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 Hospitality 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.
Jason Torres
Co-Founder & CTO of Slerp
Jason Torres is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Slerp.
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About Slerp: Slerp is an e-commerce platform for the hospitality industry.
Nick Telson
Co-Founder of DesignMyNight
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About DesignMyNight: DesignMyNight.com is a nightlife discovery website.
Alexander Limpert
Co-Founder and CEO of GuestReady
Before launching GuestReady, Alex was a Country Managing Director in Taiwan and Philippines at Rocket Internet owned foodpanda, a global food delivery company. Prior to this, he was a management consultant at Oliver Wyman in London, where he advised leading companies across a variety of industries including travel and hospitality. He holds an MSc with Distinction from London School of Economics (LSE) and a BA in Business Administration from University of St.Gallen (HSG). Alex has travelled to more than 50 countries for business and leisure, and therefore understands the needs of the modern business traveller and how any property can be turned into a guest-ready Airbnb home.
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About GuestReady: GuestReady is a platform for real estate management with a focus on short-term rentals.
Abeed Mohamed
Co-Founder & CRO of Birdie
Abeed Mohamed is the Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of Birdie.
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About Birdie: Birdie is a digital caretech company focused on elderly care at home.
Max Parmentier
Co-Founder & CEO of Birdie
Max Parmentier is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Birdie.
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About Birdie: Birdie is a digital caretech company focused on elderly care at home.
Gwen Le Calvez
Co-Founder & CTO of Birdie
Gwen Le Calvez is the Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Birdie.
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About Birdie: Birdie is a digital caretech company focused on elderly care at home.
Ben Stephenson
CEO and Founder of Impala
Founder at Impala
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About Impala: Impala’s API connects room sellers and hotels, instantly. We empower you to build, innovate and sell.
David Abrahamovitch
Founder & CEO of Grind
The first of the Grinds, Shoreditch Grind was born when David turned a stand-alone perfectly circular building perched on the edge of Old Street Roundabout, into an Espresso Bar. A UCL Economics graduate, David has extensive business experience in previous roles.
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About Grind: Founded in Shoreditch in 2011, Grind & Co. has since opened espresso bars, cocktail bars, restaurants and recording studios across London.
Rafe Offer
Founder and Executive Chair of Sofar Sounds
Rafe Offer has held senior marketing positions such as Global Marketing Director of Coca-Cola, Director of Global Marketing at The Walt Disney Company and Director of innovation for Diageo. Rafe is an internationally lauded specialist in teamwork, leadership and brand innovation. Now he’s focusing his energy on SofarSounds.com
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About Sofar Sounds, Sofar Sounds: Sofar Sounds is a global community hosting curated, secret performances in more than 400 cities around the world.
Ben Dixon
Co-Founder & CTO of Sona
Ben is a senior developer focused on web application development. He primarily creates Ruby on Rails and Android applications. He also has experience in front-end development in both Backbone and Angular JS as well as infrastructure management with Chef and Docker. He’s the author of Reliably Deploying Rails Applications (http://www.deployingrailsbook.com/) which covers how to deploy medium-sized Rails Applications in an easy, scalable fashion, and spoke at Railsconf 2014 on this topic. He also spoke at Railsconf 2015 on how Docker can be tightly integrated with Rails to do far more interesting things than just deployment. He is currently CTO of Sona, the unified frontend for the frontline workforce.
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About Sona: Sona is the employee app for tomorrow’s workforce.
Oli Johnson
Co-Founder of Sona
Oli Johnson is a Co-founder of Sona.
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About Sona: Sona is the employee app for tomorrow’s workforce.
Paul Besnainou
Founder & CEO of Sweet Inn
Paul Besnainou is a 31-year old French-Israeli entrepreneur, who is entirely self-taught. After his high school diploma, he opted to pursue his studies at the Mir Yeshiva rather than attend a prominent business school. Following his seven years of Talmudic studies, he emerged filled with intellectual curiosity, discipline, and an analytical spirit – characteristics that would lead him to found and direct, only a year later, Sweet Inn. In just 5 years since its founding, Sweet Inn is already located in 13 cities around Europe and in Israel, totaling over 700 apartments and employ more than 200 employees.
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About Sweet Inn: Sweet Inn is a booking platform intended for hotel services for tourists and business travelers.
