Oli Barrett is a serial entrepreneur based in London and is the founder of Make Your Mark with a Tenner, run by Enterprise UK, in which 30,000 school pupils are loaned £10 and have one month to see what they can achieve with the money.

He brought the concept of "speednetworking" to the UK and has hosted hundreds of events worldwide to bring business people together. In 2008, he "speednetworked the globe" by visiting and speaking in 12 countries in a month as part of global entrepreneurship week, sponsored by IBM and Ernst and Young. A member of the British prime minister's Council on Social Action, Barrett and helped to create the Catalyst Awards, presented by the prime minister, to celebrate the ways in which the web can be a force for good in local communities.

A love of technology prompted Barrett to co-found WebMission, an annual trip in which 20 leading UK web entrepreneurs visit Silicon Valley to explore opportunities. In 2010, the Clean and Cool Mission led 20 companies serving the low-carbon economy on a similar trip. Barrett has helped to found and launch several companies, including the world's largest language learning exchange (sold in 2008), and even a sock subscription website.

Barrett is in his early 30s and has written for a range of publications, including the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator, and writes a regular column for Growing Business magazine.