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 Digital Entertainment 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.
Efe Cakarel
Founder & CEO of MUBI
Efe Cakarel is a Turkish entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of MUBI, an online film service. Previously, Cakarel worked with Goldman Sachs in London and New York, where he worked on IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity investments. Cakarel obtained his bachelor of science in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT in 1998, and his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2005. Cakarel was a contributor to The Huffington Post. He also has two patents involving the monetization of web applications.
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About MUBI: MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor.
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Tamara Slanova
Co-Founder, CFO of DMarket
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About DMarket: DMarket is a marketplace for NFTs trading and technology for building metaverses.
Wil Stephens
Founder, CEO of Fusebox Games
Wil is a Welsh entrepreneur with extensive experience of building transformational businesses in media and interactive entertainment. Wil is currently CEO of Fusebox Games, an interactive entertainment company he co-founded in 2016 that develops and publishes mobile games based on hit TV shows. Wil founded his first business aged 23 and as CEO of Cube TV, led the company to win BAFTAs and Broadcast Digital Awards for their ground-breaking interactive and TV formats. After growing Cube TV to offices in Cardiff and London, he joined the leadership team at New York based video streaming company Boxee to build out their international business, later acquired by Samsung. Wil is an investor in the media and interactive entertainment industry through his holding company, Closs Holdings.
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About Cube Interactive, Fusebox Games: Live the stories you love with Fusebox Games.
Nick Varney
Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Merlin Entertainments
Nick has over 24 years’ experience in the visitor attractions industry and was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Merlin Entertainments in 1999. He was appointed a Director of the Company on 20 October 2013. Nick started his career in fmcg marketing, first with Rowntree and then with Reckitt Colman. He went on to hold senior positions within The Tussauds Group (Pearson PLC), including Marketing Director of Alton Towers and Head of Group Marketing, before becoming Managing Director of Vardon Attractions and a main board director of Vardon plc. In 1999 Nick led the management buyout of Vardon Attractions to form Merlin Entertainments and, in 2005, initiated the process which led to its acquisition by Blackstone.
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About Merlin Entertainments: Merlin Entertainments is the largest European entertainments company operating in Europe.
Jonathan Curley
Founder & CEO of FurShows
Velivian Fesothe is my artist/furry name, a persona I developed through Second Life to express aspects of who I am.
I started my Tech journey slightly before the Commodore 64 days and surfed the internet back when dial up modems were released just before 56k kbit/s, one of my memories is sitting with my now deceased father where he tried
to teach me to code on the Commodore to animate a hot air balloon or just a balloon to move across the screen.
When I was ready to leave school I was asked what I wanted to do for work at my first school careers interview, I asked if I could work with satellites or in the semiconductor industries, manufacturing microchips/CPUs etc as I’d been intrigued, impressed, and inspired by watching Intel Technicians on TV working in clean rooms. Alas such opportunities we’re out of reach in my town but I’ve never forgotten what I dreamed of and it will always motivate me to learn more.
This is likely why I joke I have a tech/laboratory trolley addiction as I enjoy daily surfing products to see what cool looking items come up.
Around 2002 or so I started an ISIT Course and I’ve been moving in multiple directions over the years picking up skills but not certifications, I’m actively looking to finalise my skillset and collect certifications to prove I’m capable which I hope will lead to the opening up of further opportunities to learn and work in the Tech/3D industries, or will help me with my own projects or opportunities I create myself through my own businesses.
My journey into 3D started when I joined Second Life in 2006 where I started modelling using primitives and became a registered mentor, I then went on to design sims/virtual environment’s for DAZ3D in an effort to develop/transition them into a high-end University, Shopping mall, and Welcome Hub when mesh was added to the service, I then moved away to Open simulator to develop DAZLife.
Around 2016 I was trained as a teacher/trainer, part of a 3d printed motorsport program (The Blair Project) after which I started 3d printing on the Ultimaker 2+ for a none profit social enterprise 3d teaching company I founded in 2016 called FossaLab Technologies, where I helped children get started with 3D using Tinker cad and trained adults in Fusion 360 and Hexagon.
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About FurShows, Glow Raiser, Snack Ferret Studio, The Furry Party: FurShows is a cultural archive and video hosting site for the furry fandom and anthropomorphic fans that aspires to be a streaming service.