Jens Munch
Co-Founder & CEO of Pace Revenue
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About Pace Revenue: Pace is revolutionising revenue management with a suite of tools to deliver science, real-time and automation.
Igor Svehla
Co Founder & CEO of Trakbar
Igor Svehla is the Founder at Trakbar .
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About Project 3 Mobility, Trakbar: Smart business intelligence and predictions for bars & restaurants
Christian Samuel
Founder of Resooma
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About Personalised Co, Resooma: We’re building an end-to-end rental marketplace with simplified payment solutions that serves both tenants and property owners.
Zoe Duong Vu
Co-Founder and Shareholder of Pass the Keys
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About Pass the Keys: Pass the Keys is an airbnb management company offers an expert Airbnb and short let management service.
Alexander Lyakhotskiy
Founder & CEO of Pass the Keys
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About Pass the Keys: Pass the Keys is an airbnb management company offers an expert Airbnb and short let management service.
Brandon Stephens
Founder & CEO of Anthem
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About Anthem, Mamma Roma, REVL, Thunderbird Fried Chicken, Tortilla Mexican Grill: Anthem embraces the seismic changes in work, entertainment, and wellbeing.
Abhinandan Balasubramanian “Abhi”
Founder of ChefHost
Founder at ChefHost
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About altflo, ChefHost, LIQUITY: ChefHost is an on-demand chef marketplace and social media platform for the culinary world.
Tom Taylor
Co-Founder and CTO of Breakroom
Tom Taylor is the co-founder and CTO at Poplar.
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About Breakroom: Breakroom is a crowdsourced data platform for hourly and shift workers.
James Powell
CTO & Co-Founder of Sellar
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About Sellar, Waffle: Sellar is the new trade ordering experience for breweries selling beer directly to trade customers.
Andrew Dent
Founder of Family Traveller
Andrew Dent is the Founder at Family Traveller
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About Family Traveller: Family Traveller is a multi-platform brand operating across familytraveller.com, social media and email.
Prask Sutton
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Onvi
Founder & CEO of Wi5.
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About Onvi: The mobile-first POS system for hospitality
Mark Elwig
Co-Founder and Commercial Director of Staff Heroes
Proven Commercial leader with a track record of driving growth through technology sales with Enterprise customers across multiple sectors including Hospitality, Retail, Travel and Entertainment. Experienced go-to market strategist and sales leader. Deal brokering at a global level. International experience within EMEA and US. Focus, drive and great people skills having lead several sales, business development and client account teams for both Fortune 500 and start-up organisations. Experience in setting up and building out sales and marketing teams from scratch and most recently co-founding and running the commercial arm of an innovative staffing marketplace start-up, operating within the Hospitality sector in the UK. Specialties: Business development, Sales, business strategy, account management, client services, licensing, white label, B2B partnerships, European & Global sales, SaaS software sales, launching a start-up.
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About eBay Advertising, mydeco, Staff Heroes: Staff Heroes is an on demand & AI technology marketplace reinventing the world of work, connecting businesses and workers more efficiently.
Maxime Leufroy-Murat
City Relay Founder and CEO of City Relay
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About City Relay, FG Properties, Outswitch: London’s premier short let management company. Short lets, but smarter.
Simon Woodroffe
Founder of Yotel
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About Yotel: Yotel offers affordable hotels with elements of luxury in smart spaces.
Sarah Miller
Co-Founder of Triptease
Founder at Triptease
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About Sarah Miller & Partners, The Wall Street Journal, Triptease: Triptease is a travel SaaS company that empowers hotels to recapture guest relationships and increase direct bookings.
Izaan Khan
Co-Founder (Blockchain + Legal) of Dyne
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About Dyne: Dyne is building a digital hospitality platform to redefine the outdated experience at restaurants, bars, and cafés around the world
Amanda Langford
Founder Director of Blue Badge Style
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About Blue Badge Style: Blue Badge Style provides a retail merchandising system offering style guides for less physically-abled users.
Florian Hoven
Founder of KeyNest – Smart Key Exchange
As an Airbnb host and frequent user when travelling, I know the struggles for both sides (hosts & guests) when key exchanges are badly coordinated or flights are delayed. Helping hosts & guests to enjoy the Airbnb experience is my every day motivation.
