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 Higher Education 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.
Jan Lynn-Matern
Founder and Partner of Emerge Education
I am a Founder and Partner at Emerge Education. Emerge Education is a European seed investor focused on companies that bridge the skills gap. Emerge specialises in providing its portfolio companies with access to market insights, partners and customers through its unique industry network. We have a particular focus on investing in challenger universities, bootcamps, workforce re-training programmes, and companies that help universities scale online.
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About Emerge Education: The only fund backed by the world’s leading education entrepreneurs
Dave Sherwood
Co-Founder & CEO of BibliU
Dave Sherwood co-founder and CEO of Bibliotech, a core etextbooks platform that provides academic libraries and students with unlimited access. He is the co-founder and Chairman of Teach Learn Grow Inc. Dave earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Western Straya, coming to Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship shortly afterwards. Dave dropped out to found Bibliotech.
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About BibliU: An EdTech innovator, BibliU’s platform enables colleges and universities with digital content management, automation, and analytics.
Thomas Woolf
Founder of EdAid
Thomas is an entrepreneur and former professional athlete. His pioneering approach to frontier markets and technology has seen him build successful businesses in the UK, Middle East & Africa. Thomas’s commercial grounding was delivering innovative solutions for some of the UK’s leading banks as part of Accenture’s Financial Services strategy team in London with career highlights being his work with the World Economic Forum and Islamic Finance ecosystem development. The growth of the UAE as a regional hub for commerce and enterprise saw Thomas move to Dubai in 2005 and build his own successful businesses in the health/fitness and financial technology industries. In 2011, Thomas launched JustGiving the world’s largest fundraising platform for charities across the Middle East and Africa. JustGiving has raised over $4 Billion for 12,000 charities since 2002 and is scaling and transforming charitable giving across the MEA region. In 2016 Thomas launched EdAid.com a crowd funding platform for students to finance their higher education, interest free. EdAid’s mandate is to reduce the cost of higher education, increase access to university, and improve the employability of graduates leaving the system. In his spare time, for fun, Thomas remains a competitive athlete and is Head Coach for Nike in the Middle East.
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About EdAid: EdAid is the alternative lending platform for graduate-level, Higher Education.
Fadl Al Tarzi
Founder & CEO of Nexford University
+15 years of experience in media & technology-related businesses. Hands-on experience building successful strategies, growing companies, raising VC funds, building & managing teams. Founded and played pivotal role in growing several successful businesses,
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About Nexford University: A next generation online university providing students with access to quality, affordable, dynamic education.
Catharina Paukner
Co-Founder, Chief Scientist of Cambridge Nanosystems
As co-founder and Chief Scientist of Cambridge Nanosystems Ltd., Catharina Paukner is responsible for both the research strategy of the company and its technology roadmap. She leads her team in the production and development of high quality graphene flakes derived from hydrocarbon gases in a unique and industry leading atmospheric pressure plasma cracking process. Currently her industry research covers a broad range of application developments for both graphene flakes and carbon nanotubes in areas such as inks and polymer composites. With a background and Master’s degree in chemistry, her PhD research in Materials Science at the University of Cambridge focussed on the development of a completely new system for the controlled continuous synthesis of carbon nanotubes. She has recently been awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in recognition of her role in the design of new nanomaterial manufacturing systems.
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About Cambridge Nanosystems: Cambridge Nanosystems is a UK-based start-up born out of Cambridge University that specialises in advanced materials.
Varun Aggarwal
COO & Co-Founder of Univariety
Varun Aggarwal is a Co-Founder and the Chief Operating Officer at Univariety.
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About Univariety: Univariety is an Ed-tech company that provides an online-based platform that utilizes career and college guidance cells inside schools.
Abhishek Nakhate
Founder & CEO of Zoom Abroad
Abhishek is a serial entrepreneur with a problem-solving attitude, challenging the status quo. With over 13 years of the international student recruitment industry, Abhishek has experience working as a Director in International University, as an agent, as a service provider and have fist hand experience of being an international student. Determined to address and solve some burning problems in the student recruitment industry. With passion & compassion towards a student’s career, Abhishek also expertise in Career advisory and mentoring. Likes public speaking, motivational stories, Table tennis and ofcourse family.
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About Zoom Abroad: A free AI platform which connects students to the best-fit universities globally, saving them TIME and MONEY.
John Hunter Rutherford
Founder of Northumbria University
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About Northumbria University: Northumbria is a U.K.-based university that educates its students using studying programmes at home and overseas.
Anisah Osman Britton
Founder of 23 Code Street
Anisah is the founder of 23 Code Street, a trailblazing new coding school for women based in London. For every paying student on their courses, they teach digital skills to a woman in the slums of Mumbai. Anisah decided not to go to university and instead completed internships around the world and went on to be Operations Director of a leading corporate accelerator. She is also Director of Backstage Capital London.
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About 23 Code Street: 23 Code Street is a coding school for women.
Martin Higham
Founder & Partner of Ocasta
Martin Higham serves as a co-founder and partner at Ocasta.
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About Ocasta: Ocasta develops knowledge, training & education tech for your employees or students.
Yanto Barker
Co-Founder of Le Col
Yanto Barker (Le Col) is a cyclist from London , United Kingdom. Join Strava to track your activities, analyze your performance, and follow friends. Strava members can plan routes, participate in motivating challenges, and join clubs. Get started by signing up for free.
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About Le Col: Le Col is driven by Yanto’s desire to bring the attitude and approach from his sport into the business
Darren Hill
Founder & CEO of Inzite
Founder & CEO, Inzite (inzite.com)
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About Inzite: Smart discovery tools and streamlined scheduling help your customers hold meetings with the right people, at the right time.