Matthew Warneford
Founder & CEO of Dubit
Matthew Warneford is the CEO and Founder of Dubit.
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About Dubit, WEARVR: Dubit is a game studio that specializes in games for the metaverse.
Chris Ash
Founder and Business Development Director of 4ThePlayer.com
Ash Gaming / Playtech
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About 4ThePlayer.com, European Institute for Innovation: Gambling games provider – Games made by players 4ThePlayers!
David Spindler
Co-Founder of Electric Gamebox
David Spindler is a Co-Founder and CFO at Electric Gamebox. Previously, David founded Tough Mudder Bootcamp- the studio fitness concept of Tough Mudder Inc. David joined Tough Mudder in 2012, leading Strategy and Marketing teams. He built growth projects and new business initiatives from after-parties to Global Mudder marketing events. Prior to Tough Mudder, David was a Consultant at Bain and Company in London, Zurich and Johannesburg. David graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in Philosophy and Economics.
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About Electric Gamebox: Electric Gamebox delivers immersive team adventures in the world’s smartest room
Adam Ludwin
Chief Visionary Officer/Co Founder of Captify
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About Captify, Inflecto Media, Influencer: Captify offers a search retargeting service that enables advertisers to focus on users to match their desired audience with inventory.
Dmitri Lipnitsky
CEO & Co-Founder of Gismart
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About GeoZilla, Gismart, Intellectsoft, SE Ranking: A leading developer and publisher of entertainment-focused apps and games.
Shaun Rutland
Co-Founder and CEO of Hutch
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About Hutch: Hutch develops games app for iPhones and ipad.
Amit Pate
Founder & CEO of Snaptivity
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About Snaptivity: Snaptivity is a stadium tech that drives fan engagement by capturing key moments of events using AI, IoT sensors, and robotic cams.
Olly Paulovich
Co-Founder & VP Marketing & Sales of Snaptivity
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About Snaptivity: Snaptivity is a stadium tech that drives fan engagement by capturing key moments of events using AI, IoT sensors, and robotic cams.
Phong Vu
Co-Founder & CTO of Snaptivity
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About Snaptivity: Snaptivity is a stadium tech that drives fan engagement by capturing key moments of events using AI, IoT sensors, and robotic cams.
Daniel Berg
CEO & Co-Founder of NextUp
Daniel Berg joined NextUp Comedy as CEO & Co-Founder in 2016.
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About ComComedy, NextUp: The home of stand-up, showcasing all the wonders of live comedy worldwide.
Stuart Snaith
Co-Founder of NextUp
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About NextUp, NextUp: The home of stand-up, showcasing all the wonders of live comedy worldwide.
Sarah Henley
Co-Founder of NextUp
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About NextUp: The home of stand-up, showcasing all the wonders of live comedy worldwide.
Kenny Cavey
Co-Founder of NextUp
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About NextUp: The home of stand-up, showcasing all the wonders of live comedy worldwide.
Jake Cossington
Founder & CEO of Terrabyte Studios Limited
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About Terrabyte Studios Limited: Terrabyte Studios Limited is a Media Company powering online services.
Mike Hammerton
Co-Founder of Pirate Studios
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About Pirate Studios: Pirate Studios is the music technology company.
David Borrie
Founder of Pirate Studios
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About Pirate Studios: Pirate Studios is the music technology company.
Matus Maar
CEO & Co-Founder of Pirate Studios
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About Pirate Studios: Pirate Studios is the music technology company.
Steve Callanan
CEO and Founder of WIREWAX
Steve was once the youngest TV producer in the UK, creating his first six-part series with record-breaking audience share while still at university. He established his first production company in 2001 and was also producing over 400 hours of branded, short-form content for the four biggest UK lifestyle publishers. During this time, he proposed that online video content should be as “connected” as the rest of the web; linking pixels to people, products and information was the goal. He engineered the world’s first “shoppable” video tool, which led to the most powerful interactive video platform to help hundreds of global brands realise their connected-video potential.
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About WIREWAX: WIREWAX is the leading interactive video technology company.
Alena Golden
Co-Founder and CEO of BattleMe – Hip Hop Community and Rap Studio
Alena Golden is a Co-Founder and CEO of BattleMe – Hip Hop Community and Rap Studio.
