" I won't dive into the details but I got booted out of school when I was young. I'm dyslexic so I find it really hard to concentrate in classrooms, and because of that I acted up in school and I was quite naughty. There was a group of us who weren't leading a very productive lifestyle as teenagers so my life really wasn't going anywhere.

So at the age of 21 I knew I had so much potential and my parents were so supportive of me, so I just decided to make a massive change in my life. I just quit drinking and partying at the age of 21 which was tough, but an amazing moment in my life. I went to South Africa for 7 months to get rehabilitation and help with that and I came back highly determined to make my life a success.

Welcome to episode #143 with Tom Gozney from The Gozney Group.

Posting a crowd funding appeal to take his world class stone oven business to the next level, Tom Gozney set a 30-day limit to achieve £500,000.

Just over an hour later, that target had been passed and it now stands at over £1.5m.

Among the investors to back Tom’s plans to expand were Instagram founder Mike Krieger, hotelier Robin Hutson of Limewood and The Pig hotels, and rapper Professor Green.

Personal clients include Paul Hollywood, Sarah Beeny, Hairy Biker Si King, Jean Christophe Novelli and Richard Branson – who flew Tom out to his holiday resort Necker Island to build one.

After getting kicked out of school, Tom turned his life around, giving up alcohol at 21 and starting his business from his bedroom with just £5,000.

Today the business is valued at £20 million, has branched into getting corporate clients such as Franca Manca & Pizza Pilgrims and has one hell of a story to tell.

Let's StartUp!

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