Mitesh Soma, 31, was born in Leicester and graduated from London's City University with a 1st class degree in business and computing.

Mitesh was inspired to start Chemistdirect.co.uk while assisting his wife, Krishna, with her small independent chemist shop in Westminster, London. Mitesh identified the huge high street mark-ups and realised that by cutting out the middlemen and keeping overheads to a minimum, he could slash costs to the benefit of the consumer.

He and Krishna moved to Leicester where they built a 'home office' at the bottom of the garden running the business. All the products you receive are sent from a 10,000 square foot warehouse based in Birmingham, where Mitesh spends much of his time overseeing his small team of 25 people. Less than eight months after founding the company, Mitesh has been shortlisted for the finals of the 2008 HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards and Chemistdirect.co.uk was recently listed as the most popular online pharmacy in the UK.

When he is not making sure Chemistdirect.co.uk remains the most competitive chemist in the market, Mitesh likes to spend time relaxing with Krishna and their two young children.