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 United Kingdom based Founder operating in the Lifestyle 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.
Rami Zeidan
Co-Founder & CEO of Life House
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About Life House: Life House is a vertically integrated hotel software and management platform on the mission to make hotels operationally autonomous.
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Brian Harrison
CEO & Co-Founder of Swoon Editions
Brian Harrison is CEO and Co-Founder of Swoon Editions. Brian was formerly a senior executive at kgb inc, and served as Global CEO of kgb deals and CEO of The Number UK LTD (118 118). Previously he was the executive responsible for digital strategy at Telegraph Media Group, which is where he first worked with co-founder Debbie Williamson.
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About Swoon Editions, Telegraph Media Group: Swoon Editions is a design-led furniture brand.
Debbie Williamson
Co-Founder of Swoon Editions
Debbie Williamson joined Swoon as Co-founder in 2011.
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About MercerBell, Swoon Editions, Telegraph Media Group, Telegraph Media Group, Virgin Media: Swoon Editions is a design-led furniture brand.
Nick Telson
Co-Founder of DesignMyNight
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About DesignMyNight: DesignMyNight.com is a nightlife discovery website.
Priyanka Gill
Founder & CEO of POPxo
Priyanka Gill is the Co-Founder and President of MyGlamm. She is also the Founder & CEO of POPxo, India’s largest community of women.
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About MyGlamm, POPxo: POPxo is India’s online community for women that deals everything from fashion, beauty, lifestyle, work, and etc.
Ben Francis
Founder and Owner of Gymshark
Ben Francis is the owner and founder of Gymshark.
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About Gymshark: Gymshark is an online retailer and technology company of fitness apparel and accessories brands.
Nick Jenkins
Founder of Moonpig.com
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About Moonpig.com: Moonpig is a website where people can design their own greeting cards to send to others.
Zhenya Burlac
Co-Founder and CEO of CHARIS
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About CHARIS: CHARIS reflects the lifestyle of the peripatetic individual.
Grace Onyi
Co Founder of CHARIS
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About CHARIS: CHARIS reflects the lifestyle of the peripatetic individual.
Mahmud Kamani
Co-Founder and Joint Chief Executive of Boohoo Group
Mahmud founded boohoo.com with Carol Kane in 2006, leveraging over 30 years of experience in the fashion and clothing industry. Mahmud is an entrepreneur, with expertise encompassing all areas of the supply chain from sourcing, import and wholesale. Mahmud is an inspirational leader, having built a strong team and engendered loyalty from many long-serving employees.
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About Boohoo Group: Boohoo is an online store that offers a range of clothing, accessories, and footwear brands.
Carol Kane
Co-Founder of Boohoo Group
Carol co-founded boohoo.com with Mahmud Kamani in 2006 following their shared recognition in the opportunity for online retail. As part of her role as joint Chief Executive, Carol oversees the Group’s product, marketing and brand strategy across the UK and internationally. She has worked in the fashion industry throughout her career, initially as a designer and then as a fashion buyer. Before setting up boohoo.com, Carol and Mahmud worked together for over 20 years supplying high street retailers.
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About Boohoo Group: Boohoo is an online store that offers a range of clothing, accessories, and footwear brands.
Cassandra Harris
Founder of Venturespring
Founder at Venturespring
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About Venturespring: A digital transformation firm and early growth venture capital fund that match makes corporates with game changing startups.
Hasna Kourda
Co-Founder & CEO of Save Your Wardrobe
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About Save Your Wardrobe: FashionTech startup using AI to make Fashion more digital and sustainable
Mehdi Doghri
Co-Founder & CTO of Save Your Wardrobe
Entrepreneur, Investor, Advisor. Interested in the Fintech, Fashion Tech, Retail Tech and consumer mobile apps.
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About Save Your Wardrobe: FashionTech startup using AI to make Fashion more digital and sustainable
Petter Neby
Founder and CEO of Punkt. Tronics
Petter Neby is a Norwegian technology entrepreneur. Mr. Neby launched his first business in Norway in 1989, at the age of seventeen, and in 1991 moved to Paris, to work for an international consumer electronics company. Innovation and creativity has led Mr. Neby to find and manage successful businesses in the telecommunications, enterprise software and website areas. Mr. Neby created Punkt. in 2008 to offer straightforward alternatives to multi-function devices that started to dominate the consumer electronic marketplace.
