Founders: Ben Prouty and Jan Vanhoutte
Founded: October 2016
Website: www.shepper.com

While issues surrounding cyber security have been dominating column inches for the past 12 months, the threat of physical theft is a pain known all too well for an unfortunate many.

Attempting to provide a low-cost yet effective security for prized assets, and peace of mind for the owners, on-demand inspection company Shepper is attempting to disrupt the age-old security industry.

Protecting users most viable assets including cars, boats, houses, shops and warehouses – Shepper assigns trusted local people or ‘shepherds’ to perform visual checks on said property and then reports back to the owner on its condition.

A peer-to-peer model, the use of ‘hyper local’ inspectors aims to considerably drive down the end cost for users, who may otherwise have to invest in the services of a security company based miles away from their location of choice.

Customers pay just £4.95 per inspection but more in-depth inspections do require a more detailed search costing extra.

The business was founded by Ben Prouty and Jan Vanhoutte; an entrepreneurial duo which boast an impressive resume of past successes. While Prouty was part of the early Zipcar and LOVESPACE teams, Vanhoutte’s background in product development and digital marketing saw him work with the likes of Carlsberg, KPMG, and Hilton.

Launched just last November, the London-based start-up has already landed several B2B contracts including Zipcar, Nextbike and Airsorted.

Having raised £300,000 worth of seed capital via lead investor Carl August Ameln (LOVESPACE) and First Risk Capital, Shepper has all eyes on international expansion.

With an innovative take on an traditional industry, Shepper’s cost effective yet sound business model makes it a deserving Startups 100 winner.

Founders: Lex Deak and James Mackonochie
Founded: June 2015 (launched November 2015)
Website: www.off3r.com 

As founder of UK private investment network QVentures, which has raised over £50m for 30 companies, Lex Deak was keen to keep track of developments in the alternative finance industry but found there “was a lack of a compelling offerings” to compare products.

On the back of his personal frustrations, Deak, with the help of ex-Deloitte executive James Mackonochie, set about creating a solution to make sense of “what was becoming a fragmented and noisy space”.

Their solution is OFF3R, an investment comparison site which aggregates over 40 of the leading equity crowdfunding, peer-to-peer (P2P), and property platforms for over 8,000 investors.

Platforms using the service include Nutmeg, Zopa, Octopus and Crowdcube, to name a few, and OFF3R receives a referral commission from these partners.

Since launch 18 months ago, the business has expanded its team to eight and has raised over £1m from angel investors to support development, with a Series A funding round currently in the works.

Up next, the start-up intends to expand “into the broader universe of traditional investments” and also plans to implement artificial technology to help guide investors to their best fit investment across any investment type.

Passionate about helping small and medium firms unlock more routes to raising finance to grow their businesses, Deak has set its sights high for the future of OFF3R.

He tell us that he would like to see “OFF3R become the definitive investment comparison site in Europe and the first port of call for investors” Time will tell so keep this early-stage business on your radar!

Founder: Sarah Tierney
Founded: February 2013 (launched February 2015)
Website: www.wearecolony.com

A second Startups 100 entry in as many years, film streaming service We Are Colony allows film buffs to gain exclusive access to areas unseen on standard film sites.

So much more than your average Netflix or Amazon Prime, Colony allows users to stream not just feature films – but a whole host of exclusive extras including stills, deleted scenes, interviews, biographies, original scripts, reviews and more.

Film junkies can access We Are Colony on both mobile and browser and can rent or buy film bundles via a pay-as-you-go model or a traditional transaction.

Founded by Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning filmmaker Sarah Tierney, who’s also a member of the British Screen Advisory Council; Tierney combined her experience as a producer of film and television with an understanding of the massive disruption affecting film distribution and consumer content behaviours.

Keen to replace many of the additional extras and bonus footage now lost with the decline in popularity of DVDs, Tierney wasn’t alone in her desire to watch more than just the finished product.

