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<\/p>\nYOU may not believe it\u2019s possible to run a multi-million business unless you\u2019ve got years of training and a degree – but Oliver Cookson did exactly that with just one GCSE.<\/p>\n
After leaving school at 16, he went from part-time work selling pies at Manchester City\u2019s ground on match days, earning \u00a315 for a shift, to far greater things.<\/p>\n
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At 36, he was named the UK\u2019s "number one self-made millionaire under 40", with a net worth of \u00a3306million.<\/p>\n
It followed the sale of his Myprotein business to The HUT Group, an e-commerce technology company in 2011.<\/p>\n
Aged 44, he currently splits his time between Manchester and Monaco and is due to launch a new nutrition business later this month.<\/p>\n
But life hasn\u2019t always been this way.<\/p>\n
Oliver told The Sun: \u201cI grew up with my parents in a bedsit in Stretford, just outside Manchester city centre, one of the more deprived areas at the time. <\/p>\n "Dad was a used car dealer. Mum worked as a secretary.\u201d<\/p>\n The family moved to Bury in north Manchester when Oliver was around six months old, and then again, to Heald Green, when he turned four.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t go to nursery and was an only child, so had mostly adults for company,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMoving around meant lots of upheaval. <\/p>\n "Every time I made a connection with new friends, we moved. <\/p>\n "The first few years of my life were full of isolation and instability \u2013 along with a boatload of dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n At just eight years old, Oliver knew what he wanted to do.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mum found a note that I\u2019d written, saying: \u2018One day, I hope I become a great businessman.\u201d<\/p>\n When his parents split, this had a big financial impact.<\/p>\n \u201cI was living with mum and she struggled to make ends meet,\u201d said Oliver. <\/p>\n \u201cAround the same time, I started getting interested in gaming, consoles and technology.\u00a0 <\/p>\n "But with money being tight, I couldn\u2019t afford to buy anything fancy.\u201d<\/p>\n This is when Oliver\u2019s entrepreneurial spirit first shone through, as he started buying second-hand low-spec Windows-based PCs, and using the skills he\u2019d learned from a neighbour to upcycle them.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was never my intention to flip PCs for money,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that\u2019s how the situation evolved. <\/p>\n "My friends got to know that I was handy with computers, so it was only a matter of time before I started helping people out. <\/p>\n "I didn\u2019t always charge mates for repairs, but had recognised an opportunity to make money.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliver\u2019s side hustle went from strength to strength, and before long he was buying several second-hand computers at once, improving them, re-advertising them, and making a healthy profit with every sale.<\/p>\n \u201cBusiness was booming,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cEven at a young age, I quickly realised when and how I was at my most productive. <\/p>\n "I wasn\u2019t academic, but I had ambition, ability and drive.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliver left school at 16.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI had one GCSE in science, and a character reference that said I was a bright kid with potential.\u201d<\/p>\n As well as selling pies at Manchester City matches, Oliver\u2019s other jobs at the time included pulling pints at what is now the Manchester Arena, as well as working late into the night in a kebab shop in Stockport.<\/p>\n While working here, he saw an advert in a nearby careers shop for a modern apprenticeship in computing and software development at a firm called Pantek.<\/p>\n Oliver said: \u201cThe problem was, the company was only considering applications from those with a minimum number of GCSEs at grade C or above. <\/p>\n "With my grades, they weren\u2019t even going to look at my application form.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the bosses of Pantek called the school for a reference and then asked Oliver to come in. <\/p>\n More determined than ever, Oliver went to the interview and was able to persuade Pantek to take him on by demonstrating his clear passion for computers.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my time at the firm, I was gaining valuable experience in the workplace,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cI was also going to Stockport College on a day release basis to study a Level 3 NVQ in Network Computer Operations \u2013 and later, a BTEC in Software Creation.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, Pantek provided its own training courses.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I wasn\u2019t going to be able to get a degree, I knew I had to capitalise on my gift for spotting opportunities and making money from them,\u201d said Oliver. <\/p>\n \u201cI soon realised I drew more confidence from the workplace than from school books. I felt I could succeed without academia.\u201d<\/p>\n In all, Oliver stayed at Pantek for three years. <\/p>\n From here, he quickly progressed to become a self-taught contact website developer.<\/p>\n \u201cI had taught myself various programming languages from books,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThis took me all over the UK, including one stint in offices in Kendal, in the Lake District, and another in a motorcycle insurance firm in Bristol.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliver quickly adapted to the life of a contractor \u2013 and being his own boss.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cYou are absolutely dropped in at the deep end, but the remuneration makes up for the pressure. <\/p>\n "In fact, I was able to have a sabbatical in Australia for a spell. I was also able to save for a house deposit.