2016-02-18



Improbable

Rob Whitehead (left) and Herman Narula (right) of Improbable.

The UK has a thriving technology industry that includes everything from financial technology (fintech) to artificial intelligence and fashion startups.

We sorted through the UK’s leading technology figures to bring you this list of the coolest people working in UK tech.

We looked at who’s done cool and interesting things in the past year, including companies that have raised money or been acquired, as well as people who have been promoted.

This list includes both startup CEOs and entrepreneurs, as well as venture capitalists, radio presenters and journalists.

Did we miss anyone? Let us know in the comments — we want to know about them. Now scroll down to see the 100!



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100. Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho

Lane Fox launched online travel site Lastminute.com in 1998 during the dotcom bubble. It was one of the few businesses to survive the crash, going on to be purchased for £577 million in 2005. She entered the House of Lords in 2013, becoming its youngest female member.

Lane Fox continues to campaign for a better technology industry. She launched an initiative called Dot Everyone in April 2015 that aims to bring about a fairer and more equal internet for all. Lane Fox has also joined the Government Digital Service advisory board and signed a letter urging Prime Minister David Cameron not to clamp down on immigration in case it hurts the technology sector.

Twitter: @Marthalanefox

99. Rodolfo Rosini of Weave.ai

Weave.ai is building an alternative to Google Now that can mine tweets for context and bring up relevant data in other apps on your phone.

The company wants to transform the mobile experience using artificial intelligence (AI), contextual search and deeplinking, learning from users as it goes and offering them information and services from the other apps on a phone.

CEO Rodolfo Rosini previously cofounded AI company Storybricks, which used AI in video games. He was also the CEO of security company Cellcrypt.

Total amount raised: $118,000 (£80,000)

Headcount: 5

Twitter: @rodolfor

98. Former Google Ventures general partner Eze Vidra

One of Google’s most high-profile executives in the UK, Vidra was part of Google Ventures’ European fund. He was previously known as the head of Google Campus, Google’s large coworking office space for startups in the middle of the east London tech scene. He’s also behind the Tech Bikers charity effort, started in 2012, where startup founders and employees participate in a long-distance bike race from Paris to London to raise money for charity.

Vidra quit Google Ventures on Christmas Day, weeks after it was announced that the separate fund for European startups would be closed.

Twitter: @ediggs

97. Tech City UK CEO Gerard Grech

Gerard Grech is the CEO of government quango Tech City UK, which was unveiled by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010.

The organisation was set up initially to support the thriving startup scene in East London but today it is tasked with supporting startups in tech clusters across the UK, from Edinburgh and Brighton to Manchester and Cambridge.

Over the last year Grech has launched a number of initiatives at Tech City UK, including Upscale — a six-month pilot programme designed to accelerate the growth of 25 early stage high-growth digital businesses.

Headcount: 45

Twitter: @gerardgrech

96. Nick Beighton of ASOS

Nick Beighton took over as the CEO of online fashion retailer ASOS last September, having previously been the company’s chief operating officer.

The online fashion retailer stocks a wide variety of youth-focused fashion labels and is popular with 20-somethings on a budget.

Beighton has a financial background and was an accountant at KPMG before joining ASOS.

Headcount: 1,580

95. Seedcamp cofounder Reshma Sohoni

Reshma Sohoni is cofounder and partner at Seedcamp, a fund launched in 2007 by a group of European investors, including Saul Klein.

In December 2015, Sohoni joined up with Taavet Hinrikus, one of the cofounders of TransferWise, to back a new online payments startup called Curve. Details on Curve are scarce as the company is running in stealth mode and yet to publicly disclose what its platform actually does.

Seedcamp focuses on investing in pre-seed and seed stage startups, backing ambitious founders in the process. In addition to funding, Seedcamp gives startups access to venture capitalists and mentors.

Total amount raised: $39.9 million (£27.5 million)

Headcount: 187

Twitter: @rsohoni

94. Jay Radia of Yieldify

Jay Radia is CEO of London-based Yieldify, an ecommerce software aims to help online retailers convince people to buy products online.

