TOP 20 YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

20 Sarah Prevette -Sprouter Sarah Prevette has created a service that entrepreneurs can use to socialise, share tips, and ask questions in a rapid-fire, short-attention-span fashion. Using a Twitter-like format, Sprouter is a place online where entrepreneurs can socialise, share tips, and ask questions in a rapid-fire, short-attention-span way. Users employ the site for a variety of uses, from getting peer feedback on their product ideas to learning the best practices for developing metrics for sales teams, to gleaning insight from other founders on pitching specific investors, and requesting introductions to media, potential corporate partners or investors. “Users support one another, motivate each other and help with day-to-day questions or concerns,” says Prevette.

19 Joshua Magidson - eatstudent Take one hungry student and add an absence of takeaway menus in halls at 3am and what do you get? The answer is: a fantastic business idea. Joshua Magidson launched eatstudent.co.uk back in 2006 and initially it was just a solution to the lack of takeaway menus online. But with the recession hampering graduate recruitment in 2008, Joshua decided it was now or never to see what the site could do; there were a number of setbacks, and the site was slow in taking off, but Joshua persevered. The gamble paid off. The site now has over 300 restaurants and 15 UK universities in its database, and with risqué marketing slogans (“Sex, Drugs and Egg Spring Rolls”) it has become increasingly popular with students.

18 Guy Pelly - nightclub owner With the Royal Wedding consuming acres of column inches, Guy Pelly’s name has rarely been far from the press in the past few weeks; a friend of Princes William and Harry, Pelly is also a successful nightclub owner and his most recent venture, PUBLIC has proved a hit with celebrities and socialites alike. Guy has previously been involved with a number of London’s most prominent nightspots including Whisky Mist and Mahiki as well as Guy Richie’s Mayfair pub The Punch Bowl.

17 Rich Martell - Floxx SYB has previously profiled innovative young entrepreneur Rich Martell; he created ‘Floxx’ an online site which is something between Twitter and a dating site; allowing students to post the locations of attractive individuals wandering around their university halls - or anywhere else for that matter, thanks to the inclusion of a new app! Despite facing expulsion from his University for bringing the institution into disrepute when he created the site, Martell has since gone from strength to strength. In fact, former Dragon’s Den panellist Doug Richard has not only been vocal in his support of Rich, he has put his money where his mouth is, and has invested in the company. Watch out Mark Zuckerberg!

16. Claire Watt-Smith - BoBelle Ltd Claire Watt-Smith is Founder and Managing Director of BoBelle Ltd, an accessories company that manufactures fair-trade products using recycled and organic materials. In 2008, she was named one of the Future 100 Young Entrepreneurs Of The Year during Global Entrepreneurship Week and in 2010 she was named in Red’s Hot Women Awards 2010. Heather Wilkinson, founder of Striding Out, a mentoring company for young entrepreneurs, says, 'Claire is a dynamic and highly skilled business woman who has created a successful company under her own steam.'

15. Anna Bullus - Gumdrop Anna created Gumdrop in response to the huge litter problem caused by chewing gum. The small, pink, bubble-shaped bin is for disposing your chewing gum in. So far so good, but even more impressive is the fact that when you find out that the bin itself is made out of gum. The winner of several design and technology awards, Anna us currently working on a number ofnew products. Nigel Hugill, chairman of Urban & Civic and trustee of the Architecture Foundation has said that, “Anna has a wonderful imagination across the spectrum of modern consumer design. She has it in her to be one of the next wave of big name British designers.”

14. Nicko Williamson - Climate Cars Climate change is big news. But Nicko Williamson has hit on an idea that it can be converted into big bucks. Having realised that there was an increasingly public demand for eco-friendly transport he launched the carbon neutral cab company Climate Cars in 2007. The company now has an annual turnover of over £2.4m with profits of £1.6m. Nicko has ambitious plans for the future, and has previously said that he his plan is, “To grow this business into one of the biggest car companies in London and introduce more electric cars to our fleet.”

