Hurun UK Under30s

Leading research institution announces young British entrepreneurs pushing UK economy to new heights 

Hurun UK Under30s and Under35s Young Entrepreneurs to Watch 2023 revealed

• Susie Ma of Tropic Skincare, Castore’s Phil and Tom Beahon, and LADBible’s Alex Solomou named among Britain’s best young business talent.

• Welsh vodka pioneers Charlie Morgan and Jackson Quinn are two of 21 entrepreneurs from the food and drink industry - the best-represented sector.

• 22 of this year’s entrants have created unicorns, companies valued at $1 billion or more.

• Twins Joyce and Raissa de Haas and Lounge Underwear’s Melanie Marsden are among 40 female entrepreneurs featured.

• Healthcare staffing expert Simon Swali is the youngest entrant at just 23 years old.

[6 February 2024, London]: Leading research institution, the Hurun Research Institute, today releases the Hurun UK Under30s and Hurun UK Under35s 2023, showcasing the leading British young powerhouses pushing the UK economy to new heights.

79 British entrepreneurs feature on the Hurun UK Under30s list, while 109 feature on the Under35s list, making a combined total of 188 young entrepreneurs. 

The UK lists feature well-known billionaires such as Gymshark’s Ben Francis and Johnny Boufarhat of Hopin, the video conferencing service that thrived during the pandemic, as well as lesser-known entrepreneurs who have quickly built businesses worth at least US$10 million. 

Twenty-two of the business leaders have created unicorns - ventures worth at least $1 billion. Johnny Boufarhat created the most valuable company of the U30s - his video conferencing operation has been valued at $5.7 billion. Two fellow unicorn founders among the Under30s are Christian Owens and Harrison Rose, the pair who set up Paddle, the online payments provider.

The most valuable company created by the U35 cohort is Blockchain. Peter Smith co-founded the crypto currency wallet service and fundraising has valued the operation at £4 billion. Three fintech pioneers behind Lendable - Martin Kissinger, Victoria van Lennep and Jakob Schwarz - also appear in the Under35s list. Their credit provider was worth £3.5 billion after a similar fundraising. 

Herman Narula, Peter Lipka and Robert Whitehead teamed up to launch Improbable - a developer of virtual worlds valued at $3 billion. All three appear on the Under35s list. Other unicorns with founders who feature in Hurun’s research include Beamery, Marshmallow, Tractable and Wayve. 

This year’s new entries include Susie Ma, the Shanghai-born entrepreneur behind Tropic Skincare. A former contestant on The Apprentice, Ma secured investment from Lord Alan Sugar after appearing in the reality TV show and her London cosmetics brand has grown turnover to £64.8m.

The 2024 debutants also include Phil and Tom Beahon, founders of sports clothing label Castore. A recent fundraising recently valued the brothers’ Manchester-based business at £750 million. Tennis star Sir Andy Murray is one of the investors backing the group. 

Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, said: 

“Our research shows Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. Many of these young business leaders have managed to quickly build successful companies despite a difficult geo-political environment, persistent inflation, and the many other headwinds our economies have experienced in recent years.” 

“We believe each of our Under30s have quickly built businesses worth US$10m. The enterprises created by our more experienced Under35s group are each worth around US$50m. Some are worth a hundred times that. In time we expect many of our young Under30s to graduate to the more senior list as their ventures take flight.”

Hurun’s research showcases thriving businesses from across the UK economy. Charles Morgan and Jackson Quinn are two of 21 business leaders working in the food & beverages industry - the best represented of any sector. Morgan and Quinn decided to shake up the vodka world after thinking existing bottles and flavours looked “boring”. Annual sales at their Swansea spirits brand AU Vodka have grown to £43.9m.

Twenty of those listed in Hurun’s UK Under30s and Under35s have grown ventures in the apparels & accessories sector. These include Dan and Melanie Marsden. The husband and wife team last year grew sales to £71.3m at Lounge Underwear, their Solihull-based lingerie retailer.

Barney Hussey-Yeo is one of 15 entrepreneurs from the FinTech sector. His app-based service Cleo helps users keep tabs on their spending habits. A fundraising last year valued the venture at $500m.

Leading industries

Source: Hurun Research 2023

Forty women appear in this year’s lists. Twins Joyce and Raissa de Haas launched Double Dutch Drinks in 2015. Their mixers are now stocked in more than 5,000 places and are exported to over 20 countries. 

There is also a strong showing for young business leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds, reflecting Britain’s diverse entrepreneurial landscape. In just five years of trading Vishal Karia has grown annual sales at his wholesaler Affinity Fragrances to more than £100m.

Hoogewerf added: “Hurun’s analysis shows that while there is extensive home-grown talent across the UK, Britain is also a magnet for entrepreneurs from around the world. World-class universities attract some of the very brightest people to this country and after completing their studies these graduates often decide to launch their businesses here.”

“By analysing the backgrounds of our Under30s and Under35s we’ve been able to learn about how many of these co-founders met one another. There were some who met at school and others who got to know each other while working together at an investment bank or in another graduate job. But we can also see that universities are playing a crucial role in bringing liked-minded people with a passion for enterprise together.”

