14. tails.com

Founders: Mark Holland, Steve Webster, Karen Freeman, Kat Linger, Paul Cooke, Joe Inglis, Graham Bosher and James Davidson
Founded: November 2013 (launched July 2014)
Website: https://tails.com/

After becoming disillusioned with generic ‘one-size-fits-all’ dog food, the founders of tails.com sought about offering a “better, smarter and just plain simpler way” to feed man’s best friend. Tapping into the enormous pet food market, the business offers tailor-made dog food based on each dog’s individual nutritional needs. Delivered directly to your door every month, they also offer wet dog food and additional doggie treats.

Co-founded by eight entrepreneurs, the team have a diverse set of backgrounds in high-growth, consumer-facing and tech businesses. Current CEO James Davidson was previously head of operations at Innocent Drinks and, before that, operations manager at Unilever.

Backed by the founders of Innocent, LOVEFiLM and Graze (Graham Bosher is also a co-founder), tails.com received £5m seed funding in 2013 plus a follow-on Series A round in 2015. Developed with the help of vets and nutritionists, the team spent a year extensively researching, trialing and formulating their product before launch in July 2014.

Having grown to a team of 42 (from just 15 employees in January last year), tails.com is aiming to become a household name within the next 12 months, with an ambitious long-term goal to change “the pet food industry forever”.