Not just attracting a legion of fans, Tierney’s venture has also attracted the attention of some high-profile investors including Seedcamp, Firestartr, and the London Co-Investment Fund. In February 2016, tennis star Andy Murray invested on the platform via Seedrs.

With registered users from more than 130 countries across the globe, 100 of which are paying – We Are Colony’s success in the face of large corporate competitors is a classic underdog story.

Founder: Damien Lee
Founded: June 2015 (launched September 2016)
Website: www.mrleesnoodles.com

Instant pot noodles but not as you know it: Mr Lee’s Noodles Company specialises in gluten-free, gourmet, and healthy rice noodles using noodles sourced directly from Vietnam, real meat, and no MSG’s, artificial flavourings or additives.

Featuring six “authentic” flavours – including tai chi chicken and penang chicken curry laksa – Mr Lee’s Noodles lay claim to having the fewest calories, salt, sugar and saturated fats than any other noodle range currently on the market.

The business also has a unique selling point; alongside online sales on its website and via Amazon, it has created its own ‘Noodle Kiosk’ vending machines to deliver its cup noodles. These kiosks incorporate a cashless payment system and the ability to play third-party and in-house adverts with the first machine on trial with Bournemouth University.

While the start-up is inspiring in itself, holding listings with catering company The Compass Group and in talks with “major players” in travel and airline industries, it’s Mr Lee’s Noodle’s namesake founder who provides business inspiration in abundance.

Serial entrepreneur Damien Lee created the business on the back of a life-changing experience – after being diagnosed with late stage four cancer and told he had a few weeks to live.

Lee says that, as a single dad with two sons, “accepting defeat was simply not an option” and so he went raw and clean with his diet and took on 16 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy. 12 months later, Lee was told his cancer had gone into remission.

Lee craved instant noodles while undergoing his chemotheraphy but found they were not allowed to be a part of his diet as they contained a “multitude of unnatural and unhealthy ingredients” and it was this craving that would lead to his business idea.

Once Lee had fought off cancer, he decided to disrupt a market “traditionally littered with brands full of poor nutritional value” and create an instant noodle that wasn’t bad for you.

Fast forward two years and Lee is now looking at taking Mr Lee’s Noodles global, targeting a sector where nearly 100 billion instant noodle meals are consumed each year.

Founder: Cat Gazzoli
Founded: January 2016
Website: www.mylittlepiccolo.com

As CEO of Slow Food UK, a global campaigning organisation for “good, clean and fair food”, Cat Gizzoli had heard from parents across the country about exactly what they wanted from a baby food brand and invested time into developing family food education programmes based around what they would like to understand about nutrition.

Fuelled by this wealth of information and organic market research, Gazzoli started baby food company Piccolo in 2016. Made with 100% natural organic ingredients and inspired by Mediterranean family recipes, the brand uses ingredients sourced from independent family farms.

The range of vegetable and fruit purees includes squash, red pepper, chickpea & apple, mango, pear & kale, and sweet potato, beetroot, apple & pear.

Piccolo found a major brand launch partner in Waitrose – a company Gazzoli says is cooperative with its ethics – and, just over a year later, has managed to secure listings in Asda, Ocado, Amazon, Whole Foods Market, Planet Organic and a number of independent retailers.

Alongside its free-from USP, the start-up is currently the only baby food brand working with the National Childbirth Trust – the UK’s largest parenting organisation – and also donates 10% of its profits to food education.

Investors have also been keen to take a bite out of Piccolo. In March this year, the business became the first recipient of funding from AllBright – the crowdfunding platform started by entrepreneurs Debbie Wosskow and Anna Jones to support outstanding female-led companies.

On the back of this recent investment, Piccolo will keep working closely with its brand partners to roll-out its food pouchesto as many parents as it can across the country; all while ensuring it continues to stick to its core values and gives back as much as possible.

