
MARTIN PORT
Entrepreneur, business adviser, philanthropist and angel investor
Martin Port is an Israel-based serial entrepreneur and angel investor on a mission to support and grow businesses with the potential to hit unicorn status (a $1bn valuation).
In 2024, he started his latest venture, Build Concierge, an AI-powered customer engagement platform. This secure, cloud-based, AI-powered engine allows service businesses to manage and automate calls, chats, WhatsApp, SMS, emails, and bookings in real time. Intelligent and capable, it understands intent, responds instantly, and follows up automatically.
Following an oversubscribed investment round in the summer of 2025, Build Concierge has been valued at £35m. The AI start-up has announced plans to grow to 150 people over the coming years.
Martin has already founded and built three successful companies during the course of his career. His previous venture, the workforce management platform BigChange, was launched in 2013. With Martin at the helm, BigChange became one of the leading employers in Yorkshire and a recipient of the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise – one of the highest official honours for UK companies.
In 2021, BigChange raised £75m from Boston-based private equity house Great Hill Partners, in a deal that valued the company at £100m. Three years later, the company was worth more than three times that after it was acquired by global field service management software company Simpro Group. Martin remains a significant shareholder in Simpro.
Outside of his entrepreneurial endeavours, Martin is involved with charities and is keen to invest in and support other fast-growing companies.
In 2022, he led a seven-figure funding round in online tradesperson marketplace Rated People and has invested a six-figure sum into analytics and business intelligence platform Panintelligence. He is also an investor in Handshaik, StoriBoard and Electron Green.


Meet the young women taking on their family businesses
Workers ditch traditional nine-to-fives in favour of inherited career paths.


Fuelling Growth: YFM Invests in Panintelligence’s Next Chapter
Panintelligence: Supercharging Growth and Innovation with £1 Million Investment and New CEO Appointment.


Former Labour minister Lord Ian Austin joins board at Leeds-based Build Concierge
A former Government minister has joined the board of Build Concierge, the customer engagement platform, after it raised $5.1m.


Martin Port leads funding round into Rated People
Martin Port is the lead investor in a funding round for online tradesperson platform Rated People, joining existing investors Frog Capital, Downing Ventures and Channel 4.


Investment into BigChange by Great Hill Partners
BigChange is excited to announce that US investment firm has invested £75m in the business, valuing BigChange at £100m. Read here what the deal means for future business growth.


There are so many ways to give back as an entrepreneur: Why I’m an adviser at MoreLife
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How are you planning to reach net zero?
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Let’s do it. Let’s save the world
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Flying the green flag – why we highlight exceptional performance
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Chairman’s Spotlight: the couple helping protect our access to clean water
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Chairman’s spotlight: the man championing Britain’s gardeners
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Chairman’s Spotlight on Andy Patterson, founder of Automotive Group
“I can’t sit still. I’m always on the go and constantly coming up with new ideas.”


Leaders: don’t be taken in by the sunk cost fallacy
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Here’s how UK business can fight rising costs
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Humans, not chatbots, should deal with points of friction in your business
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What the Boston Red Sox can teach us about football (and business)
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Here’s the thing about high performance teams…
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Entrepreneurs: the sun is out but this is your time to shine
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Record-breaking six months for BigChange
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Time for a cuppa sustainabili-tea?
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Ignore the tech and your early-stage business will fail
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