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About Punkt. Tronics: Punkt. is a Swiss design led technology company that aims to make life simpler by creating timeless and outstanding products
Sophie Chadwick
Co-Founder of Seasalt
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About Seasalt: Seasalt is a Cornish fashion company.
Neil Chadwick
Co-Founder of Seasalt
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About Seasalt: Seasalt is a Cornish fashion company.
Daniel Price
Co-Founder of My 1st Years
Daniel Price is a Co-Founder at My 1st Years.
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About My 1st Years: My 1st Years offers personalised gifts for babies and children.
Natalie Massenet
Founder & Chairman of Net-a-porter.com
Natalie Massenet is cofounder and co-managing partner of Imaginary Ventures, a venture fund investing in early-stage opportunities at the intersection of retail and technology, as well as the non-executive co-chairwoman of Farfetch, a global e-commerce platform for luxury fashion. Massenet is best known for founding the luxury fashion online retailer Net-A-Porter, in 2000. In the year before she stepped down from her role following its merger with YOOX, the Net-A-Porter-Group recorded net revenues of almost $1 billion. Massenet began her career as a journalist and fashion editor, working at WWD and Tatler before setting up Net-A-Porter. In 2009, she was awarded an MBE, and in 2016 she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, both in recognition of her contributions to the U.K. fashion and retail industry. Massenet was chairman of the British Fashion Council between 2013 and 2017.
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About Daily Harvest, Imaginary Ventures, Net-a-porter.com: Net-a-porter.com is an online luxury fashion retailer.
Thorsten Hagemann
Co-Founder of AliveBiome Ltd
Thorsten Hagemann is an accomplished medical professional and entrepreneur with over 17 years of experience within the healthcare industry. An innovative, investigative forward thinker, Hagemann is passionate about identifying and creating new opportunities that aim to improve general health and prevent illnesses. Hagemann is the Founder of MedAdvise Ltd., a consultancy company focused on the education of the general public and prevention of illness through functional medicine. With an understanding that very few of doctors contribute to preventative medicine, Hagemann was motivated to learn more about the prevention of illness and use this information to educate others so they can live more prosperous lives. Through a deep understanding of the microbiome, Thorsten Hagemann has become a leading research expert and advocate for the health of this community of bacteria living inside our bodies. Not only does he find the subject fascinating, Thorsten understands the importance of treating it just like any other major medical area of study as it has an enormous impact on the health of our bodies. Thorsten is also an advocate for education when it comes to the microbiome, having a passion for showing people how keeping your microbiome healthy can increase overall health and wellness. Through his research, Thorsten Hagemann has found that having an unbalanced microbiome can lead to insomnia, anxiety, depression, loss of focus, obesity, diabetes, and even cancer. With preventive care and a balanced microbiome, the human body can experience better digestion, a drop in mood swings, and a healthier immune system. Hagemann hopes to teach as many people as possible about the benefits of a balanced microbiome through his work and research. Thorsten Hagemann was also recently given the opportunity to co-found another company surrounding microbiome research, called AliveBiome. This company’s focus is to give people direct access to nutrients and supplements that can improve the health of their microbiome. By taking care of the microbiome and supplementing it with the proper diet and exercise, AliveBiome and Thorsten Hagemann believe that one’s health can dramatically improve and even prevent further disease and illness. Thorsten Hagemann is also an avid cyclist. Seeing the happiness that the sport brought to other members of his family, Thorsten began biking himself. He has trained for several major cycling events, including the Paris-Roubaix in Northern France; one of the world’s oldest cycling races. The combination of a full body work-out, the joy of riding, and the chance to see the world has kept Thorsten attached to the sport.
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About AliveBiome Ltd, MedAdvise Ltd.: Food as Medicine
Brian Crowther
Co-Founder of AliveBiome Ltd
Brian Crowther is the Co-Founder at AliveBiome Ltd.
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About AliveBiome Ltd: Food as Medicine
Luke Scheybeler
Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer of Tracksmith
Luke Scheybeler is the Founder at Scheybeler
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About Scheybeler, Tracksmith: Tracksmith is an American sports apparel brand that produces clothes for performance athletes.
Philipp Man
Co-Founder & CEO of CHRONEXT
Philipp Man holds a Master of Philosophy in Innovation, Strategy & Organisation from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from King’s College London, majoring in corporate finance, venture capital and market sociology. Besides his work at the Boston Consulting Group, Germany and Switzerland, he also gained experience at GlencoreXstrata in London. During his studies he worked for various watch dealers and focused his dissertations on luxury watch market dynamics.