Founders: Colin Saunders, Sarah Byrne and James Loftus
Founded: July 2015 (launched May 2016)
Website: www.openforvintage.com

Vintage fashion trends have seen a resurgence over recent years, with styles from the 1920’s through to the 1990’s making a big comeback. Despite this fashion revival, vintage enthusiast Sarah Byrne felt there was a sincere lack of options to buy and sell luxury vintage clothing online.

Having teamed up with online retail specialist Colin Saunders and sales expert James Loftus, Byrne created a solution…Open for Vintage: a global e-commerce marketplace which enables boutique retailers to sell luxury vintage clothing, jewellery and watches to customers everywhere.

Solving many of the problems faced by buyers and sellers in the space, Open for Vintage gives customers to hundreds of pieces from numerous boutiques all in one place, while vintage boutiques which have previously struggled to sell online now have an outlet.

Furthermore, Open for Vintage offers a photography service that promises to turn unprofessional, smartphone photographs into commercially-usable product images within 24 hours; saving boutiques the time and expense of taking their pieces to a studio.

It’s hardly a surprise, then, that within six months of launch The Guardian called the platform the “number one vintage website”.

Now listing 60 boutiques across 10 markets, the start-up sells to customers from Australia to Finland, to the USA and UAE – including Kim Kardashian, who famously wore a skirt purchased through the site to dinner with Kanye West.

The next 12 months promises exciting things for Open for Vintage as it will be launching a redesigned website, growing its team and creating partnerships with a number of new boutiques. Byrne, who has travelled through Asia, plans to use the experience she gained there to market to customers in China.

With the start-up’s unique offering and star-studded success so far, we can see it becoming a huge name in the vintage scene.

Founder: Al Gerrie and Laurence Guy
Founded: January 2015 (launched September 2016)
Website: www.zigzag.global

During his 20 years in retail, Al Gerrie saw that rapid growth of international e-commerce was putting a strain on UK retailers, who were having to manage increasing online returns from customers across the globe.

Keen to help retailers increase the speed of their refunds and cut the cost of returns from overseas, Gerrie teamed up with online marketplace expert Laurence Guy to found ZigZag, an innovative online returns portal with truly global ambitions.

Initially, the duo found raising capital difficult. However, it turned out the crowd was eager to invest in the concept, and a campaign on equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube brought in almost £25,000 more than their initial £100,000 target.

Since, they have built a network of 200 partnered warehouses and 50 couriers, and can now manage online returns from 130 countries around the world. Claiming to decrease the cost of returns by 50% and cut waste and carbon emissions by 65%, ZigZag’s innovative model is reducing strain on UK retailers on a grand scale.

ZigZag is used by a number of retail giants including Top Shop and Top Man, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Burton and Soletrader, which noticed the disruptive start-up when it won the 2016 Innovation Award at the World Retail Congress.

Having already brought ZigZag a Sustainability Innovation Award, 2017 is also set to see ZigZag bring on large new clients, which the start-up says are eager to license its software.

In continuing to work towards their goal of building “the greatest returns management platform in the world”, Gerrie and Guy are truly helping to solve a global issue in the retail industry.

Founder: Rosie Davies
Founded: January 2014
Website: www.thelondonfashionagency.com

As a child, it was Rosie Davies’ dream to run a business. Though she struggled with severe dyslexia, Davies worked part-time from the age of 14 and learnt all she could about commerce. Then, while interning with fashion brands in her early twenties, she spotted a gap in the market.

Her business idea grew to become The London Fashion Agency (LFA), a PR start-up that offers product businesses affordable PR through monthly subscriptions. Specialising in magazine product placement, Davies’ business is currently helping 45 new brands to get their products into the public eye.

The start-up says it is gaining more magazine coverage than many traditional PR agencies, amassing over 600 pieces in national magazines and newspapers over the three years since launch. LFA has also recently launched a sister site, PR Dispatch, which offers an automated ‘DIY PR’ subscription service which has gained over 30 subscribers in its first month – without marketing.

