Archive

  • Startup Logistics

    Startup Logistics provides services including shipping, bulk storage, and website support to e-commerce brands. The company was founded by Udhi Silva and Nick Coleman, who previously founded online healthcare supplier Medical Supermarket in 2011 and snack company Snaffling Pig in 2013. As a result of their experience building Snaffling Pig, they understood what consumer brands needed from logistics support, so launched Startup Logistics in 2020. The Oxfordshire-based company specialises in serving businesses in the food and drink, makeup, and clothing sectors. The company reported sales of £1.7m in the year to April 2024, driven by the growth in early-stage e-commerce brands.

  • Snappy Shopper

    Snappy Group provides software to brick and mortar retailers, like convenience stores, to take what they offer in store and sell it online. Founded by Founded by Alan Reid, Scott Campbell and Michael Callachan, Snappy Shopper spun off from Michael’s earlier idea of a restaurant food delivery app. Scott, a property solicitor, saw potential in using the app to boost business for convenience stores. This led to the pair launching the company, initially focusing on Dundee. Shortly after its launch, the pandemic created an increase in demand, leading to the company expanding its coverage nationwide. The company has now signed up 1,800 retailers and is transacting £140m annually across the platform, with revenues of £8.5m. The company has raised £20m in equity funding to further extend its reach across the UK.

  • Salary Finance

    Founded in 2015, Salary Finance is a financial services provider co-founded by Asesh Sarkar, Dan Cobley, the former Head of Google UK & Ireland, and Daniel Shakhani, a serial entrepreneur and financier with experience at Goldman Sachs, RBS, and with the Musk family. The company offers employment-linked financial services including savings linked to salary, earned wage access, loans and financial education. Salary Finance works with 20 million employees across more than 185,000 employers in the UK and US (FinFit with Salary Finance). Clients include the NHS, Tesla, Comcast, Humana and Disney. The company has raised over $100m to date, including backing from Legal & General, and has spearheaded a not for profit – Global Campaign for Financial Literacy.

  • Ocean Bottle

    Co-founded in London in 2018 by Will Pearson and Nick Doman, Ocean Bottle sells a range of reusable water bottles, cups and flasks and focuses on stopping ocean-bound plastic. Each Ocean Bottle funds the collection of 1000 plastic bottles in weight, with the company donating 15% of its revenue to achieve that goal. It has supported collection projects in Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Ghana, Kenya, Brazil, and Egypt. Collectors exchange plastic for money and get access to social resources such as healthcare, education and financial security. To date, the company has stopped the equivalent of 1 billion plastic bottles from reaching the ocean.

  • Mother Root

    Mother Root makes apple cider vinegar (ACV)-activated non-alcoholic aperitifs. Founded in 2018 by Bethan Higson, who has a decade of experience in the wine and luxury spirits industry, the London brand was inspired by her discovery of switchels—apple cider vinegar drinks—during her pregnancy. Over two years, Bethan crafted each flavour using winemaking techniques to replicate the depth and complexity she missed from alcoholic beverages. The company has won Great Taste awards and has landing listings with retailers and restaurants including Selfridges and London’s St John, as well as selling online via their website, and Amazon.

  • Milky Plant

    E-commerce brand Milky Plant designs, manufactures, and sells a device of the same name that customers can use to produce freshly made plant milk at home. Customers can create their choice of plant milk using ingredients such as oats, rice, and buckwheat. Milky Plant was founded by Nadina Grigoras and Michael Kalu in 2021. After Nadina was diagnosed with high cholesterol, she wanted to make healthy changes to her diet. She soon realised that store-bought plant-based milks tended to be made with saturated fat, additives, and preservatives and often came in packaging that cannot be recycled. Milky Plant sells reusable bottles for use with the machine, and the machines themselves are recyclable. Milky Plant appeals to environmentally conscious consumers, which continues to be a growing market.