RAGS TO RICHES
I was homeless & lived on £75-a-week benefits – now I run a multi-million pound business with a VERY royal connection
A MAN who was homeless and lived on £75-a-week benefits now runs a multi-million pound business with a royal connection.
Paul Rowlett is the chief executive and founder of booming Leicester-based business EverythingBranded.
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But things were not always easy for Paul as he was expelled from school at the age of 15.
Things turned even more sour nine years ago when his Leicester home was repossessed.
Struggling to achieve his dreams of being an entrepreneur, Paul even ended up at benefits at one point in his life.
It meant Paul and his wife were forced to live with friends on just £75 a week.
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But in a heartwarming story of rags to riches, Paul never gave up and managed to find success through his hard work and creative spirit.
Paul said: “My school days weren’t happy ones. I came from a broken home and I wasn’t academic.
"I was destined to fail. I left at 16 with only one GCSE."
Determined not to give up, Paul used a cheap laptop and mobile phones to start selling mugs, rosettes and key rings.
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His break came when Leicester City Council asked him to supply mugs for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee visit in 2012.
And the ex-Royal Navy serviceman managed to turn his life around and oversees the multi-million business he created today.
has now grown into a multi-million pound business, employing 130 people and expanding to far flung corners of the world.
It operates under the parent company of Charles Alexander Distribution.
And his company provides promotional products to clients including Samsung, Asda, Greggs, Lufthansa, AA, ITV, the NHS, as well as several universities and councils.
It now has offices across the world, including Ireland, the US and Canada, with hopes to hit revenues of £29.8 million this year.
Self-made Paul will star on Channel 4’s latest undercover show tonight.
The businessman is appearing in the first episode of new series "The Secret Teacher".
The four-part series – the first episode is at 9pm – sees four successful business people who all struggled at school go undercover in the classroom.
Only three members of staff, and none of the students, know that Paul is a successful entrepreneur.
Paul told : “Returning to school, has been a positive experience for me. It was fantastic getting to know the kids, but heart-breaking hearing about their problems both in and out of school.
“It is clear that things have never been tougher in our schools.
“I am full of admiration for Haileybury Turnford School. In spite of the enormous challenges they face day after day, the staff there are totally committed to the kids.
“Above all else, I am glad that I have been able to make a difference by getting to know the staff and the pupils there and in turn, providing much needed financial help to the school and those pupils who really stood out for me.”
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This comes after a self-made millionaire revealed his secret to earning £156,000 a month by the age of 30.
And another self-made millionaire, aged just 27, hit out at the haters who called her business idea "stupid".
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