJohn Deakins As Founder and CEO, StJohn oversees the commercial and technical direction for citizenme. His vision was to create a service for everyone that lets us take back control of our digital identities and asset our right to self. He works with our team, partners, suppliers, advocates, the media and the general public to ensure that the citizenme vision realises its potential to positively impact the lives of every single digital citizen. . StJohn is a successful serial Internet entrepreneur, digital visionary, mobile evangelist, and documentary producer. In late 2010 he sold his mobile multimedia platform company, 3ple-media, to a US private equity firm. StJohn subsequently advised on the acquisition of the NSN Wimax business unit by SkyView. In 1995 he was instrumental in helping to put Lloyd’s List, the world’s oldest daily newspaper, online. Later, his team at Agency.com developed the first British Airways booking system and global Internet presence. . StJohn produced the acclaimed crowd sourced documentary Twittamentary. He provides formal and informal advisory to a number of start-ups including Distrify, the innovative Internet movie distribution platform. StJohn returned to London to found citizenme after spending 12 years living in Singapore where he worked to advance mobile data services in the emerging markets of Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and South America.
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About Citizenme: CitizenMe empowers us people and organisations with the true value of personal data.
Rob Lough
Chief Strategy Officer / Co-Founder of KidsKnowBest
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About KidsKnowBest: A full-service creative agency; driven by insights; powered by youth. Delivering effective and results-led solutions.
Joel Silverman
CEO / Co-Founder of KidsKnowBest
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About KidsKnowBest: A full-service creative agency; driven by insights; powered by youth. Delivering effective and results-led solutions.
William Rowe
Founder & CEO of Protein
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About Protein: Protein is a global marketing company with a focus on long term strategies.
James Governor
Founder of RedMonk
James Governor is a Principal Analyst and Co-founder at RedMonk. Based in London, he advises enterprises, startups and major companies such as IBM and Microsoft on developer-led innovation, community and technology strategy. He is also proud to have open-source nonprofit organizations such as the Apache Software Foundation and the Eclipse Foundation as clients. James was co-author of the O’Reilly publication, “Web 2.0 Design Patterns: What Architects and Entrepreneurs Need to Know.” In 2009, he served as Chairman of SAP’s external panel for stakeholder assurance in Sustainability Strategy and Reporting. James makes extensive use of both open source and social media tools in RedMonk’s business operations – @monkchips, has more than 21K followers.
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About RedMonk: The developer-focused industry analyst firm.
Michael Piddock
Founder of Glisser
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About Glisser, GoodBox, The Wine List, ThriveMap, VouchedFor: The award-winning tech platform powering unique company event experiences, anywhere.
Hawaa Budraa
Founder of PlaqueChecker
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About PlaqueChecker: PlaqueChecker is an app where you can track, monitor and diagnose the health of your teeth and gums.
Bruce Hellman
CEO and Co-Founder of uMotif
Bruce Hellman is the CEO and Co-Founder of uMotif.
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About uMotif: UMotif is a scalable and engaging patient-centred data capture platform for modern research.
Ryszard Bublik
CEO and Co-Founder of Social360 Ltd
Ryszard has more than twenty years communications advisory experience. He started his career in investment banking with Nomura before moving to the international PR consultancy Brunswick. Recognising the wealth of critical insight in online conversation, Ryszard was part of a team that founded Social360 in 2008 to provide flexible online monitoring solutions to some of the world’s biggest brands and PR agencies.
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About Social360 Ltd: Social360 Ltd operates a social media monitoring and analysis platform for corporate communications and public affairs.
Hossein Houssaini
Founder of HoPe Advisory
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About HoPe Advisory: HoPe Advisory provides consultation services to improve marketing and digital growth of businesses.
Liz Brandt
Founder and CEO of Ctrl-Shift
Liz has over 20 years experience in consulting and has spent the last 14 building and running innovative businesses that focus primarily on the digital interaction between business and consumers. Throughout here career Liz has worked both in and for large corporates and has developed deep skills and strong networks across private, public and the 3rd sectors. Since the beginning of her career Liz has worked at the disruptive edge, where business and technology meet. She brings deep and strong experience in the impact on business models and operating environments of the shifting landscape of consumers, digital, trust and value. Liz combines vision married with evidence and market knowledge, business strategy and operational implementation and the ability to bring together strong teams to deliver extraordinary results.