\u201d<\/p>\n Oliver worked as a contractor for four years, until he was 23.<\/p>\n He then took a full-time job as a web developer with 3T Productions, a software house.<\/p>\n On the side, in 2004, Oliver decided to capitalise on his love of fitness and nutrition, and embarked on launching a sports supplement idea.<\/p>\n \u201cBody-building became an all-consuming passion,\u201d said the businessman. <\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just a hobby to me, it was a way of life. <\/p>\n "Looking back on things now, I can see how my obsession with it was just another manifestation of the same traits that helped me to succeed in business.\u201d<\/p>\n As he deepened his knowledge of nutrition, he got drawn towards supplements.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d been using them for around two years and was seeing the benefits,\u201d said Oliver. <\/p>\n \u201cBut they were expensive. Whenever I\u2019d consider using one, I\u2019d read the blurb and study the nutritional values table to find out the benefits, and assess its value versus its cost.\u201d<\/p>\n After having a "moment of clarity" when drinking his pre-bed shake one night in his mum\u2019s kitchen, he started to read up on an ingredient called whey protein.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce I understood how these protein supplements were made, my curiosity went into overdrive,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cI asked if there was a better way of doing this \u2013 a quicker and less expensive way.\u201d<\/p>\n This was the start of Oliver\u2019s journey into making his own protein powder, with the aim of offering it more cheaply than other providers.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was my eureka moment,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cBut then I needed funding to help buy even just a sack of whey powder. HSBC refused me a \u00a35,000 start-up loan. <\/p>\n "I got the same answer at NatWest \u2013 though they did offer to extend my overdraft from \u00a3150 to \u00a3500.\u201d<\/p>\n While Oliver was grateful for this, he still needed more than \u00a31,300 toget started, so decided to approach the dairies directly.<\/p>\n After a lot of knock-backs, he was able to strike a deal with one of them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe agreement was that I had to buy two sacks of whey, and be back within a week to buy two more, or he would never sell to me again,\u201d said Oliver. <\/p>\n \u201cWithin a week, I had converted those two sacks of whey into sales, and doubled my money.\u201d<\/p>\n This was to lay the foundations for a multi-million pound company.<\/p>\n \u201cI was one of the first to build an online sports nutrition brand,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe whole business was me at first. I blended it, flavoured it, marketed it online and sold it via e-commerce. <\/p>\n "I also did the fulfilment, and all the aftercare customer service. Every day we had more orders.\u201d<\/p>\n At that point, Oliver had to expand the start-up with more systems and specialist staff \u2013 including his mum.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was employee number one,\u201d said Oliver. \u201cHaving the business online was key. <\/p>\n "And, my passion not only for body-building, but also for IT and programming, gave me a real advantage \u2013 as did my obsessive-level knowledge of both.\u201d<\/p>\n With huge amounts of hard work and determination, Oliver built the business up to trading in six countries with 100,000 customers and a large staff.<\/p>\n In 2011, Oliver sold Myprotein to The Hut Group in a deal worth \u00a358million in cash \u2013 plus shares in the group. <\/p>\n Those shares earned him another estimated \u00a3283million when The Hut Group debuted on the stock market in 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was hard graft, but incredibly satisfying,\u201d said Oliver. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t even think of it as work, it\u2019s just life. From starting the company to selling it, it was everything. <\/p>\n "But when the money landed in my account, it wasn\u2019t as if I\u2019d won the lottery. <\/p>\n "Weirdly, it made no difference to me in a way. It looks sudden, but it isn\u2019t. <\/p>\n "From day one I\u2019ve seen the orders go up, the sales climb higher and so on. It just feels like another step.\u201d<\/p>\n For anyone keen to start their own business, Oliver\u2019s biggest tip is to have passion.<\/p>\n \u201cSuccessful entrepreneurs need it,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cYou can teach people many skills, but you can\u2019t give someone passion. <\/p>\n "You\u2019ll need it to help you ride the highs and pull you through the lows in your journey.\u201d<\/p>\n He is also a big advocate of being productive.<\/p>\n \u201cI hate wasting time,\u201d said Oliver. \u201cI love contributing to the world. I\u2019ve always enjoyed feeling as though I\u2019m using my time well.\u201d<\/p>\n Being a "social chameleon" is also helpful, he adds.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to be able to relate to young and old, skilled and unskilled staff, customers and high-finance buyers. <\/p>\n "Being able to adapt to different people is a great skill.\u201d<\/p>\n Another of Oliver\u2019s top tips is being a \u2018trend-spotter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been able to spot patterns by paying attention to changes taking place now, and how they relate to what has happened before. <\/p>\n "If you see them earlier than everyone else, you have the chance to stay ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Finally, he adds that \u2018curiosity is key.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cHad I not been curious about whey, how would any of this have happened? <\/p>\n "Questioning presents you with more possibilities when you need the solution to a problem. <\/p>\n "Curiosity broadens your mind. But you don\u2019t need a degree to have it.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/newspress-collage-24091283-1695391313095.jpg\")
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