22-year-old Suffolk business owner hopes to make his first £1m this year
Jake Slinn now employs his mum and older brother, and hopes to hire apprentices soon
Last updated 10th Feb 2022
An Ipswich man who left school at 16, and set up his own company at 19, is hoping to turnover his first million this year.
Jake Slinn, who's now 22, saw a gap in the waste disposal business, for the disposal of illegal, damaged and unsafe products arriving at ports.
"I've always been interested in waste and recycling, as sad as that sounds" - he told us, jokingly.
"I left left school at 16 with only a few qualifications. I wanted to gain some experience in the waste sector so I joined the council, gained some knowledge there. After a year, I left and joined a local scrap metal and waste firm, where I spent two years learning the ropes of the business and the industry, how deals are made, where the materials go for recycling, etc.
It wasn't long after that Jake realised he could create his own business from his bedroom, and with just £400.
"I didn't have loads of money to start off with, I started this as a little business and it has sort of grown into what it is today."
"We originally started doing small destruction jobs, and what I mean by that is, destroying counterfeit goods and items, so clothing, electrical items, toys, food, anything that's not fit for the UK markets, that is unsafe to be used.
"But now it's sort of snowballed into more of the buying side as well, and what that means is we're buying a band in excess stock, any stock that is sitting around the UK and warehouses in containers.
"Where the customer has gone bust and they can't pay their bills on the container, we buy those goods and then re-put them back into the UK market for resale."
Looking back on his old school days, he admitted he didn't get the best grades but always dreamt of owing his own business - he just wasn't sure what that would be.
"I think I think dyslexia obviously played a part in me sort of struggling at school. I was sort of falling behind. But it was also because I just had lack of interest in school.
"I always, in the back of my mind, always wanted to have my own business, I didn't know what I wanted to do, or how I was going to do it. When I made the jump to start my own business, I threw everything at it.
"I do definitely still pinch myself at where we are now. I'm still a normal 22-year-old, I still go out and party. But I'm constantly working. I'd say it's a busy life for a 22 year old."
"There's lots of other opportunities out there. I came out of school with not much grades, not because I'm not smart, but because I just wasn't very interested in certain subjects.
"I jumped straight into the sector I'm interested, I learned my knowledge, and then I made the jump. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it and don't give up. But you've definitely got to have a passion for whatever you're going to be getting into."
Opening opportunities for young people
Jake Slinn, who started JS Global as a one-man-company, now employs his mother and his older brother. He also hopes to recruit apprentices in the near future.
"My brother was actually working for British Airways but, with Covid, he was made redundant. He's been with us for nearly two years now. And my mum works part time a couple of days a week as well. It works really well, we're a family-run business now."
"With the direction we're going, I'm hopefully going to be taking on a few more people in the sales side, and maybe a few apprentices.
"I really believe in the apprenticeship scheme. I've done a year as an apprentice myself, I find it a really good way for youngsters who are coming out of school to jump straight into a business and get their teeth into something."