The marketing tech startup attracted investment from Google Ventures in June when it raised an $11.5 million (£8 million) funding round.

Yieldify’s software tracks user actions online and sends personalised offers in pop ups if they go to leave the site and in emails if they do leave. The idea is to get people to think again about buying something they decided not to purchase.

The London startup also has offices in New York, as well as sites in Berlin, Porto, and Sydney.

Total amount raised: $11.5 million (£8 million)

Headcount: 162

Twitter: @J_RadiaYieldify

93. Sagi Shorrer of Peak

Former Googler Sagi Shorrer is chief operating officer and cofounder of Peak, a London-based company with a popular brain training app.

In April 2015, the company raised a $7 million (£4.8 million) series A round and there are rumours circulating that another big round could be on the horizon.

Over the last three-and-a-half years, Peak’s app, which is underpinned by neuroscience from Cambridge University scientists, has been downloaded over seven million times.

Total amount raised: $10 million (£6.9 million)

Headcount: 31

Twitter: @Shorrer

92. Legacy Russell of Artsy

Legacy Russell works for Artsy, which is an online platform that aims to provide a way for people to discover art they’ll like, featuring work from leading galleries, museums, and private collections around the world.

Russell — who bases herself in Rohan Silva’s trendy London startup hub, Second Home — is the UK gallery relations lead at Artsy. Her job involves building Artsy’s presence and driving new Artsy initiatives within the UK.

In March 2015, the New York headquartered company raised $25 million (£17 million) from a cohort of investors, including IDG Capital partners, Sandy Cass, Catterton Partners, and Thrive Capital.

Total amount raised: $50 million (£35 million)

Headcount: 161

Twitter: @LegacyRussell

91. Former hacker Mustafa Al-Bassam

21-year-old Mustafa Al-Bassam made made headlines for all the wrong reasons three years ago — when he was named as one of the individuals involved in the notorious hacking group LulzSec.

LulzSec hit everything from Fox to the NHS, and for his part, Al-Bassam was handed down a 20-month suspended sentence by the UK courts.

He’s now studying computer science at King’s College in London (after a two-year internet ban), and is rising in prominence in the UK tech scene — Forbes recently named him one of its “30 Under 30” to watch in European tech.

Twitter: @musalbas

90. Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Sajid Javid

Sajid Javid wields considerable power over the UK tech scene: He’s the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The Conservative Party politician is MP for Bromsgrove, and was appointed in the position a little under a year ago, in May 2015.

While some politicians — like Conservative Party London Mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith — have been critical of ride-hailing app Uber’s presence in the city, Javid is more positive about the tech, warning about “heavy handed” crackdowns on the service.

Though he only entered Parliament for the first time in 2010, he’s being tipped by some as a potential contender for the Conservative Party leadership when David Cameron stands down.

Twitter: @sajidjavid

89. Gadgette editor Holly Brockwell

Holly Brockwell founded technology news site Gadgette in May. It’s a gadget and technology news site that’s focused on women, an audience that many tech sites struggle to write for.

Brockwell has been outspoken about the abuse she has received online by internet trolls. Trolls targeted her after she criticised an iPhone game called “Stolen” that let people buy and sell Twitter users.

Read Business Insider UK’s interview with Holly Brockwell about Twitter trolls and online abuse »

Headcount: 4

Twitter: @holly

88. Gett MD for Western Europe Remo Gerber

Remo Gerber is the managing director of Western Europe for taxi app Gett, which was founded in New York in 2010 by Shahar Waiser and Roi More.

Gett has raised $220 million (£152 million) in venture capital funding, with the most recent round taking place in April 2015 when the company raised $20 million (£13.8 million).

Over the course of the last year Gerber has launched new UK services within the Gett app, including on-demand champagne delivery and an on-demand courier service.

