83. Hubble

Founders: Tushar Agarwal, Tom Watson and Rohan Silva
Founded: October 2013 (launched January 2014)
Website: www.hubblehq.com

London’s largest online marketplace for offices, Hubble provides an innovative solution to a supply and demand mismatch. It enables start-ups and small businesses to rent great workspaces from companies that have it going spare.

While working in banking, co-founder Tushar Agarwal noticed how many companies had office space going to waste while small businesses struggled to find an affordable place to work. He discovered that by utilising technology and cutting out the middlemen – brokers – he could offer a simple process with hugely reduced fees to start-ups.

With monthly rolling contracts Hubble says it offers greater flexibility than its competitors, and its disruptive new ‘artificially intelligent office agent’ replaces human property agents with artificial intelligence (AI) which can return relevant office search results within 30 seconds.

As well as providing a simple, cheaper process, Hubble was also founded with a goal of helping start-ups to find environments that nourish company culture and encourage growth, encouraging them to “love where they work”. A mission which Hubble’s co-founder and former advisor to David Cameron, Rohan Silva, also shares as founder of popular members club-style workplace Second Home.

Perhaps owing to its innovative processes and simple usability, Hubble – which has jumped up eight places since last year’s Startups 100 – now has over 15,000 businesses signed up to its platform, with a choice of 1,500 buildings and 15,000 desk spaces across London and Manchester.

Over the next 12 months, Hubble plans to set up in at least two more UK cities, while rolling out its AI office agent across the country. The long-term goal is to develop Hubble into a global leader in its industry, with the aim of matching millions of businesses with the perfect workspace for them.