61. Toothpick

Founders: Sandeep Senhera and Jozef Wallis
Founded: November 2012 (launched March 2013)
Website: www.toothpick.com

Responding to research that half of the UK’s dental practices don’t answer the phone, nor have a website, former dentist Sandeep Senhera decided the industry was ripe for disruption. With the help of web industry veteran Jozef Wallis he launched Toothpick, a UK-wide platform connecting NHS and private dentists with patients, using real time appointment availability, reviews, pricing and profiles.

With a goal to “make dentistry more consumer friendly”, Toothpick has come along at a good time – an estimated 25 million Brits have not visited a dentist in the last two years and tooth decay is one of the primary reasons for children being admitted to A&E. The service is free for patients, but dentists are charged a flat fee per booking. Since launch the service has attracted around 800 practices and 3,500 dentists, with up to 70 new practices joining monthly.

Toothpick has competition, which has only increased since its inclusion in the index last year, but its commitment to conquering its sector before branching out into other verticals, and integrated real-time booking software, continue to give it an edge over its rivals. Having completed a recent undisclosed seed round from Passion Capital, EC1 Capital and others, the company has some major developments in the pipeline for 2015, including a branded VIP discount programme, US expansion and plans to map the market, by combining its collated data with open health data.