Jai, like many teenage kids, is fascinated by the internet, social media and gaming. If you allowed him, he would spend day and night on his computer, iPod or cell phone chatting to his friends, playing games or searching the net. We are careful that he is well rounded with a balance of activities such as kicking the footy and playing with his family, whilst at the same time allowing him the opportunity to immerse himself into his passion.
When we introduced the Family Project to Jai he knew exactly what he wanted to do. In fact his very grand idea was spawned by a family friend who has been able to develop a hugely successful company based around building Apple Apps for iPhones. Let me tell you in a nutshell his inspiring rags to riches story.
A friend of ours was originally from Switzerland and had worked most of his life in a newsagent. He also had a passion for windsurfing and would take every opportunity to visit the West Coast of Australia in pursuit of the consistent strong summer winds that make the WA coastline a windsurfer’s heaven!
In Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, the wind is named the Fremantle Doctor because it appears to come from the nearby coastal city of Fremantle, and it brings welcome relief from the summertime high temperatures.
Our friend then decided to leave his Switzerland home to follow his passion (and the Fremantle Doctor!) and set up home permanently in Geraldton (a small coastal city 500km north of Perth). He literally became a beach bum who spent his afternoons windsurfing and kite surfing and in his ample spare time he would play around on his computer.
He taught himself how to program apps for Apple iPhones and was able to make a few simple applications which he tried to sell online.
This is where his enterprise kicked off!
From the comfort of his backyard hammock, one of his Apps began selling. Sales exploded, and millions of people from all around the world downloaded it, and for each download he received a payment. He became an over night millionaire!
This entrepreneur has since built a multi million dollar company with three other partners, all from Switzerland, who incidentally, have also followed the Fremantle Doctor to Geraldton!
What this amazing man, with no formal qualifications, has managed to do in only a few years is mind blowing.
His story inspired my fourteen year old son. Jai’s enterprise plan is to build an Apple App and sell it online. How he will manage to do that is not known yet. All he has to do is have a goal and a rough plan, then focus on and tackle each of the steps one by one. Maybe Jai too will become an overnight success like our friend!
In our next blog we revisit Amber and see how she is going with her New From Old enterprise.
