Startups.co.uk’s entrepreneur community recognised in Forbes’ 30 under 30

Jamie Bolding, the founder of Jungle Creations who received the Top Gun accolade at the Young Guns 2017 awards, is among those named

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Forbes’ 30 under 30, the pan-European ranking of the continent’s “brightest young entrepreneurs, innovators and game changers” contains a whole host of business owners previously recognised by Startups.co.uk.

With thousands of entries annually (2016’s edition had an initial list of 15,000), just 30 individuals are eventually named – highlighting the incredibly high standard entrepreneurs need to reach in order to earn a spot.

Unsurprisingly, many of this year’s British-based inductees will be very familiar to Startups.co.uk readers – previously being recognised in the Startups 100, our yearly index of the best new businesses, Young Guns, our annual list of the UK’s best young entrepreneurs behind the fastest growing start-ups, and the Startups Awards – as well as a range of features and news stories.

Forbes’ 30 under 30 Class of 2018 included:

Jamie Bolding of Jungle Creations

Named a Top Gun at our Young Guns awards 2017, Bolding is the entrepreneur behind digital media company Jungle Creations.

Susan Ma of Tropic Skincare

Ma’s natural and vegan beauty brand was named Winner of the Product Business of the Year 2015 at the Startups Awards.

Quentin Le Pape and Guillaume Le Pape of MOBKOI

The French brothers who create bespoke, high quality mobile advertising campaigns were previously highlighted in our Entrepreneur Q&A feature.

Karoline Gross of Smartzer

Former medical student Gross and her interactive retail start-up Smartzer were part of our Inspiring women series.

Pippa Murray of Pip & Nut

Pip Murray, of nut butter and almond milk brand Pip & Nut, has picked up the Women in Business Award and Young Entrepreneur Award at the Startups Awards, been named in the Startups 100 – and was inducted into the Young Guns class of 2017.

Ben Francis of Gymshark

Named a Young Gun for 2017, Francis is founder of fitness brand Gymshark – which ships its apparel to 131 countries around the world.

Stephen Whitworth of Ravelin

Whitworth is co-founder of Startups 100-ranked Ravelin – a fraud detection and prevention platform.

Jonas Huckestein of Monzo

Startups 100-ranked mobile bank Monzo also had one of its founders inducted into the Young Gun class of 2017.

Ishaan Malhi of Trussle

The online mortgage broker was named in our Startups 100 back in 2017, with Malhi inducted into our Young Guns class the very same year.

Devika Wood of Vida

Named one of our Five to Watch at the Young Guns awards 2017, Wood is co-founder of CQC-approved care technology platform Vida.

Guy Riese of UpLearn

Highlighted in our Young Entrepreneur feature back in March 2017, Riese is founder of UpLearn – the online student education platform.

Alexandra Isenegger of Linkilaw

Back in June, Isenegger’s legal start-up Linkilaw was featured in our M&A section after it acquired comparison site LawyerFair.

Luke Massie of Vibe Tickets

Highlighted in our Young Entrepreneur feature back in March 2017, Massie is founder of Vibe Tickets, the “Airbnb for concert tickets”.

Simon Phelan of Hometree

Irish entrepreneur Phelan is co-founder of Hometree – the boiler installation start-up that offers online video consultations.

Joseph Valente of ImpraGas

The Apprentice winner and founder of boiler installation business ImpraGas was named a Young Gun last year.


Randall Lane, editor of Forbes and chief content officer, said:

“The Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list comprises the most impressive young entrepreneurs that are reshaping Europe, and the world, for the better.

“In addition to receiving thousands of online nominations, our reporters combed the European continent for leading innovators in all ten fields.

“Our industry-leading judges distilled the shortlist to 300 outstanding individuals that are changing the world for the better.”

Jamie Bolding, founder of Jungle Creations and member of the Forbes 30 Under 30 class of 2018, said:

“I am honoured to be a part of Forbes 30 Under 30 class of 2018 and mentioned alongside some seriously impressive people. Having started this business just three years ago, I have to stop sometimes to appreciate how far we’ve come.

“I believe it’s really important to celebrate the milestones, from the day we hit one million likes on VT and our first brand partnership to receiving this incredible accolade, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the amazing team I have working alongside me and I can’t wait to embark on the next part of our journey.”

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