Year: 2014

Captify brings search retargeting technology to Germany with new Hamburg office

Captify Media Startups 100 2014
Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

 Adtech start-up Captify, which ranked top in the Startups 100 2014, has announced that it is expanding to Germany with the opening of an office in Hamburg.

Sven Bagemihl, former managing director of Advertising.com and chief sales office for Wunderloop, has been appointed to head up its German operations as managing director and will be responsible for building an effective team and growing the company across the new territory.

Launched in 2011 by Young Guns Dominic Joseph and Adam Ludwin, London-based Captify is the only advertising company in Europe to specialise in ‘search retargeting’ techniques, whereby relevant advertisements are displayed to users based on their recent searches on Google, Yahoo! or Bing.

Over the last three years, it has achieved 280% year-on-year growth and million pound revenues and it is keen to “replicate this success” in Germany; said to be Europe’s second largest adtech market.

Captify CEO, Dominic Joseph, discussed the move:

“Since launching in 2011, we’ve been able to grow the business exceptionally quickly. We’re ambitious and operating in a growing market, so we’re seeking to replicate that success in Germany, where digital advertising is increasing at a fervent pace. To get it right, we need to ensure that we’re investing in a solid local team on the ground.

“We are confident that with him [Bagemihl] on board, we can truly continue on our journey to disrupt and transform the European digital advertising landscape.”

Bagemihl added:

“I am immensely proud to be joining such a fast-paced, high growth company, which is operating right at the heart of a truly exciting space in European advertising today. I am looking forward to making Captify’s technology famous in Germany, and all the challenges and opportunities that this will inevitably bring.”

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Currency Cloud announces $5bn international payment transactions made to date

Currency Cloud Startups 100 2015
Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

Cloud-based international payments start-up Currency Cloud, listed sixth in the Startups 100 2014, has announced that it has facilitated over $5bn in international payment transactions; a “landmark” achieved in just two years.

Founded in January 2012 by Nigel Verdon, Currency Cloud is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) international currency conversion platform claiming to “take the hassle” out of money transfers by offering clients an all-in-one automated service, used to power the likes of Kantox and Transferwise.

In recent months the company has added several financial technology (FinTech) start-ups and money transfer firms to its platform, including WorldRemit, FairFX and MANGOPAY.

The $5bn achievement builds on the payment platform’s recent success after it secured $10m Series B funding in April to support a major new phase of growth.

Currency Cloud CEO, Mike Laven commented: “Reaching $5bn is a milestone for the firm.

“We have seen the FinTech movement pick up speed and are privileged that in our own small way we are contributing to it. It’s great that in just over two years we’ve changed from being a few people with an idea, into a thriving technology firm that serves some of the most dynamic businesses around.”

Discussing the company’s future plans, Laven added:

“There is always more to do. We believe in a world where moving money is easy and will continue to expand our customer base to bring our benefits to more consumers and small businesses around the world.”

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How the winners reacted to their #Startups100 ranking

Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

This year’s Startups 100 was incredible. Not only was it a record breaking collection of start-ups since the list was first published in 2008 but the website broke its record number of views (to the delight of our marketing team).

One of the most rewarding aspects of the awards however was watching the @startupstowers’ twitter feed, with tweeters – those on the list and other commentators – recognising the calibre of businesses mentioned, expressing their delight; and offering congratulations and hugs (virtually speaking) for those who made the list.

Take a look at our list for instant ‘feel good vibes’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Flubit seals deal with Barclays to create new digital marketplace for UK retailers

Flubit Startups 100 2015
Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

Online shopping platform Flubit, listed number 10 in the Startups 100 2014, has announced a major partnership with Barclays to offer a new retail service to the payment firm’s 35 million Barclaycard customers.

The service, set to launch later this year, will see Barclays incorporate Flubit’s platform into its ‘bespoke offers’ website, which currently has one million active users and 300,000 merchants, to provide its customers with private, personalised, prices for online UK retailers.

Launched in October 2012 by 2013 Growing Business Young Gun Bertie Stephens and Adel Louertatani, Tech City-based Flubit operates an invitation-only online marketplace where customers get bespoke prices on items they were planning to buy.

Users input the cheapest price they can find online for a product and Flubit then negotiates deals with smaller e-commerce sites for an “even better price”.

The tech start-up says the partnership with Barclays will benefit thousands of online merchants and offers “significant potential for success and growth”.

The deal coincides with the news that it has closed the first part of its Series A funding round, led by private equity firm Cocoon Wealth, at a valuation of almost $50m.