13. Natasha Rufus Isaacs & Lavinia Brennan - Beulah London It isn’t often that you read about a high-end fashion brand with a social conscience that stretches beyond paying mere lip service to CSR, but Beulah London is not your typical company. Set up by two friends, a portion of all Beulah’s profits will be donated to Indian and UK organisations dedicated to eradicating slavery. Selling stunning silk gowns in an array of beautiful colours, the dresses are as chic as they are charitable. Natasha and Lavinia have both visited India on numerous occasions, working in the slums of Delhi with women and girls who have been rescued from the sex trade. It was this experience that motivated the two to start their business. Natasha has previously said that, “Beulah London was born from a desire to make a difference. What we experienced in the slums was life changing. Lavinia and I heard stories that were harrowing, yet there is hope thanks to the charities that support these women… the aim is to equip and empower women and young girls who have been trapped and exploited in the most appalling way.” With a nomination for a UN Business Leaders’ Award in 2010 Beulah is proof that a social conscience will always be in fashion.

12. Bompas & Parr Bompas & Parr has changed the face of jelly forever. Employing cutting edge technology to create spectacular food experiences that work on an architectural scale. Bompas & Parr has worked with leading architects including Lord Foster and Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners designing jellies for a 2000 person Jelly Banquet for Heston Blumenthal's recent series 'Feast'. They also worked with ICA to transform Peter Greenaway's Play, 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' for a scratch 'n' sniff event introduced by the Director. Recent projects include a walk-in cloud of breathable Gin and Tonic and the Architectural Punchbowl where they flooded a Robert Adam building with 4 tonnes of Courvoisier Punch. Jelly and ice cream has never been so exciting!

11. Jamal Edwards – SBTV SBTV is a website broadcasting video interviews, live performances and music promos from all kinds of artists – from singers like Ellie Goulding to pop sensation Justin Bieber and American rapper Nicki Minaj. Started by Jamal when he was only 16 years old, SBTV has gone from strength to strength. Jamal began interested in film when he was given a video camera for Christmas. Jamal is proof that persistence and a love for what you do really can pay off, and he has recently signed a deal with Sony RCA to create his own imprint within the label. SBTV has attracted over 50,000 subscribers and even Simon Cowell has commented that SBTV is, “excellent.” It looks like the title of “media mogul” on Jamal’s Twitter account might not be very far from the truth!

10. Fraser Doherty – Super Jam Taking ‘jammy’ to a whole new level, this young entrepreneur used his grandmother’s jam recipe to create a full range of all-natural products. Just call him Jam Man! He doesn’t mind a bit. In fact, he encourages it. Doherty’s big break came when he met a buyer at Waitrose and tentatively sold him on the idea. He then lined up a factory. At every step of the way, his age prompted skepticism. “I was a teen with no money and no experience, so most people rejected me,” he recalls. “But then I finally convinced a jam factory to work with me and we figured out how to produce the recipes that I had developed in my parents’ kitchen on a big scale.” He also hired an ad agency, which came up with a comic book-like brand identity for the product. Having made over $1.2m in January 2009 that’s what we call jammy!!

9. Malachy Guinness After graduating from Oxford University, Malachy, along with his friend Woody Webster, recognised a gap in the market for high-end tuition geared at getting pupils into good universities. With this in mind the pair founded the innovative tutoring agency Bright Young Things which provides bespoke tuition, tuition advice, UCAS help and mentoring to ambitious young people. The agency aims to recruit graduates from Oxford and Cambridge who are either training to be teachers, working as full-time tutors, or have a significant interest in the education sector, offering clients a strategically high level of service.

8. Steve Oliver &Walter Gleeson – Music Magpie Steve and Walter came up with Music Magpie as a way for gamers and music enthusiasts to sell unwanted games and CDs in one place – at their website, (www.musicmagpie.co.uk). A fantastic way for gamers to dispose of unwanted games at the same time as earning some money to buy the latest release, the premise behind Music Magpie is simple. However, the success of the site is down to this simplicity; everything is in one place, meaning that customers just enter the barcode details of their CD/DVD/videogame and Music Magpie gives a price that the user can choose to accept or decline. If the price is right, all that is left is to print the FREEPOST label provided by the company and wait for a cheque to arrive. Sometimes the most straightforward ideas really are the best.

