{"id":67603,"date":"2023-10-18T18:32:50","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T18:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/talkcelnews.com\/?p=67603"},"modified":"2023-10-18T18:32:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T18:32:50","slug":"i-left-school-at-16-after-failing-exams-hating-the-classroom-now-my-genius-invention-has-made-me-a-millionaire-the-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/talkcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/i-left-school-at-16-after-failing-exams-hating-the-classroom-now-my-genius-invention-has-made-me-a-millionaire-the-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"I left school at 16 after failing exams & hating the classroom… now my genius invention has made me a MILLIONAIRE | The Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"
A MAN who left school at 16 after hating the classroom and failing exams now runs a multi-million pound empire. <\/p>\n
Joel R\u00e9my Parkes was uninspired at school – but the determined young lad had dreams of becoming a pilot so took on a sales job to fund himself.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The hard-working teen, who was raised by a single mum, took a shine to the industry and harnessed this talent to create his own business – rather than selling those of others. <\/p>\n
He told The Sun Online: "I didn't go to uni as I didn't do great at school.<\/p>\n
"I wanted to be a pilot and my sister just one day suggested that I get a job in sales to pay for this.<\/p>\n
"Through these jobs I got to work with successful brands and when you're surrounded by people like that you get inspired and you're like 'maybe I can do this'."<\/p>\n
When Joel became a dad, he realised just how messy meal times can be with a baby or toddler.<\/p>\n Food and drinks were dropped and spilled everywhere, with entire bowlfuls often being chucked to the floor.<\/p>\n "We had just had my son and the plastic bowls and plates he was using just allowed the food to go everywhere," the 42-year-old explained.<\/p>\n This sparked what became a multi-million pound idea, plastic-free kids' crockery that sticks to any surface it's put on.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The savvy entrepreneur kick started his vision in 2016 and now the brand Bamboo Bamboo has amassed an impressive \u00a34million networth.<\/p>\n Fulfiment by Amazon is responsible for about 70 per cent of Joel's sales. <\/p>\n The scheme handles storing, packing and shipping the products which means the dad-of-four can keep his team smaller.\u00a0<\/p>\n "Most of the success has just been through word of mouth," he added.<\/p>\n \u00a0"Now the business is successful, I can now carve the sort of future I'd like to have."<\/p>\n Joel urged others who may be struggling with their education not to give up or "be afraid to do things differently".<\/p>\n "I was never good at maths, but now I've gotten myself into a position where I can just hire someone who's good at maths for me," he added.<\/p>\n The businessman encouraged youngsters to stay positive and "learn through experiences" when you can.<\/p>\n "I think everybody learns differently and I wasn't one that was good at learning in a classroom and I also couldn't repeat it in an exam," he said.<\/p>\n The humble entrepreneur has plans to continue growing his empire and branch out into products for the teenage market.<\/p>\n His main priority will be keeping stock environmentally friendly and plastic-free. <\/p>\n In an interview with the Mirror he said: "When you are buying products for your child, things that they have to put in their mouths, you want it to be as organic and natural as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt made sense to not only think about the children today, but the world they\u2019re going to inherit in the next 20 or 30 years."<\/p>\n The planet-conscious businessman said he hopes to create a legacy that his kids can be proud of – not one they will be fishing out of the ocean in years to come.<\/p>\n<\/picture>BIG MONEY <\/span><\/p>\n
I left school aged 16, launched business from my room & now I'm worth \u00a3900m<\/h3>\n
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