WE ROAR Issue 02 - Flipbook - Page 12
"I’VE ALWAYS BEEN QUITE ENTREPRENEURIAL,
PARTIALLY DRIVEN BY NOT BEING GREAT AT
CONFORMING."
Have you always wanted to be an
entrepreneur?
I’ve always been quite entrepreneurial,
partially driven by not being great at
conforming; the fact that my parents
worked very hard but weren’t always
there when I was younger made me
crave the freedom of creating enough
wealth to be there when I had children. I
engaged with business at school and
had a side hustle of selling Amiga
games after setting up a magazinebased mail-order business at 12.
However, after graduating, I was told
that I would struggle to be a successful
businessman, leading me to go into
corporate finance. However, when I lost
my graduate scheme role in the 2008
recession, it permitted me to set
something up myself. A few months of
working at my local Council to save up
gave me my seed funding, and after six
months, I launched my first venture. And
I’ve had a business under my control
every day since December 2008.
Reflecting, being autistic made working
in organisations a real challenge and
being an entrepreneur is a natural fit for
me.
12
How do you feel your background,
childhood
and
general
life
experiences influenced your career?
I grew up on a council estate in
Bolton in the North West of
England, and I was a curious and
inquisitive child, which got me into
great conversations and an equal
amount of trouble. I had challenges,
including racism and bullying. Still,
my parents instilled in me a work
ethic and good values, and a few
teachers believed in my potential
and encouraged me to use education
as a pathway to better myself.