7. Lily Allen – Lucy in Disguise Previously best known for her singing career, Lily Allen has decided to quit the music industry and relaunch herself as a businesswoman. In 2010 Lily set up vintage clothing boutique, ‘Lucy in Disguise’ with her sister Sarah Owen. Lucy in Disguise is not your average shop though; the boutique offers customers the choice of either hiring a dress or purchasing it outright. Bringing high-end designs to the high street, Lucy in Disguise hires out dresses for 10% of their retail value – meaning that a £1,000 vintage YSL dress could be yours for the evening for just £100 the perfect choice for a special event. This unique facet of the business highlights why Lily is such a fantastic businesswoman: she has taken a standard concept (the popularity of vintage evening dresses) and modified it to appeal to a wider section of the market, making her one to watch in 2011.

6. Lucy Cohen and Sophie Hughes – Mazuma Accountants might not have the most exciting reputation, but Lucy and Sophie have certainly done their best to change this image! The girls were aware that for many people who are self-employed, the thought of having to sit with an accountant to do their tax returns each year was something that they dreaded. Lucy has previously said that the idea for Mazuma was that, “We thought it would be nice if you could just give your statements, invoices, bills and so on to somebody, maybe once a month, so you can keep track of stuff.” Mazuma allows small businesses and the self-employed to simply post their relevant documents to Mazuma each month, for Mazuma’s accountants to deal with – simple. The company’s distinctive purple envelopes add a certain flair to the whole process, and by 2012 the company hopes to support over 30,000 clients. That’s a lot of little purple envelopes!

5. Count Lucian Tarnowski As founder and CEO of BraveNewTalent.com, Lucian Tarnowski has focused his entrepreneurial energy on building connections between young people and potential employers. His website connects people and employers via a social network, making finding the right job a little bit easier. In 2009 Lucian was named Global Enterprising Young Brit and recently became the youngest person in Europe to be named among the Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum. Lucian also coordinates Take Heart India, a youth-run charity that provides IT education to blind and disabled students.

4. Georgina Cooper – pret a portobello Georgina Cooper was always being asked where she bought her clothes; when she would reply “Portobello market” in London’s Notting Hill, she noticed that a lot of people were disappointed because they lived too far away to visit. This gave Georgina an idea – why not bring Portobello market online? That way, everyone would be able to browse through the stock; in fact, Georgina was so determined to bring the true Portobello experience online that she even introduced a ‘Let’s Trade’ section which allows users to haggle with vendors! The site has been a huge success, and Georgina has even won the Daily Mail’s Enterprising Young Brit award in 2010.

3. Vikkas Reddy & Jeffrey Powers – RedLaser The founders of Occipital launched one of the most successful apps around. Then they sold it, to help them fund yet more app development. The business has developed RedLaser, the best-selling iPhone app that lets users scan barcodes. RedLaser has been downloaded more than two million times, mostly at $2 a pop (Apple takes 30 percent of that), making it one of the most popular paid-iPhone apps on the market.

2. Naveen Selvadurai – Foursquare Not quite a game, not quite a social network but definitely a success! Naveen and his co-founders at Foursquare have a business model valued at almost $100m and with over 2 million users. In fact, the company is still growing rapidly, and over 100,000 new members are joining each week!This is the caption of image number 7

1. Daniel Ek Aged 28, Daniel Ek is a serial entrepreneur and a technologist who has changed the music landscape with his most famous brand, Spotify, which he founded in 2006 with Martin Lorentzon. The Swedish businessman started his first company 1997 at the age of 14 and has continued to find success ever since. Spotify is a legal music streaming service boasting over 10,000,000 registered users. Daniel also founded Advertigo, the advertising company acquired by TradeDoubler, and has been a part of the Nordic auction company Tradera acquired by Ebay. He has held numerous positions in business including CTO at Jajja Communications, CTO at Stardoll and CEO of μTorrent, the world’s most popular BitTorrent client with more than 100 million downloads.

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