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About KeyNest – Smart Key Exchange: Smart key management solutions for Airbnb hosts, short-term rental operators and estate agents
Marc Figueras
Founder of KeyNest – Smart Key Exchange
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About KeyNest – Smart Key Exchange: Smart key management solutions for Airbnb hosts, short-term rental operators and estate agents
Preeya Khagram-Nasim
Founder of HotBox London Ltd
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About HotBox London Ltd: HotBox is a barbecue restaurant.
Basit Nasim
Founder, Chairman of HotBox London Ltd
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About HotBox London Ltd: HotBox is a barbecue restaurant.
Adrian Maseda
Co-Founder & COO of Cheerfy
Adrian has worked for many years for large corporations like Nortel and Aricent Group in various Business Management and Sales roles. Adrian then became an entrepreneur: Co-Founder @ We2 (Social Wifi), Founder @ Protos (an advisory firm). Adrian is now focused is his latest project, Cheerfy. Adrian believes in using technology to solve problems and reshape how things work. In particular, he sees opportunity in the intersection between social and hyper-localised interactions in a mobile world.
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About Cheerfy, Protos Global Services: The new way restaurants sell post-COVID
Christopher Roach
Founder of City Surfer
A passionate, well educated and skilled individual who produces excellent results. Organized, efficient and driven – a natural networker and team builder who thrives under high pressure situations. I enjoy creating and implementing creative communications campaigns including but not limited to, social media promotions and Out of Home advertising. In 2017 I was chosen as one of the top 30 under 30 Future Travel Leaders by TTG (Travel Trade Gazette), one of the industry s leading travel trade magazines. My focus is currently on the launch of the City Surfer app being released in Feb 2018. My duties as founder include implementing a strong PR and marketing campaign for launch.
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About City Surfer: City Surfer is your inner hipster, foodie, raver and fashion guru all combined into one simple to use app.
Joel Braham
Founder of The Good Egg
Joel Braham is a Founder at Good Egg Restaurants.
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About The Good Egg: Good Egg Restaurants operates as a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner.
Dario Favoino
Co-Founder and VP of Property of Lyvly
Dario Favoino is Co-Founder and VP of Property at Lyvly.
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About Lyvly: Lyvly is a shared living and rental service that connects and helps renters find accommodation, and connect with other like minded people.
Jacek Bilinski
Co-Founder of Fanny’s
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About Fanny’s: Fanny’s offers a premium kebab shop experience.
Paul Loram
Co-Founder / COO of YourWelcome
With over 10 ten years experience working in media and mobile, Paul Loram raised VC funding to start a cross platform social gaming company that is run with his business partner Henry Bennett. Paul Loram also oversees a joint venture mobile apps agency that he founded with the global post production company Deluxe Digital Studios. Clients range from BBC WorldWide / 2Entertain, ITV, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, The History Channel, Random House Books and various advertising agencies. Winner of the “BT Entrepreneur of the Year Award” 2009.
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About Island Wall Entertainment, The Question Company, YourWelcome: YourWelcome is a SaaS platform enabling short term rental managers to add a service layer to their business.
Henry Bennett
Co-Founder / CEO of YourWelcome
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About YourWelcome: YourWelcome is a SaaS platform enabling short term rental managers to add a service layer to their business.
Daniel Yates
Managing Director and Founder of Pitchup.com
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About Pitchup.com: Making it a doddle to book campsites in 65 countries. Member of Financial Times FT1000 fastest-growing companies in Europe 2018/19/20.
Chris Alexandre
Founder and CEO of GuestRevu
Founder & CEO at GuestRevu (Guest Experience Management for the hotel and accommodation industry.) Founder & CEO at IntelliMetrixx (rebranded to GuestRevu) Previously: – Founder and CEO at SurveyShack.com. – Founder and Managing Director of jungle.com – the UK’s largest digital superstore, sold to GUS in 2000. An experienced management professional with a passion for business and the IT industries, with experience spanning UK, Europe, Africa and the US. Specialties: Internet, Computer software, eCommerce, Marketing, Business Development and Entrepreneurship
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About GuestRevu: Quickly and easily gather feedback from your guests and actively manage your online reputation with GuestRevu’s cloud-based solutions.
Simos Kitiris
Founder of Yumbles
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About Yumbles: Yumbles enables everyone to discover and buy great, innovative food products sold directly online by the talented people who make them.
