News | LiveWIRE winners feature in 'Hot List'

Tuesday 10th July

Two Shell LiveWIRE Award winners feature in the Observer's list of East London's 20 hottest tech startups.

With more than 3,000 tech firms in east London, employing up to 50,000 people in the digital economy. The Observer (08/07/12) listed their 20 companies to watch out for. Featured on that list were two Shell LiveWIRE Award winning companies; Grand Ideas Award winners Market Invoice and 2010 Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalists Shutl. Below is what the article had to say about the two firms.

MARKETINVOICE (Finance)

What: A service that allows companies to raise working capital by auctioning off their outstanding invoices in an online marketplace.

Founders: Anil Stocker, formerly with Lehman Brothers private equity group, and Charles Delingpole (brother of Telegraph journalist James), ex-JP Morgan Cazenove.

Launched: 2010.

Pitch: We're all about getting working capital to small businesses by cutting short the lag created by long payment terms.

Verdict: Growing fast and with little competition in Europe or Asia (its main markets), Marketinvoice is rewiring a neglected corner of finance – and making a real impact.

SHUTL (Web couriers)

What: A web courier service, offering delivery of online purchases within 90 minutes, which acts as an aggregator for local couriers by pooling capacity and offering it to retailers. Clients include Argos, Coast and Oasis.

Founder: Tom Allason (chief executive), an entrepreneur who previously co-founded eCourier.

Launched: 2009.

Pitch: Shutl is a branded web service, enabling immediate and convenient delivery of online shopping.

Verdict: Shutl is a problem-solving idea, coolly executed.

You can read the full list on the Guardian website.