Simply ten years in the past, Dan Miller was a highschool pupil with a dream to assist others get their foot within the aggressive job market.
In 2016, the highschool pupil from Derby determined to provide momentum to his concept to create an organization that may join youngsters who do not wish to pursue greater training with firms to safe apprenticeships, graduate and work expertise packages.
His dream has develop into actuality: his firm Younger Professionals now works with greater than 4,000 colleges throughout the nation. Within the years since its inception it has helped 600,000 college students and is now value an estimated £4,000,000
Dan, 27, was additionally one of many candidates for this season of The Apprentice, the place he was within the operating for a mentorship and £250,000 funding from Lord Alan Sugar.
Though he simply missed the finale of final night time’s episode, Dan informed Metro that signing up for the present was “by no means in regards to the cash.”
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As an alternative, he defined: “I hoped to make use of Lord Sugar’s identify and connections within the enterprise world, but in addition if I may unfold the phrase about apprenticeships and work expertise – that is a giant win for me too,” he mentioned.
Reflecting on his early love of creating enterprise concepts, Dan mentioned he at all times needed to be self-sufficient.
‘From an early age I’ve at all times been enterprising. I promote issues on the market and do automobile washes within the village. I’ve at all times cherished making my very own cash,” he defined.
‘I do not come from a rich household, however my grandmother paid for my sister and I to go to non-public faculty.
‘We both needed to promote our home and transfer to a greater catchment space or go to a neighborhood faculty, however my dad and mom did not need that due to my studying difficulties and thought I would not have the identical alternatives or be handled correctly.’
Whereas his household was “very terrified of sending me to a very good faculty,” Dan was uncovered to an extremely wealthy atmosphere wherein he remembered others coming to highschool “of their Porsches and Ferraris.”
Nevertheless, he believes this has made him extra formidable and pushed him to wish to at some point obtain the identical degree of wealth for himself – however by his personal efforts.
Dan remembers touring to London as a pupil with a few of his associates, who “got here throughout Christian Dior on the age of 17 and simply grabbed the whole lot off the cabinets as a result of their dad and mom paid for it.”
As he put it: ‘There I used to be with lower than £100 to my identify.’ Understanding he did not wish to go to varsity, Dan—who’s dyslexic and has Asperger’s illness—needed to create profession festivals that not solely offered highschool college students’ diplomas however as a substitute helped them get full-time jobs proper out of faculty.
Armed together with his concept, he contacted two regionally primarily based firms – Rolls Royce and Experian – each of whom instantly signed him checks value hundreds of kilos.
‘I used to be 17 on the time and thought: that is some huge cash.’ However I put my cash into the enterprise and began working with native colleges and organizing occasions within the East Midlands for college students. Then I earned £30,000 in school. Then I took a spot yr earlier than transferring to London and I have been right here for nearly ten years now,” he defined.
Though organising a enterprise as a teen could appear formidable, Dan believes it was massively useful as a result of he had ‘nothing to lose’.
‘If issues did not go nicely, I’d simply construct some abilities and ultimately work someplace or do an internship. Many startups fail, however I consider that as a result of I began so younger, I did not have the monetary burden, or a mortgage, lease or children to handle – I lived at dwelling with my dad and mom totally free.
It was an enormous threat to go on The Apprentice
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“So each bit of cash I created from the enterprise whereas I used to be in school, I saved to set the stage for later, for once I moved to London.”
When that transfer lastly got here, Dan traveled to Canary Wharf every single day, armed with a pocket book and a pen. He walked across the enterprise district and wrote down all the foremost model names plastered on the home windows and partitions outdoors workplace buildings.
‘Most of them I had no concept what they have been. However I believed to myself, “If they’ll afford an workplace right here, possibly they’ll afford to work with me.”
“So I wrote down the names, went dwelling and went to LinkedIn to contact individuals at these organizations. Slowly however absolutely it began to come back collectively and other people began coming again to me… but it surely was an extended slog to be trustworthy,” he remembers.
‘There have been occasions once I had no cash or thought I needed to transfer again dwelling as a result of it did not work out. It was exhausting and I believe lots of people do not see that. They’re solely now seeing the corporate.’
Regardless of coming so near the top of the BBC enterprise collection, Dan admits he had reservations about collaborating.
“Actually, it was an enormous threat to go on the present. “I constructed this firm all on my own since I used to be 17, and this was the primary time I left my firm, and that was for 2 months,” he mentioned.
“We work with among the largest firms on this planet, like Goldman Sachs and PWC – these mega manufacturers.
If I can open the door for one pupil, it means the world to me
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“It is an enormous threat occurring such a high-profile present like this as a result of if I am edited in a sure means if I come throughout as smug, disruptive or silly, I may probably lose prospects consequently.”
Regardless of his preliminary considerations, Dan mentioned he felt he was capable of keep true to himself throughout filming, and discovered some useful classes from his expertise.
“It made me a greater businessman as a result of I needed to make selections so rapidly, work with completely different individuals with completely different backgrounds and completely different ideas, and likewise negotiate and get higher offers,” he mentioned.
Since being on the present, Dan has additionally been approached by increasingly college students, thanking him for the work he has finished through the years.
‘If I can open the door for only one pupil they usually get a chance to take action, it actually means loads to me.
“If Younger Professionals did not do this stuff for college students, so many alternatives would disappear,” he mentioned.
“For me, it is about persevering with to construct the model and the corporate and proceed to assist individuals, no matter their background or upbringing.
‘Whether or not you go to a non-public faculty or a deprived faculty, it does not actually matter so long as you’ve gotten the fitting perspective and wish to obtain issues. It does not matter what your background or upbringing is. In case you have the fitting perspective, we want to have you ever in our community.’
The ultimate of The Apprentice airs tonight at 8pm on BBC One.
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