STUDENTS from Petroc welcomed Solomon Akhtar, star of BBC programme The Apprentice, to the college’s Mid Devon Campus on Monday (January 26).

The 23-year-old entrepreneur spoke to a packed lecture theatre about his time on the show and also gave an insight into the world of business and his career journey to date.

He inspired business students by talking about how he started his first ‘business’ when still a child, selling sweats on the school bus, and then formed his start-up business, Instabear, while at university in Exeter.

Solomon told the students not to be scared to try new things.

He advised; “If you have an idea then go out and try it because the chances are it’ll evolve over time and grow into something great. Any idea, no matter how mad, try it. 99 will probably fail but one might be amazing.

“Put yourself out there and try new things. If it fails it fails. Failure’s not a bad thing, as long as you learn from it. Perseverance is key,” he added.

The students asked lots of questions and were clearly very interested in Solomon’s career and time on The Apprentice.

“He’s my hero!,” enthused student Max Frankland.

“He’s achieved so much at a young age and he’s also really funny and entertaining. Because he’s so young he’s really easy to relate to,” said Max.

“To have someone relatable and humble in their business and life experiences was a real treat,” said Zoey Arthurs, a business lecturer at the college.

“The students were engaged and inspired throughout, whilst gaining valuable business knowledge, as well as being able to find out about the inside workings of a BBC show like The Apprentice, all of which I am sure will only contribute to the entrepreneurial spirit already displayed by many of our students at Petroc,” she added.