Five Woods Summer School list the UK’S top inspirational young entrepreneurs that are great role models for aspiring young start-ups.
Young, successful entrepreneurs can be a great inspiration to people who are interested in starting up their own businesses. The following list introduces 5 young, inspirational entrepreneurs.
Five Woods Summer School list the UK’S top inspirational young entrepreneurs that are great role models for aspiring young start-ups.
Young, successful entrepreneurs can be a great inspiration to people who are interested in starting up their own businesses. The following list introduces 5 young, inspirational entrepreneurs:
1. Henry Patterson (14 years old)
Henry Patterson’s business, Not Before Tea, began when Henry wrote a book at the age of just 10 years old, titled “The Adventures of Sherb and Pip”. Henry was able to get a government grant to help with the self-publishing of his book.
The book sold thousands of copies and Henry was able to expand the business by selling products such as bags, cards, nursery décor and nappy pouches based on the characters in his book.
Henry has since appeared on many TV shows and had the chance to meet Richard Branson during his appearance on the One Show. A piece of advice Henry regularly brings up in his interviews is to be “be brave and get out of your comfort zone”.
2. Nina Devani (16 years old)
Nina Devani is a 16-year-old entrepreneur who started her business, DevaniSoft, when she was just 14 years old. Devanisoft sells computer software to help remind people of their passwords and not have to store their information online and be at risk of getting hacked.
Nina had the idea to start her business when her Dad’s Facebook account was hacked and meant that he had to change his passwords as they were the same on every account.
In the beginning, Nina focused her efforts on finding investors to believe in her idea and raise enough money to start working on producing the app.
Nina now has a team of investors, coders and additional developers to help run her business. Nina mentions that businesses take a lot longer to start up than you would expect and things do not always go to plan.
3. Ben Towers (19 years old)
At the age of 11, Ben built his first website for a friend and was given money for the work he had done. This gave Ben the idea to start his own business, Towers Design, which started off as website design but expanded to provide other services.
Ben used the internet and networking to help expand his business and began offering the production of social media campaigns to other businesses which landed him further freelance work with companies such as Amazon and the NHS.
Tower Design now operates with a team of 22 people and is known as one of the most successful digital marketing agencies in the country. Ben has previously been named “smartest kid on the planet” by The Times and gained recognition from Richard Branson.
4. Ollie Forsyth (19 years old)
Ollie left school at the age of 16 with no qualifications but was determined to start his own business by the age of 20. Ollie began his business “Ollie’s Shop” where he would sell products to teenagers.
Ollie was able to get suppliers to provide him with bracelets for free so he could sell them and make enough money to start buying from the suppliers and keep them on board with his business.
Ollie’s shop turned over £13,000 in its first year and Ollie went on to start up another business, UniBell, where students could buy and sell products at university campuses.
Ollie has stated in the past that people did not take him seriously as a young student but was able to change this after networking and making connections with people.
5. Marianne Caroline Hughes (23 years old)
Marianne started up her business, KnowLabel, to create a digital label which showed the social and environmental impact of the clothing item. Marianne notes that her software allows the measure of happiness and sustainability in clothing factories.
Marianne had help with funding from government grants and angel investment to start her business. After continuous hard work and networking, Marianne has now been in business with well-known fashion brands such as H&M and continues to expand and grow KnowLabel.
A common piece of advice regularly mentioned by entrepreneurs, both young and old, is to keep going, work hard and take risks to increase the chances of success.
Five Woods Summer School is a leadership, management and entrepreneurial programme for 14-16-year olds based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Students will spend a week taking part in workshops, excursions and activities to help improve their entrepreneurial.
