Young entrepreneurs: Aden Levin and Rob Tominey, Mainstage Travel

Names: Aden Levin and Rob Tominey
Company: Mainstage Travel
Ages:  24 and 25
Website: Mainstagetravel.co.uk

Most people won’t achieve as much in their whole lives as Aiden Levin and Rob Tominey have before the age of 26.

This may seem like a bold claim, but their innovative, low-cost travel company Mainstage Travel has gone from strength to strength since launching in 2011 – and with momentum snowballing following a landmark £100,000 investment from Dragons’ Den star Piers Linney, the stage is set for the pair to achieve even greater things.

Describing their business as “revolutionising youth travel”, university friends Levin and Tominey set up Mainstage Travel after seeing how under-served the youth and student market was for holidays.

Negotiating bulk discounts on all aspects of the experience, from flights and accommodation to festival tickets, Mainstage can offer all-in-one experiences for incredibly low prices – some of their packages are available from just £120.

With such low prices, you would think the company would be operating on tight margins, but the pair have operated profitability almost from the start – making £50,000 profit in its first year, Mainstage is on target to increase this to £900,000 in 2014.

Already recognised as one of our Startups 100 in 2013, Mainstage Travel achieved nationwide exposure when the founders appeared on hit BBC show Dragons’ Den, seeking investment to grow their business.

They presented themselves admirably, too, securing a £100,000 investment from IT pioneer Piers Linney – the third most valuable deal ever concluded on the show. All very impressive, but the ambitious pair plan to keep moving forward and build the Mainstage Travel brand into something huge.

“Essentially, we want to become the number one company for inexpensive but high quality travel.”