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 Founder operating in the Consulting 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.
Hugh Campbell
Founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound
Hugh Campbell is a Founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound. Hugh is passionate about technology innovation and entrepreneurs with 15 years’ experience advising and investing in Europe’s current and future Unicorns. He has worked with all the leading growth equity funds in Europe and has sold businesses to Real Networks, Tesco, Disney, Accenture and Experian amongst others. Hugh started his career at Citibank in M&A before moving on to Goldman Sachs where he worked in Equity Research. Hugh is from an entrepreneurial publishing family who sold John Murray Publishers to Hachette in 2002 and founded an e-learning business, Pastest Limited, where Hugh is Chairman. In 2000, Hugh left Goldman Sachs and spent most of the year working and living in Beijing, China before going back to his investment banking roots by co-founding GP Bullhound. Hugh opened the Manchester office in 2013, is a Manchester Grammar School alum and graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford.
Follow Hugh Campbell:
About GP Bullhound: GP Bullhound is a technology advisory and investment firm that provides transaction advice and capital to entrepreneurs and founders.
Issac Qureshi
Founder & Director Of Client Services of Ogilvy & Haart
Based in London, Issac Qureshi is a skilled financial professional with expertise in areas including hedge funds and tax strategy. Issac’s involvement in hedge funds began during his time in Scotland, where he was working as a tax advisor. He had many clients inquire as to how they could use their tax savings more beneficially, and as interest grew, so did Issac’s desire to provide them with a solution. He created Hemingway, a wealth-focused investment firm with a global reach. They are focused on investing in unique global markets, providing clients with multiple streams of income, and producing generational wealth that will last long term. Additionally in his career, Issac Qureshi has served as a Director of Client Services and Founder of Ogilvy & Haart. He specializes in adaptation to the world of commerce: while he surely can run a company, he makes it a point to learn the language of a company that is already established, note its strengths, spot its weaknesses, and turn the whole establishment over to discover its untouched potential. After years of diligent work in his education and in the field, Issac Qureshi knows how to find and run a company built for success in an ever-changing market. Accorded with the LloydsTSB Asian Jewel Award, EMBF Rising Star Award, the Tiger Award, and Royal Mail’s title of Regional Direct Marketing Campaign of the Year, it is no surprise that NW Business Insider Magazine recognized Issac in their “Top 42 Under 42” list in 2006. Issac’s contribution to business and excellence put him at the top of this list, as well as on the radar as one of the best businessmen in the UK. The year he earned his BA and Honors in Social & Economic History from Liverpool University in the UK, Issac Qureshi hit the ground running as an Account Executive at Kaleidoscope ADM in 1995. Starting his career right out of college allowed him to get his foot in the door, and see what the business world consist of. He adjusted the way of the business world quickly, acquiring tools like advertising, design, and marketing strategy which he would later employ. Completing his formal education, Issac Qureshi obtained his diploma from Manchester University Institute of Direct Marketing in 1998, and graduated with an MA in Marketing from Canterbury University in Ontario, Canada, in 2003. He later went on to graduate first honors with his Bachelor of Laws from The London School of Economics and Political Science. He completed his Master of Laws, with a focus in International and Commercial Trust Law, from UCL, also first honors. Issac always put education first, and strived to be at the top of his class. He believes those who worked hard in their education will be greatly rewarded in the future. Wasting no time, Issac Qureshi co-founded Urban Logic UK in 2004, a professional authority in property investment. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of his own company for two years, honing his skills in marketing programs, customer services, income maximization, and intracompany relationships, here he learned valuable skills that come with running your own company. A few years later, and well-versed in company management, Issac Qureshi began as the Chief executive Officer of LAKAS Investments PLC, dedicated to retail investment. With a background in strategy and management, Issac can adapt to any type of business and strengthen it for profitability. Before founding his own enterprises, he moved on to Marvel Marketing as a Non-Executive Director, and exercised his prowess in fundraising, campaign analysis, and working with shareholders and brokers. In 2014, he founded the highly successful Ogilvy & Haart, a wealth management and taxation consultancy. This was the cultivation of all Issac Qureshi’s hard work. Almost 20 years after graduating from college, he was able to create a company that embodied all the education that he had received previously. Having worked as the Ambassador for a charity Karma Nirvana and Mix-d, Issac Qureshi works best in communities. It is easy for him to see the value in an organization with which he has had no previous experience, which explains his ability to raise more than 7m in fundraising for companies he has no personal affiliation with. Issac Qureshi knows the importance of fundraising for companies after being apart of so many, he understands that funding is what makes the company successful in the long term. So, he’s able to use his expertise to help organisations as he’s helped his own companies. With experience in asset protection, stock market strategy, and marketing technique, Issac Qureshi is an unparalleled expert in his field, who continuously acquires up-to-date knowledge and readjusts his view of the market for optimal outcomes. In the kinetic and ever-changing business world, Isaac Qureshi is a prime developer. Issac prides himself on not only his mastery of the business field, but his ability to see a company’s strengths and flaws so clearly that he can create a new and fool-proof marketing plan catered to the respective enterprise’s profile. Follow Issac Qureshi’s innovative ideas on LinkedIn, and his personal website for ideas and discussion that you can bring to your own business.
Follow Issac Qureshi:
About Ogilvy & Haart: Wealth management and taxation consultancy founded by Issac Qureshi
David Warburton-Broadhurst
Founder & Consultant of The CIO Consultancy
Follow David Warburton-Broadhurst:
About The CIO Consultancy: The CIO Consultancy provides consultation services and solutions to improve business growth.
Jonathan Whiteside
CTO and Co-Founder of Building Blocks
Jonathan Whiteside is the managing director for design and technology at Dept.
Follow Jonathan Whiteside:
About Building Blocks: Building Blocks helps global companies solve complex problems using digital technologies.
Simon Holliday
Founder of H2 Gambling Capital
Simon Holliday is the Founder of H2 Gambling Capital.
Follow Simon Holliday:
About H2 Gambling Capital: H2 Gambling Capital offers market intelligence and bespoke consultancy services on the gambling sector.
Peter Howitt
Founder, Director of Ramparts UK
Follow Peter Howitt:
About Ramparts UK: Ramparts provides legal advice on English, Gibraltar and European law in the UK on behalf of our Gibraltar law firm.
Lauren Currie
Founder of Upfront
Follow Lauren Currie:
About Upfront: Upfront offers coaching and workshops for businesses and groups.
Phil Goddard
Founder of Play XD
Follow Phil Goddard:
About Play XD: Play XD develops software and applications based on the client’s requirements.
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.
Follow Ned Poulter:
About Pole Star Digital: Better than your average Digital Marketing Consultancy. We help grow businesses online & produce real-world results.
