# Martin Port

> Martin Port is a British entrepreneur and angel investor who founded Masternaut UK and BigChange. After serving as BigChange’s CEO and chairman, he now leads Build Concierge, an AI customer engagement and workflow automation business for service companies, and invests through Port Growth Partners.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Build Concierge
- **Organizations:** Build Concierge, BigChange (founder; former CEO and chairman), Masternaut UK (founder; former managing director), Port Growth Partners, Amanda and Martin Port Foundation, Transaid (ambassador), Rated People (investor), Panintelligence (investor), Handshaik (investor), Electron Green (investor), StoriBoard (investor)
- **From:** Leeds, United Kingdom
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Moortown County Primary School, Allerton Grange High School, Jersey City College, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
- **Known for:** Built Masternaut UK and exited as part of a £60m deal in 2011., Won the 2008 EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for Technology and Communications, according to his official timeline., BigChange ranked 25th in Deloitte’s UK Technology Fast 50 in 2017, with 1,095% growth.

## Career timeline

- **1976** — Saturday job at Cecil Gee menswear shop, paid £5 a day.
- **1977** — Started a printing business with a friend.
- **1986** — Moved to New York to work in a friend’s speciality German bakery business.
- **Late 1980s / early 1990s** — Returned to Leeds and established speciality bakery Kroustie.
- **1998** — Sold Kroustie.
- **2002** — Founded Masternaut UK, using French vehicle tracking technology.
- **2009** — Partial sale of Masternaut to Aéroports de Paris subsidiary Hub Telecom.
- **2011** — Exited Masternaut as part of a £60m transaction.
- **2013** — BigChange began trading in January.
- **2018** — Became a Transaid ambassador.
- **2021** — Great Hill Partners invested £75m at a £100m company valuation; Port later moved from CEO to chairman.
- **2022** — Invested in Rated People and Panintelligence.
- **2024** — Founded Build Concierge; BigChange was acquired by Simpro Group and Port left the chairmanship while retaining an investment interest.
- **2025** — Build Concierge pivoted to AI customer engagement; Amanda and Martin Port Foundation launched.
- **2026** — Continued as Build Concierge founder and CEO; reported over £2.1m ARR at the close of Q3.

## Achievements

- Built Masternaut UK and exited as part of a £60m deal in 2011.
- Won the 2008 EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for Technology and Communications, according to his official timeline.
- BigChange ranked 25th in Deloitte’s UK Technology Fast 50 in 2017, with 1,095% growth.
- BigChange received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation in 2020.
- Secured £75m investment in BigChange at a £100m valuation in 2021.
- BigChange acquired by Simpro in 2024; his website reports a £330m valuation.
- Established a charitable foundation with Amanda Port, supporting more than 60 charities by 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — In his October 2 founder blog, Port reported Build Concierge had exceeded £2.1m ARR at the end of Q3, with more than £4.9m in total signed contract value; these are company-reported figures.
- **2026-08** — Described the Build Concierge practice of visiting customer operations and following jobs from enquiry to invoicing before designing automations.
- **2026-06** — Appeared as the first guest on Joshua Port’s After the Handshake podcast, discussing company building, acquisitions and transactions.
- **2026-06** — Resumed his founder blog and described Build Concierge’s pivot from its original 2024 model to AI customer engagement in 2025.

## Links

- Website: https://www.martinport.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinport/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/martinhport

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/martin-port
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21