From the shop floor to building my own brands

I started work at 16 as a sales assistant at Burton Menswear on Commercial Road in Portsmouth. I worked hard, chased one promotion after another, and ended up running their store in Jersey for about four years, which gave me the confidence to go just about anywhere.

And I did. I became an Area Manager for Topshop, and over the years that followed I lived and worked in places including Saudi Arabia, the USA, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Thailand and Vietnam. Eventually I was Managing Director of a division of Thailand's Central Group, leading its expansion into Indonesia.

What that taught me

Every country and every role was different, so you learn to think on your feet. The best answers are rarely just your own idea: they come from involving the people around you, listening to local knowledge, and keeping things practical. That's still how I work.

• Sales assistant, Burton Menswear, Portsmouth
• Store manager, Burton, Jersey
• Area Manager, Topshop
• Senior roles with retail groups across the Middle East, Central Asia and South-East Asia
• Managing Director, a division of Central Group, expansion into Indonesia
• Founder, Drive Academy Ltd

What I do now

Back home in Hampshire, I run Drive Academy Ltd, a family business. I still teach people to drive through Learn with Joshua in Waterlooville, and I build the brands that grew out of it: Drive Academy, My Driving School, Driving Test Routes, its apps and YouTube channel, plus Cuisine Atlas and, coming soon, Travel Atlas and the HomeIndex app. You can see them on the Drive Academy family and New projects pages.

Get in touch