Dad with few GCSEs became boss of multimillion pound business after quick chat with Tesco CEO
13.05.2022 - 22:27
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A dad with barely any GCSEs has explained how he became the boss of a multimillion pound company after a simple 30 minute conversation with the former CEO of Tesco.
Mike Welch said he wasn't particularly academic when he was growing up, and as such struggled to engage with school. After getting his first job as a tyre fitter in Birkenhead at the age of 16, Mike was inspired to set up his own business from his parent's home - but little did he know it would be a decision that would shape the next 27 years of his career.
The soon to be dad-of-three has now swapped Liverpool for Miami and is the CEO of Tirebuyer.com - one of America's biggest online tyre retailers with an estimated turnover of more than $100m. Mike, who was adopted as a baby, told the ECHO how it all started back in the early days of the internet when he sent a letter to the CEO of Tesco, Liverpool-born Sir Terry Leahy asking if he had the time for a cup of tea and a chat.
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Mike told the ECHO : "I wasn't a bad kid but school wasn't really my thing so when I left I got a couple of GCSEs but not a lot. I got a job and basically the first that came up was a tyre fitter in Birkenhead, working for a business called Lewis Reed which was a Nissan dealership so I was like I'll give it a go.
"I worked in the stores there, stacking the tyres, fitting the tyres and that was my first job and then I was made redundant after about 18 months."
After being made redundant and having a chat with his grandad about what he should do next, Mike decided to go solo and started buying and selling tyres on his own and dropping them off at people's houses across Merseyside in his mum's car.
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