Ollie Forsyth is a young entrepreneur who launched his first online gift shop for teenagers at the age of 13. His currently the Community Manager at Draper Esprit and the host of The Maker Podcast which is a show founded on conversations about mental health & success, discussed with the most fascinating people. ^{[3] [5] [1]}

Ollie Forsyth, is from Northamptonshire, U.K. The entrepreneur doesn't fit in at school while he was growing up. Bullies picked on him for being dyslexic, for being different. They said he was a nobody and always would be. He’d never succeed in life. Teen could have let their cruel cut-downs crush his spirit, his self-esteem and his motivation. But he didn’t. Instead, he looked to self-made billionaire Sir Richard Branson -- who also struggled with dyslexia at school -- for direction and strength. Then, just as Branson gutsily did, he used his doubters’ venom to fuel his budding entrepreneurial fire.

Ollie Forsyth was also determined to prove his haters wrong before they graduated from school and went their separate ways. And that’s exactly what he did. After learning about how Branson turned a “disadvantage” Ollie knew painfully all too well into an advantage, he launched his first business at only 13, three years younger than Branson was when braved his first venture.

Even before he was a teen, Ollie caught the entrepreneurial bug.

As a kid growing up in a relatively affluent area, he fetched his parents’ coffee and tea for 20 pence (about 34 cents) per cup.

Between brewing caffeine jolts for his parents, walking his family’s dogs and cutting the grass, he eventually earned 20 pounds ($33.74) per week.

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Ollie attended Bruern Abbey School between and 2006 and 2012.

In 2015, he obtained a double merit in Entrepreneurship/ Entrepreneurial Studies at The Peter Jones Enterprise Academy. He moved to Warwickshire College of Schools to study Business and Entrepreneurship between 2015 and 2016. ^[2]

Ollie’s first official foray into entrepreneurship is simply called Ollie’s Shop (www.ollieshop.co.uk) which he launched at the age of 13. It’s an online gift boutique that sells trendy jeweled bracelets, novelty cufflinks, leather belts and wallets and other “Perfect Prezzies” (presents) for teens and their parents. With the help of family and friends, Ollie fulfills several orders a day from his home, where he stores his stock, some of which he sources from China. He says Ollie’s Shop sales rolled in from day one and haven’t stopped since. Ollie garnered a profit of more than 2,500 pounds, he claims, in the first six months alone.

At only 18, he has launched several businesses, learnt from failure, learnt the hard way, but achieved much more than many people would expect to achieve in a lifetime.

Having appeared in over 150 magazines and newspapers including, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, The Guardian, Forbes, The Times, entrepreneur.com and many more, he launched his own entrepreneurs magazine, The Budding Entrepreneur which has readers across the globe.^[1]

He is also Co-Founder of UniBell, an online exchange where students can buy or sell products at university campuses. Ollie is also Co-Founder of UNBXD (www.unbxd.co.uk) which is a creative agency). As well as this, he is also the CMO at Somato Keyboard and Coolnearyou (www.somatokeyboard.com) and www.coolnearyou.com)

Having struggled with dyslexia all his life, his ‘motto’ in life was, screw qualifications, get on and do it.

"I am a great believer that personality and experience can be much more important than qualifications."

He’s volunteered for a variety of charities, including East Anglia’s Children’s Hospice, the Army Benevolent Fund's The Soldiers' Charity, and he’s currently the U.K.

Ambassador for Winners Win, an online inspirational publication that connects readers with philanthropic organizations.

Using his own money, he’s also establishing a charity to help young entrepreneurs start their own businesses while they’re still in school.^[6][2]

He has 850 followers on Facebook and 19.1k followers on Instagram^[3][4]