The universities of Cambridge and Oxford each had 12 representatives. There were also strong showings for three universities in London. Imperial College London, University College London and King’s College London had 10, 8 and 6 of their graduates in this year’s research. Five of the founders attended Bristol and there were four each from Durham, Edinburgh, the London School of Economics, Loughborough, Nottingham, Southampton and Warwick. However, 23 of the entrants did not attend university. 

Leading universities

Source: Hurun Research 2023

Most (116) of the entrepreneurs featured in this year’s Hurun UK U30s and U35s have based their ventures in London. There are 19 in the South East, 17 in the Midlands and 13 in the North West. 

Manchester-based Alex Solomou has turned LADBible from a small Facebook group into a publishing platform with revenues of around £63m. He floated the media group on the stock market two years ago with a value of £360m and the shares have climbed strongly over the past year. 

Where the Hurun UK U30s and U35s base their businesses

Source: Hurun Research 2023

Solomou was one of eight of this year’s Hurun UK Under30s and Under35s to have based their businesses in Manchester, making the city the second most popular choice after London. Bristol and Birmingham each have four entrepreneurs who appear in this year’s lists. Edinburgh, Maidstone, Nottingham, Plymouth and Solihull each have three. 

To appear in the Hurun UK Under30s list a person needed to have either founded or co-founded a company judged to be worth around US$10m. Inclusion in the Under35s list required entrants to have built a business worth around US$50m. 

The Hurun UK Under30s and Hurun UK Under35s are part of a family of over 1600 young entrepreneurs from 5 countries, the others being China, India, US and Canada.

Hurun UK Under30s 2023

Source: Hurun Research 2023

Hurun UK Under35s 2023

Source: Hurun Research 2023

Biographies of Hurun UK Under30s 2023

Molly Allington

Albotherm has developed smart coatings for glass that can be used to regulate heat in greenhouses and commercial buildings. Allington co-founded and runs the Bristol University spinout, which has attracted more than £1.6m of investment.

Ruby Aryiku

Vamp is the UK's only major digital agency concentrating on promoting black entrepreneurs and influencers. Aryiku co-founded the agency, signing up clients including Warner Music, Channel 4 and Boohoo. Turnover last year topped £1.4m.

Ali Attar

Attar co-founded SigmaOS, a developer of internet browsing software which provides users with less distractions than conventional browsers. The SigmaOS app has been downloaded more than 100,000 times and attracted more than £3m of investment.

Hayden Ball

PlayerData supplies wearable, GPS-enabled tech allowing coaches to monitor player performance in football and other team sports. Bell founded the business with Roy Hotrabhvanon in 2017 and raised investment of £4.7m.

Ahana Banerjee

Banerjee's app Clear allows users to track and share their skincare routines as well as providing a marketing space for beauty brands. The service has partnered with more than 2,000 companies and a fundraising has valued the operation at around £11.5m.

Dr Cristiana Banila

Banila co-founded Mitra Bio, a developer of anti-aging skincare products. Launched in 2020, the company is one of nine firms selected for Cambridge University's Illumina Accelerator programme and has raised more than £1.3m in funding.

Oli Banks

Banks co-founded Leeds-based North Property Group in 2017. The buy-to-let specialist agency has so far sold 1,500 apartments to investors and grown turnover to £5.6m.

Phil Beahon

After accepting his dream of becoming a professional cricketer would not come true, Beahon set up his premium sportswear label with his brother Tom. Castore has attracted investment from tennis star Sir Andy Murray and grown annual sales to £115m.

Laurence Booth-Clibborn

The Mothership invests in and grows retail businesses. Booth-Clibborn co-founded the operation, which secured more than £17m of investment in 2022.

Natasha Boulding

Boulding teamed up with Scott Bush to launch Low Carbon Materials while she researched her PhD at Durham University. Their venture turns waste plastics into a material that replaces sand, gravel and other aggregates. The pair have raised more than £2.5m.

Lewis Boyles-White

Boyles-White set up CoreBlue in 2016 with Dan Hardman. The pair's software developer has secured work with a wide range of clients, including Amazon. Turnover nearly tripled to £2.7m in 2022.

Ollie Brittan

Brittan was working as an estate agent when he set up Whites Beaconsfield. a retailer of teeth whitening products. Tie-ups with Love Island stars have helped generate seven-figure annual sales.

Jack Bullimore

Bullimore set up one of the world's fastest growing women's fitness apps with Krissy Cela. EvolveYou now has more than 80,000 subscribers.

Scott Bush

Bush is one of the three founders of Low Carbon Materials. The award-winning business converts waste plastic into products used on building sites. Around £2.5m of funding has been raised so far.

Connor Campbell

Osler Diagnostics, an Oxford University spinout, has developed lab-standard diagnostic kits that can be used anywhere. Campbell set up and runs the operation, raising $85m of series C funding in late 2022.

Lewis Campbell

Target Healthcare supplies pharmacies, hospitals and GP surgeries with generic drugs. Campbell is managing director of the business and has grown annual sales to more than £27m. 

Krissy Cela

Albanian-born gym goer Cela set up the fitness app EvolveYou with Jack Bullimore and also has a clothing brand called Oner Active. The two businesses together generate annual revenues of more than £26m.

Hannah Chappatte

Letting agency HYBR manages the relationships between "responsible students" and landlords in six cities. Chappatte started the business is 2020 and has already brought in revenues of £10m for landlords.