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About CHRONEXT: Chronext is is a full-service platform for luxury watch trading where clients can buy, sell luxury watches.
Federico Marchetti
Founder and CEO of Yoox Net-a-Porter Group
Born in Ravenna in 1969, Federico Marchetti holds a degree in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan and an MBA from Columbia University. Upon completing his studies, he embarked on a traditional path in the corporate world and while those early years in his career proved to be an invaluable experience, he knew all along that he would need to go out on his own to fulfil his professional objective of becoming an entrepreneur. In 2000, after having served as an advisor for several chief executives and designers in the fashion industry, both in the U.S. and in Italy, he founded YOOX, the perfect venture in which he could unite his business vision with his passion for fashion and design.
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About Yoox Net-a-Porter Group: Yoox Net-a-Porter Group is the global Internet retailing partner for leading fashion and luxury brands.
Daniel Khoury
Co-Founder of TRIP
Daniel Khoury is the Co-Founder at TRIP.
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About TRIP: TRIP is a CBD drinks and oils brand with products that brings an amazing flavor for a more productive and less stressed feeling.
Olivia Ferdi
Co-Founder of TRIP
Olivia Ferdi is the Co-Founder at TRIP.
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About TRIP: TRIP is a CBD drinks and oils brand with products that brings an amazing flavor for a more productive and less stressed feeling.
Constantin Bjerke
CEO and Founder of Crane.tv
Based in the UK for 10 years, Constantin Bjerke is a Founder and CEO of TheCrane.tv, the first online video magazine with emphasis on contemporary culture. Constantin started his career working in TV and film production and was involved in Emotional Brand Building at an Omnicom agency. He has worked with a host of international clients including FIFA World Cup, Mercedes Benz, Laureus World Sports Awards, Orascom, Deutsche Telekom and Pro7Sat1. In the past, he also worked in Finance across various positions at companies including UBS, Lazard and most recently, Citigroup in London and Madrid. Constantin holds a Diplôme de Grande Ecole and a Master’s from ESCP-EAP.
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About Crane.tv: Crane.tv is a contemporary-culture video magazine, focusing on arts, design, style, food and travel around the world.
John David
CEO and Founder of Amnick
John is the Chair for the Telegraph newspaper Tech and Innovation task force, and also chair for the Industrial Internet of Things for Central and South Europe Council. Current initiatives John is leading on: Buying and selling best technologies and solutions from solution providers across the world – including IoT, Digital, Blockchain, Cyber, AI. Creation of a Digital University for 2020 with Tech and solution providers helping to train industry specialist as part of Amnick certificate/degrees International Collaboration team made up of city leaders, mayors, 110 tech companies, municipalities and universities from across the world (www.amnick.com). This initiative focuses on city challenges – digital inclusion, commercialisation – bringing in more money, connecting smaller cities, social mobility and intelligent transportation systems. Smart Cities magazine – where city leaders/tech sector/universities can all contribute at www.bpmm.co.uk John is also being appointed onto the Scientific Advisory Board for the Chinese Government. And is also working with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.
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About Amnick: Amnick is a collection of senior ex-local authority staff, as well a consortium of local authority and private sector-partnering org.
Jack Tang
Co-Founder & CEO of Urban
A startup entrepreneur and angel investor. Currently Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Urban Massage – a B2C and B2B technology marketplace connecting wellness professionals with buyers in their local neighborhood. Prior to founding Urban Massage, he founded a social network and app-based job board TheStudentJob.com
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About Urban: Urban is an online wellness appointment platform for booking in-person and online treatments.
Karin Cabili
Founder & CEO of Dropit Shopping
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About Dropit Shopping: Dropit provides a digital handsfree shopping solution for malls and central shopping districts, delivering bags from store to door.
Imran Amed
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of The Business of Fashion
Bringing a unique understanding of the creative and commercial sides of fashion, Imran Amed has emerged as one of the fashion industry’s leading writers, thinkers and commentators. In 2007, he started writing a blog called The Business of Fashion (BoF) from his sofa just as social media and smartphones were about to explode onto the scene, new markets were rapidly emerging in China, India and Brazil, and the financial crisis threw the industry into a tailspin. Five years on, with its award-winning editorial franchises and a global reputation for intelligent, analytical content, BoF has grown into the pre-eminent daily destination for the global fashion community. Imran has been named to British GQ’s list of the 100 Most Influential Men in Britain, Indian GQ’s list of the 50 Most Influential Global Indians, British Vogue’s list of 25 New Fashion Faces to Watch, and Wired UK’s list of the 100 most influential figures in Britain’s digital economy. Previously, he was a management consultant at McKinsey & Co. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Com from McGill University. He holds Canadian and British citizenship.
