The second Scholars’ Masterclass of the academic year took place on Monday 16 October and in this edition, we welcomed entrepreneur Kevin Patrick to the College to talk about the formula for success.
This inspiring talk was split into two parts. The first being Kevin’s journey from his teenage years at school to setting up and running businesses now while the second part delved deeper into his ideas and thoughts on what truly is the formula for success.
Kevin’s inspiration for entrepreneurship came from his desire to buy products for ‘x’ amount and then selling it for ‘y’ profit. This manifested at an early age when Kevin was at secondary school and was the victim of severe bullying and racism. Knowing he had to do something, Kevin would use his £2 pocket money (which in 2004 would get you a lot!) to buy sweets from his local shop before selling them at school. At the time, school vending machines were being phased out, so this led to Kevin being the source of sweets and chocolates at his school – stopping the bullying in the process.
With a fire for entrepreneurship now lit, Kevin would go on to taking part in the Young Enterprise competition where schools enter teams to set up their own concept businesses. With his team, Kevin set up a company which specialised in printed, embroidered and bespoke clothing and after the competition, wanted to take this venture into the real world. Despite facing many obstacles, including establishing credibility as a real business, Kevin eventually opened a business account with Barclays which made him in 2007 Barclays Youngest Entrepreneur at the age of 14. After graduating from university in 2014, Kevin continued to grow his business before selling it in 2016. This was a journey that started from selling sweets in a school to establishing and eventually selling a fully functioning business.
On what he thinks is the formula for success, Kevin believes that there are three elements. Ironically, they are three elements that most people are already aware of – having a vision, believing in it, and then working hard for it. What was interesting, which Keven was keen to emphasise, is that these things apply to everything in life and not just in the world of business and entrepreneurship. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the classroom, on the sports field or river, or tackling everyday life; those three elements are crucial to succeeding in life and are sure to be of inspiration to our pupils.
Thank you, Kevin for joining us and for sharing your story.