Jhai Dhillon

A former professional footballer, Dhillon set up meal delivery service Simmer with his brother Simmy. More than 20,000 people have signed up to use the service and annual sales have topped £2m.

Simmy Dhillon

Dhillon didn't quit his job at Google until his food delivery service Simmer was turning over almost £1m. He started the business with his brother Jhai while at university, initially selling up to 50 meals a week from his student digs.

Botty Dimanov

Tenyks helps machine learning engineers develop better, safer artificial intelligence. Dimanov is one of the founders of the Cambridge University spinout which earlier this year raised £2.6m.

Will Donnelly

The stress of finding the right accommodation for their grandmother inspired Donnelly and his brother Chris to set up Lottie. Their online service allows users to assess different care homes and last year raised £6.1m of funding.

Craig Everett

Everett set up Holibob with fellow Glasgow University student Angus Hardy, providing digital services that help tour operators and holiday attractions boost revenues. The service employs more than 60 people in 11 countries and has raised more than £15m of funding.

Sian Fussell

Albotherm has developed a polymer reducing the heat that passes through glass in greenhouses and commercial buildings. Fussell set up the Bristol University spinout with Molly Allington and the pair have raised £1.6m of funding. 

Jamie Genevieve

Lipsticks and other products made by Vieve are now available in Harrods, Space NK and other top retailers. Genevieve's annual sales are expected to top £10m and she has raised £5.5m of investment for her vegan-friendly cosmetics brand.

Mahyad Ghassemibouyaghchi

Ghassemibouyaghchi developed SigmaOS after being diagnosed with ADHD. The internet browser helps the user focus on key tasks and has attracted more than £3m of funding.

Raphael Guth

Sprout.AI harnesses artificial intelligence to process insurance claims faster. Guth co-founded the business, raising £10.5m of funding and growing annual sales to more than £2.5m.

Daniel Hardman

Hardman is chief technology and co-founder of CoreBlue, a developer of software used in 32 countries. Sales jumped to £2.7m in 2022.

Angus Hardy

Holibob provides digital services helping tour operators, attractions and travel brands grow sales. Hardy founded the business with Craig Everett and has attracted £15m of investment.

George Heaton

Heaton set up his upmarket streetwear fashion label Represent with his brother Mike in 2011. Sales reached £48.6m in 2022.

Roy Hotrabhvanon

More than 500 sports clubs use PlayerData, which harnesses GPS-enabled wearable tech to track athletes' speed and performance. Hotrabhvanon set up the Scottish tech firm with Haydan Ball, attracting investment of £4.7m. 

Jess Hunt

Former model Hunt co-founded make-up brand Refy in 2020 and has quickly grown annual sales to £12m. Revenues are expected to reach £25m this year.

Murvah Iqbal

Asos and Zara are among the brands to sign up with Hived, a zero-emissions delivery service co-founded by Iqbal. Earlier this year the venture raised £10m of funding. 

Ankush Jain

Jain is chief investment officer and co-founder of Aaro Capital, a London-based asset manager specialising in crypto currency and other blockchain-related investments. Earlier this year Aaro's assets under management stood at around £25m.

Dmitry Kazhdan

Kazhdan is one of the three founders of Tenyks, a Cambridge University spinout developing ways for humanity to protect itself from dangerous artificial intelligence - or "the Terminator", as the company puts it. Tenyks last year raised nearly £3m in funding.

Philip Kelvin

Tranch provides buy-now-pay-later services for businesses. Kelvin founded the business in London and secured $100m of investment earlier this year.

Amy Knight

Online retailer Must Have Ideas sells a wide range of affordable products for the home and garden. Knight founded the business in 2018 and has grown annual sales to more than £20m.

Daniel Knight

Knight's Kinetic Games developed the "psychological horror" Phasmophobia. Annual sales have exceeded £37.6m.

Mathias Krieger

Hived's electric vehicles are now used by more than 100 clients. Krieger set up the eco-friendly delivery firm with Murvah Iqbal and earlier this year raised £10m of investment.

Alec Kwaye

Set up by Kwaye in 2016, Felfri Diamonds sells pre-owned watches made by Rolex, Patek Philippe and other top brands. There were revenues of more than £1.3m in 2021-22.

Cyril Lutterodt

Black Seed is a venture capital firm backing black entrepreneurs building tech businesses and other start-ups. Lutterodt co-founded the operation in 2021 and already has more than £5m of assets under management.

Mario Maher

Maher set up Heat in 2019 with Joe Wilkinson. The luxury online service sends users "mystery boxes" of clothing, footwear and accessories from top designers and has attracted more than £4m of funding from LVMH and other investors.

Eliot Makabu

Bonnet is an app helping drivers of electric vehicle find and use more than 260,000 charging points across the UK and Europe. Makabu set up the service with Patrick Reich in 2019. The pair earlier this year raised £3.7m of funding.

Saurav Mitra

SigmaOS's internet browsers make it easier for users to focus on tasks. Mitra co-founded the software developer, which has attracted more than £3m of investment.

Nathan Moore

ITV have invested £2.5m in Live Tech Games. Moore set up the mobile gaming developer with Samuel Worsley.

Youri Moskovic

Prediko helps online retailers manage their stock and purchasing orders. Moskovic founded the software provider with Nicolas Sabatier, raising more than £3.8m of funding.