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About The Business of Fashion: The Business of Fashion is a online platform for the global fashion industry, offering content and tools to industry professionals.
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.
Max Jennings
Co-Founder of Hoop
My current obsession is Hoop – a new app designed to help families. Our mission at Hoop is to help families discover fun things to do, and to make it as easy as checking your email. Join the fun at www.hoop.co.uk Previously, co-founded VoucherCodes.co.uk, Europe’s largest coupon website (acquired by Retailmenot Inc.)
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About Hoop: Hoop is a platform for kids activities.
Roderick Bradley
Director, Co-Founder of PlayerLayer
Bradley is a freelance artist and design urban clothing for Rudey Arts and new sportswear for PlayerLayer. Rod supports many charities including the Vitiligo Society and is a great supporter of sports in schools.
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About PlayerLayer: PlayerLayer is a designer and retailer of premium sports performance clothing.
Stephen Lane
Founder & CEO of Prop Store
The founder of The Prop Store of London, Stephen became interested in movie memorabilia while his previous sign-making company was working as a contractor on the sets of Eyes Wide Shut. Stephen began networking with Industry technicians and found his first few treasures, which led him to pursue Prop Store as a full time business. At that time, no one in the UK was selling this type of memorabilia as a full-time operation. Stephen has been a steady pioneer in the industry, constantly developing and evolving the business and constantly trying fresh initiatives. He has located some of the most significant caches of film memorabilia of the past decade and both his personal and company collections reflect this- they are amongst the finest in the world.
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About Prop Store: Prop Store, one of the worlds leading vendors of original movie props and costumes.
Michael Truluck
CEO & Founder of La Redoute
Michael Truluck is the CEO & Founder of La Redoute.
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About La Redoute: La Redoute is an e-commerce website that offers clothing and accessories for women, men, and children, home appliances, and more.
Angela Ene
Founder of Modafirma
Angela Ene is a Technology entrepreneur, Managing Partner/ CFO. She is the founder of Modafirma a fashion technology and affiliate marketing platform that allows carefully selected brands to locate, advertise and sell directly to consumers globally. The company was nominated twice for a prestigious drapers award, and was also shortlisted for fashion website of the year in 2015 and 2018. In 2018 Angela was shortlisted as UK technology founder of the year at the Prestigious BMW i Technology awards in two categories: MAD Tech and E-commerce she subsequently went on to be selected as UK first runner up UK Technology founder of the year for Advertising and Marketing. She also serves as group CFO at Star Real Estate Group a boutique investment management firm specialising in real estate. Interests: SaaS technology, Blockchain, Investment Management, Fintech, MAD Tech, proptech Alma Mater: Queen Mary University of London, Said Business School University of Oxford , Cass Business School University of London Specialisms: MAD Tech, E-commerce. Omni Channels, Investment Management, Chartered Accountant, Chartered Financial Analyst , Structured products, Marketing and Advertising technology Marketplaces.
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About Modafirma, Star Real Estate: Modafirma is an exclusive social commerce fashion platform for designers to sell and showcase directly to consumers.
Jason Tripp
Co-Founder of FRAHM Jacket
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About FRAHM Jacket: FRAHM Jacket makes detailed and beautiful men’s jackets for curious minds.
Nick Hussey
Co-Founder of FRAHM Jacket
Nick Hussey is the Co-Founder of FRAHM Jacket.
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About FRAHM Jacket: FRAHM Jacket makes detailed and beautiful men’s jackets for curious minds.
Paresh Thakkar
Founder of O-Teas
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About O-Teas: Oteas is a specialist British tea company.
Jack Latus
Co-Founder of Whey Box
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About LATUS Health, LATUS Training, Whey Box: Whey Box is a food and beverages company that specializes in providing protein powder.
Des McManus
Co-Founder – Director of Operations of Friction Free Shaving
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About Friction Free Shaving: UK razor delivery service designed exclusively for women.
Aidan Burley
Co-Founder & former CEO of Friction Free Shaving
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About Friction Free Shaving: UK razor delivery service designed exclusively for women.
