As a lawyer and legal adviser, Nadia Khadim is aware of how challenging it is for companies to adopt the cybersecurity measures needed to comply with the law. She now assists small and medium-sized enterprises, “who previously have been forgotten about by the cybersecurity industry,” with being digitally safe through the subscription-based security solutions and services of her startup, Naq Cyber, based in the Netherlands. The entrepreneur, 29, who entered foster care when she was 14 years old, is now the CEO of a $5.5 million startup.
The Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list, published every year and honouring young businesspeople under the age of 30, this year includes Khadim as one of the IT entrepreneurs. This year’s list features a number of entrepreneurs who are creating enterprises and coming up with fresh solutions to save the environment and all its inhabitants.
Beyond Khadim, numerous list members place a strong emphasis on privacy and online security. The cofounders of the Budapest-based SEON are Tamas Kadar, 29, and Bence Jendruszak, 28. SEON has tracked online transactions for more than 5,000 merchants to assist them in preventing payment-related fraud by recognising bogus accounts and tracing IP addresses for criminal activity. In 2022, the business made $12 million. The identity-verification platform Veriff was established in 2015 by Kaarel Kotkas, 28. With clients in industries ranging from fintech to healthcare, Kotkas transformed the Estonia-based business into a unicorn, valued at $1.5 billion, in just eight years.
At Quantum Dice, Wenmiao Yu, 25, Ramy Shelbaya, 29, and George Dunlop, 26, use quantum random number generators to ensure that random numbers, a crucial component of encryption, are actually and truly random. The business, which sprang from the quantum optics research group at Oxford University, has raised a total of $5.8 million.
While some entrepreneurs work to ensure the security of their companies, others work to encourage people and companies to practise more environmental awareness. The cofounder of the German startup Aqon Pure, Konstantin Wilk, who is 29 years old, generated $10 million in 2022 from selling its eco-friendly, energy-efficient water purification system to residential buildings and plumbing businesses. The cofounder of Bonnet, an EV charging app with a network of 200,000 public charging stations that users can use to charge their electric vehicles, is 27-year-old Patrick Reich.
In 2022, Bonnet generated $3 million in revenue, and in 2023, it expects to generate $12 million. The company’s goal is to combat climate change by making environmentally friendly transportation accessible to all. The 29-year-old cofounder of Inplanet, Felix Harteneck, is assisting companies in removing carbon from the atmosphere using a procedure known as rock weathering, in which carbon dioxide is stored in the soil through silicates (minerals containing silicon and oxygen).
This year’s list includes 14 entrepreneurs of colour and 11 women. Throughout Europe, including France, Austria, Estonia, Belgium, and Hungary, Listees is expanding its business operations.
On the list, there are female business owners who use artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and face recognition technology. The $15 million skincare app Clear, created by 24-year-old Ahana Banerjee, allows its 9,000 users to track the success of their skincare regimens through selfie analysis, share them with healthcare providers, and purchase and rate cosmetic products. Ruxandra Pui, a 28-year-old cofounder of the veterinary-focused company Digitail, which has a cloud-based booking and management platform used by 700 pet clinics and a pet parent app that presently maintains health information for 1.4 million pets, is a member of the pet industry. Moreover, 27-year-old entrepreneur and artist Marion Carré works with museums and art galleries to create chatbots and interactive digital experiences. Ask Mona, a Paris-based company, says it has cooperated with the Colosseum in Rome and the Louis Vuitton Foundation.
The Forbes staff sorts through hundreds of internet entries for the list each year before sending it to our judges. To get the final list, judges’ ratings are averaged. Oliver Lewis, cofounder of Rebellion Defense, which develops software for military missions in the UK and the U.S., Jessica Schultz, a Stockholm-based partner at early stage venture fund Northzone Ventures, Linnéa Kornehed Flack, Under 30 alumna and cofounder of autonomous electric trucking company Einride, Ismail Ahmed, founder of $5 billion money transfer app Zepz, and Jessica Schultz served as the list’s judges this year.