Rumbi Mupindu

Mupindu is one of the entrepreneurs behind Vamp, a digital agency supporting black entrepreneurs and influencers. Revenues reached £1.4m in 2022.

Dalraj Nijjar

Nijjar co-founded Concrete4Change, a Midlands-based start-up that stores carbon in concrete to help the construction industry reach its environmental targets. He has already raised £2m of investment for this company and millions more for earlier ventures.

Izzy Obeng

Foundervine has helped more than 330 entrepreneurs start their own businesses. Obeng started the network in 2017, employs 25 people and has grown turnover to more than £1m.

Christina Okorocha

Vamp has signed up clients including DIsney, Boohoo and the BBC. Okorocha co-founded the digital agency, which promotes black influencers and entrepreneurs. Annual revenues grew to £1.4m in 2022.

Christian Owens

Learning to code from YouTube videos in his teens, Owens founded online payments firm Paddle. Sales have exceeded £26m and a £293m fundraising secured unicorn status.

Shun Pang

Anima provides productivity tools to help NHS and other healthcare professionals better manage patient care. Pang co-founded the firm and helped secure around £2m of funding.

Josephine Philips

Sojo provides a seamless service that picks up, repairs and returns clothes. Philips founded the eco-friendly fashion outfit and has raised £2m of funding.

Patrick Reich

Electric vehicle app Bonnet helps motorists find and use more than 260,000 charging points across the UK and Europe. Reich and his business partner Eliot Makabu raised  £3.7m of funding earlier this year.

Jordan Richards

Richards started creative agency RCCO as a sideline after landing an apprenticeship at Google. He has grown annual sales to more than £1.5m.

Carrie Rose

Rose started digital marketing agency Rise at Seven in 2019. Over the first two years she attracted 65 clients, including Boohoo and xBox. Annual turnover already exceeds £7 million.

Harrison Rose

Rose co-founded FinTech unicorn Paddle with Christian Owens. He has now set up Goodfit, a data-driven consultancy helping clients boost sales.

Nicolas Sabatier

Sabatier set up Prediko with Youri Moskovic. The London-based software firm helps retailers keep track of their stock levels and has raised more than £3.8m of funding.

Ashu Savani

Savani set up TryHackMe with Ben Spring. The cybersecurity training platform is used by employees of Google and KPMG and delivers annual revenues of around £7.8m.

Benjamin Shalom

Shalom was 23 when he became a licensed boxing promoter. He now regularly hosts fight nights on Sky Sports. 

Ramy Shelbaya

Quantum Dice specialises in random number generation, a practice useful for cybersecurity. The Oxford University spinout has already raised £5m of funding. Shelbaya is a co-founder and CEO of the tech firm.

Aimee Smale

Smale set up Odd Muse in 2020 with the ambition of encouraging consumers to buy clothes made to last rather than short-life, fast fashion. Her pearl dress went viral on TikTok and helped annual sales climb to £1.7m last year.

Louis Ray Smith

Smith is commercial director of X1, a property developer that has completed projects worth more than £1.2bn. 

Ben Spring

More than 2 million people have used TryHackMe, a platform providing cybersecurity training. Spring founded the business with Ashu Savani. Annual revenues exceed £7.8m.

Daniel Stewart

Stewart earlier this year raised more than £3m of funding for ViridiCO2, a company he spun out of Southampton University which turns waste carbon dioxide into useful polymers.

Georgia Stewart

Software developer Tumelo creates platforms allowing investors to vote on companies' policies and performance. So far the company has raised more than £15m of funding and signed up Fidelity and Legal & General as clients. 

Simon Swali

Swali was still in his teens when he and his brothers set up iCare24. The Birmingham-based firm supplies qualified professionals to the NHS and private healthcare. His new venture provides staff trained to help those suffering with dementia and other terminal illnesses.

Zoe Trigwell

Trigwell had a successful make-up academy until the pandemic began. When lockdowns began she changed track and launched makeup brand Trigwell Cosmetics. Her sales are expected to hit £2m this year.

Ionut Visla

Visla in 2020 set up a recruitment firm specialising in finding workers for construction projects and has quickly grown annual turnover to more than £1.6m. He has a separate construction firm called MVA Group.

Connor Westby

NutriPaw sells healthy treats and supplement for pets. Westby set up the company with Adelina Cornelia Zotta and have grown annual sales to more than £5m.

Joe Wilkinson

Wilkinson left school at 16 and set himself up as a personal shopper. In 2019 he and Mario Maher launched Heat, a service delivering luxury clothes. Heat was valued at more than £12m by a recent fundraising.

Matthew Wilson

Omnipresent helps business quickly and efficiently hire remote workers in a legally compliant way. Wilson co-founded the operation and a fundraising secured $120m of investment in early 2022.

Samuel Worsley

Worsley teamed up with fellow ex-Microsoft staffer Nathan Moore to launch Live Tech Games. The multi-player game developer has attracted £2.5m of funding from ITV.

Sally Wynter

Wynter sold her cannabidiol-infused gin brand Muhu for a seven-figure sum just five months after its launch. Her new venture, PaperRound, aims to help entrepreneurs and business leaders improve their PR.

Wenmiao Yu

Yu is a co-founder and head of business development at Quantum Dice, a spinout from Oxford University. The cybersecurity firm has raised around £5m in funding.

