Five to watch: Aden Levin and Rob Tominey, Mainstage Travel

Aden Levin and Rob Tominey, 26 and 25
Company: Mainstage Travel
Web: www.mainstagetravel.co.uk

Aden Levin and Rob Tominey’s travel start-up has been on our radar since early 2013, placing on our Startups 100 index for its youth-focused package holiday offering, which through smart bulk deals on tickets can offer unbelievably low prices to its customers – starting from just £120. It was in 2014 when the pair achieved true nationwide renown, however, after Mainstage wrapped up the third most valuable deal ever on BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den, walking away with £100,000 backing from investor Piers Linney following a four-way tug of war between the Dragons.

More than 15,000 youngsters have taken advantage of Mainstage’s low prices so far, helping to generate turnover of £1.6m with a hugely impressive profit of £257,000 in 2013; an almost unbelievable figure for a travel company of less than three years’ standing. With cloud computing pioneer Linney’s backing, the duo expect to more than double the size of the company this year as momentum snowballs into something truly huge – making them definite candidates to keep our eye on for next year.