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 Managing Director operating in the Online Portals space. If you think a Managing Director 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.
Nicole Vanderbilt
UK Managing Director of Bookshop
Follow Nicole Vanderbilt:
About Bookshop, Gelato, On Purpose: Bookshop is an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores.
Akshay Ruparelia
Founder and Managing Director of Doorsteps
Akshay Ruparelia is the Founder of Doorsteps.
Follow Akshay Ruparelia:
About Doorsteps: Doorsteps is a UK-based online estate agents.
Daniel Watts
Founder & Managing Director of Aluminati Network Group
Daniel leads the Aluminati team and has overall responsibility for defining the company’s technical and business strategies and with his deep sector knowledge he leads product innovation. Daniel founded the company in 2002 when he graduated from Oxford with an honours degree in Computation. An expert in online engagement, Daniel is regularly invited to speak at industry conferences and is in regular attendance at multiple CASE events per year. In his spare time Daniel enjoys the physical and mental challenges of basketball and has also coached the Darwin College ladies team to Cambridge championship titles for 4 consecutive years.
Follow Daniel Watts:
About Aluminati Network Group: Aluminati Network Group provide online services and platforms to unite alumni, student and member networks.
Adam Clements
Managing Director of Freshminds
Adam joined Freshminds as COO of what was the Freshminds Group in 2010, bringing with him a wealth of experience as Procurement Manager (UK) of the Morse Group, Operations Director of Morse France and Head of Partner Sales. Adam was also Founding Director of The Key Revolution Ltd – a technology spin-out from Vodafone that went on to raise more than £2m of venture funding and introduced a new secure cloud computing platform to the UK market. As Managing Director, Adam is responsible for running the Freshminds business, with a particular focus on our pool of experienced Strategy and Management Consulting candidates. He works across sectors but with a particular interest in multi-channel Retail and Consumer businesses. Adam has an MBA from Kingston Business School and a BA(Hons) from York. He classes himself as a “very average cricketer, below-average under 9s referee, and an enthusiastic tennis player”.
Follow Adam Clements:
About Freshminds: Freshminds sources graduates, researchers, analysts, consultants, project managers, and directors for permanent jobs or consulting projects.
James Callander
Managing Director of Freshminds
James joined Freshminds in 2003 for a 2 week project and has been here ever since, becoming Managing Director in 2008. He was part of the client development team that helped grow the firm from a start-up of 10 people to a business of over 100. He helped to launch a number of products and led on the development of some of Freshminds’ first key clients in consulting, financial services and private equity. Today, as Managing Director James is responsible for leading the commercial side of the business, with a particular focus on our pool of graduate and early career Minds and working with clients across sectors. He comments regularly in the press about the importance of hiring the best talent with a consulting skill set. James has an MA in Geography from Edinburgh University and completed a sales leadership course at Harvard Business School in 2011. Before Freshminds he worked for Roland Berger and Bell Pottinger. He’s a keen cook (albeit with limited range) and enjoys running and tennis. He has stood for parliament twice and acts as an informal advisor to his wife’s luxury travel business.
Follow James Callander:
About Freshminds: Freshminds sources graduates, researchers, analysts, consultants, project managers, and directors for permanent jobs or consulting projects.
Matthew Funge
Managing Director & Founder of Your Stand Builder
Matthew is the Managing Director & Founder of event technology company Your Stand Builder, and currently lives in London. He is a graduate from the University of Manchester who already has valuable experience of living and working in both the USA and France, in addition to various parts of the UK, which has provided him with valuable international exposure already. He is responsible for building and launching the Your Stand Builder platform in March 2019, following more than 5 years’ in an exhibition project manager role preparing 25+ worldwide events annually for his previous employer – an experience which directly led to the YSB idea being born. Matthew is passionate about making a difference in the global events industry, and is committed to continually exploring technological innovation. He has taken YSB from concept all the way through to execution and plans to build upon this in the future through gradually developing the service further.
Follow Matthew Funge:
About Your Stand Builder: SaaS, online marketplace, web platform
Ed Henderson
Founder / Managing Director of Uni2
Follow Ed Henderson:
About Uni2: Uni2 is the fastest growing student company in the UK.
Ed Henderson
Founder / Managing Director of Uni2
Follow Ed Henderson:
About Uni2: Uni2 is the fastest growing student company in the UK.
Stuart Millson
Cofounder and Managing Director of Broker Compare
Follow Stuart Millson:
About Broker Compare: Broker Compare is a price comparison tool that helps investors find the right online stockbroker for their needs.
