Robert Martin, 26

Managing director

Leadz Online Ltd.

Greatest professional achievement: From a standing start eight months ago, Martin has built LeadzOnline to a stage where it employs 23 people and expects a first year turnover of £1.4m.

Current business goal: To become the number one online service for people looking for the right mobile phone broker.

Martin’s start-up capital for LeadzOnline was £1,000. He started it on his own with no office or staff but is now based in Universal Square, Ardwick. He said: “I couldn’t afford the high recruitment costs to employ people so I walked around Manchester on a daily basis going into universities and so on, interviewing candidates in the streets for potential roles and then training them from nothing to now my best sales people. This has saved me around £100,000 in recruitment fees.”

Customers go on the LeadzOnline site, input their requirements and Martin’s staff find the best broker for them. “My aim is that within 12 months the only company that you can buy an appointment from is LeadzOnline because we work with the top 100 brokers in the UK to find the best deal out there.”

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