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About BattleMe – Hip Hop Community and Rap Studio: Mobile app creating a community where freestylers and rappers can record tracks and grow their talent through winning contests.
Richard Davies
Owner & Founder of Twickets
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About Future Platforms, Twickets: A London-based ticket resale platform .
Nic Hatch
Co-Founder & CEO of NCam
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About NCam: Ncam develops augmented reality technology for the entertainment industries.
Debbie Bestwick
Commercial & Legal director and Co-Founder of Team17 Software
Debbie is an industry veteran with over 27 years in the games industry, and one of the founding members of Team17. Starting by heading up the Sales and Marketing department, she went on to become responsible for all of the Commercial and Legal aspects of the business – working globally with top tier games distributors, publishers, developers, and license partners. Team17 has released over 70 games across 30 platforms and won numerous industry publishing and developer awards, as well as being the owner of the legendary Worms franchise. Debbie has pioneered Team17’s leap into digital publishing working with a large number of Indie studios globally, and is the majority shareholder of the business.
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About Team17 Software: Team17 is one of the world’s fully independent video game developer and publisher.
Dhrupad Karwa
Co-Founder & CEO of HaikuJAM
Dhrupad Karwa is the Co-Founder and CEO at HaikuJAM
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About HaikuJAM, Inspo: Collaborative Poetry & Artistic Expression App
Douglas Lloyd
CEO & Co-Founder of Macademia
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About Macademia: Macademia is an award-winning global EdTech company providing educational programming and games for children.
Estelle Lloyd
COO & Co-Founder of Macademia
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About Macademia: Macademia is an award-winning global EdTech company providing educational programming and games for children.
Caroline Pires
Founder and CEO of Nerdeo
Caroline Pires has worked in the visual effects industry for seven years as both an artist and supervisor. After her studies at Escape Studios, she went on to work on major blockbuster titles and eventually became part of an Oscar-winning visual effects team for Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo 3D”. She has become a master of VFX for TV and advertising, having worked with Framestore, Saddington Baynes, Mainframe, Vine FX, Pixomondo, Nvizible and Cinesite to name just a few of the facilities listed on her CV. Now the founder of her own business Nerdeo, Caroline has applied her wealth of experience to create an online collaboration platform for professionals within the independent film, TV and gaming industries.
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About Nerdeo: An online platform for professionals within the independent film, TV, commercial and Gaming industry.
Calum Yuill
Founder of POPBOX
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About Picton Street Media, POPBOX: Let’s compete together
Neil Pollard
Founder of Ents24
Neil graduated with a MSc in Advanced Computing from Bristol University in 1997. He developed the UK’s first ever mobile website in 1999 – “The UK Entertainment Centre” – which won several awards and formed the basis of Ents24, a company that he co-founded in 2000. Ents24.com now receives 2m visitors per month, making it the third most popular destination for tickets in the UK, after Ticketmaster and See Tickets.
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About Ents24: Ents24 is a live entertainment website covering live music, comedy, theatre and shows.
Adam Whiteside
Co-Founder of Whitepot Studios
Co-Founder of Whitepot Studios, where I do a load of start up stuff and lead Game Design and Development. Unity, Phaser and much more!
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About Whitepot Studios: A kickass games studio founded in 2016, creating Android, iOS, & PC games, for clients & bespoke use cases, using both HTML5 & Unity
Victoria Potts
Co-Founder, Production & Dev of Whitepot Studios
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About Whitepot Studios: A kickass games studio founded in 2016, creating Android, iOS, & PC games, for clients & bespoke use cases, using both HTML5 & Unity
Matt Auckland
Founder & Broadcaster of Sumo Radio
Founder of digital media startups Sumo Radio & The DJ Book, and proprietor of The Laughing Buddha IT Solutions. Matt is a talented freelance Full Stack Web developer, IT Consultant, Broadcaster, Producer, DJ, and Blogger. Head of Broadcast IT at Unity 101 Community Radio, and Voice FM (Southampton), Matt has been featured in the book “Make it Happen: The Prince’s Trust Guide to Starting your own Business”. Matt is producer and co-host of the weekly Global House Party, a globally syndicated radio show and podcast, co-hosted by international DJ/Producer Ridney. The show is available weekly around the world on 16 stations in 6 countries including UK, Spain, Canada, and USA. As well as over 9,000 podcast listeners per month. Matt also works with renowned multi award winning music producer Artful (Mark Hill, formerly of Artful Dodger). As a DJ, Matt has been spinning for over 25yrs. His passion for dance music has taken him into clubs, radio and beyond. In the last two years his Deep House mixes on YouTube have notched up over 166,025 views, an achievement he is extremely proud of. A self-confessed geek and keen amateur photographer, Matt has a passion for broadcasting, radio, music, and tech. He enjoys new challenges, and creating solutions.
