Alex Depledge

Alex Depledge
Born
Alexandra Depledge

Alma materUniversity of Nottingham
Occupationtechnology entrepreneur
Known forHassle.com, Resi

Alexandra Depledge MBE is a British technology entrepreneur, known best for being the founder and CEO of Resi, and as the founder and former CEO of Helpling, formerly known as Hassle.com.[1] In 2016 she was awarded an MBE for services to the sharing economy.[2]

Early life and education

Alex Depledge was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire.[3] She graduated from the University of Nottingham with a History and American Studies degree in 2003, then moved to the US and obtained a master's degree in International Relations at the University of Chicago.[4][5][6]

Career

In 2005, Depledge returned to the UK and started her career in 2006 as a consultant for Accenture in the UK. [5][4] In 2012 she left Accenture to start her own venture.[7]

Hassle.com

In 2012, Depledge and Jules Coleman co-founded Hassle.com, a London-based online platform for domestic cleaners. The business raised $6 million from Venture firm, Accel Partners, the first backers of Facebook & Spotify to scale across Europe. The company was acquired by a German company, Helpling, in 2015.[8][9][10]

Resi

In 2017, Depledge and Coleman founded Resi (formerly known as BuildPath), an online architectural platform helping UK homeowners renovate and extend their homes.[2][8][11] Depledge served as chief executive officer until stepping down from the role in December 2025. [12]

Public service and governance

Depledge has served as a non-executive director of Persimmon Homes PLC since May 2023.[13] In June 2025, she was appointed as the first Entrepreneurship Advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. [14]

From 2015 to 2017, Depledge was chair and director of The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec). Following its rebrand as StartUp Coalition, she served as a Board member from June 2023 until June 2025.[15] She was also a founding board member of the government-backed trade body Sharing Economy UK, SEUK.[16][17] Depledge currently sits on the board of the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), chaired by the Mayor of London.[11]

Media and public commentary

Depledge is a regular television & radio commentator on technology, entrepreneurship, and the digital economy. In 2015, she co-presented the BBC3 programme Girls Can Code as part of the broadcaster's Thinking Digital season.[18]

Awards and honours

Depledge was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to the economy and has been recognised with a number of awards for her work as an entrepreneur:

References

  1. ^ Wood, Alex. "PODCAST: Alex Depledge "Let's Talk About Mental Health"". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Home improvement disrupter Resi appoints COO". BusinessCloud.co.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  3. ^ Volpicelli, Gian (4 August 2017). "What do you do when you've made £27m cleaning? Get into home extensions". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b "A successful entrepreneur on experiencing burn out". DOSE. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  5. ^ a b "How co-founder of home-improvement site Resi is championing female entrepreneurship". The Independent. 2 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  6. ^ "Spotlight: Start Her Up | Dialogo | The University of Chicago". dialogo.uchicago.edu. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Global Invest Her - Where Women Entrepreneurs become Investor - Ready to get Funded Faster". www.globalinvesther.com. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  8. ^ a b Taylor, Charlie. "Irish co-founder of Hassle.com comes clean on making it in business". The Irish Times.
  9. ^ Fildes, Nic (8 May 2014). "Facebook backer aims to clean up with Hassle.com". The Times.
  10. ^ "CEO: 'I was in a ball crying'". BBC Online.
  11. ^ a b "Alexandra Depledge MBE | London Enterprise Panel". lep.london. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Depledge steps down from role as Resi CEO". Business Cloud. 29 December 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  13. ^ "We want to help start-ups escape 'the valley of death'". The Times. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Rachel Reeves hires Alex Depledge as UK entrepreneurship adviser". Financial Times. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  15. ^ "The brains behind UK Labour's tech policy". Sifted. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2026.
  16. ^ Shead, James Cook, Rob Price, Sam. "The 100 coolest people in UK tech". Business Insider. Retrieved 28 September 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Computer Weekly announces the Most Influential Women in UK IT 2017". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  18. ^ Knowles, Kitty. "Girls Can Code: Alex Depledge dispels sexist tech myths". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  19. ^ "48. Alex Depledge, former chair, Coadec; CEO, Buildpath.com; founder, Hassle.com - The 50 Most Influential Women in UK Tech 2017". www.computerweekly.com. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  20. ^ "Debrett's 500 List: Entrepreneurs". The Telegraph. 20 January 2017. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Alexandra Depledge". Inspiring Fifty: Europe. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  22. ^ "Winners of the 2015 FDM everywoman in Technology Awards announced". ComputerWeekly.com. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  23. ^ Anderson, Elizabeth (5 July 2015). "Are these the top 35 business women in Britain today?". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 September 2019.