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About Ctrl-Shift: Organisations today are facing profound changes in the way they engage consumers who seek more control over and value from their data.
Jesse Hopps
Founder & CEO of Demand Metric
Jesse worked for 5 years at IT analyst firm Info-Tech Research Group before founding Demand Metric. His primary responsibilities are building the team and partner ecosystem. When not working on the business Jesse likes to spend time with his family in Canada & Colombia.
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About Demand Metric: Agile project management software built for Marketers powered by 1,000+ practical tools & resources.
Gary Nelson
Founder – Chief Marketing Officer of Datasmoothie
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About Datasmoothie: Datasmoothie is a tool for data analysts and researchers in the “people data” industries, i.e. marketing, sociology, economics, psychology.
Matt Lynch
Co-Founder & CSO of Big Sofa Technologies
Matt heads up our client strategy, helping current and future clients to get maximum value from the application of our technology and thinking. He began his career in marketing and category management, before broadening his experience in a range of research and consulting roles. After completing a Masters in Organisational Behaviour, Matt joined up with Simon to establish Big Sofa as a modern, agile insight business that balances humanity with automation. Matt is experienced in leading projects for blue chip brands like Coca Cola, Unilever, BP and Barclays, working within and alongside global agencies, and collaborating with tech start-ups. He combines strategy, creativity and delivery in an informal approach that is commercially grounded and direct.
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About Big Sofa Technologies: Big Sofa is a video data analytics business
Javier Burón
Co-Founder & CEO of Audiense
Javier Burón is a dedicated internet enthusiast with wide experience in social media and has spoken at many events across Europe. Entrepreneur by nature, he has gained in-depth knowledge in this area over the last five years thanks to numerous successful consulting projects, and designing and developing a wide variety of social apps (e24apps.com). Javier Burón has a Masters in Information Systems, Computing Engineering and is a recent past lecturer at Córdoba University.
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About Audiense: Audiense is a develops delivering unique consumer insight and engagement capabilities to many of the world’s biggest brands and agencies.
Dinis Guarda
CEO and Founder of Ztudium
Dinis Guarda, author, CEO, and founder of the companies ztudium, techabc, and open business council platform. Dinis Guarda is also the founding member of the Ubuntu Tribe utribe.one impact platform that is creating access to basic financial services & wealth creation opportunities to solve global poverty trap. Dinis Guarda has a Master’s degree in new media. Dinis Guarda is an author, writer, artist, academic, B2B2C tech influencer, inventor and serial entrepreneur. Dinis is a world-renowned thought leader, strategist, futurist and speaker, an International Bestselling Author, and a media personality who covers the pressent and future of business, technology and society. Dinis is a World Class Leader in multiple fields and has a passsion to push ideas, action and technology together to create better solutions, narratives and paths. Dinis Guarda specialises in the crossroad between strategy, ideas, business, poetry, technology and how 4IR, AI, Fintech, digital transformation and Blockchain are changing Humanity. Dinis Guarda has decades of experience in international business, C level positions and digital transformation. Dinis has worked with new tech, cryptocurrencies, drive ICOs, regulation, compliance, legal international processes, and has created a bank, and been involved in the inception of some of the top 100 digital currencies. Dinis Guarda has created various companies such as ztudium tech platform a digital and blockchain startup that created the software Blockimpact (sold to Glance Technologies Inc) and founder and publisher of intelligenthq.com, openbusinesscouncil.org, fashionabc.org, hedgethink.com, and tradersdna.com. Dinis has been working with the likes of UN / UNITAR, UNESCO, European Space Agency, Davos WEF, Philips, Saxo Bank, Mastercard, Barclays and governments all over the world. Dinis Guarda has been a guest lecturer at Copenhagen Business School, Group INSEEC/Monaco University, where he has been coordinating executive Masters and MBAs. Dinis Guarda is ranked as one of the most influential people in Blockchain in the world by Right Relevance as well as being listed in Cointelegraph’s Top People In Blockchain in 2019 and Rise Global’s The Artificial Intelligence Power 100. He is also listed on multiple lists on global top leaders on Fintech, digital transformation and Technology at large. Dinis Guarda has been collaborating with multiple governments and global leading companies and organisations. An example is the collaboration with the newly-appointed Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chairman Datuk Rais Hussin collaborating in the concept of Malaysia 5.0 as a new narrative for the country. “MDEC will no doubt play a leading role in introducing emerging technologies which are essential tools in the new Malaysia 5.0 digital economy. If such a policy is missing from our national strategy, Malaysia will be left behind and excluded from digital ecosystems and workforces,” Rais said in his inaugural statement. Touting his personal passion for digital transformation, he referred to the book 4IR: Reinventing a Nation which was co-authored with blockchain / AI / Fintech expert Dinis Guarda and launched in October last year, is meant to be a blueprint of sorts to assist governments of developing nations in their digital transformation agenda. More here https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/06/16/new-mdec-chief-pushes-for-malaysia-5.0-concept/1875908
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About Gozoa, Ztudium: ztudium is maker of the industry 4.0 technologies for the future present: blockchain, AI and digital transformation solutions
Jonathan Gan
Founder of Whichit
Founder of Whichit.