Flubit co-founder and CEO, Stephens, discussed the value of the Barclays partnership: “This groundbreaking deal will create a disruptive new e-commerce platform for online retailers.

“The combination of Flubit’s technology and Barclaycard’s market presence will create a force to be reckoned with.”

David Herrick, managing director of Barclaycard Digital Marketplace, continued:

“Flubit is one of the most exciting new companies in the e-commerce space right now and its technology will allow us to build on what we have already created at bespoke offers to give all UK consumers personalised offers and create significant sales opportunities for UK e-tailers.”

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Startups 100 2014: Introducing our spectacular winners

Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

Some say there’s never been a better time to start a business. That may explain why our job of selecting just 100 incredible new businesses gets harder every year.

This is the fifth Startups 100 (view previous years here) and the calibre of companies just gets better and better, making chances of inclusion tougher than we’ve ever seen. In 2014 we can categorically say we had:

  • More entries than ever
  • More businesses considered than ever
  • Record revenue and employee figures
  • A geographical spread that demonstrates so much fast-growth life beyond London
  • More women founders than ever.

The well of start-up talent is plentiful. The start-up space is exploding with talent and it was a true pleasure discovering a host of new and exciting businesses as well as catching up with some of last year’s winners – and tracking their progress 12 months on.

To be considered for the list, start-ups must be UK-based, privately owned and have started trading on or after 1 January 2011.

But of course, as well as fulfilling our basic criteria we also wanted innovation, impressive founders, growth potential and global ambition – start-ups that make us tingle with excitement (yes we really do find start-ups that exciting!).

Drawing on our 14 years of experience in the small business space, we scoured the nation to find the hottest UK start-ups, drawing on award schemes, incubators and accelerators and recommendations and attending lots of events to find the very best young companies to share with you all.

And what a list we have.

It’s also always refreshing to see a diverse range of start-ups – and despite the inevitable rise in tech businesses our list this year spans a huge range of industries. To give you a taste our biggest sectors include retail, with 12 companies spanning the retail space, from quirky gift store Coconutgrass to MacBook storage add-on Nifty; food, we’ve got 11 foodie start-ups including products such as PROPERCORN and recipe delivery favourite Hello Fresh; and data – unsurprisingly we’ve got eight data companies, from social data tracker Buyapowa to data extraction platform import.io.

There’s also seven advertising, finance, drinks and fashion businesses, plus a host of other industries from property to gaming and health and beauty.

We’ve also got plenty of young founders this year too, highlighting a growing trend in young entrepreneurs – a recent survey found the number of recent graduates starting a business has doubled this year – and with 12% of entrepreneurs on our list 25 and under, it seems they’re having plenty of success.

There’s undoubtedly some names you’ll recognise in the list, (YPlan is quickly becoming a global phenomenon) but whilst it’s great to include household names, one of the most rewarding elements of compiling an index like this is discovering businesses on the cusp of ‘making it’ – and we’ve got plenty of those too.

Launched in 2008 as the first ever ‘top 100’ start-up index, we’ve amassed a host of extremely impressive alumni including Hailo, Huddle and last year’s number one winner My Parcel Delivery and we’re sure you’ll agree, this year’s list is as strong as ever.

Counting down from 100 to our illustrious number one spot; discover the best start-ups the UK has to offer right now…

See the list

What do you think of the 2014 Startups 100? Have we overlooked anyone? Are there any companies we should keep an eye on for our next list? Tell us on Twitter, using the hashtag #Startups100.

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100. Grabble

Grabble Startups 100 2015
Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

Founders: Joel Freeman, Daniel Murray and Rob Durkin
Founded: February 2013 (launched October 2013)
Website: www.grabble.co.uk

One of the youngest businesses on our list, Grabble promises to deliver a revolution in fashion e-commerce. The site adds a ‘grab’ button to users’ bookmark bars on their browsers, allowing them to save their favourite fashion items from anywhere on the web to be alerted when they go on sale at a later date. Not only does the model work for consumers, it represents a highly attractive proposition for retailers and brands, who can use the ‘grab’ button to create their own collections and pay to access valuable analytics data on sales.

Despite only being operational for a few months, the site has already attracted scores of business customers, with household names such as ASOS and Topshop part of an ever-expanding client list. It is clear consumers are buying into the model, too, with more than 5,000 signed up to the site already. In May 2014, Grabble launched a mobile app, allowing users to ‘grab’ items on the go and sync their lists across all devices. The site is well on target to hit 100,000 users by year-end 2014 and the founders plan a global launch in Hong Kong in 2015.

