Brent Hoberman | Founders File

Thought of the day

Interests

Impact

Companies co-founded

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Countries operated in

Unicorns backed from seed

$2.2bn

Combined exit value

Early stage investments

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Early stage investments

$2.2bn

Combined exit value

Unicorns backed from seed

Advisory & mentoring roles

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$3.1bn

Total operating revenues

Life Story

Born in Cape Town, South Africa

Brent was born in Cape Town on 25th November and spent the first five years of his life in South Africa. His middle name, Shawzin, comes from his maternal grandfather, the entrepreneur Leonard Shawzin.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa

1968

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World Map

Q&A

How did you make your first million?

I started lastminute.com in my late twenties. We launched in 1998 and we went public after 18 months, in March 2000. It is still the fastest that any company has ever gone public in ...

Why did you become an entrepreneur?

Part of my entrepreneurial journey was seeing my grandfather’s passion; passion for wanting to solve a problem. I could see that he loved what he did every day and how much his work ...

Why did you get into the longevity space?

I would have lots of conversations with entrepreneurs who were basically by hacking their own body chemistry and didn't have people giving them good advice. There's clearly this huge...

What does high performance look like to you?

A sort of obsessiveness but where you don't know you're being obsessive. Where you get into a flow state and you lose track of time because you're enjoying what you're doing so much....

Can the fear of being outcompeted ever be a healthy thing?

Great business leaders have a healthy paranoia, an energy, and they use stress productively. Short-term bouts of adrenaline and stress get you out of bed and get you doing exciting t...

How did you learn to challenge the status quo?

I was a South African-born Jew who had lived in America and then I started boarding school in England. I was very lucky to be there but I was an immigrant, an outsider and that was b...

Testimonials

Matthias Ljungman

Partner - Atomico

He has a mind like no other when it comes to creating networks and bringing people together. He is a master at engineering serendipity, and in doing so, [is] raising the overall bar for the European tech ecosystem.

Martha Lane Fox

Co-founder - lastminute.com

I was incredibly lucky that I have always had a great team around me. Brent is a really remarkable person. I really mean that very profoundly, it’s made life a lot more fulfilling and I have been a lot more successful than if I had been alone.

Niklas Zennström

Partner and CEO - Atomico

Brent is a pioneer of technology entrepreneurship in Europe. For two decades he has done more than most to find, support and encourage Europe's best founders.

Gallery

Press

UKTN

Tech Nation to launch London AI Hub to bring together ‘fragmented sect

15th January 2025

The Telegraph

Lastminute.com founder to launch anti-ageing clinic for super-rich

26th July 2024

www.cityam.com

Brent Hoberman launches PR agency for founders of fast growing startup

16th May 2024

City A.M.

Brent Hoberman launches PR agency for founders of fast growing start u

16th May 2024

Longevity.Technology

Brent Hoberman: ‘This is longevity’s moment’

9th May 2024

London Business School

Work fast, iterate and be ridiculously obsessive – Brent Hoberman on b

29th March 2024

City A.M.

Brent Hoberman’s Founders Factory hires Second Home entrepreneur as it

21st February 2024

Travolution

New start-up Layla announces €3M in funding for travel recommendation

29th November 2023

More About Advertising

Miroma teams with Brent Hoberman to offer new companies affordable mar

14th November 2023

Financial Times

Entrepreneurs launch global media buying and marketing agency for star

11th November 2023

City A.M.

Tech Nation returns: Start-up network set for comeback under Brent Hob

14th September 2023

Maddyness

Backed by 130 unicorn founders, firstminute capital announces $100M th

15th June 2023

City A.M.

Don’t fear an AI bubble – investor optimism is roaring back, says Hobe

1st June 2023

City A.M.

