Graham Wylie

Sage. While studying computing at Newcastle University, Wylie wrote software for David Goldman's local business, and in 1981 the two founded Sage with Paul Muller to sell affordable accounts packages to other small firms. Cheap, dependable and recommended by accountants, Sage became the default bookkeeping software for British small businesses for a generation. Wylie sold his stake and left in 2003 and has since been knighted for business and charity.