Young entrepreneur has sights set on success
A teenager from Hebburn has his sights set firmly on success having recently graduated from the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy in Manchester, where he was awarded the title of National Entrepreneur of the Year.
Nineteen year old Grant Ridley, from Hebburn, was one of 100 students to study at the government-backed academy set up by Dragon's Den Peter Jones, where he was also voted National BTEC Student of the Year 2011.
Whilst at the academy Grant benefited from the expertise of weekly guest speakers and took part in real-life challenges, such as creating a new iPhone app for Orange, which he won, and his idea is now being developed by the mobile phone giant.
The former Hebburn Comprehensive School pupil is now back at his parents' home in Hebburn, where he runs his business GR Marketing, and has made a promise to himself to become a millionaire by the time he's 40.
The company, which is still in the start-up stage, offers social media and 'out-of-the-box' marketing to make businesses and brands stand out from the crowd.
"The whole aim of the business is to offer low-cost marketing," said Grant. "In this economic climate, businesses are cutting back on marketing budgets.
"We can offer low-cost yet high-impact marketing through different techniques that we use."
Not happy with just running his business, Grant is also a member of Schools Speakers set up by Claire Young, runner-up in The Apprentice 2008, where he regularly gives talks in schools helping to inspire and motivate pupils to think about what they want to do in life.
He will also be writing a regular business column called "Give it a go" starting in the South Shields Gazette soon, and has recently launched "Toonpreneur" a further business venture.
Councillor Michael Clare, Lead Member Regeneration, Economic Growth and Jobs said: "We are extremely pleased to see how Grant has progressed. It's great to see a young person taking the initiative and doing so well, we wish him every success for the future."
For further information visit the Grant Ridley website or follow @grantridley on Twitter.