Total amount raised: $220 million (£152 million)

Headcount: 317

87. Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge

To most people, emojis are little more than a curiosity — a way to inject levity, or flirtation, into otherwise dry text messages. But for Jeremy Burge, they’re quite literally his livelihood.

The 31-year-Australian is on a mission to catalogue and categorise the pictograms. Over the last three years, he has built a 140-million-pageviews-a-year-business around them almost singlehandedly: Emojipedia, an online encyclopedia of emojis.

Emojipedia began as a side-project, but after interest exploded, Burge went full-time in 2015. He works out of Google Campus in London, and the site also has a developer working for it nearly full-time, as well as a designer who comes on when required.

Entirely self-funded, Emojipedia had six-figure revenues in 2015 — and that’s set to double this year.

Read Business Insider UK’s full profile of Jeremy Burge »

Total amount raised: Self-funded, undisclosed

Headcount: 2

Twitter: @jeremyburge

86. ROLI CEO Roland Lamb

Roland Lamb’s startup ROLI wants to revolutionise the piano.

It’s behind the “Seaboard” — a new kind of musical instrument that looks superficially similar to an electric keyboard, but with far more control and customisability.

The former philosophy student’s company launched its third instrument — the Rise 49 — in January 2016, and it has bagged $20 million (£14 million) in VC money, with backers including Index Ventures and Balderton Capital.

ROLI has multiple design awards under its belt — most recently the “Best of Innovation” award at CES in Las Vegas this year.

Total amount raised: $20 million (£14 million)

Headcount: 81

Twitter: @RolandLamb

85. Alex Depledge of Hassle

Alex Depledge is the cofounder of on-demand cleaning startup Hassle, which was acquired by German rival Helpling acquired last July for a reported €32 million (£25 million).

In February 2015, Depledge became the chair of The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), a policy advisory group started by Mike Butcher, editor of tech news website TechCrunch, and Jeff Lynn, chief executive of equity crowdfunding Seedrs, in 2010.

The following month she became a board member of Sharing Economy UK (SEUK), which represents the sharing economy community, and lobbies for changes to protect consumers and sharing economy businesses.

Total amount raised: $6.8 million (£4.7 million)

Headcount: 47

Twitter: @adepledge

84. Dan Cobley of Bright Bridge Ventures

Dan Cobley is the former managing director of Google UK and the founder of CEO of Bright Bridge Ventures, a fintech-focused venture fund.

Through Bright Bridge Ventures, which is based in London’s Hammersmith neighbourhood, Cobley backed Onfido in the company’s $4.5 million (£3.1 million) funding round last February.

Cobley chose fintech because of his expertise in both technology and finance — before Google he ran European marketing for credit card company CapitalOne.

Twitter: @dcobley

83. Alex Hern of The Guardian

Alex Hern is a technology reporter at The Guardian.

Hern, alongside fellow Guardian writer Elena Cresci, launched a weekly tech podcast called “Updog” last year that covers the latest internet memes and viral videos.

He was named as one of the “30 to Watch in 2015” by MHP Communications.

Twitter: @alexhern

82. Yavli CEO Tom Yeomans

Yeomans is CEO of London startup Yavli, which first started its life as a software company that served sponsored content to millennial audiences. Around two years ago, the company pivoted in response to the huge rise in consumers using ad blocking software.

Yavli’s software allows publishers to specifically target their ad blocker audiences with sponsored content. Last year, the company claimed to have more than 100 publishers on board.

Headcount: 8

Twitter: @tyeo86

81. BT Consumer CEO John Petter

John Petter is the CEO of BT’s consumer business, meaning he presides over the company’s internet and telecoms products. He’s worked at the company since 2004, previously working as BT’s COO.

It was announced in January that BT’s deal to acquire rival telecoms company EE had received regulatory approval. The £12.5 billion deal took over two years to finalise.

BT also has a growing TV business and in February, its BT Sport division paid out £960 million to air 42 Premier League football matches per season over three years — more than half of those in the lucrative Saturday early evening slot. Next season will also see BT Sport exclusively air the Champions League.

