Gavin Wheeldon
Gavin Wheeldon (born 12 May 1976) is a British Businessman, self-made millionaire and entrepreneur from the Manchester area who has been on TV programmes such as The Secret Millionaire and Dragons' Den (UK).[1]The Dragons thought that he had overvalued his business and decided not to invest. Gavin made the fatal error of thinking his business was worth more than it actually was and the Dragons were able to see past this.
Gavin was born in Leicester, UK but during his life has moved 16 times around the world and the UK including Canada, South Africa, Namibia and Salford.
Gavin started working life at 11 by doing odd jobs like cleaning windows and tidying gardens. By the time he was 14 he was working evenings and weekends in Telesales for a kitchen company.
After leaving school Gavin went on to do a Btec in Computer Studies while continuing to work by selling windows and then, at the age of 19, going on to become Sales Manager for a Government Magazine selling advertising space. It was leading on from this that Gavin started his first business venture, Government Information Bureau. However, this business failed and Gavin returned to work for an IT Company dealing with Content Management Systems and later moving to a language translation company based in Leeds, UK.[2]
After gaining experience working in the language translations industry for The Big Word Gavin spotted a gap in the market as no companies at the time were making the most of technological advances. This led to the launch of his own business,[3] in 2003, which in 2009 had an annual turnover of £6.2m GBP. The company was hit by a scandle when they were boycotted by interpreters who refused to work on their Public Sector contracts with a number of North West Police forces. It was widely reported in Feb 2011, that this was due to problems with the rates of pay that Applied Language were offering. http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/row-erupts-over-police-interpreters
In January 2010 Oldham Council set up a Business Leadership Group, of which Gavin is a member. The group comprises 14 local business owners who are giving their own free time to advise Oldham Council and local regeneration body Oldham Partnership on economic policy matters.[4]
Awards
In 2007 Gavin's business was awarded the AXA Small to Medium Business of the Year at The National Business Award[5]
Also in 2007, Gavin was awarded Institute of Directors Director of the Year Award and in December, gained the IoD Diploma in Company Direction.[6]
In April 2010 Gavin's company was awarded The Queen's Award for Enterprise.[7]
Charity
In 2007 Gavin took part in the Channel 4 program The Secret Millionaire[8] embarking on a 10 day secret mission to Rhyl, North Wales. During which time he visited several volunteer groups and charitable individuals. To the present day, Gavin keeps in contact with the organisations and individuals he met whilst taking part in the program.
As a self-made Business Man, Gavin believes in giving back to the local community as well as on a global scale. From giving talks at local primary schools to sponsoring children in India to pay for their education.
References
- ^ Dragon's Den Series 4 Episode 4
- ^ How I made it: Gavin Wheeldon of Applied Language Solutions
- ^ Applied Language Solutions
- ^ Oldham Chronicle: Look overseas to boost growth
- ^ National Business Awards – 2007 Winners and Finalists
- ^ Gavin Wheeldon Leeds Metropolitan University
- ^ The Queen's Award for Enterprise, International Trade 2010
- ^ Channel4 Secret Millionaire
External links
- Dragon's Den Series 4 Episode 4
- How I made it: Gavin Wheeldon of Applied Language Solutions
- National Business Awards – 2007 Winners and Finalists
- Business Link - The Queen's Award for Enterprise, International Trade 2010
- Channel4 Secret Millionaire
- Gavin Wheeldon Leeds Metropolitan University
- Applied Language Solutions
- Oldham Chronicle: Look overseas to boost growth