The UK’s Youngest Entrepreneurs
Starting a business has traditionally been the domain of seasoned professionals, but that’s changing fast. In the past, launching a startup required a significant amount of money, business knowledge, and connections, which naturally skewed the field toward more experienced individuals.
But now, thanks to advances in technology and a shifting entrepreneurial culture, young people are stepping up to the plate earlier than previous generations. The rise of digital tools, online marketplaces, cheaper distribution methods, and social media platforms have lowered the barriers to entry and made it possible for anyone with an idea and drive to get their venture off the ground.
In this article, we dive into the data behind the UK’s youngest business owners and celebrate some of the UK’s rising stars.
What type of companies are young people founding?
According to our data there’s just 187 active high-growth UK companies that have a founder that is 25 or younger. And, realistically, it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact percentage of companies in the UK that have a founder under 25. However, according to a survey by Startups Magazine, just 7.8% of UK businesses are set up by Generation Z — and the most companies are set up by Millennials (49%).
Coming back to our data on companies with a founder 25 or under, primarily these companies sit in the Seed stage of evolution (80% of companies). Just 1% of these companies are Established.
A large proportion of these companies are in the Application Software industry (70%). There’s also a high number of Video Game companies (6%). This could be because younger entrepreneurs are focusing on low-barrier, digital-first industries which don’t require large amounts of upfront capital and where technical skills and creativity can outweigh traditional business experience.
Expanding the scope to include founders aged 30 or younger, we see a significant increase, with 1,498 active high-growth UK companies in this category — nearly eight times the number of companies founded by those 25 or younger.
This broader age range brings greater diversity in industries, reflecting how a few more years of experience, funding access, and professional networks can influence the types of businesses being launched.
While Application Software remains the dominant sector (58%), its share is notably lower than in the under-25 group (70%), indicating that slightly older founders are branching out into a wider variety of industries. For example, the second highest proportion of companies is in the Data Provisions and Analysis sector (16%), and a large proportion of companies are in Online Retailing (12%).
50 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch
Methodology
To be included in our spotlight, founders must be 25 or younger and have founded a company based in the UK. Data for this article was collected on 03 April 2025.
Our spotlight list has then been ordered by the total equity investment raised by the company.
Spotlight on the UK’s youngest entrepreneurs gaining investment
Tamzin Lent
Age: 25
Company: Where You At
Industry: Application software
Total amount raised: £4.17m
Tazmin Lent founded Where You At in 2020, while she was studying at Oxford. Where You At (WYA) is a mobile app that uses Bluetooth technology and indoor mapping to help users locate and connect with friends in venues where traditional connectivity is limited, such as festivals, conferences, and theme parks.
The company received a patent in 2020 for its group locating and alerting system. Overall WYA has been through three rounds of funding. The most recent round was in March 2024, when the company secured £2.50m from Cambridge Angels, Cambridge Enterprise and STAR Capital Partnership.
Kristof Gazso
Age: 24
Company: Pimlico
Industry: Application software
Total amount raised: £4.72m
Pimlico makes it easier to use blockchain technology by simplifying transactions and logins, so users don’t need to manage complicated crypto wallets or private keys. It was incorporated in 2023 by Kristof Gazso. Prior to establishing Pimlico, Kristof co-authored ERC-4337, a leading proposal aimed at enhancing Ethereum’s account system.
The company has been through two funding rounds, and whilst being only two years old, has already raised a total of £4.72m.
Asti Wagner
Age: 24
Company: Invyted
Industry: Application software and social media
Total amount raised: £5.00m
Invyted is an event management platform that helps businesses and influencers create, manage, and track professional events with automated invitations, RSVPs, and guest engagement tools.
Asti Wagner founded the company in 2022, after her own social media presence grew to the point where she needed to organise numerous PR and brand collaborations which was time-consuming and difficult. This is where the idea of Invyted came from.
The company has now secured £5.00m through one funding round.
Josh Benaron
Age: 23
Company: Irys
Industry: Application software
Total amount raised: £6.86m
Josh Benaron, a self-taught developer, founded Irys in 2021. Irys is a decentralised messaging and file transfer platform that allows users to have secure, scalable, and censorship-resistant communication using blockchain technology.
Since it was founded, the company has been through two rounds of equity funding; the first in May 2022, and the second in June 2024, raising £6.86m overall. The most recent investment came from a mix of mostly US-based investors, as well as Hong Kong-based Lemniscap.
Alyx van der Vorm
Age: 25
Company: Clyx
Industry: Application software and social media
Total amount raised: £9.34m
Alyx van der Vorm, now 25, founded Clyx in 2020 when she was just 20. Targeted primarily at women in their 20s, Clyx is a social networking app designed to help users build friendships through curated events and communities.
In its most recent equity funding round, Clyx raised £131k bringing up the company’s total raised to £9.34m.
Yoyo Chang Yao-Yun
Age: 25
Company: Kody
Industry: Application software and payment processing
Total amount raised: £24.9m
Yoyo Chang Yao-Yun, a Taiwan-born British entrepreneur, is the Founder & CEO of Kody. While studying at Cambridge he launched Kody with high school classmates, raising $30m. A former aspiring investment banker, he began trading at 13, won a national competition in 2016, and used $500k of his profits to start Kody.
Kody, also known as KodyPay, is a mobile-based PoS software for businesses. The company has been through four rounds of funding, raising a total of £24.9m.
Jacob Nathan
Age: 24
Company: Epoch Biodesign
Industry: Biotechnology
Total amount raised: £26.2m
Jacob Nathan founded Epoch Biodesign in 2019 when he was just 18, dropping out of the University of Chicago to do so. Epoch Biodesign uses AI to develop an enzyme to aid in the bio-recycling of plastics.
Epoch Biodesign received its first grant in 2020 and since then has gone on to obtain 11 grants in total, equalling £3.85m. The company has also been through three funding rounds, raising a combined total of £26.2m in equity. The biotech company has also hit three of our ESG Signals: environmental accolades, green infrastructure & building, and our social impact accolades signal.
James Dacombe
Age: 24
Company: CoMind
Industry: Clinical diagnostics
Total amount raised: £31.0m
Aged 24, James Dacombe is the founder of CoMind. CoMind is a clinical diagnostics company that creates technology designed for human brain monitoring. This is to support the diagnosis and treatment of neurological conditions.
James Dacombe left high school at 16 to become a software engineer at a startup and then launched CoMind at just 17 years old. The Islington-based company has been through four funding rounds and raised a huge £31.0m, as well as receiving a £783k grant from Innovate UK. The company was founded in 2018 and received a patent within its first year of operation.
Discover more niche businesses
Want access to niche data points like founder age and gender? And to be able to search across those data points in a comprehensive business database?
With the Beauhurst platform, you can get access to a huge quantity of high-quality data on both UK and German companies.
Whether you’re tracking up-and-coming UK founders or searching for unannounced fundraising data, Beauhurst provides exclusive data and insights on the UK and German business landscape.
Take a virtual tour to see the platform in action, or book a demo with our team today.
Discover our data.
Get access to unrivalled data on the companies you need to know about, so you can approach the right leads, at the right time.
Schedule a conversation today to see all of the key features of the Beauhurst platform, as well as the depth and breadth of data available.
We’ll work with you to build a sophisticated search, returning a dynamic list of organisations that match your ideal customer profile.
Beauhurst Privacy Policy