A 27-year-old from Anfield who left school without any GCSEs now runs companies projected to achieve a turnover exceeding £2 million this year. Adam Thornhill is now calling on schools to incorporate entrepreneurship into their curriculum in response to the UK's youth unemployment crisis.
From playground sweets to business empire
His entrepreneurial journey began in Year 9 after he moved in with his uncle when his single mum fell ill. He started selling sweets in the school playground and even purchased second-hand vehicles for his uncle to resell on his behalf, before departing school at 15 having failed to pass his GCSEs.
By the age of 17, he had accumulated £20,000 through various side ventures and working as a gas engineering apprentice, investing these funds to establish his first business - a taxi leasing company. In 2021, he set up a travel agency, and two years later, following a short spell living in the Netherlands, he moved to Dubai, where he established a consultancy assisting expatriates in setting up businesses in the UAE, alongside a property investment company.
Overcoming adversity and early setbacks
Adam, whose father spent the majority of his teenage years in prison and has recently been handed a fresh 15-year sentence, says he "cannot believe" how "far (he) has come", having created a seven-figure business portfolio.
Adam believes schools ought to deliver more "real-life lessons", encompassing contracts, insurance and financial management, to help tackle the UK's NEET crisis, with nearly one million 16 to 24-year-olds currently not in education, employment or training. Adam told PA Real Life: "My friends would take the mick and call me Del Boy... they couldn't keep up with what I was doing from one week to the next.
"If you've got a business opportunity and a business idea, and you believe in that idea, it's worth the risk. If it doesn't pan out, you're going to learn something from it."
Early life and first ventures
Adam was raised by his mother in Liverpool until Year 9, when she fell ill, leading him to stay briefly with his grandmother before she too became unwell. He subsequently moved in with his uncle who worked as a motor trader and ran a fireplace business, introducing him to "a different way of earning a living" and offering him a "glimpse of life in a nicer area".
He said: "I think that put me on the path I went down – I started selling sweets on the school playground and I'd go to car auctions with my uncle and learn from him. I had a job cleaning a marble yard as well."
During Year 9, his school report card identified entrepreneurship as a subject he actively contributed to in class discussions, underlining his enthusiasm for it. In 2014, at just 15 years old, Adam was selling taps via Facebook and sourcing second-hand cars for his uncle to sell on his behalf.
Building a seven-figure portfolio
In December 2014, Adam's father Carl, whom he had been seeing once a week, was imprisoned for the first time — remaining behind bars until Adam turned 19. Several years later, in July 2026, Adam's father received a further sentence of 15 years for his involvement in a drug trafficking and money laundering operation.
Determined to "get ahead" and earn his own money, Adam decided to leave school at 15, without any GCSEs, to start a gas engineering apprenticeship earning £40 a day. Aged just 17, he had accumulated roughly £20,000 through his apprenticeship, reselling cars and chimney sweeping, and was renting his own flat above a hairdresser's for £360 a month.
"Some of my friends didn't start earning until they were 18 and I gained my own sort of independence," Adam explained. "I was missing out on certain experiences... but I wanted financial freedom."
Adam chose to plough his savings into launching his debut venture, taxi leasing firm AJT Hire, at the age of 17. However, a number of insurers initially rejected him, finding it difficult to believe that a teenager could legitimately own a business.
He said: "They all thought I was a joke, I got laughed at and they didn't think it was a real phone call. I think the biggest lesson was resilience and patience."
His enterprises expanded through a succession of carefully calculated risks, among them snapping up heavily discounted taxi fleets during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, he went on to run a UK travel agency with his then-partner before relocating to the Netherlands in 2022.
He subsequently moved to Dubai in 2023, where he established Relate, a consultancy supporting expats in setting up and operating businesses across the UAE. Since then, he has also founded a real estate investment firm, and reports that his business portfolio is now valued at seven figures, with his consultancy alone on course to turn over £2 million in 2026.
Call for more practical education
Adam's "non-traditional route" into work has shaped his outlook on how young people ought to be equipped for adult life. An estimated 981,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training (NEET) between April and June this year, according to the latest Office for National Statistics figures.
Writing in The Times, Prime Minister Andy Burnham argued that the state must provide a "safety net" but that there needed to be a "fundamental change in the way the Government and society support young people". Adam believes far greater emphasis should be placed on teaching children about entrepreneurship and the hands-on skills required to thrive in the workplace.
"Entrepreneurship takes a certain type of character... you've got to be ready to endure the tough with the good and to jump first, then ask questions later," Adam added. Despite having left school early himself, Adam is keen to stress that he would not encourage other pupils to follow suit.
Rather, he believes the UK education system needs to do considerably more to ready young people for the realities of working life.
"There should be more practical lessons being taught in schools like contracts, insurance and employment rights. Kids should be learning about how to manage their money."
Looking to the future, Adam said that over the next five years, he would like to "step back" from his businesses, focus on "living life more" and potentially start a family. He said: "In my day-to-day life, I'm just happy.
"I'm grateful for where I am, and I'll be honest, if you told me 15 years ago this is where I'd be, I wouldn't have believed you."
A spokesperson from the Department of Education said: "Every young person should be able to see a route to success, whatever their talents, ambitions or background. That's why we are taking swift action to reduce the unacceptably high number of young people who are not earning or learning.
"We're creating high-quality technical and vocational education options to sit alongside academic skills, and we've launched a new National Mission on Work Experience to help boost opportunities for young people outside the classroom. We'll work with local authorities, schools and employers to ensure more young people leave education with the skills, confidence and opportunities they need to thrive in today's economy and the careers of the future."
