Joe Seddon is the 27-year-old Founder & CEO of Zero Gravity and one of Europe’s most influential social entrepreneurs. Joe’s award-winning tech startup, Zero Gravity, is not just a business; it’s a mission to level the playing field for students from low-opportunity areas, guiding them into top universities, elite careers, and transforming their life trajectories.
Growing up in a single-parent family in Morley, West Yorkshire, Joe’s journey from state schools to Oxford University was a story of defying the odds. It was at Oxford where he recognised a harsh truth: talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. This realisation propelled him to forgo lucrative corporate job offers post-graduation, choosing instead to forge a path that would democratise access to top-tier universities and careers.
Zero Gravity, born from the last £200 of Joe’s student loan and launched from his childhood bedroom in Morley, began as a daring venture. Joe, a self-taught coder since his teens, combined his technical prowess and personal experiences to launch the platform. The Zero Gravity platform identifies ambitious students from low-opportunity backgrounds, and then connects them with mentors, masterclasses, scholarships, job opportunities, and a membership community of students defying the odds.
Today, Zero Gravity has supported 8,000+ students into top universities, including 800+ into Oxbridge, and is now supporting thousands of students into elite careers. This success has been bolstered by commercial partnerships with top firms like HSBC, Snapchat, Morgan Stanley, Jaguar Land Rover, and KPMG. Zero Gravity has also deployed £1.8 million of scholarships to low-income students, making Zero Gravity the largest undergraduate scholarship fund in the UK.
Operating out of Zero Gravity HQ in St Paul’s, London, with a dedicated team of 25 people, Joe’s venture has attracted £6.5 million in investment from Europe’s leading tech investors. Investors in Zero Gravity include Thor Bjorgolfsson, the Icelandic billionaire who was 83rd on The Times Rich List 2023, British private equity magnate Guy Hands, and the Chair of Deliveroo, Claudia Arney.
Joe’s unconventional entrepreneurial journey has earned him a spot in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, a social impact award from the Prime Minister, a British Empire Medal in King Charles’ Birthday Honours List, and the title of ‘Tech Entrepreneur of the Year’ in the 2023 UK Business Tech Awards.
