73. Playmob

Founder: Jude Ower
Founded: July 2011 (launched October 2012)
Website: www.playmob.com

We recognised Playmob last year for its unique and socially-focused proposition – it offers a service which allows game developers to integrate charitable elements into their games in as little as 20 minutes, cutting out the time and hassle associated with coding it themselves. Over the past year the business has continued to see uptake amongst some leading names in the industry, with Miniclip, Pixelberry, Jagex and Playdemic joining global giant EA in Playmob’s burgeoning client list.

Inspired by the Farmville campaign for the Haiti earthquake which raised $1.5m in just five days, there are now 98 charities on board with Playmob’s model, and Jude Ower’s business has helped raise more than $320,000 for good causes – a notable increase on the $42,000 raised this time last year. The start-up plans to dramatically increase turnover from £50,000 to £800,000 in 2014 as it targets more high-profile partnerships with the likes of Google, Facebook and Xbox. Voted as one of the top 100 Women in Europe in Tech, Ower is on a mission to prove that “we can make a positive impact on the world through games” and it certainly seems that with Playmob she’s doing just that!