Who is Dominic McVey?
Dominic McVey: I think I had quite an educational childhood. I started going to the theatre when I was about four, because of my dad's job. I also travelled abroad a lot to go and see him when he was touring. My sister is a lot older than I am, and I think I had to grow up quite quickly. She never left me out, I was always involved in conversations.
My interest in business started on my first trip to Japan when I was eight. I was flying on my own to visit my dad, and noticed that the men in business suits had better seats than me. I wanted to know what was so special about them. My dad told me they ran businesses or bought and sold shares.
When I got back my dad bought me a copy of the Financial Times. When I was nine or 10 I started buying stocks and shares using his credit card. It was only small amounts. He didn't tell me off. I made a profit, about pounds 150.
When I was 13, I was on the internet and came across these scooters made by an American manufacturer called Viza. It was a new company and they wanted dealers. I sent them a proposal, without telling them my age, and they agreed. I needed pounds 5,000 to set it up. I got the money from buying gadgets from Japan and selling them for a profit. I also had some money from investments, and I put on an under-18s club night.
(I had been looking round the internet and was looking for the credit card website Visa, but I spelt it wrong – Viza, and I came across this website which was manufacturing scooters and I really wanted one. But I couldn’t afford one, and neither could my parents, so I emailed them and said “I think you should send me a scooter, I would sell loads over here.”
They said no, but if you buy five, we’ll give you one free. So as I really wanted one for free, I saved up to buy five, which I did by organising under-18s discos, buying stocks and shares and selling mini disc players in Japan.
So I got five over, and got one for free, which I was really happy with, but then I thought I should sell the other five, which I did within a week, to family and friends. The next week I sold 10, and it just went on from there.
I never really saw the potential until the product landed on my doorstep, and I guess I had to move on it. A lot of people say it was luck, but if you look at football teams they can score a goal one week, but they are not going to score goals every week if they’re bottom of the Premier League.)
(At 13, I was looking for Visa on Yahoo! but spelt it wrongly and discovered Viza, a "push-scooter" company based in Arizona. The man I contacted there said: "Buy five and I'll give you one for free." I sold 11 million scooters; I used to send a container a week to Japan.)
The first five scooters sent over sold out within days. I've sold millions since. At one point last year, I was selling 25,000 a week. I've reinvested the money back into the company. I do have a current account which I keep topped up with a minimum of pounds 2,000. And I've bought a speedboat in the south of France, where my parents have a house, which they saved for.
We're not posh. We're a hard-working middle class family. We live in the same house my dad bought 25 years ago for pounds 10,000.
I don't flash my money. I often bring less cash than my friends do when we go out. I'm usually the one asking to borrow a tenner. I'm not going to buy a flash car either. I do buy designer labels, but that's because they last. I prefer ones which don't have the labels on show.
I didn't set up in business for the money, I did it to prove that teenagers can achieve success. Kids are always being told, "You can't do this, you can't do that."
My next venture is to import Japanese gaming machines, and toilets which double up as bidets. I'm also organising a pop concert for teenagers, called Garage Picnic.
I'm currently taking nine GCSEs. I go to the only private school in the East End. I'm not an ideal pupil. I've been suspended twice - once for accusing a teacher of lying, and once for telling the headmaster that the school had a lot of problems.
My mum is listed as the company's managing director because I'm still too young. She comes along to meetings with me. I don't want her to have a more active role because I want to stay friends with her. If we're not meeting targets, and it's my mum's fault, I wouldn't want to have to tell her. She's worked hard all her life, it's time she relaxed.
My mum's had a bigger influence on me than my dad, because he's often away working. We're very close, and very honest with each other. I don't have secrets from her. Tomorrow I might die and I don't want to die with secrets. The only thing I won't talk to her about is girls. If I didn't have my mum I would be lost. She's made me what I am. She's a fighting character. She's taught me to treat people as I would like to be treated. She's my best friend.
Dominic McVey was born 1985 as Dominic Edward Henry McVey) is a British entrepreneur who started business at the age of 13, importing micro-scooters from the United States into the United Kingdom.
He was a millionaire by the age of 15. As of 2006, he is worth £7 million (approx. US$12 million) according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
He appeared in the tv shows The Verdict and Millionaires’ Mission.
bookmark
reddit
cosmos
Recent comments
2 days 14 hours ago
3 days 52 min ago
4 days 21 hours ago
4 days 22 hours ago
1 week 1 day ago
2 weeks 14 hours ago
3 weeks 6 days ago
4 weeks 3 days ago
4 weeks 4 days ago
4 weeks 5 days ago