Member Article

Top 10 entrepreneurs under 25 in the UK

In my previous article, many of the entrepreneurs were of the older generation. We can’t ignore that fact that the UK is full of lively, young entrepreneurs who are managing groundbreaking businesses before the age of 25.

I’ve compiled a list of the most inspiring young’uns in the world of business today, take a look and tell us in the comments what you think.

In age-descending order:

1. Jules Quinn, 25 - The*Teashed

Gateshead-born Jules Quinn demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit at just 13, when she began selling bracelets to her friends at school. By 20, she was managing a small catering company and running club nights on the side.

Quinn started The*Teashed after graduating from a fashion marketing degree at Northumbria University. Her high quality, tea-inspired gifts can now be bought in the likes of John Lewis, Fenwicks and even Topshop.

2. Arnold du Toit, 25 - Drive Daddy

Design engineering graduate Arnold du Toit rose to fame after designing the Rolley - the first powered golf trolley you can ride. After playing 18 holes with his friend, du Toi recognised a gap in the market for a lightweight golf buggy.

At just 23, du Toi won the PC World Business’s Generation Y Not? competition.

3. Suleman Sacranie, 25 - 99p Shopper

A keen entrepreneur from just 17, Suleman Sacranie started 99p Shopper while studying chemistry at University of Leicester. Following the success of his online retailer, Sacranie launched 99p Wholesaler and won Midlands Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012.

Sacranie has even started funding other aspiring entrepreneurs. He gave 14-year-old Nina Devani £10k to develop her password prompt app.

4. Gerard Jones, 24 - Gerard School of Football

While studying at University of Hull and playing football on the side, Gerard Jones decided to set up his own specialist football and character development centre for children aged five to 12.

Within two years, Jones was Arsenal’s youngest director of football in the history of the club and in 2010, his company was voted one of the top 100 business start-ups in the UK.

5. Jamal Edwards, 23 - SBTV

Jamal Edwards would have felt more than comfortable in our rags-to-riches line up. Brought up on a council estate in west London. Edwards received his first video camera for Christmas at just 15, he began creating amateur music videos of his friends rapping and used Youtube to share his efforts with the world. It wasn’t long before he earned enough revenue from advertising on his Youtube channel, that he was able to quit his job at Topman and concentrate on SBTV full time.

Edwards is now worth more than £8 million, and regularly rubs shoulders with the likes of Richard Branson and Ed Sheeran.

6. Louis Barnett, 22 - Chokolit/Louis Barnett’s Chocolates

After persistent bullying forced his parents to homeschool him from just 11 years old, Louis Barnett was diagnosed with both dyslexia and dyspraxia. To keep himself busy at home, he would make cakes and sweet treats for his friends and it wasn’t long before local businesses started supplying Barnett’s creations.

But it was the alchemy of chocolate-making which truly fascinated Barnett. In 2007, Barnett became Waitrose’s youngest ever supplier. He now employs 10 people at his factory in Burton upon Trent.

7. George Burgess, 21 - Gojimo

George Burgess has been running businesses since his school. He came up with the idea for Gojimo while studying for his A Levels. It publishes a suite of revision apps and exam preparation tools and already has contracts in place with the publisher of the Financial Times.

Burgess has already secured $1m of funding from Index Ventures.

8. Oliver Murphy, 20 - Reviveaphone

You may have seen Oliver Murphy on Dragon’s Den in which he gained a £50k investment from Kelly Hoppen for his water-damaged phone revival kit. Started with just £400 from his mum’s airing cupboard, Murphy initially generated a £20k turnover in less than a year – with an incredible £3,000 net profit.

Murphy is hoping that with Hoppen’s backing, Reviveaphone will generate around £250k revenue in 2014.

9. Nick D’Aloisio, 18 - Summly

Nick D’Aloisio is the definition child prodigy. Teaching himself to code at just 12, D’Aloisio created the news app Summly at the ripe old age of 15. Summly summarises news stories and has been a bit hit with the younger generation, receiving over half a million downloads.

D’Aloisio sold Summly to Yahoo for £19 million in 2013 - not bad a eighteenth birthday present!

10. Ed Hardy and Kit Logan, 17 - Edge

At just 17, Ed Hardy and Kit Logan are the youngest entrepreneurs on our list. The pair met at boarding school and bonded over a love of skiing. They created the skiing app Edge, which can track performance stats along mountain routes and allows users to challenge their friends, as well as find and review their favourite mountainside restaurants and bars.

Hardy and Logan have been backed by several big names including David Rowan, editor of technology magazine Wired, and Edward Benthall, a main player in Cambridge’s tech industry.

There you go - you can never be too young to start you own venture. Let us know in the comments if you think I’ve missed anyone, or if you have your own startup on the horizon.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .