Brent Hoberman
London, England
Serial founder, investor and lynchpin of Europe's startup and scaleup ecosystem.
Interests
Impact
26
Companies co-founded
40
Countries operated in
41
Early stage investments
$2.2bn
Combined exit value
10
Unicorns backed from seed
19
Advisory & mentoring roles
$3.1bn
Total operating revenues
World Map
Cape Town, South Africa
ZA
Brent was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 25 November 1968 - although you’d never know it from his accent. His maternal grandfather founded the clothing retailer Truworths, which had 650 shops across Africa at its height.
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
Partner - Atomico
Co-founder - lastminute.com
Partner and CEO - Atomico
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
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
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
Mydeco.com
A furniture meta search tool, which helped pave the way for Made.com.
2008 – 2010
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
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
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
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
Spectrum Digital Consultancy
Spectrum provided digital consulting services, focusing on helping businesses leverage digital technologies and strategies.
1994 – 1997
Mars & Co
A global strategy consulting firm specializing in business and operational strategy and strategic advisory work.
1992 – 1994
Early Stage Investments
Planet Fund
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
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
World Economic Forum
2019 – Present
Geneva, Switzerland
World Economic Forum
"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
Google Cloud EMEA Advisory Board
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
Imperial College Innovation Fund
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
ICA
London
ICA
London
University of the Arts London
London
University of the Arts London
University of the Arts London (UAL) generates and inspires the creativity the world needs for a better future.
London
Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy is a leading world renowned gallery and art school in the heart of London.
Philanthropy
Founders Brands Limited
180 Strand, 2 Arundel Street, London,
United Kingdom, WC2R 3DA
Company number: 15716753
VAT number: 487 5152 58
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