Hi-tech giants Google and AOL scramble to back fledgling entrepreneur

A young entrepreneur who started developing websites from his bedroom near Heathrow so impressed internet giants including Google and AOL that they are funding his fledgling firm to the tune of £1.2 million.

Zain Jaffer’s company, Vungle, makes video trailers for mobile phone apps.

The former UCL student, 24, and his business partner Jack Smith, 23, were awarded the money after attending what he described as “an entrepreneurs’ boot camp” in California.

Mr Jaffer, whose father is a mechanic and mother a doctor’s receptionist, said his fascination with the internet began at 15, when he learned how to make websites.

He said of his California trip: “Investors kept throwing money at us even after we turned them down. Like a movie trailer might entice people to watch a film, we think a video trailer might encourage them to download an app.

"Investors see Vungle could be a multi-billion-dollar business.”