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99. Mallow & Marsh

Mallow and Marsh Startups 100 2014
Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

Founder: Harriot Pleydell-Bouverie
Founded: May 2013 (launched November 2013)
Website: www.mallowandmarsh.com

Unlike, say, chocolate, the humble marshmallow has never really had a luxury makeover; the sugary, gooey snacks are traditionally sold in cheap bags by the bucket load, ready to be roasted over a fire and eaten without a second thought. Mallow & Marsh came about after founder Harriot Pleydell-Bouverie was challenged to make great marshmallows “after a debate over a couple of beers” – having whipped up a batch using a River Cottage recipe, the results were so delicious that she was immediately inspired to start what may be one of the UK’s first-ever luxury marshmallow business.

Since then, the start-up’s range of individually designed artisan marshmallows have garnered a growing following amongst consumers and the business landed a major coup when it won a 12-month supply contract with Sainsbury’s to supply its marshmallows to 40 stores across Central London. 2014 is set to be a critical year for the business as it seeks to assert itself as the UK’s go-to marshmallow brand and conclude deals with other major retailers.

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98. Brainwave

Brainwave Startups 100 2014
Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

Founder: Richard Baister
Founded: May 2013 (launched May 2014)
Website: www.brainwavedrinks.com

Having been recognised as a Growing Business Young Gun for his hugely successful calorie-burning SUMO drinks venture, Richard Baister is back with a new ‘miracle’ drinks start-up. Brainwave, which is currently available for pre-order, focuses on the mind rather than the body this time around – claiming to produce the world’s first soft drink that keeps the mind healthy and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

The ‘Braintenance’ drink was developed in conjunction with scientists and contains several natural extracts including green tea, which research commissioned by Brainwave has shown to correlate with a reduced risk of cognitive decline. Having developed SUMO drinks into a national brand stocked in 850 stores, Baister is the perfect person to head up the Brainwave project and he has a strong advisory team already in place; Nik Hrstic, previously of Coca Cola is on board, as are previous Top Gun winners John Sinclair and Matt Miller of Ustwo. With several international export clients lined up already alongside a well-known UK high street retailer ahead of launch and a pledge to give 25% of profits to charity, Brainwave looks set to provide us with real food for thought.

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97. Mobileize

Mobileize Startups 100 2014
Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

Founders: Gray Sycamore and Chris Nicholls
Founded: June 2013
Website: www.mobileize.co.uk

Listed in our Startups Top 20 for 2013, Gray Sycamore and Chris Nicholls’ start-up offers a smart solution to the age-old conundrum of how to turn advertising into sales. Its cloud-based product locator will show a potential customer all the locations where they can buy a product after clicking on or scanning an advertisement using their smartphone, driving up footfall and instantly converting interest into sales. Unlike other location-based product services, there is no Mobileize app to download; the service works on any HTML5-enabled browser or smartphone, removing a major barrier to entry for consumers.

In less than a year, Mobileize has attracted such prestigious clients as National Trust, Cadbury’s, Reebok and Fuller’s, who all pay on a ‘cost per geolocation’ (CGPL) pricing model that charges them every time a customer geolocates within a specified radius of a store. This is just the beginning for Mobileize, who have big plans this year to bring five of the UK’s biggest ad spenders on board en route to targeting multi-national brands such as P&G, Intel, Coke and Unilever.

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96. bio-bean

bio-bean Startups 100 2014
Written by Megan Dunsby
Published on July 31, 2014

Founders: Arthur Kay and Benjamin Harrison
Founded: January 2013
Website: www.bio-bean.com

Green energy start-up bio-bean has one of those rare propositions that is at once fascinating, unusual and immediately graspable. Conceived by co-founder and architecture graduate Arthur Kay when designing a coffee shop, the start-up collects used coffee grounds from coffee shops and wholesale producers across London, and converts them into high-value biodiesel and biomass pellets to sell on to the heating and transport industries.

Londoners get through a notoriously high amount of coffee per day, and with US and EU patent protection for its novel biofuel conversion process obtained in 2013, bio-bean has the exclusive right to tap into this hugely lucrative resource. With £200,000 grant backing, a growing list of big-name customers, and a rapidly growing market (according to Marketline data, the UK biofuel market is expected to double in size in the next three years), bio-bean looks set to become a big name in UK green energy.

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