Alberto Zandi

The Zandi twins have four upmarket restaurants in London and are considering opening more in Dubai, Miami and New York. Their Emerald Hospitality Group grew turnover to £9m in 2022.

Arian Zandi

Spanish brothers Arian and Alberto Zandi are building a portfolio of high end restaurants. Their Emerald Group aims to grow revenues to £20m by 2024.

Zhang Zhening

Zhening runs Birmingham-based car dealer JAD Motors, selling second hand Teslas, BMW and other upmarket brands. Annual turnover has purred past £8 million. 

Adelina Cornelia Zotta

NutriPaw sells healthy treats and supplements for pets. Zotta set up the company with Connor Westby and the pair have grown annual sales to more than £5m.

Biographies of Hurun UK Under35s 2023

Alistair Adams

Adams founded Telcom with Shaun Gibson and Thom Seddon. The Manchester-based business has helped deliver broadband to thousands of homes and two years ago raised more than £63m of investment.  

Joe Andrews

Andrews is head of product at Aztec Product. The London-based app-developer raised more than $100m of funding in late 2022.

Charles Armitage

Armitage, a former doctor, co-founded Florence Healthcare, which helps hospitals and care homes find vetted workers to work unfilled shifts. Sales have grown to £13.7m and the app-based service has attracted £28.5m of investment.

James Asquith

Asquith runs and co-founded Holiday Swap, which allows users to book and let vacation accomodation. Funding at a $400m valuation has been raised. 

Laurence Bargery

AccuRx provides SMS alerts services and video conferencing for GPs’ surgeries. Bargery teamed up with Jacob Haddad to launch the healthcare app, which doubled revenues to £24.4m in 2022.

Thomas Beahon

Beahon and his brother Phil set up Castore, the Manchester-based sportwear label. A fundraising in late 2023 valued the operation at close to £1 billion. 

Fateha Begum

Rahman co-founded commodities trading firm Dare International with his wife Fateha Begum. Sales soared to £275.5m in 2022.

Johnny Boufarhat

Australian-born Boufarhat launched Hopin in early 2020. The video conferencing service thrived during the pandemic, with a fundraising in August 2021 valuing the business at more than £5.7bn.

Tanvi Bhardwaj

MishiPay's app allows shoppers to self-checkout by scanning a barcode and paying for items on their phones. Bhardwaj co-founded the operation, which has raised nearly £5.3m of funding.

Jordan Brompton

myenergi makes electrical vehicle chargers and other products associated with renewable energy. Brompton co-founded the business and has helped grow annual sales to £53.8m in 2022.

Alessio Bruni

Bruni set up Heroes with his twin brother Riccardo. Their collection of more than 20 online retailers has raised £200m funding. 

Riccardo Bruni

Bruni set up Heroes with his twin brother Alessio. Their aggregator helps online retailers boost sales and has raised £200m funding. 

Eliot Brooks

Thriva's testing kits can be used by customers to monitor their cholesterol or iron levels. Co-founded by Brooks in 2016, Thriva has grown annual sales to more than £100m. Brooks has now moved on to start Cocoon, a start-up helping to decarbonise "hard to abate" sectors.

Tom Carter

Ultraleap's virtual reality tech allows users to operate screens with just a wave of a hand. Carter founded the venture, raising £80m of funding at a £350m valuation. 

Jack Cator

Cator began tinkering around with virtual private networks when he wanted to play computer games at school. That would be the start of his cybersecurity firm HideMyAss!, which was sold to a global software company for around £40m in 2015.

Joe Chadd

Chadd founded dealership Prestige Cars Kent 10 years ago and has grown annual sales to more than £50m.

James Clough

Robin AI uses artificial intelligence to improve and make drafting of legal documents faster. Clough is chief technology office and co-founder. Robin AI has attracted more than £8.6m of funding.

Adrien Cohen

Cohen co-founded and serves as president of Tractable, a tech firm harnessing artificial intelligence to process insurance claims. A fundraising has valued the operation at $1bn.

Sebastien Cross

BeZero helps corporates offset their carbon emissions. Cross co-founded the operation, raising more than £60m of funding. 

Alexandre Dalyac

Tractable harnesses artificial intelligence to process insurance claims faster and more safely. Dalyac co-founded and runs the business, which was valued at $1bn in a recent fundraising.

Chris Donnelly

Donnelly co-founded Verb Brands, a digital agency with offices in London, Manchester and Shanghai. Harrods, Bugatti and Net-a-Porter are all clients. Verb has now been sold and Donnelly has followed up with an app valued at £45m that helps users find the right care home.

Bocheng Du

Du co-founded HungryPanda, laying the groundwork for the food delivery service while completing his MBA at the University of Huddersfield. He has overseen the businesses expansion into North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Kristian Edgerton

Edgerton set up women’s gymwear brand AYBL with his brother Reiss in 2018. Gymshark founder co-Lewis Morgan joined the business as executive chairman in late 2021, buying a stake that values AYBL at £50m.

Reiss Edgerton

Edgerton was at school with Gymshark founders Ben Francis and Lewis Morgan. After building and selling watch brand Tayroc, he set up gymwear business AYBL with his brother Kristian and generated a £2.4m profit in 2020-21.

Christian Facey

AudioMob specialises in developing in unobtrusive in-game advertising. Facey set up the developer after working for Google and has raised £11.8 million of funding - valuing the operation at £81 million.