Such success hasn’t gone unnoticed. LFA was approached by Disney, but Davies asserts “we’re not selling out”, sticking to her business motto: “Being all things to all people is a recipe for mediocrity.”

In 2016, Davies won NatWest’s Creative Industries Entrepreneur of the Year award, and is now speaking at trade shows about the PR process. PR Dispatch is also rapidly developing its offering, offering nine subscription categories, running bi-monthly PR workshops, kicking off a partnership with ASOS marketplace, and expanding into international fashion hubs including New York and Paris.

Furthermore, LFA is flipping perceptions of the fashion and lifestyle industry upside down, eschewing a “Devil Wears Prada-esque” image for a happy company culture, and building a name for itself as “the UK’s friendliest PR agency”.

Davies has certainly had her critics, with many telling her that starting PR Dispatch would put LFA out of business. But with both brands’ continued success, it now seems obvious she will continue to prove the doubters wrong for years to come.

Founder: Sally Durcan
Founded: May 2016
Website: talktomums.co.uk

After having kids, Sally Durcan found that she was struggling to find the time to read magazines, browse the news or even read “the stream of messages coming from friends”, yet she still wanted to be in the know about new and highly-reviewed children’s products.

With 22 years’ experience in marketing and communications, Durcan sought to create a solution that would “give all mums the opportunity to easily find out about new products” and let them spread the word to other mums in a place where they would see it.

Her solution? Talk to Mums; a peer-to-peer (P2P) marketing platform which connects brands to thousands of ‘everyday mum influencers”(those mums with a following on social media) via sampling and survey opportunities.

Targeted at mums with children aged two to teenage, Talk to Mums enables brands to let mums promote their products so that the brand conversations start and finish with the mums themselves – free samples are given out by the mums and online while other mums then share their reviews with their social connections.

With brands charged on a pay per use basis, Durcan’s start-up venture is already profitable and has attracted big brands to its service including Ecover, Knorr and Kettle Chips.

Durcan believes Talk to Mums is making headway in the market as it appeals to both businesses; helping them connect with a niche audience that is often hard to engage past infant years, and mums; who benefit from the social aspect and “have something free to try and talk about”.

Having grown organically since launch last year with a team of three, Durcan’s vision for Talk to Mums is clear – “to become the go-to influencer marketing platform for brands targeting women aged 20-50 years old with dependent children”.

Founders: Sara Trechman and Maria Trechman
Founded: February 2015 (launched February 2016)
Website: www.wellandtruly.co.uk

Do you feel guilty after munching on a packet of crisps? As the UK’s health-conscious and free-from markets grow, more and more people are seeking healthier options to the fatty, sugary fare traditionally found on supermarket shelves. A pioneer in the snack food sector, Well & Truly’s products are giving the market just that – while still tasting just as good.

Created by sisters-in-law Sara and Maria Trechman, Well & Truly’s tortilla chips, cheese sticks and gazpacho drinks are gluten-free, all-natural, and offer at least one other health benefit: the chips and cheese sticks contain 40% less fat than other brands, while the gazpacho is packed with two of your five-a-day.

Importantly, none of Well & Truly’s products contain any trans-fats, artificial additives, artificial preservatives, GMO or MSG – in short, the start-up says its products boast “no nasties of any kind”.

In a very impressive result for a start-up’s first product, Well & Truly’s tortilla chips quickly secured listings in 1,000 Tesco shops and its online store, to be joined by its cheese sticks which launched shortly after.

Now, the brand is stocked in over 1,200 shops nationwide, including Wholefoods Market, as well as numerous independent stores throughout London. Continuing the brand’s growth, its tortilla chips have also just launched in 28 Booths’ stores.

To continue its growth, Well & Truly is targeting national multiples and online and specialist retailers, hoping to drive awareness among an ever-growing market of healthy eaters. Over the next 12 months, the start-up will be launching four exciting new products, and is looking to secure further finance so that more and more people can enjoy guilt-free snacking.