Clare Julie McKeeve
Founder & CEO of Luxcite Limited
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About Eaton Gate Capital Partners, Luxcite Limited, TLNT Holdings SA: Investor – Luxury and Premium Brands
Robert Imonikhe
Co-Founder of Ideal Flatmate
Rob has worked in publishing and has had stints at a number of media outlets. A positive bundle of energy, he is the ideas man and provides some philosophical insights to the team, having completed a BA in philosophy.
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About Ideal Flatmate: Ideal Flatmate is the first UK website dedicated to helping its users find the right flatmates.
Thomas Gatzen
Co-Founder of Ideal Flatmate
Tom has spent time working in politics and financial PR and loves getting things done. He enjoys travelling and is a sports nut, playing cricket for Middlesex Youth, and being found most weekends following Watford FC.
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About Ideal Flatmate: Ideal Flatmate is the first UK website dedicated to helping its users find the right flatmates.
Amanjit Dhami
Founder & Creative Director of Ama Dhami
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About Ama Dhami: Ama Dhami is a jewellery e-commerce store that provides earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets.
Pablo Barclay
Founder/CEO of Rubbersole
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About Rubbersole: Rubbersole is a company that sells various name brand shoes in an online store.
Stefan Michalak
Founder, Creative Director of Wantfeed
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About Wantfeed: Wantfeed lets you store and curate things from around the web into your own personal wantlist.
Kristian Tapaninaho
Founder & CEO of Ooni
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About Ooni: Ooni is the number one pizza oven brand in the world.
Kiki MacDonald
Co-Founder of Euan’s Guide
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About Euan’s Guide: Euan’s Guide: Disabled Access Reviews by disabled people for disabled people
Euan MacDonald
Co-Founder of Euan’s Guide
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About Euan’s Guide: Euan’s Guide: Disabled Access Reviews by disabled people for disabled people
Ronnie Somerville
Founder of 5pm.co.uk
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About 5pm.co.uk, simpleERB: 5pm.co.uk is an online lifestyle site that provides free booking for restaurants, health and beauty spas, and daily 5pm Big Deals.
Rosie de Malmanche
Founder of o|urmoire.
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About o|urmoire.: The Brighter way to Buy & Borrow
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.
Nick Smith
Co-Founder of Alpkit
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About Alpkit: A Nottingham, UK-based outdoor clothing and equipment retailer.
Colin Stocker
Co-Founder of Alpkit
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About Alpkit: A Nottingham, UK-based outdoor clothing and equipment retailer.
Annette Albrecht-Wetzel
CEO, Creative Director and Co-Founder of PIPPA&JEAN
Annette complements with her female intuition, strategic creativity, and sense of style. As a Creative Director, she is responsible for the collections of PIPPA&JEAN. As Brand and Project Leader, she led large, multicultural, global teams and launched brands such as Dove in Europe, the USA, South America and Asia, where she also lived with her family. After the birth of her two daughters she found it shocking that the career of women stalls as a result of starting a family. That’s why she has been behind PIPPA&JEAN with full conviction from the very beginning. She takes a particular interest in fulfilling the wishes of many women who strive for a more flexible and self-determined working style – for Annette, a healthy work-life balance is vital.
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About PIPPA&JEAN: PIPPA&JEAN is a social selling community with the aim of many women’s wish for a self-determined life.
Victoria Whitbread
Founder of Designed In Colour
Victoria Whitbread is a Founder of Designed In Colour.
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About Designed In Colour: A creative hub dedicated to offering the very best in shopping for contemporary & colourful design-led products.
Jackie Piper
Co-Founder of Designed In Colour
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About Designed In Colour: A creative hub dedicated to offering the very best in shopping for contemporary & colourful design-led products.
Paul Alexander Jones
Founder of Must
Founder at Must.
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About DJD, DJS, Must: Must is a personal recommendation app to save and share amazing places with friends.
Jefferson Hack
Co-Founder of Dazed Media
Jefferson Hack is the CEO and co-founder of Dazed Media, an independent media company that produces stories across its print, digital and video brands.
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About AnOther Magazine, Dazed Media: Dazed Media is the world’s leading independent fashion and culture media brand.
Cheryl Anne Slater
Founder of Soul Seed Media
Founder at Soul Seed Media
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About Soul Seed Media: The best recommended retreats from around the world.
Erica Feld
President/Co-Founder of Wagdrobe
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About Wagdrobe: Wagdrobe is the first and only pet fashion company that offers a uniquely curated box of surprise apparel and accessories.