Dominic Falcao

Falco ran Imperial College London's science startup programme, raising over £25m of funding for student companies. He left in 2016 to found Deep Science Ventures, which channels investment at energy, agriculture, pharma and IT companies - so far helping launch more than 30 start-ups.

Kai Feller

Bark.com is an online marketplace where accountants, personal trainers and a wide range of other professionals advertise their services. Feller co-founded the outfit and has grown annual sales to more than £71m.

Olivia Ferdi

Ferdi, a former lawyer, co-founded cannabidiol-infused drinks business Trip in 2019. After tie-ups with Waitrose, Sainsbury and WHSmith sales are expected to reach £30m this year.

Ben Francis

University dropout Francis set up Gymshark with Lewis Morgan from his parents’ house in 2012. Eight years later the pair sold a stake to US investor General Atlantic valuing the ath-leisure clothing brand at around £1bn.

Alex Frolov

Frolov co-founded Palta in 2019 after working in asset management. The software developer creates apps for the healthcare sector and has raised nearly $140m of funding. 

Jianshu Gao

Gao co-founded HungryPanda, spearheading the food delivery service's international expansion. He has a PhD in metallurgy. 

Umang Gandecha

Londonlist DMC is a student accommodation provider with premises in China and India. Gandecha, a Chinese speaker, co-founded the agency in 2013 and has helped grow turnover to more than £40m. 

Ed Gillett

Gillett met Simon Watson while training to be a commercial pilot. The pair later launched CharterSync, a service that connects aircraft operators with businesses looking to urgently transport goods. Annual sales climbed to £31.9m last year. 

David Goate

Goate teamed up with twins Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham to set up the insurer Marshmallow. A fundraising in 2021 valued the specialist insurer at £900m.

Grant Goulden

Sales at Jaded London boomed when Taylor Swift wore one of their jackets on her 2015 world tour. The fashion brand was set up by brother and sister Grant and Jade Goulden. Sales last year topped £20m.

Jade Goulden

Beyonce and Kylie Jenner are among the celebs to have worn clothes sold by Jade London, the fashion label Goulden started with her brother Grant. Profits exceeded £3m last year.

Josh Graham

Three million people use Airtime Rewards, an app-based service allowing users to trim their phone bills when they shop at Boots, Greggs and other high street chains. Graham co-founded the loyalty scheme. Revenues have grown to £23m.

Tom Grogan

Grogan teamed up with Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin to launch the UK version of the US fast food chain Wingstop - despite having no experience of operating restaurants. The trio have grown annual sales to £38.2m.

Riya Grover

Grover last year raised £15m for Sequence, a business-to-business payments platform she set up with Eamon Jubbawy. She sold Feedr, her corporate catering venture, in 2020. 

Joyce de Haas

Twins Joyce and Raissa de Haas launched Double Dutch Drinks in 2015. Brewing billionaire Charlene Heineken has bought a 10% stake in the mixer maker, which raised £4m of additional funding earlier this year.

Raissa de Haas

Twins Joyce and Raissa de Haas launched Double Dutch Drinks in 2015. The London-based drinks manufacturer's mixers are available in more than 4,500 bars and restaurants.

Peter Habermacher

Habermacher is chief executive of Aaro Capital, a London-based asset manager that specialises in crypto currency and other blockchain-related investments. He co-founded the operation with Ankush Jain. Earlier this year AUM had grown to around £25m.

Jacob Haddad

AccuRx provides software which allows doctors to text patients securely to report test results and arrange appointments. Haddad set up the business with Laurence Bargery. The healthcare app doubled turnover to £24.4m in 2022.

Mike Heaton

Heaton set up his upmarket streetwear fashion label Represent with his brother George in 2011. Sales reached £48.6m in 2022.

Barney Hussey-Yeo

Cleo is an app-based service that tracks users' spending, praising or teasing those who keep to or break their spending habits. Hussey-Yeo founded the business in 2016. A fundraising last year valued the operation at $500m.

Eamon Jubbawy

Jubbawy teamed up with Riya Gover to start business-to-business payments platform Sequence, last year raising around £15m of investment. He also co-founded the digital identity firm Onfido and earlier this year raised £15m of funding for Isometric, a platform to help corporates reduce their carbon footprint.

Vishal Karia

Affinity Fragrances supplies perfumes and other cosmetics to high street retailers and supermarkets. Karia started the business in 2018 and has already grown annual turnover to more than £100m.

Husayn Kassai

Kassai founded Onfido, a developer of facial recognition software used by banks. This operation was valued at £345m and Kassai has now set up Quench, an edtech venture utilising artificial intelligence.

Arthur Kay

Kay founded Bio-Bean which recycles used coffee grounds into eco-friendly biofuels and biochemicals. Now entrepreneur in residence at University College London, his latest venture is Skyroom - an urban development company putting together a £100m fund to deliver affordable accommodation for London’s key workers.

Alex Kendall

Wayve develops software used in driverless cars. Kendall is chief executive of the business and raised $200m of investment in 2017.

Alexander Kent-Braham

Kent-Braham and his twin brother Oliver launched Marshmallow, the first unicorn to be created by black British-born entrepreneurs. A fundraising in 2021 valued the specialist insurer at £900m.

Oliver Kent-Braham

Kent-Braham and his twin brother Alexander have grown sales at their specialist insurer Marshmallow to more than £100m. A £62m fundraising in 2021 valued the business at £900m.

