Brent co-founded lastminute.com in April 1998 with Martha Lane Fox. He was lastminute.com's chief executive officer until the company was sold in 2005. Prior to this, he had overseen the company's flotation on the London Stock Exchange in March 2000. Brent subsequently founded mydeco, the innovative online service for home design and furniture. He is a Governor of the University of the Arts, London, a non-executive director of the Guardian Media Group and TimeOut Group, a member of the Business Council for Britain and a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum. Brent has been a non-executive director of TalkTalk since 20 January 2010.