Justin Hamilton-Martin: 8el

Justin Hamilton-Martin
Age: 33
Company: 8el

As a salesman in the telecoms sector in the late 1990s, Hamilton-Martin sensed growing dissatisfaction at the inflexibility of large wholesalers. With co-founders John Rees and Martin Gray he launched 8el in 1999 to take on the big boys, predominantly winning corporate contracts by offering flexible payment solutions and better support. While 8el now boasts a £6m turnover, 40 staff and delivers voice and data network services to more than 35,000 users, the principles remain the same. Clients include ADP and MORI, and Hamilton-Martin is focused on providing complete telecom solutions for businesses with between 50 and 2,000 employees. He expects turnover to grow to £8.1m in 2006

2017 update:

Hamilton-Martin built 8el to revenues in excess of £8m, before overseeing its sale in 2013. Since then he has held a number of positions including director of networks at managed IT solutions firm Selection Services, business development consultant at the Investment Consultancy Project and CEO at Ultracomms Communications from 2014 to 2016. In March last year, Hamilton-Martin founded technology and Unified Communications business The Link Consultancy, which focuses on supporting the growth strategies of international vendors and UK organisations.