Mark Pearson (entrepreneur)

Mark Pearson
Born1980 (age 44–45)

Mark Pearson (born 1980) is a London, United Kingdom-based entrepreneur and investor. He founded and served as CEO of Markco Media, a European discount network.[1][2][3]

In June 2014, Markco Media, the parent company of MyVoucherCodes, was acquired by Monitise plc for £55m.[4]

Early Life and Career

Pearson grew up on a council estate in Liverpool with his mother and sister.[5]

At age 23, Pearson founded Roses by Design, selling fresh rose petals with custom messages.[6] Through this venture, he discovered affiliate marketing when Interflora and Flowers Direct requested to place discount code banners on his website.[5]

In November 2006, aged 26, Pearson launched MyVoucherCodes with an initial investment of £300.[7] The business operated from his bedroom until 2009, when he established an office in Croydon, later relocating to central London in 2011.[3]

Investment activities

Pearson has invested approximately £5m across nine companies, with minimum investments of £100,000.[8]

His investment portfolio includes Shopwave, an iPad payment system for retailers, and Calq, a mobile analytics firm. He invested £1m in Ve Interactive, which expanded from 30 to 700 employees across 18 global offices. Ve Interactive reached a valuation of $3bn in June 2015[9] before entering administration in April 2017.[10] A consortium including Pearson subsequently acquired the company for £2m.[11]

In October 2014, Warner Music Group acquired Playlists.net, another of Pearson's investments.[12]

Fuel ventures

In December 2013, Pearson and Paul Rous, a former Goldman Sachs corporate financier, established Fuel Ventures, an early-stage e-commerce investment fund and startup studio.[13]

The fund raised £539,900 through crowdfunding platform Seedrs,[14] with tennis player Andy Murray among its investors.[15]

Community engagement

In 2010, Pearson appeared on Channel 4's The Secret Millionaire, donating £115,000 to three Nottingham-based charities addressing gun crime and domestic violence.[3][16]

In 2012, he established Hackathon London, connecting developers with investors and mentors.[17] He later sponsored the Young Rewired State Hackathon in Scotland when it faced cancellation.[18]

Recognition

  • 2010 - Real Business Growing Business Awards "Young Entrepreneur of the Year"[19]
  • 2011 - Ernst and Young "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year"[20]
  • 2011 - Smarta "Young Gun"[21]
  • 2012 - Digital Entrepreneur Awards "Digital Entrepreneur of the Year"[22]

The Sunday Times Rich List 2011 valued his fortune at £60m.[23]

References

  1. ^ "HushHush Jumps On The Daily Deals Bandwagon: Designer Fashion, Interiors, Gardening, Food & Drink". TechCrunch. 21 November 2012.
  2. ^ "Mark Pearson: Britain's coupon king". Real Business. 7 April 2011.
  3. ^ a b c "Third time lucky". newbusiness.co.uk. 24 September 2012. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012.
  4. ^ "Citizen Journalism is alive and well in the UK – Blottr scores Angel investment". TechCrunch. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  5. ^ a b "The king of discount voucher codes". BBC News. 19 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Third time lucky - Mark Pearson".
  7. ^ "Mark Pearson: £300 start-up to £10m turnover". Businesszone.co.uk. 19 August 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  8. ^ "'I left school at 16 and sold my business for £55m. Now I want to help other young entrepreneurs'".
  9. ^ Ahmed, Murad (14 June 2015). "Europe incubates tech's new billion-dollar babies". Financial Times.
  10. ^ "The story behind Michelle Mone's appointment to board of Ve Global". 22 January 2018.
  11. ^ Titcomb, James (2 September 2018). "Rescued Ve Interactive to raise £15m as it seek to break even". The Telegraph.
  12. ^ "Playlists.net Acquired by Warner Music Group". 16 October 2014.
  13. ^ O'Hear, Steve (May 2015). "After Exiting Markco Media, Mark Pearson Launches New London-Based VC Fund And Startup Studio". TechCrunch.
  14. ^ Kharpal, Arjun (20 May 2015). "Want to be a VC? All you need is $150". CNBC.
  15. ^ Barber, Lynsey (19 August 2015). "Andy Murray invests in three British tech startups through Seedrs equity crowdfunding platform - Tossed, Trillenium and Fuel Ventures Fund". City AM.
  16. ^ "Interview: Entrepreneur Mark Pearson on surrogacy, diversity and working with Gordon Ramsey". 26 September 2014.
  17. ^ "Hackathon London | Events". EN for Business. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  18. ^ Askeland, Erikka (26 November 2012). "People: Giant wood statue gets VisitScotland guests guessing". The Scotsman. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  19. ^ "Real Business - Growing Business Awards 2010". Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  20. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  21. ^ "Mark Pearson: MyVoucherCodes - Startups.co.uk". 10 October 2011.
  22. ^ "Previous winners of th Digital Entrepreneur of the year awards". www.digital-entrepreneur.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 July 2010.
  23. ^ Tripathi, Shruti (16 June 2012). "The interview: Mark Pearson, MyVoucherCodes.co.uk | Features". LondonlovesBusiness.com. Retrieved 6 October 2013.