Headcount: 45,545

80. Hiroki Takeuchi of GoCardless

Oxford grad Hiroki Takeuchi was so convinced of the idea for GoCardless that he and cofounder Matt Robinson decamped to Silicon Valley’s legendary accelerator Y Combinator to get it off the ground. The startup uses smart technology to make it much easier for businesses to accept and process direct debits.

GoCardless’s clients include TripAdvisor, The Guardian, The Financial Times, and Box. The company is currently in the process of raising a big new round of funding, as well as expanding across Europe.

Total amount raised: $11.8 million (£8.1 million)

Headcount: 69

Twitter: @hirokitakeuchi

79. Tim Steiner of Ocado

Ocado is a British supermarket without a single store.

The 16-year-old publicly-listed British company delivers groceries ordered online, and is led by CEO Tim Steiner, who founded the company.

Earlier this year, rumours swirled that Amazon — a key rival — is interested in a takeover bid, although Steiner claimed to reporters in February 2016 that this is not the case.

The company has now hit £1 billion in annual revenue.

Headcount: 1750

78. Jason Trost of Smarkets

Former equities trader Jason Trost founded Smarkets in 2008. The site is a peer-to-peer online betting exchange that lets traders agree odds on everything from sports to politics.

Smarkets charges a base rate of 2% on transactions, 3% cheaper than its competitors. The Sunday Times reports that Smarkets attracted over £200 million in trades in 2013.

Trost told Business Insider in September that his site is now doing £6 million in revenue every year with £100 million a month being traded through its platform.

Read Business Insider’s full interview with Jason Trost »

Total amount raised: $2.7 million (£1.9 million)

Headcount: 29

Twitter: @jasontrost

77. Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley OBE

Jason Kingsley is an unconventional CEO.

For starters, he’s a knight. And not just the run-of-the-mill, honoured-by-the-Queen-for-services-to-industry knight. Kingsley is a real knight. He’s a keen jouster, breeds warhorses, and spends tens of thousands on custom suits of armour.

When he’s not on horseback, he’s running Rebellion, an Oxford-based gaming company he cofounded with his brother in 1992.

Its main focus is video games, creating titles for a variety of platforms, but also has smaller operations in other areas, including book publishing and comic books. It owns 2000AD, the comic anthology responsible for the famous dystopian Judge Dredd series.

Kingsley is also on the board of TIGA, a games industry body, and Rebellion plans to launch its first virtual reality game this year — a remake of classic arcade tank-shooter “Battlezone.”

Read Business Insider UK’s full profile of Jason Kingsley and Rebellion Games »

Headcount: 214

Twitter: @RebellionJason

76. Dominic Smales of Gleam Futures

Dominic Smales is the founder and managing director of Gleam Futures.

The company manages big-name social influencers including Zoella, Jim Chapman, and Tanya Burr. The new breed of celebrities that Smales manages have made their names on digital platforms like Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, and Vine.

Smales said in October the talent on Gleam’s roster will probably drive around “4 billion views this year on YouTube alone”

Before Gleam Futures, Smales spent 15 years in media and production at USP and Chrysalis Group.

Headcount: 28

Twitter: @domsmales

75. David Jones of You & Mr Jones

David Jones, the British former CEO of French advertising agency holding group Havas and a former advisor to Prime Minister David Cameron, founded You & Mr Jones last summer.

Described as “the world’s first brand tech group,” the firm has raised $350 million (£242 million) in funding.

You & Mr Jones has invested in tech companies including viral news site Mashable, crowd-sourcing company Mofilm, data company Fifty-Five, ad tech company Beeswax, GIF platform Gfycat, and content marketing platform Pixlee.

Read Business Insider UK’s interview with David Jones from July, when he explained why he thinks the traditional advertising agency network model could be dead in 10 years »

Headcount: 6

Twitter: @davidjonesOYW

74. Jim Killock of the Open Rights Group

Open Rights Group (ORG) is the British equivalent of the Electronic Frontier Foundation — a famous American advocacy group that protects civil liberties in the digital age.