Interview: Lastminute.com founder Brent Hoberman on why it’s time Brit

1st June 2023

City AM

Tech Nation bought by Brent Hoberman’s Founders Forum

25th April 2023

The Times

We can handle tax rises — just give us stability, Brent Hoberman says

16th November 2022

sifted

Silicon Valley Bank acquires stake in Brent Hoberman’s Founders Forum

9th November 2022

Evelyn Partners

Brent Hoberman Always go further to find brilliant people

3rd May 2022

London Evening Standard

Lastminute.com founder joins Sazka in National Lottery bid

19th January 2021

Forbes

Brent Hoberman: ‘European Founders Need To Work 10x Harder Than Americ

8th June 2019

Yahoo News UK

Famed tech investor Brent Hoberman on why he loves dysfunctional leade

4th October 2018

Techcrunch

Founders Factory signs Marks & Spencer as exclusive UK retail investor

23rd July 2018

The Guardian

Lastminute.com’s Brent Hoberman: 'The craziest ideas are often the bes

9th October 2017

Business Insider

Brent Hoberman has raised another $25 million for his European startup

14th September 2017

London Evening Standard

We catch up with Brent Hoberman and his mentee in Progress 1000 pairin

11th September 2017

WIRED

Brent Hoberman left lastminute.com and formed an empire. This is how h

12th June 2017

Business Insider

Brent Hoberman has unveiled a new $60 million European startup fund

11th June 2017

London Evening Standard

Brent Hoberman: Give young people the chance to build a hopeful, open

9th January 2017

Business Insider

Why the UK Can't Turn Tech Startups Into 'Decacorns' Like Google and F

8th January 2017

EU-Startups

Access to the EU and soon the single digital market is critical for th

24th August 2016

Media

Career Milestones

Advisor

Government and the Public Sector

The World Economic Forum Digital Europe Group is focused on advancing Europe’s digital future, policy, and innovation ecosystems, while the Prime Minister's Business Sector Council is focused on fostering business gro...

2009 – Present

Co-founder

PROfounders Capital

PROfounders Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in technology startups across Europe, focusing on businesses with disruptive models and the potential to scale.

2009 – 2016

Founder

Mydeco.com

A furniture meta search tool, which helped pave the way for Made.com.

2008 – 2010

Co-founder

Founders Forum Group

Founders Forum is a global community and network that supports entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey. It brings together founders, investors, CEOs, and leaders to foster innovation.

2005

Chairman

lastminute.com

lastminute.com is an online travel agent that offers a variety of travel products, including flights, hotels, and package holidays and was a first mover in the online travel market.

2006 – 2007

Co-founder & CEO

lastminute.com

Brent launches lastminute.com with co-founder Martha Lane Fox out of a “broom cupboard” at the back of his office in Portobello Road

1998 – 2006

Business development executive

LineOne and QXL

QXL was an online auction service and LineOne was an ISP owned at the time by News Corp and BT.

1997 – 1998

Consultant

Spectrum Digital Consultancy

Spectrum provided digital consulting services, focusing on helping businesses leverage digital technologies and strategies.

1994 – 1997

Consultant

Mars & Co

A global strategy consulting firm specializing in business and operational strategy and strategic advisory work.

1992 – 1994

Early Stage Investments

Advisory & Mentoring

Planet Fund

Advisor

2022 – Present

London

Planet Fund

Provides strategic guidance to a £100 million fund investing in early-stage climate-tech startups focused on sustainability challenges. Impact - Suppo

2022 – Present

London

The Tessa Jowell Foundation

Advisor

2021 – Present

London

The Tessa Jowell Foundation

"Advises on strategies for cancer care innovation and digital health advocacy. Impact - Enhanced visibility and operational outreach through strategic

2021 – Present

London

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World Economic Forum Digital Europe Group

Advisor

2019 – Present

Geneva, Switzerland

World Economic Forum Digital Europe Group

"Provides thought leadership on Europe’s digital future, policy, and innovation ecosystems. Impact - Contributed to shaping key WEF digital policy pap

2019 – Present

Geneva, Switzerland

Learn more

Google Cloud EMEA Advisory Board

Advisor

2021

California

Google Cloud EMEA Advisory Board

"Provides strategic insights on cloud innovation, startup support, and enterprise solutions. Impact - Contributed to initiatives enhancing startup eng

2021

California

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Imperial College Innovation Fund

Advisor

2020 – 2021

London

Imperial College Innovation Fund

Advised on investment and innovation strategies for early-stage, high-potential ventures emerging from Imperial College London. Helped guide funding e

2020 – 2021

London

Learn more