Katie Kitiri
Founder of Yumbles
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About Yumbles: Yumbles enables everyone to discover and buy great, innovative food products sold directly online by the talented people who make them.
Adrian Negoita
CTO and Co-Founder of BotsAndUs
Adrian Negoita is a CTO and Co-Founder at BotsAndUs. He is an experienced software test engineer who is motivated by building high-quality products and sharing his knowledge to support the wider adoption of robotics.
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About BotsAndUs: BotsAndUs is a data-driven robotics and AI company that provides full-stack robot systems for dynamic spaces.
Rich Turnbull
Co-Founder & CTO of HotelFlex
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About HotelFlex: An award winning, VC backed hospitality tech startup, transforming the way hotels manage and sell their inventory
Toby Heelis
CEO (Co-Founder) of virtuall
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About : Transforming industries by creating innovative products that connect the world more sustainably and profitably.
Gee Mann
CEO and Founder of Kiva Solutions
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About Kiva Solutions: Kiva Solutions Book meetings in real-time without the hassle, expense and wasted time of RFP’s and proposals.
Matthew Stubbs
Founder & CEO of BookingTek
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About BookingTek: BookingTek is develop and deliver innovative direct booking solutions for hospitality.
Merilee Karr
Founder & CEO of UnderTheDoormat
Merilee has travelled the world to over 60 countries – and feels at home in many of its major cities. A strategist, property management and partnership expert formerly working for a global energy company, she has always been inspired by authentic and memorable travel experiences. When she’s not feeding her own wanderlust, she loves hiking, cycling, skiing and taking part in the occasional triathlon. Merilee has a passion for changing the world. 12 years working for Shell and being able to observe different cultures around the globe, gave birth to her desire to actually start making a difference in the way things are done. Combining her drive for initiating change with her love of travelling, Merilee realised the potential for tourists to experience a new destination like a local while allowing homeowners to earn extra income with piece of mind through the growing sharing economy.
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About UnderTheDoormat: Our mission is to redefine the future of accommodation.
Prithvi Dhanda
Founder, CEO of Sentiment Search
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About Sentiment Search: The next generation of review insights for restaurants.
Nikolaos Kapsalis
Founder of INAOSSIEN
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About INAOSSIEN: INAOSSIEN is an online marketer that helps design and improve the brand of its clients.
Vincent McKevitt
Founder of Tossed
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About Tossed: Tossed is on a mission to make healthy eating yummy!
Chris Green
Co-Founder of Young Foodies
Chris Green is the co-founder at Young Foodies.
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About Young Foodies: Young Foodies provides a community and specialist services for the most exciting food and drink challenger brands
Brian Azzopardi
Founder of Rawstream
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About Rawstream: Rawstream is a cloud-based web filtering solution for productivity, schools, and Google Apps.
Russell Stinson
Founder and Owner of ACT Clean
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About ACT Clean, Fireheart Coffee: ACT Clean is providing the highest standards of outsourced cleaning and staffing services to the hospitality industry.
Johnny Smith
Co-Founder of St. Vibes
Johnny Smith is Co-Founder at St. Vibes.
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About St. Vibes: St. Vibes owns and operates restaurants and bars in London, United Kingdom.
Johnny Smith
Co-Founder of St. Vibes
Johnny Smith is Co-Founder at St. Vibes.
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About St. Vibes: St. Vibes owns and operates restaurants and bars in London, United Kingdom.
Isaac McHale
Co-Founder of St. Vibes
Isaac McHale is Co-Founder at St. Vibes.
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About St. Vibes: St. Vibes owns and operates restaurants and bars in London, United Kingdom.
James Barker
Founder of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
James is the managing director of Wagging Dog Media Limited, the parent company of FreeDigitalPhotos.net. James founded FreeDigitalPhotos.net in 2004.
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About FreeDigitalPhotos.net: Freedigitalphotos.net offers stock photos and illustrations for various online and offline projects.
James Barker
Founder of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
James is the managing director of Wagging Dog Media Limited, the parent company of FreeDigitalPhotos.net. James founded FreeDigitalPhotos.net in 2004.
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About FreeDigitalPhotos.net: Freedigitalphotos.net offers stock photos and illustrations for various online and offline projects.
