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 Manchester based CEO’ operating in the Advertising space. If you think a CEO’ 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.
Steve Bartlett
Founder and CEO of Social Chain
Steven Bartlett, is the 25-year-old CEO of The Social Chain Group. Having founded the groups two flagship companies, Social Chain and Media Chain, the group delivered annual revenues in excess of 100m, consisting of over 20 companies within Marketing, Media, Commerce and Technology. From a bedroom in Moss Side (Manchester), this university dropout went on to build a revolutionary social media marketing agency, which now employs more than 150 staff with offices in Manchester, London, New York and Berlin. Steven’s Social Chain is currently nominated for the Sunday Times ‘Disruptors to Watch’ and considers Apple, Amazon, Coca-Cola, Superdry, Disney, Thomas Cook and the BBC amongst its client list, with the list going on. Since its onset, Social Chain grew into two companies, adding a digital publishing house Media Chain which now owns some of the largest media assets online, reaching over 3 million people a month through a series of online brands.
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About Social Chain: Social Chain a social media marketing agency.
Rob Illidge
CEO of Social Republic™
CEO of global social media agency, Social Republic, with offices in Manchester and New York. Former marketing director, Rob, started his social media journey studying in the United States, before working on campaigns in the technology, professional services and fintech industries. Social Republic was founded in 2015 as a “new way”, an alternative to traditional agencies and is trusted by brands such as eBay, Red Bull, Pioneer and The Red Cross. Having identified an opportunity to build a unique agency, he went on to build a network of over 400 global freelancers, bringing experience, flexibility and value to social media strategies. This approach has enabled Rob to develop an agency that brings the right people together on the right jobs, whilst providing and promoting creative and person-centred working for freelancers across the globe.
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About Social Republic™: Social Republic™ is a global social media agency, working worldwide.
Mike Anderson
CEO of Padoq
Mike Anderson is the chief executive of Padoq, a Manchester-based networking platform which launched in May 2018 following a £400,000 fundraising round. The platform provides spaces for community organisers to more easily engage with and organise their communities. The serial entrepreneur’s first venture, Jolly Goods, was sold in 2017. He then started award-winning digital agency Nothing But Epic. He has raised over £1m in funding in the past two years and was named ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the UK Business Tech Awards last year.
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About Padoq, Rabipearl: Padoq is the intelligent mobile platform that allows companies to launch branded mobile apps at a fraction of the normal time and cost.
Ned Poulter
CEO & Founder of Pole Star Digital
Ned is an enthusiastic entrepreneur & experienced digital marketing consultant, based in the UK. Not unlike some of his peers, Ned demonstrates a keen entrepreneurial flare, proven through creating, launching and exiting a digital marketing consultancy in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prior to this he gained his experience working agency-side for a number of digital marketing agencies (one of which has now been acquired by WPP), before serving as Head of Digital for Scandinavia’s biggest online fashion retailer. He currently runs Pole Star Digital a digital marketing consultancy, alongside developing and launching a number of entrepreneurial ventures. Whether facilitating internal digital marketing processes or working integrally as part of organisations marketing teams, he develops creative approaches to digital: achieving organic search results, increasing inbound traffic, conducting paid campaigns, improving conversion rates and ultimately driving revenue. Passionate about all things digital, he utilises his past wealth of experience in: SEO, PPC, CRO, Web Analytics, Training and Education to steer his clients towards improving their online profile, ultimately geared toward driving revenue at the bottom line. He is an ardent advocate of innovation, trialling new technologies, developing new products and businesses, whilst remaining dynamic and adaptable to the ever-changing digital landscape. Ned is a passionate digital marketer, frequently blogging about many aspects of digital marketing as well as reflecting on his experiences starting internet companies. He is also a familiar face and speaker at digital marketing conferences across the Europe.
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About Pole Star Digital: Better than your average Digital Marketing Consultancy. We help grow businesses online & produce real-world results.
Anique Hassan
Chief Executive Officer of Imperium Media
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About Imperium Media: Helping companies to maximize their potential on new and existing technologies.
