Founders: Michael Oxley and Rajesh Pampapathi
Website: www.contextured.com

Contextured allows small businesses to run their own online advertising more effectively. Among other things it allows websites to monitor pay per click traffic in real-time and track the ads, keywords and networks delivering paid visitors. The software took four PhD engineers nearly two years to develop.

Co-founder Michael has worked on software projects for companies such as Lastminute.com and BP, while former journalist and academic Rajesh turned down the chance to work on the Hadron Collider to start up Contextured.

Founders: Jack Smith and Ryan Falconer
Website: www.mediaroots.info

While a highly lucrative industry in the US, video training rarely exists in the UK. Jack and Ryan plan to change this with Mediaroots. They produce video-tutorial courses for software such as Adobe Photoshop, for schools and universities.

The breakthrough moment came when they won Amazon as a client. Dabs and Insight distribute the company’s DVDs too, with resellers including Pugh.co.uk, the MCC Group and Studica. Their Photoshop training is used by art teachers in schools across Glasgow, and the pair have high hopes for expanding the licensing arm of the business.

Founders: Glenn Shoosmith and Gregory Bockenstette
Website: www.bookingbug.com

A frustrating afternoon spent trying to book a squash court served as inspiration for BookingBug. A web-based booking system for service businesses, from hairdressers to wedding photographers, BookingBug distributes time and availability to multiple websites through an affiliate model that can be tailored to individual business needs. The aim of the product is to provide service businesses with the kind of online traction that previously only benefitted those selling tangible goods. BookingBug also has six live affiliates including Brownbook, Trusted Places and the School of Everything.

Founder: Sophie Croydon
Website: www.rentyourrocks.com

Rent Your Rocks provides online diamond jewellery hire, giving women the opportunity to rent pieces for as little as £50 per week. Sophie came up with the idea while preparing to take over management of her family’s retail jewellery business, now in its 175th year of trading. She realised that usually, only celebrities and the superrich had access to short term rentals of diamond jewellery. With Rent Your Rocks, things are changing. The company has already been chosen by The Times as ‘a business to watch’, and was approached by the BBC to appear on Dragons’ Den. Rent Your Rocks has also worked with the TalkBack Thames production team in connection with the hugely popular X Factor.

Founders: David Kaplan and John Thirkell
Website: www.puresolo.com

Fans of old fashioned ‘play along’ records, trumpeter John and retired Goldman Sachs financier David launched Pure Solo in September 2008. Providing an easy platform for musicians and singers to record online over high quality backing tracks with professional accompaniment, the iTunes-style service also allows musicians to share their recordings.

The Pure Solo ‘breakthrough moment’ came when they partnered with FreemantleMedia Ltd to launch and power The X Factor Karaoke, which has proved enormously popular.

Founders: Joel Hagan, Neil Tierney, Ben Pirt, Tom Williams, Luke Nicholson
Website: www.onzo.com

Onzo supplies utility companies with the tools and products they need to help their consumers monitor and manage energy consumption. This includes hardware and software products such as its smart energy kit used by Scottish and Southern Energy.

The kit includes an in-home display and sensor, while the website gives users information in real-time about how much energy they’re using, how much it’s costing and recommendations on how to reduce energy consumption.

Founder: Stephen Fitzpatrick
Website: www.ovoenergy.com

Clean and renewable energy provider Ovo launched its service in 2009 and has already established an impressive presence in the utilities sector. The Gloucestershire-based company provides gas and electricity for domestic and business premises and competes on price as well as tapping into the demand for environmentally friendly services.

Having exceeded original growth targets for its first year, the company now has its sights set on competing with the largest players in the energy market. Stephen intends to completely rewrite the rule book for energy supply.

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Founders: Jonathan Lloyd, Nathan Hornby, Richard Mairs
Website: www.fallingpixel.com

Inspiration for Falling Pixel came to Jonathan and Nathan when they were working as 3D artists. Unable to find a European marketplace to distribute and sell their own 3D work, they set one up themselves. Trading since February 2007, Falling Pixel is now Europe’s leading supplier of high quality professional 3D content, sourced from top studios and artists from around the world. Customers who purchase products range from architectural visualization services, games companies, post-production houses, and even the military.

Founders: Glen Conybeare and Alex Kelleher
Website: www.cognitivematch.com

Using the latest advances in artificial intelligence, learning mathematics, psychology and semantic technologies, Cognitive Match, which has impressive backing from Dawn Capital, connects individuals with content in real time. By analysing behaviour on the web, this sophisticated company allows businesses to increase their profitability by serving more relevant content in real time.

Alex has a degree in experimental psychology from Oxford, and previous business ventures include Vivid Edge and personalisation and analytics software innovator, Touch Clarity, of which Glen was consulting director. Glen is also involved in online poker outfit Mansion.com, and Generator Consulting.

Founders: Juliet Machan and Victoria Dickie
Website: www.babyboomboom.com

After the birth of her first child in 2005, Juliet was keen to introduce other languages at an early age, but was disappointed by what was available on the market. In response, she devised her own range of music CDs which introduce infants to second languages through music. Now stocked by national retailers including John Lewis, Amazon and more than 20 independent retailers, over 10,000 Babyboomboom’s multi-lingual CDs have been sold in two years.

The company is going from strength to strength, and to keep up with demand, is now recording CDs in Welsh, Japanese, Dutch and Chinese Mandarin.