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 Marketing Automation 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.
Sultan Murad Saidov
Co-Founder and President of Beamery
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About Beamery, Seed.jobs: Beamery is a talent acquisition, engagement, and retention platform that manages sourcing, hiring, and retaining of people.
Michael Paterson
Co-Founder & CTO of Beamery
Michael Paterson joined Beamery as Co-Founder and CTO in 2015.
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About Beamery: Beamery is a talent acquisition, engagement, and retention platform that manages sourcing, hiring, and retaining of people.
Abakar Saidov
Co Founder & CEO of Beamery
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About Beamery: Beamery is a talent acquisition, engagement, and retention platform that manages sourcing, hiring, and retaining of people.
Peter Irikovsky
Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder of Exponea (acquired by Bloomreach)
Peter Irikovsky is the CEO of Exponea, the leading customer data and experience platform (CDXP). Prior to heading up the Exponea team, Peter demonstrated his passion for entrepreneurialism as the CEO of Slevomat Group, where he helped grow revenue to €100m in fewer than four years. His past experience also includes LRJ Capital, McKinsey, and Groupon. Peter is a frequent speaker (Davos, Forbes, StartupGrind, US Embassy, EU commission), and serves as the head of the supervisory board at Duke of Edinburgh International Award in Slovakia, board member of National Monuments Foundation, and committee member at Millennium Calendar Prize. He is a Singularity University graduate and holds a degree in Computer Science.
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About Exponea (acquired by Bloomreach), Infinario: Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP) with marketing automation capabilities
Qamar Aziz
Founder & CEO of SalesSeek
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About CloudApps, Opsview, SalesSeek, Traackr: All-in-one business CRM platform and hub for your customer data.
Theofilos Vasileiadis
CEO/Founder/Lead Investor of Socital
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About Socital: Socital is a SaaS platform specialized in personalization and lead generation for ecommerce.
Richard H Harris
Group CEO, Founder of Ensygnia
Richard is known as a hands-on, technology entrepreneur with a track record of building and transforming early-stage technology companies such as Ensygnia, Swivel Secure, Mobix, SAVortex, Clearswift and Tumbleweed. As Chief Executive and a founder of Ensygnia, Richard conceptualised and patented a visual alternative to NFC called Onescan. Ensygnia’s Onescan platform enables a consumer to go from looking to buying in under 10s from first contact – including new customers! At the Mobile World Congress over 1500 industry leaders voted Onescan as one of top 3 the innovations most likely to have the greatest impact on the mobile industry over the next ten years! Ensygnia beat tough competition from AirWatch, CloudX, Metrical and SpatialBuzz to win the Mobile Industry Awards 2014: Best Use of Software. In his spare time, he enjoys Ceroc & Scuba, is a campaigner for the rights of vulnerable adults and mental health issues when possible working with Zacchaeus 2000 Trust and Mental Health Research UK as well as mentoring Nicholas Fearn a young man with Asperger’s. Also enjoys mucking around with molten glass, composing music, painting and digital art.
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About Ensygnia: Ensygnia delivers integration Platform as a Service for large payment companies and corporations deploying omnichannel solutions
Alistair Russell
Co-Founder/CTO of tray.io
Alistair Russell is the co-founder and CTO of Tray.
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About tray.io: Tray.io provides a cloud-based software integration platform for automators.
Simon Ward
Founder and CEO of Team ITG
Simon Ward ITG and Simon Ward SP Group: Simon Ward is CEO of ITG (Inspired Thinking Group) and former Commercial CEO of SP Group, a part of St Ives Group. Simon founded ITG in 2009 and has played a key role in the company’s growth, running the business and obtaining investment for expansion and acquisitions.v ITG delivers best-in-class marketing software, procurement and studio services to numerous blue-chip clients, including PUMA, M&S, KFC, Audi and Heineken. In 2015, ITG joined the London Stock Exchange’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain. Prior to founding ITG, Simon Ward was commercial CEO of SP Group, based in Redditch. He joined the printers in 1999, as co-founder and head of SP Digital. This soon became the most profitable part of the business, and Simon took over the reins of SP Group in 2000. In 2004, Simon sold SP Group to St Ives, becoming the group’s commercial CEO, remaining with the company until the launch of ITG.
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About Team ITG: Team ITG is a technology-led provider of outsourced multichannel marketing services.
