BusinessCloud has revealed the UK’s top young tech talent on its ‘35 Tech Entrepreneurs Under 35′ list.
Nominations came flooding in from tech talent aged 17 to 35, with many already having started several businesses before they hit their 30th year.
Thanks to the incredible response to the call for nominations we were also able to create a second ‘ones to watch’ list for the young entrepreneurs that were still starting out on their journey but showed great potential.
The ‘ones to watch’ are:
Bolland, Josh Cole (27) – JB Cole UK
Josh Cole Bolland founded JB Cole UK in 2008 when he was just 18. The company uses cloud technology to help complex organisations become more profitable and make their employees more effective. In 2016 and 2017 Cole was recognised in the BIMA100 for achievements in digital.
Brody, Dr Leigh (34) – Desktop Genetics
Dr Leigh Brody worked as a research assistant at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT for nearly four years while finishing her PhD at Imperial College London. She then moved to Index Ventures and GlobalAcorn before joining Desktop Genetics, a biotech company with a focus on AI, as chief scientific officer.
Driscoll, Jack (23) – Drop App
Tackling the loneliness epidemic is Jack Driscoll’s Drop App. The app links all users’ social media platforms in one place and then lets them match with other users nearby. Used by travellers, students and people who have just moved to a new place, the app helps people make friends in a social media age.
Ellis, Carl (30) – HE Inventions
Dr. Carl Ellis worked as a data scientist at fashion eCommerce aggregator Lyst until 2015, before starting work on HE Inventions full time. The company creates mixed-reality products for the packaging and retail industry and in 2015 received a £150,000 grant from Innovate UK. By 2017 company turnover was £275,000.
Keelagher, Martin (32) – Agile Automations
In 2012 Martin Keelagher founded Walford Cunningham & Hayes as an institutional angel investor, setting the company up to invest in businesses and create a range of start-up companies. During that time he has invested in and acted as founding director for three tech businesses; Agile Automations, CNi Solutions and The PR Cavalry.
Jessup, Beau Rose (18) – Specialname.cn
Starting her baby naming platform at just 15, student Beau Rose Jessup’s Special Name has helped 489,000 Chinese parents choose tailored western names for their babies. Jessup is also an ambassador for Postcards for Peace, working with children, parents and schools around the world to promote unity, equality and diversity.
Jones, Lydia (19) – HallHang
Serial entrepreneur Lydia Jones’ HallHang lets students find out what’s happening in university halls across their city. Last year she won a scholarship to the BOS conference in Boston and has been featured on publications such as BuzzFeed and the Independent. Previous start-ups include Leema Enterprise for the FitFlash and Trooops apps.
Kotecha, Nisha (33) – Good News Shared
Nisha Kotecha is a social entrepreneur who set up Good News Shared in 2014 to highlight the world’s positive news. She has also been on the Community Links Enterprise Programme, a scholar on the Hub Launchpad programme, a member of the Institute of Directors and a participant on the Erasmus for Entrepreneurs programme.
Lawes, Michael (25, left) & Madeley, Jordan Ryan (24) – BizzleIt
Young entrepreneurs Michael Lawes & Jordan Ryan Madeley both showed their entrepreneurial spark early, with Lawes launching an Xbox repair and resale eBay business at 14 and Madeley learning coding at 12. BizzleIt was launched in 2016 and connects small businesses through tech, recently landing a contract to provide SPAR stores with a loyalty app.
Ramsey, Peter (24) – Movem
Peter Ramsey founded Movem in 2013 at 19, creating the first instant tenant reference tool. The company has taken a time-consuming, stressful and expensive experience and made it instant. The commercial director of CheapFlights.com invested and joined the board of directors in 2016 and the company has active users in over 350 towns and cities in the UK.