At the helm is Jim Killock, who has served at its executive director since 2009. ORG is now celebrating its tenth birthday, and with the ongoing controversy around the proposed Snoopers’ Charter and global debate on encryption, its work is more important than ever.

Headcount: 23

Twitter: @jimkillock

73. Steve O’Hear of TechCrunch

Steve O’Hear is a write for TechCrunch, covering European technology companies. He’s broken news on subjects like promotions at Balderton Capital, and the closure of meal delivery startup Dine In.

O’Hear is also working on a tech project of his own, the music discovery site Weekly.fm that shares music through the format of weekly emails. He was previously the CEO and cofounder of Q&A site Beepl.

Twitter: @sohear

72. Avid Larizadeh Duggan of Google Ventures

Along with Tom Hulme, Larizadeh Duggan is one of Google Ventures’ two remaining partners in Europe. She’s also the only female general partner at the fund. Larizadeh Duggan led Google Ventures’ investment into Yieldify, a two-year-old e-commerce startup that helps online retailers convince people to buy products online.

Aside from investing, Larizadeh Duggan also led the UK Hour of Code project and is a mentor for the Girls in Tech London scheme.

Before joining Google Ventures, Larizadeh Duggan was the cofounder of fashion retail startup Boticca. She also held product management roles at Skype and eBay in addition to being an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Accel Partners.

Twitter: @avidl

71. David Buttress of Just Eat

Just Eat is an online ordering service that lets people search for local restaurants and order takeaway food. CEO David Buttress joined the company in 2013 after working in sales for Coca-Cola for eight years, where he won the account manager of the year award.

Just Eat announced in February 2016 that it had acquired four online food delivery companies in a £94.7 million deal. It now owns Spain’s La Nevera Roja, Italy’s PizzaBo/hellofood Italy, Brazil’s hellofood Brazil, and Mexico’s hellofood Mexico.

Headcount: 977

Twitter: @davidjusteat

70. Sarah Drinkwater of Google Campus

Sarah Drinkwater works for Google as head of Campus London, a seven-storey space operated by Google for entrepreneurs near Old Street Roundabout.

Since its inception just over three years ago, Campus has developed a community of 45,000 people. It aims to provide open access education, mentorship, working space and events that are of interest to the startup community.

In 2015, Drinkwater became a mentor to Girls in Tech London, which aims to help talented young women learn skills for tech roles.

Twitter: @sarahdrinkwater

69. Sonali De Rycker of Accel Partners

Accel Partners is one of London’s most respected venture capital firms, with a strong stable of tech talent. And de Rycker is one of Europe’s most experienced capitalists, having worked for over 14 years investing in startups.

De Rycker lead Accel Partners’ investment into British online fashion startup Lyst, and also lead investment into online job hunting app Job Today, which raised $10 million (£7 million) in January 2016.

In recent years De Rycker has overseen investments in big-name European startup successes such as Spotify, Moo, Seatwave and Wonga. She was previously an independent director on the board of IAC. Starting her career as an Analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co., she went on to join Atlas Venture in 2000.

Total amount raised: $17 billion (£11.7 billion)

Headcount: 186

Twitter: @sonalidr

68. Jeff Lynn of Seedrs

The downside to crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo is that you don’t get any stake in the eventual company your investment helps build. When these companies cash out, it can sometimes leave an bitter taste in supporters’ mouths, as was the case for some backers of VR headset Oculus when it sold to Facebook.

That’s not the case with Seedrs, a London-based equity crowdfunding platform.

Users invest (as little as £10), and in return, they get a share of the company. It’s clearly an attractive prospect: The company recently recently announced that £100 million has been invested through its platform.

It was cofounded by Jeff Lynn, a former corporate lawyer, who serves as CEO. In June 2015, tennis pro Andy Murray joined as an advisor.

