11. Zubka

Founders: Armando Ruffini, David Shieldhouse
Website: www.zubka.com

Armando and David launched online recruitment platform Zubka on April Fools’ Day 2005. The idea was no joke, though: tapping into ideas of user-generated content that, in 2005, were brand new, the founders say they’re taking the recruitment industry ‘one step further’ by allowing their users to recommend their friends and associates into new jobs, rewarding them financially for their efforts. The pair say they’re setting out to be one of the ‘big boys’, and think a recession could actually give them a boost. “When recession hits, people make staff redundant, so we recruitment agencies tend to have a choice of the best candidates,” says Armando. “We’ll have the very best on our side.”