Stuart Hillston

Stuart started his working life as a computer programmer and his first startup experience came after two years with a British software company which grew rapidly and globally. Stuart was instrumental in establishing the company in the USA, Eastern Europe and Japan. The company finally exited for a trade sale in 1994.

He went on to form several other software and web companies and has been directly involved in early and growth stage companies ever since. In the late 1990s he spent time in a senior role at a Nasdaq listed company.

Stuart worked for charity and the DTI (managing the E-Commerce Awards) for two years before making the transition into investing in technology. He has made or managed investments in London, run an AIM listed investment business and worked in an FCA regulated brokerage & fund manager.

Stuart now acts as an advisor for entrepreneurial people in start-ups and high growth businesses. The capacity ranges from executive coaching through mentoring to board advisory and Non Exec Director. He specialises in strategy, commercialisation, sales, investor readiness and investment for technology businesses in a wide range of sectors.

Stuart is FCA registered for financial intermediary work which includes seed and series A funding for early stage businesses and high growth companies. He is focussed on companies with potential for high-growth particularly in digital, media, medical and wearable sectors.

Stuart has been a coach and mentor for more than a dozen accelerators and incubators in London, Oxford, Manchester and Edinburgh and has been a Non-Exec Director of more than 30 companies. He has taught or coached at eight major UK universities.

Stuart recently formed Hare & Moon® Ltd to provide personal development programs for entrepreneurs and innovators, universities, accelerators and corporate clients.

In his spare time Stuart blogs about new music, is training to be a psychotherapist and runs a nano-brewery called 'Stew's Brews'.