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About Whichit: Whichit is an Interactive Commercial Content platform to increase user engagement, open new revenue streams and gain actionable insights
Charles Osborne
Founder of Osinto
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About CarFwd, Osinto, Rainmaking Innovation: Osinto specializes in market research, market intelligence, market analysis, urban air mobility and lead generation.
Mitzi Laszlo
Founder of Map That
Mitzi Laszlo is a communications manager at Inrupt.
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About Map That: A data-pedia to democratise real time data visualisation.
Hugo Macedo
CEO & Founder of Smart Separations Ltd
Hugo is the founder and CEO of Smart Separations Ltd. He has over 11 years of experience in entrepreneurship which helped him founding this start-up company that has developed a proprietary filter that can be tailored to suit many different applications in the poorly explored but very large microfiltration market, from biotechnology to food & drink processing. Throughout his PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Hugo was constantly challenged with new and diverse tasks, in a multidisciplinary environment, where he breathed skills from chemical engineering to stem cell technology, including membrane technology, hydrodynamics, stem cell culture and bioprocessing, human blood production, amongst many others. This provided him with the right tools to create the first “3D hollow fibre bioreactor for the production of human red blood cells” – a system design that he patented. This work was featured in different magazines, including the cover page of The Chemical Engineer (TCE) in 2011, selected as one of “Ten life-changing ideas under research at UK universities” by the Research Councils UK and shortlisted for the highly prestigious IChemE Awards in 2011. Hugo currently holds 2 patents and is passionate for innovation leading to improve people’s quality of life – a vision that he has shared with Smart Separation
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About Smart Separations Ltd: Smart Separations is a limited company based in London UK that has patented an innovative microfiltration technology.
Christopher Baugh
President & Founder of Northern Sky Research
Christopher Baugh serves as the President and Founder of Northern Sky Research (NSR), which he created in 2000 to provide independent, actionable market research and consulting services to the satellite industry. Christopher Baugh directs all NSR multi-client research reports and single-client consulting projects, and manages a global team of analysts that stand at the forefront of satellite industry expertise. Before forming NSR, Christopher Baugh served as Senior Analyst for Pioneer Consulting where he covered all aspects of the satellite market. Prior to Pioneer, Christopher Baugh was an International Trade Specialist and Economist for the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, DC. While at the Department of Commerce, Christopher Baugh was a recipient of the Charles F. Meissner Memorial Award for his work on trade negotiations in the International Trade Administration. Christopher Baugh also has extensive legislative and analytical experience from his work for the Committee on International Relations and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, both in the U.S. House of Representatives. Christopher Baugh holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Westminster College and a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University.
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About Northern Sky Research: NSR is a global leader in providing satellite industry Market Research and Consulting Services to clients around the world.
Selasie Ocloo
Founder and CEO of Seyann Electronics Ltd.
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About Seyann Electronics Ltd.: Seyann Electronics offers mobile payment solutions for emerging markets.