Megha Prakash
CEO & Founder of Earthmiles
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About Earthmiles: Track and be rewarded for your healthy and fit activities. Get exclusive deals on the widest range of fitness products.
Ivo Gormley
Founder of Good Gym
Ivo Gormley is the founder and Chief Executive of GoodGym – a social enterprise that combines exercise with social good. Previously Ivo led projects increasing public participation for Local Authorities and NHS Trusts. He has advised on user participation for technology startups in UK and the US. In 2008 he directed the film “Us Now”, a documentary about participatory culture which was broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK, translated into 24 languages and his film The Runners was watched by millions online. He has presented his work to governments worldwide including the French National Assembly, The Hague, the European Union, The Houses of Parliament (UK) and Washington DC. Ivo is a Fellow of the Clore Social Leadership Programme and was a founding Trustee of the Charity Art Against Knives.
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About Good Gym: GoodGym helps you get fit by doing good.
Tom Richardson
Co-Founder and CPO of Lumio Technologies
Tom Richardson is the Co-Founder and CPO at Lumio Technologies.
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About Lumio Technologies: Lumio is you Intelligent wealth mentor. With the simple aim to maximize your money around your lifestyle
Adrian Shedden
Co-Founder and COO of Lumio Technologies
Adrian Shedden is the Co-founder and COO at Lumio Technologies.
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About Lumio Technologies: Lumio is you Intelligent wealth mentor. With the simple aim to maximize your money around your lifestyle
Charlie Richardson
Co-Founder and CEO of Lumio Technologies
Charlie Richardson is the Co-Founder and CEO at Lumio Technologies.
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About Lumio Technologies: Lumio is you Intelligent wealth mentor. With the simple aim to maximize your money around your lifestyle
Tom Marchant
Owner and Co-Founder of Black Tomato
Tom Marchant is an entrepreneurial traveler and co-founder of The Black Tomato Group, parent company of the award-winning bespoke luxury travel operator Black Tomato, strategic creative agency Studio Black Tomato and incentive travel group Black Tomato Agency. Black Tomato, a Virtuoso member, has been recognized as the leading innovative authority in global luxury travel by revered industry voices including Bloomberg, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Vogue. Tom Marchant and Black Tomato were awarded Conde Nast Traveler’s 2019 World’s Best Travel Specialists and Tom lauded as ‘one of the 50 people in the world changing the way we travel’. Marchant is a member Travel + Leisure’s A List contributor to Newsweek, Harper’s Bazaar and Inc.
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About Black Tomato: Black Tomato is a bespoke luxury travel company that delivers imaginative and travel experiences around the world.
Matt Smith
Co-Founder and Director of Black Tomato
Matt Smith set up Black Tomato Ltd with Tom Marchant and James Merrett in 2005 and to date have had a broad strategic and operational remit across all areas of Black Tomato. Central to Matt’s role is the responsibility for both driving forward the day to day business operations and Business Development / Sales processes that have underpinned the Group’s commercial success and significant growth. I also oversees a number of critical areas of the business including, Office Infrastructure, Company /Staff Culture, IT, Security, Data Protection/GDPR, HR, H&S / F&S, Insurance, Legal Contracting , Procurement, Staff / Business expenses, Staff Reward / Engagement, Staff Training and Staff Meetings and Events. Alongside this, he leads critical strategic projects including those that increase profitability and productivity across the business in line with the constant reinforcement of BT’s ‘purpose’ and company culture both internally and externally.
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About Black Tomato: Black Tomato is a bespoke luxury travel company that delivers imaginative and travel experiences around the world.
Bola Awoniyi
Co Founder & Publisher of Black Ballad
Bola Awoniyi is Co-founder and Publisher of Black Ballad – an award-winning digital lifestyle subscription tasked with helping black women in Britain live their best lives. Having started his career as an Analyst at Econsultancy in 2013, he combined his interest in media, marketing and digital transformation, with his co-founder, Tobi Oredein’s, frustration at the lack of representation for black women in Britain’s lifestyle media. Since starting what was originally a free-to-access blog in 2014 to solve this issue, Bola has spearheaded a bootstrapped operation, with a successful £11,000 crowdfund in 20
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About Black Ballad: Black Ballad is a UK based lifestyle platform that seeks to tell the human experience through eyes of black british women.
Jean-Michel Chalayer
Co-Founder & CEO of LeSalon Beauty
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About LeSalon Beauty: LeSalon is delivering a branded, consistent and high-quality at-home beauty service.