Ivan Mazour
Co-Founder & CEO of Ometria
Ivan Mazour is a Russian-born, London-based serial entrepreneur, investor and author. He is the CEO and Founder of Ometria – a predictive analytics and marketing platform built specifically for retailers, letting them use data to increase revenues and provide an improved customer experience. Ometria is his seventh company, in a career spanning various industries from property to education – http://www.ometria.com Alongside this main role, he is also the Founding Partner of Innova Kapital – an early stage VC firm investing in UK-based technology startups, including companies like YPlan and organisations like Entrepreneur First – http://www.innovakapital.com As well as holding multiple degrees in Mathematics from Cambridge University, and in Economics from the Open University, Ivan Mazour is the author of a number of books including “Russian Convoys – Memories of the Heart”. His translations of Russian literature have been staged professionally in various cities, and he has been presented with a UNESCO medal for his literary achievements. He regularly speaks at conferences around the world on topics of ecommerce, technology, and investment, and also writes a popular blog called “A Young Entrepreneur in London” – http://www.ivanmazour.com
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About Ometria: Ometria is a customer data and marketing platform that helps retailers increase CRM revenue by sending personalized marketing messages.
Djalal Lougouev
Co-Founder & CSO of Ometria
Djalal Lougouev is a technology entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in management, technology and user-centered design. He is the Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Ometria, a predictive ecommerce marketing platform helping online retailers leverage data to drive profitability. Djalal is also the founding partner of Innova Kapital, an early stage VC firm specialising in UK based technology start-ups.
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About Ometria: Ometria is a customer data and marketing platform that helps retailers increase CRM revenue by sending personalized marketing messages.
Mat Atkinson
Founder and CEO of Ziflow
Ziflow is led by Mat Atkinson, founder and CEO. Prior to co-founding Ziflow, Mat was the founder and CEO of ProofHQ, the industry’s leading online proofing solution. Under Mat’s leadership, ProofHQ defined the SaaS market for online review and approval and guided the company to its successful acquisition by Workfront. Prior to ProofHQ, Mat was the CEO of Mtivity which was a pioneer in the marketing workflow space, providing marketing automation for agencies and brands worldwide.
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About Ziflow, Ziflow: Ziflow is a SaaS company that builds smart tools for creative production teams.
Anthony Welgemoed
Founder and CTO of Ziflow
Anthony Welgemoed is Founder and CTO at Ziflow Prior to co-founding Ziflow, Anthony was co-founder and CTO of ProofHQ, the industry’s leading online proofing solution. At ProofHQ, Anthony built a world-class development team responsible for the market’s most scalable, resilient and secure online review and approval solution. At the time of ProofHQ’s acquisition by Workfront, ProofHQ was used by thousands of companies across the world every day, producing tens of millions of proofs per year. Prior to ProofHQ, Anthony was Director of Product Management at Mtivity, where he helped develop a sophisticated marketing process automation platform for agencies and brands.
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About Ziflow, Ziflow: Ziflow is a SaaS company that builds smart tools for creative production teams.
Ian Griffiths
Co-Founder of Who Can Fix My Car
Ian is at the rudder of Who Can Fix My Car. A car fanatic and self confessed “petrol-head” since birth, Ian headed back to the North East after 8 years in London and set up the business in early 2011.
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About Gliff.ai, Handbag Clinic, Who Can Fix My Car: Who Can Fix My Car is an online car repair and servicing marketplace enabling users to obtain quotations from garages.
Alistair Preston
Co-Founder of Who Can Fix My Car
Alistair Preston is Co-Founder at Who Can Fix My Car.
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About Who Can Fix My Car: Who Can Fix My Car is an online car repair and servicing marketplace enabling users to obtain quotations from garages.
Dominic Edmunds
Founder of SaleCycle
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About PlanetWatchers, SaleCycle: Behavioral marketing company SaleCycle helps brands create better customer journeys online.
Rachel Davis
Co-Founder & COO of Hurree
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About Hurree: Hurree is a mobile marketing and engagement platform.
Jigar Patel
CEO & Co-Founder of The Ticket Fairy
COO & Founder at The Ticket Fairy. CEO & Founder at Desinex Group International.
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About Desinex Group International, The Ticket Fairy: Full-stack event marketing, ticketing, analytics and advertising platform
Henry Hyder-Smith
Founder and CEO of Adestra
Henry has been working within the email marketing industry since its inception. As co-founder, Henry leads the board of Adestra and has a unique understanding of different clients’ needs, industry issues and development. Henry has a hands-on approach, and is devoted to keeping Adestra’s products, services and staff at the cutting edge of email marketing.
