7. Bulb

Founders: Hayden Wood and Amit Gudka
Founded: August 2015 (Launched April 2016)
Website: bulb.co.uk

Having both worked in the energy industry for a number of years, it’s no surprise that when Hayden Wood and Amit Gudka finally had their lightbulb moment they named their business Bulb!

A 100% renewable energy supplier, the concept for Bulb was borne out of a bid to rally against ‘the ‘Big Six’ who the duo criticise for implementing expensive rates and shoddy customer service.

Claiming to offer prices 20% lower than its large competitors, Bulb prides itself on its clear and transparent service via its online portal – in contrast to “the complex and opaque” experience offered by others in the space.

Maintaining a close relationship with their members, Bulb even pays the exit fee which is traditionally imposed on new customers when moving from a competitor.

With the UK now home to an estimated 29 million energy consumers, Bulb certainly has an extensive market to tap into and has already achieved significant scale through predominantly word of mouth marketing.

Having an above average share of young urban users – who Wood and Gudka say are normally overlooked by energy corporates – Bulb’s renewable credentials and vision is certainly ambitious.

Talking to Startups.co.uk last year, Wood and Gudka outlined their plans:

“We want to have democratised renewable energy, be helping people reduce their usage by enabling new technologies like electric cars and domestic solar. We want to provide an example to energy suppliers all over the world that there’s a better way to provide energy.”

Now serving around 30,000 customers with growth at a rate of 400% per year, we think Bulb has a very bright future ahead of it….