6. Steak Media

Founders: Oliver Bishop, Duncan Parry, Julian Walker
Website: www.steakmedia.co.uk

Having recently celebrated its birthday, the founders of online marketing agency Steak Media point out that they have grown from “three guys and one desk” to “three offices in three countries” – all within three years.

Oliver, the company’s chief executive, was one of the three guys. After initial teething problems – “when you have three partners it’s never easy, but you learn to work together” – the company secured seed capital investment of £20,000, and now has a turnover of around £26m. “With online marketing, it’s not so much marketing as science,” says Oliver.