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About Adestra: Adestra is a trusted provider of First-Person Marketing solutions for global and growing brands.
Steve Denner
Founder and COO of Adestra
Steve is highly experienced in developing and delivering email solutions, having led teams responsible for bringing five email applications to market. Since co-founding Adestra, Steve is focused on ensuring Adestra’s platform continues to be today’s best email marketing system and that Adestra’s clients receive the best support.
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About Adestra: Adestra is a trusted provider of First-Person Marketing solutions for global and growing brands.
Paul Archer
Founder and Managing Director of Duel
World Record-breaking Adventurer, Best-selling Author and founder of Duel. Aside from his expeditions and writing, he has spent his career building technology, including the Daredevil Project app development studio, and consulting for advertising agencies and tech companies. He founded Duel to democratise and decentralise marketing for brands. Duel is solving the lack of emotional connection and social proof in often clinical looking online stores by rewarding customers for creating visual testimonials and advocating among their friends, rather than wasting millions on advertising to drive sales. Before this Paul conceived and implemented the It’s on the Meter Expedition to drive to London taxi around the World. The expedition broke two Guinness World Records, raised over £20,000 and passed through 50 countries after driving 80,000 miles from London to London in Hannah, a 1992 London Taxi bought of eBay. Paul is also an experienced speaker, moderator and a conference host. Including TEDx, SXSW, Festival of Media, Cannes Lions, Social Media Week, GenerationE, the Content Marketing Institute and Retail.Tech, as well as guest lecturing at the British School of Fashion.
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About Duel: Brand Advocacy Platform that enables purpose-led brands to drive organic growth & retention through word-of-mouth & advocacy
Panagiotis Tsarouchis
Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Duel
Panagiotis ‘Naio’ Tsarouchis is an award winning designer and developer with prolific experience in entrepreneurship having founded design and technology education startups including Consider Magazine, Art In Progress and Treesix. Naio is Duel’s Co-Founder, CTO and expert in both complex computer science and user-centric design, having built Duel from a UGC platform into a fully-featured Brand Advocacy suite. As a fellow Co-Founder of Daredevil Project gaming studio, he has a deep, technical understanding of how gaming virology, authentic brands and customer behaviour intersect on a platform level. When not working, you’ll probably find him rescuing art in Bristol, adding to his impressive rum collection and rocking his synth.
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About Duel: Brand Advocacy Platform that enables purpose-led brands to drive organic growth & retention through word-of-mouth & advocacy
Dr Ingvar Kraatz
COO / Co-Founder of Bidnamic
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About Bidnamic, Dizinga: Bidnamic is a machine learning platform that helps retailers unlock the full potential of Google Shopping.
Antonio Reyes
CTO & Co-Founder of Bidnamic
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About Bidnamic, Dizinga: Bidnamic is a machine learning platform that helps retailers unlock the full potential of Google Shopping.
Joshua Scotton
COO & Co-Founder of Personify XP
Josh is the brains behind Personify XP. With a PhD from the Intelligent Systems group at the University of Warwick, he has worked with some of the world’s largest companies across Retail, Finance, CPG and Travel. Josh has spent the last 10 years living out his passion for personalization, researching customer analytics, marketing and customer engagement modelling.
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About Personify XP: Personify XP uses AI and automation personalization SAAS technology to help retailers understand what their customers are shopping for.
Paola Marinone
Founder & CEO of BuzzMyVideos
Founder & CEO at BuzzMyVideos.
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About Blackbox, BuzzMyVideos, TechItalia:Lab: BuzzMyVideos is leading martech company that drives hyper-growth & new revenue from and on YouTube.
Bengu Atamer
Co-Founder & Director of BuzzMyVideos
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About BuzzMyVideos: BuzzMyVideos is leading martech company that drives hyper-growth & new revenue from and on YouTube.
Jacob Laurvigen
Group CEO & Co-Founder of Dexi
Jacob Laurvigen has been helping businesses achieving above expectations and personally invested in multiple successful start-up’s!
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About Blockware, Dexi, Mozenda: Dexi provides the leading Data Extraction and Data Automation Software.
Alexander Alimovs
Founder & CEO of Automations.io
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About Automations.io: No-code automation platform to visually automate repetitive work and build workflows to save time and increase productivity.
Jo Eckersley
CEO & Founder of Bubbl Ltd
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About Bubbl Ltd: Cutting-edge mobile app plug-in that allows companies to hyper-focus their marketing efforts with geo-triggered customer engagement tools.