Natasha Pilbrow
Co-Founder & COO of LeSalon Beauty
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About LeSalon Beauty: LeSalon is delivering a branded, consistent and high-quality at-home beauty service.
Mattis Oppermann
Co-Founder of Carl Friedrik
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About Carl Friedrik: Carl Friedrik Luxury leather goods for men: Direct, Online, Transparent.
Niklas Oppermann
Co-Founder of Carl Friedrik
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About Carl Friedrik: Carl Friedrik Luxury leather goods for men: Direct, Online, Transparent.
Claude Borna
Founder and Chief Evangelist of TUIM – The Universe Is Mine
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About TUIM – The Universe Is Mine: We’re a thriving global community matchmaking creative and tech talent to build the future of fashion.
Natali Stajcic
Founder of The Pressery
Natali Stajcic is Founder at The Pressery.
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About The Pressery: The Pressery will be launching a high-quality and pure, long-life almond milk for all your coffee shop needs.
Sophie Rochester
CEO and Founder of Yodomo | Making Made Easy
Founder of Yodomo, the creative experience platform. Improving wellbeing and supporting sustainability through making. Sophie is a digital content specialist with over 20 years experience across the digital and publishing sectors. She has worked at Random House. 4th Estate and Good Technology, and consulted for Pan Macmillan, Hachette, Penguin Random House, Nesta, British Council and Royal Society of Literature. Listed as one of the Top 10 Creative Entrepreneurs in the UK by the British Council and in the UK’s Top 100 ‘most influential and innovative’ in the Guardian Professional’s hClub 100 list, Sophie has global contacts across publishing and technology and has also consulted on a large number of digital publishing start-ups through her award-winning company The Literary Platform. In 2015, The Literary Platform was listed as #10 on the Fortuna 50 list of the UK’s fastest-growing women-led small businesses. Sophie has successfully raised funding through Arts Council England, National Lottery, Bath Spa University, Queensland University of Technology and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation for a number of digital content initiatives. She has spoken about the future of digital content at UNESCO Paris, Editech Milan, MIX Conference (Opening Keynote), Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, O’Reilly’s Tools of Change New York, London Book Fair, Bologna Book Fair and UKTI / British Council ‘Crossing the River’ digital conferences across Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. A keen maker herself, she lives in the heart of London’s designer maker community and understands the community that is Yodomo’s marketplace. Her professional network gives her access to the right tutors, businesses, brands – and staff – to bring to the Yodomo platform.
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About Meaningful Business, Yodomo | Making Made Easy: The Marketplace for Making. Discover online courses, live workshops and kits from our artists and makers.
Josif Grace
Founder & CEO of Legado
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About Legado: Securely and easily organise, store and share your most important documents, files, wishes and memories.
Laura Simpson
Founder of My Bespoke Room
Laura was Strategic Retail Design Director at the high growth beauty SME Liz Earle and during maternity leave developed and launched My Bespoke Room. She had previously worked in senior leadership roles at Apple and L’Oreal.
A commercially creative problem solver by nature, she is passionate about female entrepreneurship, developing teams and thinking differently. She was featured on Sky news and invited to Downing Street to meet the PM in 2019 for International Women’s Day.
Laura and her Co-Founder Diana have built My Bespoke Room up to be the UK’s No.1 rated Interior Design Service and the #1 Interior Design Professional on Houzz UK. They’ve raised £2m in funding from angel investors and Laura says the business’ success is underpinned by their proprietary tech platform that automates 50% of a designers workflow and has API integrations with over 1.2m products. The tech has now been turned into a SaaS tool for other designers.
Laura received a 1st Class MEng in Product Design Engineering from the University of Glasgow. She has been entrepreneurial since a young age and holds a patent for a product she designed in her final year at University.
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About My Bespoke Room: The UK’s No.1 Rated Interior Design Service; PLUS SaaS tool for Interior Designers to streamline and run their own business.
Diana Greenhalgh
Founder of My Bespoke Room
Diana Greenhalgh joined My Bespoke Room as Co-Founder in 2013.
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About My Bespoke Room: The UK’s No.1 Rated Interior Design Service; PLUS SaaS tool for Interior Designers to streamline and run their own business.
Jonathan Holmes
Founder & CEO of LuxDeco
Jonathan Holmes is a tech and design entrepreneur and an ardent supporter of luxury and fine craftsmanship. He founded LuxDeco in 2012 as a destination for luxury design enthusiasts to discover and shop the most world’s most beautiful home products.