Martin Kissinger

Kissinger set up Lendable, a provider of fast loans to consumers and businesses, with Victoria van Lennep. A fundraising in 2021 secured unicorn status.

Darcy Laceby

Laceby set up Absolute Collagen with her mother in 2015. The business sells a range of anti-aging treatments and has grown sales to more than £26m. 

Alex Latham

Savings and investment app Chip has more than 500,000 customers. Latham serves as chief marketing officer and co-founded the fintech, which has raised more than £48m.

Victoria van Lennep

van Lennep led last year's £210m fundraising for Lendable. She co-founded the loan provider after working for The Economist. 

Elliot Lees-Bell

Beyond Retail sells bathroom, kitchen and heating products to homeowners and tradesmen. Lees-Bell co-founded the Bournemouth-based business and has grown annual sales to more than £44m.

Peter Lipka

Ex-Goldman Sachs developer Lipka set up virtual worlds outfit Improbable with Herman Narula. A fundraising valued the business at more than $3bn in 2022. 

Eric Liu

Liu, a Chinese national, set up Asian food delivery service HungryPanda in 2017. The London-based operation has already raised £193m in funding.

Anna Lowe

Smartify has been called the "Shazam and Spotify of art". The app identifies millions of digitised artworks across 700 museums, galleries and other institutions around the world. Lowe co-founded the business in 2015. Funding of £1m was raised in 2020 and Lowe is the youngest trustee in the Tate museum’s history.

Susie Ma

A former contestant on The Apprentice, Ma's skincare brand made annual profits of £10.5m in 2021. Earlier this year she bought out Lord Alan Sugar - who had taken a 50% stake in the business.

Tommy Mallet

Best known from his appearances on the TV show The Only Way is Essex, Mallet's footwear brand generated sales of £17.5m in 2022-23.

Daniel Marsden

Marsden and his wife Melanie began their online lingerie retailer by spending £1,000 on making 100 bras from their home. Recruiting Instagram influencers helped Lounge Underwear increase revenues to £71.3m last year.

Melanie Marsden

Marsden and her husband Daniel set up the online lingerie retailer Lounge Underwear in 2015. Canny use of social media helped drive annual sales to £71.3m.

Ben Maruthappu

Cera is an app-based service that allows care staff to track a patient's condition and needs. Maruthappa founded the business and has secured contracts with 300 NHS trusts. Cera last year raising £263m of funding.

Giuseppe Mazza

Mazza has attracted investment from hedge fund billionaire Michael Platt for Engitix, a developer of treatments for tumours and inflammatory bowel disease. The London-based biotech has been valued at $300m. 

Orlagh McCloskey

Kylie Minogue and Selena Gomez have worn RIXO, the label started by McCloskey with her London College of Fashion coursemate Henrietta Rix. Profits rose to £4.5m on £17.4m sales in 2021-22.

Jenna Meek

Sales are expected to double to £25m this year at Refy, the make-up label Meek set up in 2020 with Jess Hunt. Meek also has a haircare products business called Shine.

Alex Mills

Mills set up Dynamo Cover after appearing on The Apprentice with Lord Alan Sugar. The Welshman’s insurer now generates annual revenues of around £15m.

Charlie Morgan

Morgan set up the fashionable drinks brand AU Vodka with school friend Jackson Quinn. Sales climbed to £43.0m in 2021-22.

Lewis Morgan

Morgan co-founded Gymshark with his school friend Ben Francis. After selling his stake in the £1bn clothing brand in 2020, he moved into property and set up construction firm Ernest Cole. Morgan in late 2021 joined AYBL, a gym wear brand launched by another friend from his school days.

Nikola Mrkšić

PolyAI provides voice services for virtual assistants powered by AI and has been valued at $300m. Mrkšić co-founded the venture after developing his machine learning skills at Apple. 

Herman Narula

Dubbed "the Toff in Tech", Narula turned his back on his family's construction firm to set up Improbable Worlds. The virtual world developer has been valued at $3bn. 

Wilfrid Obeng

AudioMob specialises in developing in unobtrusive in-game advertising. Obeng and Christian Facey set up the developer after working for Google and has raised £11.8 million of funding - valuing the operation at £81 million.

Evren Ozkarakasli

Ozkarakasli was already working in fashion when his reality TV star friend Tommy Mallet asked him to make him a pair of trainers. That would be the start of the pair’s footwear brand Mallet London which reported annual sales of £17.5m sales in 2022.

Jay Parker

Parker started his ath-leisure brand Gym King after leaving school at 16 and working as a personal trainer. He has grown annual sales to more £25m and sold a stake to retail giant JD Sports.

Jackson Quinn

Quinn set up AU Vodka, a Swansea drinks business in 2016. There were profits of more than £15m last year. 

Ayman Rahman

Rahman co-founded commodities trading firm Dare International with his wife Fateha Begum. Sales soared to £275.5m in 2022.

Razvan Ranca

Ranca is chief technology officer at Tractable, a unicorn which employs artificial intelligence to process insurance claims faster and more safely.

Richard Robinson

Robin AI used artificial intelligence to improve and make drafting of legal documents faster. Clough is chief executive and a co-founder. Robin AI has attracted more than £8.6m of funding.