Adam Gordon
CEO & Co-Founder of Candidate.ID
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About Candidate.ID, Social Media Search: Candidate.ID is a marketing automation software specifically developed for recruitment.
Rasmus Gustavsen
Founder & iCEO of NerdPeople
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About NerdPeople: DIgital Marketing, Software Development, Web and App development, QA. Our nerds will help you reach your business goals in next to no time!
Rahul Jayawant
Founder and CEO of Eureka Mobile Advertising
Rahul is an accomplished professional with experience of creating new businesses for global technology and consulting conglomerates across India, Singapore and the UK. He is passionate about customer delight through excellence in service, business value and innovative technologies. An alumnus of IIT Varanasi, India; he believes the purpose of business is to make friends (wealth creation is a by-product)!
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About Eureka Mobile Advertising: Eureka Mobile Advertising utilizes technology and advanced analytical tools to engage with opt-in subscribers in return for rewards.
Garth Shephard
Founder & Partner of 72 Capital Limited
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About 72 Capital Limited: Boutique M&A, fundraising and strategic adviser to the small and mid-cap technology, digital media and sport sectors.
Eddy Swindell
Co-Founder, CRO of Fresh Relevance
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About Fresh Relevance: The Personalization Platform to Boost ROI. Built to Help Marketers Get Their Jobs Done..
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.
Peter Ward
Founder and CEO of Shoppar
20 years creating engaging customer experiences in retail. Extensive knowledge of how big brands like Diageo, Cadbury, Red Bull engage and sell to their customers. Previously on the POPAI UK Executive Board.
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About Shoppar: Generate digital content for Social Media advertising that performs
Steven Lloyd-Barlow
Co-Founder | Director of vidbuild
vidbuild is the brainchild of Film & Media Production Director, Steven Lloyd-Barlow. After a career in managing film and TV shoots on a large scale, Steven recognised the cost and budget constraints that small businesses face in video production. The cost and expertise required to develop media in-house, or the cost involved to outsource the work simply outpriced most small to medium sized enterprises. As video content is the number one performer in global marketing, SME’s were suffering hugely in being locked out of this game. Steven sought VC funding through now parent-company Car Cloud Ventures, and partnered successfully with some of the worlds largest stock video providers (Getty, iStock & Storyblocks). With 5 years of development work completed within six months, and beta launch in early 2018, vidbuild was born.
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About : Online Video Maker – Make Your Own Professional Videos in Minutes
David Telford
Founder of Seg
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About Seg: Connecting your ecommerce platform and your website to email.
Si Brown
Founder & CEO of skignz
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About skignz: skignz: A Precise Location AR platform providing an Enterprise API/SDK that is capable of placing digital content anywhere on the planet
Steve Wright
Founder & CEO of Captini
Steve Wright is the Founder & CEO at Captini.
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About Captini: Captini transforms Guest WiFi networks into an automated marketing service that increases customer return rates.
Roberto Alvarez Miranda
Associate Founder of Tourbina
Hi there! I’ve worked in marketing for over 20 years one, spanning various industries(B2B & B2C). Now focused to growing a data driven Inbound Marketing agency, I am working to join OKR methodology and Growth Drive Design. Working across different industries, being passionate about what I do, having a hands-on understanding of all areas of management, business intelligence, marketing online and offline and a great background in sales, makes me uniquely positioned as a data strategist and gives me the ability to understand several business model, in order to make a quick, positive impact on the digital procedure that I work on. If you have any questions about my work, or have some exciting opportunities that would benefit from a multi-faceted leader such as myself, please feel to contact me in the first instance at: roberto@tourbina.net
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About Tourbina: Digital marketing company focused on Tourism
Jason Lark
Founder & Managing Director of Celerity
Jason Lark is the Founder and Managing Director of Celerity.
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About Celerity: Celerity is a data-driven marketing agency specializing in helping brands to maximize value from marketing technology and customer data.
Jason Lark
Founder & Managing Director of Celerity
Jason Lark is the Founder and Managing Director of Celerity.
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About Celerity: Celerity is a data-driven marketing agency specializing in helping brands to maximize value from marketing technology and customer data.
Tommy Hassan
Founder of Curatern
Founder of Curatern.
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About Curatern, Roomlify: Artificial Intelligence Social Media Intern
Adam Woods
Founder of boafx
Founder at BOAFX Trading Signal Solutions
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About boafx: My Winning Trades On Your Account