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About After Partie, Sumo Radio: Love Dance Music? Love Sumo. Live streaming only the very best in dance music.
Mark Burgess
Founder and CEO of Big Button Media
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About Big Button Media: Big Button Media produces films, videos, motion graphics, and animations.
Charlie Ryan
Founder & Director of Moshhh Ltd.
I’m the Founder of Giguana, a new kind of streaming service that rewards fans for supporting the bands they love. I have an 11 year background in Design and Development, and worked with a number of big name clients before joining the team at football statistics startup Squawka to build the initial product. I exited Squawka in 2014 to try and disrupt the music industry with Giguana.
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About Moshhh Ltd.: Giguana is new kind of streaming service that rewards fans for supporting the bands they love. Launching Soon!
Jose Maria Peña
CTO & Co-Founder of Lurtis Rules
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About Lurtis Rules: A cloud service that produces complete 3D scenarios out of user constraints
David Jacobs
Founder of Festyvent
Entrepreneur and pragmatic business and technology leader operating in the telecommunications, media and entertainment sectors. In 2015 launched Festyvent (www.festyvent.com) an App-as-a-Service for engaging and monetising fans and audiences for artists and events. Founded, led and sold a Jacobs Rimell Limited, a recognised independent telecommunications software and services company to a Amdocs, a leading BSS & OSS software vendor. A proven track record of innovation and business development combined with building successful teams to develop and bring to market mission critical products and services for telecommunications and media companies.
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About Festyvent: Engaging and Monetising Audiences
Sammy Andrews
Founder & CEO of Deviate Digital
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About Deviate Digital: Deviate Digital is a digital advisory agency for the entertainment industry.
Helen Walton
Founder. Chief Commercial Officer of Gamevy
Helen Walton is co-founder of Gamevy, a tech start-up bringing gameshows online and who recently launched their first game on Facebook – Blackjack Attack. As a company, they are employee-owned with no bosses and a democratic decision-making structure. She began her career working in marketing for Unilever before specialising in branding and copywriting for clients ranging from publishers to supermarkets. Helen has written 18 books for Value Flow Quality – the Agile Practitioner Course approved by the BCS. She has written numerous articles for different magazines and events, including InfoQ, but also on subjects as diverse as make-up in the Mail on Sunday and Henry Moore’s sculptures for Tate Britain. Helen is one of the organisers of the Spark the Change event which runs in London, 3-4 July. It aims to transform the whole business, not just a part – allowing us to build more successful businesses, become better leaders and create happy workplaces. Speakers include Tim Harford, Jurgen Appelo and Simon Baker, while companies involved include Unilever, change.org and PropellerNet.
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About Gamevy: Gamevy is a new start-up, owned by its employees and aiming to follow in the footsteps of pioneering companies who work differently.
Mark Moriarty
CEO and Founder of Awesound
Mark Moriarty is Founder and CEO at Awesound. Previously, he was consultant at McKinsey and Company. He also used to work at UC Berkeley as an open educational resources researcher, and at Claritics as predictive analytics software developer.
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About Awesound: Awesound is a platform for personalized and interactive audio.
Sebastian Thiel
Founder / Director of Upshot Entertainment
Sebastian Thiel is the Founder of Upshot Entertainment and Dope Black Art.
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About Dope Black Art, Upshot Entertainment: Upshot Entertainment is a motion pictures and film company that features an online TV channel.
Sebastian Thiel
Founder / Director of Upshot Entertainment
Sebastian Thiel is the Founder of Upshot Entertainment and Dope Black Art.
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About Dope Black Art, Upshot Entertainment: Upshot Entertainment is a motion pictures and film company that features an online TV channel.