Headcount: 46

Twitter: @jeffseedrs

67. Myke Hurley of Relay FM

The bearded and British Myke Hurley is a professional podcaster who lives “just outside” of London.

He’s one of the cofounders — and hosts — of Relay FM, a podcast network which launched in 2014, and has a focus on technology.

In November 2015, he was featured by Apple in one of its official podcasts, in which explained how he was able to become an independent podcaster and shared tips for other would-be podcasters.

Twitter: @imyke

66. Peter Smith and Nic Cary of Blockchain

Blockchain is a London-based bitcoin startup, with cofounder Peter Smith in the role of CEO and Nic Cary, another cofounder, acting as its public face.

It was launched in 2011, and offers a number of bitcoin services, including a tool for exploring transactions on the blockchain (the public ledger of all bitcoin transactions), and a wallet for holding bitcoin.

In October 2014, it raised $30 million (£20.7 million) in VC funding, which was then the largest ever raise for a bitcoin startup.

Back in July 2015, Peter Smith was chosen to accompanying British Prime Minister David Cameron on a trade mission in South-East Asia along with a host of other more conventional companies. Nic Cary is a regular on the conference circuit, speaking publicly on behalf of Blockchain about the possibilities that bitcoin offers.

Total amount raised: $30 million (£20.7 million)

Headcount: 38

Twitter: @OneMorePeter, @niccary

65. Christian Hernandez Gallardo of White Star Capital

White Star Capital announced in November 2015 that it had raised a $70 million (£48 million) fund to invest in startups in Europe and the East Coast of the US. Backers include the Canadian government, the chair of auction house Christie’s, and the founder of Cirque du Soleil.

White Star partner and cofounder Christian Hernandez Gallardo is a former Facebook executive who was the company’s director of EMEA until 2013 when he left to join White Star Capital.

Total amount raised: $70 million (£48 million)

Headcount: 9

Twitter: @christianhern

64. Doug Monro of Adzuna

Adzuna, a search engine for classified listings, lets people discover jobs, cars, and houses online. The company’s job- and housing-market data is reportedly used by Prime Minister David Cameron to monitor the UK economy.

The company brought in £2 million in investment in 2015 using crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. 500 investors brought the company over its £1.5 million target. Monro also signed a letter urging David Cameron not to cut immigration to the UK’s tech sector.

Monro launched Adzuna in 2011, having previously worked as COO of property-listing site Zoopla, managing director of online listing site Gumtree, and a senior manager at eBay.

Total amount raised: $9.3 million (£6.4 million)

Headcount: 39

Twitter: @dougall

63. George Spencer of Rentify

George Spencer, in his late twenties, is CEO of a proptech startup — Rentify, which provides tools for landlords to manage properties, as well as other rental-focused services. The company takes a cut of a property’s rent in return for managing everything to do with it.

Created in 2011 (and formally launching in 2012), it’s backed by London venture capital firm Balderton Capital, and raised £5.5 million last year.

Total amount raised: $16.5 million (£11.4 million)

Headcount: 27

Twitter: @probablygeorge

62. Elizabeth Varley of TechHub

Elizabeth Varley founded TechHub in 2010 after realising that London was lacking in shared workspaces for tech companies. TechHub was one of the first hubs for tech startups in London, situating itself around the Old Street area. In 2012 it opened up office space in Google Campus, a larger workspace for internet startups sponsored by Google.

In February 2015 it was announced that TechHub will expand its partnership with Google into three new locations: India, Latvia, and Romania. TechHub members in those countries now have access to Google for Entrepreneurs services.

Varley also signed a letter in October warning Prime Minister David Cameron not to clamp down on immigration into the UK in case it harms hiring for technology companies and startups.

Headcount: 69

Twitter: @evarley

61. Sherry Coutu of The Scale-Up Institute

Sherry Coutu is an entrepreneur turned angel investor who’s keen to promote and support the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies.

