With so many tech leaders out there, it’s hard to pinpoint the most influential ones. Likewise, it can be hard to get noticed when making a difference with all the Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Elon Musks out there. However, in today’s technological arena, it’s not only the “outstandingly” famous ones who are making a mark but some new ones as well.
Johnny Boufarhat- Founder, Hopin
When Johnny Boufarhat founded Hopin, a virtual events platform, in 2019, there was no pandemic, travel restrictions, or lockdowns. But unfortunately, that changed drastically in 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak forced the postponement of several significant events and conferences around the world, as the governments worked tooth and nail to control the virus.
Johnny Boufarhat uses his platform to host virtual, hybrid, or in-person events, from cross-continent weddings to large-scale conferences. However, virtual event providers might fade away post-pandemic, but Hopin’s doesn’t think so. Hopin started with a net worth of $1B, and after two years, its value is more than $7B. So, there’s a high chance that Hopin and Johnny Boufarhat will be here for a long time.
Teddy Wold and Rikard Hegelund – Founders, Klingit
Another business that capitalised on the remote-working model is Klingit. Its founders, Hegelund and Wold, are revolutionising the creative tech market with their unique business model. Hegelund, an experienced entrepreneur, identified the bottlenecks that current tech-based companies face in terms of workforce and longer turnaround times. Therefore, they eradicated the border restrictions and expanded their workforce from all parts of the world.
Hegelund uses the freelance approach by hiring talented resources from different countries and providing them with the opportunity to work from home. Furthermore, because of the different time zones, Hegelund minimises the turnaround time by dividing the work among professionals. So, they are working around the clock and providing their workforce with flexibility in hours and a better work-life balance. They also offer opportunities to people in remote areas or third-world countries to become a part of Klingit. So, if there’s a list of companies benefitting the global economy, Klingit is one of them.
Alex Chesterman – Cazoo
Another business that weathered the storm of the pandemic is Cazoo, the online care retailer company. Cazoo’s founder, Alex Chesterman, has a clear vision – to provide the best full-stack car buying and selling options across Europe. Chesterman’s efforts drove the company towards a successful year in terms of revenue in 2021 when they generated over $1B. With the help of different technological measures, Chesterman has led Cazoo to deliver fully-cleaned and reconditioned used cars at the customers’ doorsteps.
Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko – Revolut
Featured in LinkedIn’s top 2020 list of start-ups in the UK, Revolut has helped overseas travellers significantly. Founded in 2015, Revolut’s growth was extraordinary during the last few years. The Fintech start-up introduced the concept of “live” exchange rate debit cards by eliminating the need for travel money. They also offer other features like current accounts, medical insurance, and the ability to store multiple currencies in an account. Although the company was one of the pandemic victims, Storonsky and Yatsenko still helped travellers who were stuck in different countries through their debit cards.
Tim Sadler – Tessian
The world is going through a digital transformation. Although it’s opening up countless avenues for businesses, cybersecurity concerns have also elevated during this time, especially in the last two years. It was reported that phishing attacks have become particularly prevalent during the pandemic, with scammers sending fake messages to the already scared human race.
Tessian, under the leadership of Tim Sadler, uses the concept of machine learning to analyse a company’s corporate emails and identify suspected patterns. The company then creates a machine-learning model that scans emails and messages and flags them as suspicious. With such a distinctive approach in their arsenal, Tim Sadler and Tessian recorded their funding of $65 million in May 2021 and a total of $132.6 million since its inception eight years ago.
These business leaders seem to be headed in the right direction with their fresh approaches to deal with new and existing problems. The future looks promising as such innovative and creative minds are set to take what’s available in unprecedented circumstances and make the best of it.
