Founders: Michelle Wright and Nick Gandon 
Founded: May 2009
Website: www.cause4.co.uk

Fundraising is, for obvious reasons, the lifeblood of charities. Cause4 helps them to raise money by working in partnership with them to develop campaigns and attract financial support. They have carved a niche by making sure they assist in the implementation of fundraising, as well as the strategy development – an area other consultancies tend to overlook.

The business has also introduced a rare level of accountability to the consultancy sector, through its flexible, low-cost fee structure and risk-sharing approach. Cause4 has had significant success so far, raising over £450,000 a month for its 38 clients across the community, arts, sport and education sectors – a total of £14m overall.

Founders: Andrew Ibbotson, Matthew Verity and Damian Mitchell
Founded: January 2012
Website: www.trueview.me

Harnessing the popularity of social networks such as Facebook and Foursquare, TrueView asks soulmate-seeking singles to paint a picture of who they really are, by logging when they visit their favourite restaurant or watch a film they love. A sophisticated algorithm then uses this data to find partners that genuinely share their tastes and interests. Like most good ideas, it was catalysed by personal experience: after co-founder Ibbotson moved to London and struggled to find love through existing online dating sites.

Determined to disrupt an industry which hasn’t changed for 10 years, TrueView was recently honoured with one of the first places in Wayra’s UK academy, and an accompanying investment. Match.com, be warned. You’ve met your match.

Founders: Chris Dodson, Guy McConnell, Julie Cheetham and Simon Devonshire
Founded: February 2011
Website: www.conceptcupboard.com

The economic downturn hasn’t hindered Concept Cupboard: quite the opposite in fact. Many businesses are tempted by spending less on design and marketing, and Concept Cupboard exists to match them with students and graduates looking to boost their portfolio. In theory, everyone’s a winner: graduates earn a little while gaining great experience; businesses choose from pitches submitted via the site. As for Concept Cupboard, they take a listing fee from the businesses, as well as a recruiter’s fee.

Over 2,500 students and graduates are now active on the website, and business customers range from start-ups to giants such as Hewlett-Packard. Having identified new revenue opportunities, the next 12 months sees further growth for Concept Cupboard, along with opportunities overseas.

Founders: Paul Rawlings and Sam Morton
Founded: August 2010 (launched March 2011)
Website: www.screach.com

Screach allows users to directly interact with digital signage content, television and radio: creating a win-win situation for consumers and producers. After entering a unique pincode into their smartphone, users are transported to an interactive platform where they can ‘check in’, cast votes or play along with game shows – receiving prizes straight to their mobiles.

Last year, the founders scored a winning contract with premiership football club Newcastle United, who used the app to encourage viewers to vote for their ‘man of the match’, while other clients include Paypal, Microsoft and TED Talks. With a deal with a major broadcaster soon to be announced and Screach TV set to follow, Screach is something to screech about.

Founders: Elizabeth Varley and Mike Butcher
Founded: July 2010 
Website: www.techhub.com

The cluster of technology companies in the east of London are providing opportunities for other entrepreneurial businesses, set up to meet their needs. TechHub is one such start-up, designed to offer those firms flexible workspace: something of a halfway house between the spare bedroom and a traditional office. Focused on product (rather than service) orientated companies, it brings like-minded people together, runs events (previous speakers include Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales) and fosters the formation of new communities.

The brainchild of entrepreneur Elizabeth Varley and TechCrunch editor Mike Butcher, the business’ revenue stream comes from membership fees – which can be paid by the month, or on an annual basis. With a second office recently opened in Riga, Latvia, Techhub is shaping up to become a global brand.

Founder: Richard Corbett
Founded: February 2010 (launched January 2012)
Website: www.eyeteasemedia.com

Why it made our list:

It took two years of tireless research and development to create what Corbett describes as the world’s most advanced digital broadcast medium for taxis. Inspired by visits to New York, where he felt taxis were underutilised, his unique design uses 3G and GPS technology to broadcast video adverts from a rooftop monitor. So advanced is the technology that a taxi driving through a predominantly Hispanic area translates ads into Spanish, for example, coffee ads play in the morning, and theatre promos run at night.

Initially targeting the US market, the business makes money both by selling the hardware and acting as the media network owner, thereby earning revenue from advertising. Having recently secured a deal with the world’s largest player within this sector, Corbett is headed for the fast lane.

Founders: Mark and Donna Baker
Founded: November 2010
Website: www.hereforaday.com

As the name suggests, Here for a Day provide users with the opportunity to cash in on attention-grabbing deals for one day only – before the offer is lost and replaced with another. After noticing the buzz around flash sales and live shopping, The Bakers decided to tap into the phenomenon, with a niche offering for household goods.

Bulk-buying quality products and selling them on at just-above warehouse prices, so far the site has been a hit – with 100,000 subscribers to date. With a projected turnover of £2.8m for 2011, the deals may only be here for a day, but the retail site promises to be around for a lot longer.

Founder: Gem Misa
Founded: October 2009 (launched January 2010)
Website: www.loverighteous.com

Why it made our list:

When you look at what Misa has achieved so far, it’s hard to believe Righteous launched less than three years ago. While still a one-man band, the business’ all natural salad dressings are stocked in over 700 Tesco and Waitrose stores, as well as with Ocado, Whole Foods Market and other independent food stores. The product will soon be exported to Australia and the US, and is already sold in Malaysia.

She discovered her gap in the market when researching how to create recipes for mass production, and realising that most manufacturers take shortcuts to extend shelf-life. Achieving growth of 900% between year one and two (without any bank loans or investment), with Righteous you really can taste the difference.

Founder: Dan McGuire
Founded: June 2011 (launched May 2012)
Website: www.cube19.com

cube19 was borne from Dan’s experiences with his last (hugely successful) start-up, Broadbean Technology. His issue was with data: believing that, if he could more effectively use critical business information, it would have helped raise the value of the firm upon exit. cube19 then was formed to turn complex business intelligence into pictures, delivered over the web as well as on mobile.

Clients pay around £50 per user per month and cube19 delivers visual analytics to every person in the company – with each screen optimised so users only see information that is relevant to their specific role and responsibilities. The business is now fundraising to attack the wider sales and business markets, and plans to dominate the recruitment analytics space within 12 months.

Founder: Richard Baister
Founded: August 2011
Website: www.sumodrinks.com

By the age of just 30, Baister has already started, built and sold an international energy drinks brand (Velocity Drinks). Now he’s coming back for more. SUMO Drinks, he claims, is a refreshing and healthy way to burn calories. It’s a promise that has secured some major international distribution contracts, on an exclusive basis, as well as funding from the European Investment Bank.

The company, which dedicated the last three years to research and development, is now set to rocket from turnover of £180,000 to date, to £1.4m for the current financial year. With Baister’s track record behind the brand, this is one start-up we expect to hear about with increasing frequency.