In 2015 Coutu launched The Scale-Up Institute with LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. Backed by Google, the Business Growth Fund, the London Stock Exchange and several advisory firms, the organisation aims to provide promising startups with advice on leadership, export markets and raising finance alongside, access to a network of advisors.

Twitter: @scoutu

60. Alexandra Chong of Lulu

Alexandra Chong is the founder of Lulu, the app that lets women review and rate the men they date. She started the company in London in 2010. The site launched with $1 million in investment from VC firms Passion Capital and PROfounders Capital. But it changed focus in 2013 to expand to the US and embrace the college culture there that had helped Tinder grow.

It was announced in June 2015 that Lulu would re-enter the UK market, and that followed Chong’s star-studded wedding which was attended by Google cofounder Sergey Brin and actress Kate Winslet.

Lulu announced in February 2016 that it had been acquired by dating app Badoo, and Chong became the president of that company.

Read Business Insider’s full interview with Alexandra Chong »

Total amount raised: $3.5 million (£2.4 million)

Headcount: 13

Twitter: @AlexandraCChong

59. Brent Hoberman CBE of Founders Factory

Lastminute.com cofounder Brent Hoberman is an entrepreneur, investor and non-executive director at a number of British corporates, including Guardian Media Group and Talk Talk.

In 2010, Hoberman cofounded made.com, an online e-commerce platform providing designer furniture without third party involvement. Today he is chairman of the company. Last July, made.com raised $60 million (£41 million) in a Series C funding round.

More recently, Hoberman attracted investment from Guardian Media Group, publisher of The Guardian, for Founders Factory, an incubator/accelerator based in London.

Hoberman was awarded a CBE in the 2015 New Year’s Honour’s List for his involvement in the UK tech sector.

In February 2015 he also backed Onfido’s background checking platform in a $4.5 million (£3.1 million) funding round.

Twitter: @brenthoberman

58. Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet MBE

Natalie Massenet founded online fashion portal Net-a-Porter in 2000 when she was trying to find designer goods for a fashion shoot. The site sells clothes using a layout similar to traditional fashion magazines.

Net-a-Porter was merged with Italian fashion site YOOX in 2015. Massenet stood to earn £46 million from the deal. However, Massenet left the company in September following the merger. She reportedly received a payoff of over €100 million (£77 million.)

Before starting Net-a-Porter, Massenet worked as a fashion model in Tokyo, assistant at Tatler, fashion stylist, and also worked with photographer Mario Testino. She’s Chairman of the British Fashion Council, and received an MBE in 2009 for services to the fashion industry.

Twitter: @NatalieMassenet

57. Miniclip CEO Robert Small

Miniclip is a British gaming company that often flies under the radar.

It’s 14 years old — practically ancient by startup standards — and got started building browser games before moving to platforms like iOS and Android with the rise of the app economy.

Robert Small, its founder, serves as CEO.

His company hit a number of milestones in 2015. It passed half a billion downloads; Agar.io, one of its most popular titles, was Googled more times in 2015 than “Fallout 4”; and most significantly, Chinese gaming company Tencent bought a majority stake in the company in February.

Headcount: 155

Twitter: @RobertMiniclip

56. Mike Butcher of TechCrunch

Mike Butcher is the editor at large of technology news site TechCrunch and is a high-profile journalist on Europe’s technology conference circuit.

Butcher started a movement in 2015 named Techfugees that aims to help Europe’s migrant crisis by harnessing technology and startups. It started in London, but has since spread around the world.

Butcher also hosted another Europas conference in June and also helped present TechCrunch’s annual Disrupt conference in London in December.

Twitter: @mikebutcher

55. Husayn Kassai of Onfido

Oxford graduate Husayn Kassai quit his job at Merrill Lynch in 2012 after just a week to focus on building a startup he’d cofounded at university.

That startup was background checking service Onfido, which has now raised over $5 million (£3.5 million) from a wide range of investors, including Spotify backers Wellington Partners and lastminute.com cofounder Brent Hoberman. It is now considered one of Britain’s smartest companies.

Onfido — which now employs 72 pe

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