Michael Rocha-Keys

EMW Global is a sports and entertainment marketing agency with offices in Shanghai, London, Hong Kong and Sao Paulo. Rocha-Keys founded the operation and is expecting to grow sales to up to £5m this year. 

Megan Rossi

A former nutritionist for Australia's Olympic swimming team, Rossi's food brand Bio&Me makes healthy porridges and granolas. England football captain Harry Kane is among investors who have so far poured £3m into the brand.

Herman Sahota

Sahota is one of a trio of entrepreneurs to bring the US fast food chain Wingstop to the UK. Their sales are expected to top £65m this year. 

Sultan Murad Saidov

Saidov co-founded Beamery. It uses artificial intelligence to identify and address skill shortages in its clients' workforces and last year secured unicorn status after a £41m fundraising. 

Jakob Schwarz

Schwarz teamed up with Martin Kissinger and Victoria van Lennep to set up Lendable. The loan provider secured a £3.5bn valuation last year.

Thom Seddon

Seddon founded Telcom with Shaun Gibson and Alistair Adams nearly 10 years ago. The Manchester-based outfit has raised more than £63m of investment and is helping rollout fast broadband to thousands of homes and businesses.

Amar Shah

Shah co-founded the unicorn Wayve, a developer of artificial intelligence-powered software for driverless cars. He has now launched CHARM Therapeutics, using AI to develop new drugs.

Dr Ahmed Shahrabani

Omani-born doctor Shahrabani co-founded a digital platform that helps NHS trusts find locum doctors to work in hospitals. Locum’s Nest now has more than 40,000 practitioners on its books and has attracted over £4.2m of investment.

Jesse Shemen

Bloomberg and TV chef Jamie Oliver are among the client of Papercup, which uses artificial intelligence to dub videos with human sounding voices in multiple languages. Shemen co-founded the business, which has raised more than £23m in funding.

Abe Simpson

Simpson's property developer and house builder delivers residential, retail and holiday accommodation projects. His main company has £20.3m of net assets.

Peter Smith

Smith co-founded bitcoin wallet service Blockchain. A fundraising in 2021 valued the business at more than £4bn.

Alex Solomou

Solomou has turned LADBible from a small Facebook group into a publishing platform with revenues of around £63m. He floated the business on the stockmarket two years ago.

Harry Stebbings

Stebbings made his name with his “Twenty Minute VC” podcast. Now a serious tech investor in his own right, the university dropout has raised more than £100m to back UK start-ups.

Pei-Hao Su

PolyAI provides voice services for virtual assistants powered by AI and has been valued at $300m. Su, better known as Eddie, co-founded the venture after completing his PhD at Cambridge.

Bobby Swali

Swali is managing director of iCare24, a supplier of healthcare professionals to the NHS and the private sector. He founded the firm with his brothers David, Simon and John. iCare's sales have reached £40m.

David Swali

iCare24 provides nurses, midwives, doctors and other professionals to the NHS and private healthcare organisations. Swali set up the business with other members of his family and has grown annual sales to £40m.

John Swali

Swali is group operations directors and a co-founder of iCare24, a provider of qualified staff to the NHS and private healthcare organisations. The Birmingham-based operation has expanded into South Africa, Canada, India and the United States. 

Marine Tanguy

Tanguy manages some of the world's leading artists through MTArt, the talent management agency she set up in 2015. Turnover more than doubled to about £19m in 2022.

Dmitry Tokarev

Copper provides crypto services to institutional investors including custody, prime broking and settlement. Tokarev founded the business in 2018 and a fundraising valued the operation at $2bn.

Yaniv Toledano

Qogita provides an online platform that helps businesses in the health and beauty worlds source products efficiently. Toledano founded the London-based operation after working for Goldman Sachs, helping to secure more than $80m of investment last year. 

Simon Watson

Watson teamed up with Ed Gillett in 2018 to launch CharterSync, an aircraft chartering service. The pair have grown annual sales to £31.9m and are expanding into the United States.

Joel Watt

Rooser operates an online market for the fishing industry. Watt founded the operation after running a seafood wholesaler and last year raised nearly £18m to fund expansion.

Robert Whitehead

Whitehead is chief product officer at Improbable. He co-founded the virtual world developer with Herman Narula and Peter Lipka. A fundraising has valued the operation at $3bn.

James Whiting

Whiting co-founded The Skinny Food Company, a manufacturer of low-sugar snacks and sauces. The Nottingham-based company now has a range of 225 products and has grown annual sales to £19.2 million.

Zachary Williamson

Application developer Aztec raised $100m of funding in late 2022. Williamson co-founded the app developer with Joe Andrews.

Charlie Wilson

A former goalkeeper for Crystal Palace’s youth team, Wilson turned to property development in his early 20s. His largest company grew turnover to £47.8m in 2021.

Dr Michael Wise

Wise is one of the founders of Concrete4Change, an eco-friendly start-up that locks in carbon to concrete to help building firms hit their sustainability targets. He is a scale-up adviser to Imperial College London and has raised £7.9m in commercial private funding.

Zhiheng Zhao

Zhao Zhiheng, who is known as Dylan, set up HungryPanda with Eric Liu. The London-based food delivery services has been valued at £600m. 

Firmin Zocchetto

Payfit's software simplifies human resources for small businesses. Frenchman Zocchetto co-founded the business, which has secured unicorn status.