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About I KANDI, LuxDeco: LuxDeco is a digital platform that connects the buyers and sellers of luxury home furnishings.
Stephen Buck
Founder of Moda in Pelle
Stephen Buck is a Founder at Moda in Pelle.
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About Moda in Pelle: Moda in Pelle is a UK-based designer company
Susie Cave
Co-Founder of The Vampire’s Wife
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About The Vampire’s Wife: An exciting new fashion brand for women with one simple mission – to make beautiful clothes.
Amin Abu-Taleb
Software Architect & Co-Founder of nextub
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About nextub: nextub offers a location-based application that enables its users to find and discover events, and activities to do in London.
Fran Martin
Mobile Lead & Co-Founder of nextub
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About nextub: nextub offers a location-based application that enables its users to find and discover events, and activities to do in London.
Jose I Naranjo
CEO & Co-Founder of nextub
CEO of nextub
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About nextub: nextub offers a location-based application that enables its users to find and discover events, and activities to do in London.
Jose I Naranjo
CEO & Co-Founder of nextub
CEO of nextub
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About nextub: nextub offers a location-based application that enables its users to find and discover events, and activities to do in London.
Dom De Vetta
Founder of Shay & Blue
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About Shay & Blue: Shay & Blue is an indie creator of fragrance and body products sold direct to consumer and via omnichannel outlets prioritising millennials.
James Gold
Founder of Skinnydip
James Gold, co-founding Skinnydip with his brother and best friend in 2011 with an idea of building a fashion, lifestyle and accessory brand, has taken the industry by storm. Turning the ‘phone case’ into a must-have accessory, not only has Skinnydip doubled in size year-on-year, but now operates 250 retail locations in 30 countries. Pinpointing a niche in the market, the brand is going from strength to strength with ambitious prospects, branching into America’s Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Urban Outfitters, and having their eyes on the Asian market. Never coming up for breath, Gold alongside his co-founders have expanded into a team of over 50 people around the world accelerating the brand and its impact. Growing the business organically, the privately-owned company has seen its loyal social media followers of over 410k transform Skinnydip London from a vibrant start-up to an internationally recognised and religiously followed brand.
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About Skinnydip: A fashion, lifestyle and accessory brand.
Daria Kantor
CEO & Founder of TruBe
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About TruBe: Available in London initially, TruBe instantly connects you with all relevant trainers, ready to help you meet your goals.
Jack Huang
Co-Founder of Truly Experiences
Jack Huang is a Co-Founder at Truly.
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About Truly Experiences: Truly is a London-based gift marketplace.
Mark McDermott
Founder, CEO & Head of Product of GoShow
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About GoShow: GoShow offers a platform that enables collaboration between professional athletes and filmmakers.
Henric Larsson
Co-Founder and CTO of Dashl
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About Dashl: A digital hair and beauty booking platform.
Edward Smith
Co-Founder of Doisy & Dam
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About Doisy & Dam: Doisy & Dam makes and package everything by hand in the UK, using globally sourced ingredients and the highest quality organic chocolate.
Paul Tustain
Founder / Chairman of WhiskyInvestDirect
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About BullionVault, WhiskyInvestDirect: Opens up investment in maturing Scotch whisky to the retail investor.
Matt Lane
Founder of BeerBods
Matt founded BeerBods from the garden shed with a mortgage and growing family on the cards. He loves real beer and wants to share it with other people. BeerBods is now a gift to many happy subscribers who get to sip the latest and greatest beers at the same time each week. Matt Lane is on a mission to get us drinking better beer and see if he can’t just shake up conventional business thinking in the process. After attending the Do Lectures in 2012 Matt founded BeerBods, an online beer club and subscription service. He had no business plan and no investment, he went about it all wrong.
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About Beer Hawk, BeerBods, Woo Cooking Oils, ZX Ventures: BeerBods, an online beer club and subscription service, provides an online service to deliver beer to its members in the United Kingdom.
Ulrike Schulz
Founder of Secrets of Green
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About Secrets of Green: Secrets of Green is an online marketplace for nature-loving urbanists. We fill people’s home with all things green.
Nico Salazar
Founder of Future Fantasy Delight
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About Future Fantasy Delight: Cool, unique, and fun apparel and personal accessories with mass market appeal showcasing the playful artwork of Nico Salazar.
James Mason
Founder of Massif Central
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About Massif Central: Massif Central creates gallery-quality, bespoke info-graphic artworks celebrating great achievements.
