Who are the Volcanologists?

	You! The most important contributor to IdeaVolcano is YOU! You are ambitious and entrepreneurial and up for taking the plunge with a fantastic idea. You’re happy to work up ideas in the open and excited by their potential.

	Oli Barrett Oli Barrett is the founder of Make Your Mark with a Tenner, the national competition in which 10,000 people are given a £10 note and one month to see what they can turn it into. Day to day he runs Connected Capital, an innovation company. He’s an ambassador for the UK’s Make Your Mark campaign, and brought the concept of Speed Networking to the UK, something which he continues to host regularly. Other companies he has helped to launch, and remains a shareholder in, include SockRush.com (the sock subscription service), Soflow (the business networking site), and FriendsAbroad.com (the world’s largest language learning exchange). After dropping out of University, Oli became a Butlin Redcoat (entertainer and compere) and worked with Hit Entertainment on the launch of Bob the Builder, going on to work with with the BBC, Disney and Sony Wonder in New York. He founded his first company, Amazingyou at university, growing the team to 150 people in 9 cities and hosting events to connect students to young professionals for inspiration and opportunities.

	John Hornbaker John Hornbaker is the Director of Innovation Acceleration at Parthenon Computing. He has a keen interest in innovation and software product development on the Internet. As a technology consultant in the UK and the United States, he works with start-ups to develop product concepts, prototypes, and strategies on a daily basis. He capitalised on a decade’s worth of bespoke software development as Director of Product Development at VoteHere (an e-voting start-up) in the US prior to landing in London. John is a member of London’s Internet People.

	Jamie Murray Wells Jamie is an entrepreneur with a passion for conceiving and building web businesses. In 2005, aged 21, Jamie started Glasses Direct and won the UK Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, the Wales and West Country Credit Suisse Entrepreneur of the Year award, and the NatWest Entrepreneur of the Year award. Of the top 50 entrepreneurs of 2005, rated by startups.co.uk, he beat Sir Richard Branson, Sir Alan Sugar, and Stelios Haji-Ioannou to take 1st place. Glasses Direct is now the largest direct retailer of prescription glasses in the world and Jamie is committed to making it a worldwide household brand name as fast as possible. Jamie is a member of Zenopy entrepreneurs, and London’s Internet People. You can reach him by emailing james@glassesdirect.co.uk.

	Derek Keever Derek describes himself as ‘an addicted uncontrollable frustrated ambitious entrepreneur’. Derek was the top contributor to the blog for a while and so John, Jamie and Oli asked him to join the team. A one time member of the Shropshire Innovation Society Derek’s career has spanned many industries: the army, Pontins (looks like Oli’s got a rival!), the food processing industry and most recently as a carer for adults with learning difficulties. He’s been dreaming up ideas since infant school and many of the ones you see on the blog started were his brainwaves.

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