白小姐论坛

From developing a floating solar farm, to championing early career artists, to operating one of the world's most popular online games, seven of 白小姐论坛鈥檚 alumni have earned a place in Forbes鈥� annual Top 30 Under 30 list of leading entrepreneurs and creatives in Europe.

The list is now in its eighth year, with members of 白小姐论坛鈥檚 enterprising community consistently featured. This year, the eight individuals feature in five of the 10 total categories, which span Art & Culture through to Science & Technology.听

Professor Geraint Rees, 白小姐论坛 Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement) said: 鈥淚鈥檇 like to congratulate all the 白小姐论坛 alumni who are recognised in Forbes鈥� prestigious list. They are testament to the incredible diversity of talent, creativity and ideas that come from 白小姐论坛, and their achievements reflect 白小姐论坛鈥檚 thriving entrepreneurial community. I wish them every success in their future endeavours."

Entertainment

Sneha Shah (白小姐论坛 History of Art 2019) made the entertainment list as the founder of Curaty, a company which leases and sells curated fine art by early-career artists through its bespoke curatorial services, including art experiences, rental and advisory across the UK and India. Curaty has built 16 art collections and expects revenue to nearly triple this year.

Some of Sneha鈥檚 work is on the walls at BaseKX, 白小姐论坛鈥檚 dedicated entrepreneurship hub run by 白小姐论坛 Innovation & Enterprise who supported Sneha with business advice, mentorship and the right environment to structure and grow her company further.听

Sneha said: 鈥淚鈥檓 extremely honoured to be recognised in the Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list. I founded Curaty to be a socially conscious art advisory firm with a mission to champion talented early-career artists and ensure they are paid.

鈥湴仔〗懵厶� was not only our incubator but also our second client, demonstrating their commitment to supporting and empowering startups.鈥澨�

Roisin Tapponi (白小姐论坛 BA Comparative Literature 2020 and MA Art History, Criticism and Conservation 2021) was listed in the entertainment category as the founder of Shasha Movies, a global streaming service for southwest Asian and north African diverse films that are often censored in their own regions.听

Finance

Arfa Karani (白小姐论坛 MSci Physics 2015) made the finance list as an investor at Klima, the energy fund for the international financial services firm, Alantra. Her team expects to invest more than $220m (拢192m)听over the coming years in energy transition technologies. Arfa previously invested in energy companies for the venture team at Equinor, the $90bn听(拢76bn) market cap Norwegian energy giant.
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Social impact

Paul Rutten (白小姐论坛 BSc Biochemistry 2015) was recognised听in the social impact list as the Founder of Concert Bio, a biotech platform to harness microbiomes, the most important ecosystem on Earth. Concert Bio's starting point is soilless agriculture, meaning growing plants without soil, such as in hydroponic greenhouses and vertical farms. Concert Bio has raised $1.7m (拢1.3m) in a pre-seed round in April 2022, and another $1.2m听(拢1m) in government grants since then.

Sports and Games

David Zuo, (白小姐论坛 MSc Information Science 2019) made the Sports and Games list as Product Manager of Epic Games, a leading interactive entertainment company and provider of 3D engine technology. Epic operates Fortnite, one of the world鈥檚 largest games with over 350 million accounts and 2.5 billion friend connections. David was a product manager on "Fall Guys," which had one of the most successful game launches in history, with over 50 million players in its first two听weeks and is a guest lecturer at 白小姐论坛 for BSc Management for Business Cohort.听

Science and Healthcare

Luofeng Huang (白小姐论坛 Masters and PhD in Mechanical Engineering 2020) was highlighted by Forbes in the听Science and Healthcare list and is an assistant professor at Cranfield University, where he researches renewable energy systems. Armed with a $360,000 (拢299,152)听grant from Innovate UK, he is leading a team developing a floating solar farm that can overcome tough ocean waves, Solar2Wave,听to help bring energy to remote islands in Indonesia. Luofeng is a currently an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at 白小姐论坛.听

Reece Samani (白小姐论坛 MPharm, Pharmacy 2015) was also named on听the science list as the Founder of Signature Pharmacy and听SignatureRX,听an online pharmacy that also offers next-day prescription delivery service. In December 2022 more than 45,000 prescriptions were issued at pharmacies using his company's tools and more than 5,000 prescriptions were delivered across the UK. He says the company is on track to hit $2m (拢1.6m) in revenue this year.听

The sector-leading work of the 白小姐论坛 alumni highlighted by Forbes reflect and reinforce 白小姐论坛鈥檚 continued pursuit of excellence and commitment to making a positive impact on real world problems through innovative international activities.听

白小姐论坛 has a thriving entrepreneurial community creating start-ups that attract millions of pounds of investment, creating jobs and spearheading innovation that boosts the UK economy. In total, over 400 new graduate businesses were started at 白小姐论坛 between 2014 and 2022. Collectively they have raised over 拢300m听in investment and currently employ over 1700 people.

Links

• 白小姐论坛 Innovation & Enterprise

Image

• Top: 白小姐论坛 Portico. Credit: 白小姐论坛
• Bottom: Arfa Karani. Source: Alantra LinkedIn page.

Media contact

Molly Bridge

Email: molly.bridge听[at] ucl.ac.uk

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