'I left school in Stockport with one GCSE and turned a £500 overdraft into a £350 million business'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A multi-millionaire who left school with one GCSE has revealed how he turned one simple idea into a business empire. When Myprotein founder Oliver Cookson first started selling bags of protein online, he had no idea his small company would one day be worth £350m.

The 45-year-old struggled at school in Stockport and left education at the age of 16 with just one GCSE to his name. Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link Oliver, who is from Cheadle Heath, went on to complete an apprenticeship in computer programming where he found his passion for tech.

With the internet still in its early stages, Oliver also taught himself how to create a website in his spare time. “School and learning academically wasn’t for me,” he told the Manchester Evening News. “It doesn’t mean it’s wrong, but I think people learn in different ways. “I was making teas and coffees but getting among expert programmers.

I read up on how to make a website and taught myself in my spare time. I thought, ‘There’s so much potential here.’” But Oliver’s life changed forever in 1999 after returning from a sabbatical in Australia.