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Mohsin will inspire next generation

  • Date: Monday 7th November 2016
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If you met your idol in business, what would you say to them?

I bet you wouldn’t call them “old and wrinkly” to their face — but that’s exactly what cheeky Fife lad Mohsin Muhammed did when he met none other than Sir Richard Branson.

The young entrepreneur hit the headlines this week after being amongst the first in Scotland to win backing from Branson’s not-for-profit company, Virgin StartUp (VSU).

As well as providing government-based start-up loans of £25k, VSU offers mentors and advisers to set recipients on the right path.

Mohsin wants to launch a sweet subscription service called LoveSweets and his dream has been made possible.

I was interested to see a video of him meeting Branson and presenting him with a box of sweets, while reading out some words he’d written inside the box.

The first line was, “To the world you may look old and wrinkly . . . ”

Luckily this raised a chuckle from the business tycoon and didn’t cause offence.

Then he went on to talk about how Branson was a child at heart who dared to dream, saw no limits and was an inspiration.

It was a touching moment, and shows the important role that today’s business leaders play in inspiring the talent of tomorrow.

I looked into Mohsin’s back story and was hugely impressed with his grit and determination.

He moved to Scotland at the age of nine and could barely speak English and later found out he had dyslexia, leaving him convinced he’d never make money or achieve his ambition of becoming a doctor.

But then he learned that Branson was dyslexic and his outlook changed.

 

He read the tycoon’s books, studied business management, and got into medical school.

He also started a company called Happiness Delivered Ltd and is now launching LoveSweets thanks to Virgin StartUp. Good for you Mohsin!

The thing about inspiration is that it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Just as Branson inspired him, I reckon Mohsin will also go on to inspire others.

Some other Scottish entrepreneurial hopeful will be sitting in their house, thinking, “Wait a minute . . . if this guy from Fife can do it, I can do it too”.

Talking of aspiring business moguls, a whole host of them are set to descend on Edinburgh one week today for the Startup Summit.

It’s one of the biggest gatherings of entrepreneurs in the world and is famed for attracting large businesses and big name speakers.

Organisers are expecting it to attract a whopping 1,000 delegates, with a further 20,000 set to watch online.

The event sponsor is Barclays and its Head of SME, Stuart Brown, said the company wanted to support entrepreneurs on their journey from the idea stage right through to success.

It’s great to see an event like this coming to Edinburgh and no doubt it will provide even more inspiration for those who want to make their dreams a reality.

Scotland is already world-famous for innovation and, with so much focus on nurturing talent right now, I have no doubt we have an extremely bright future ahead of us.

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