Risk and Reward, with Michael Welch OBE

About this episode

Michael Welch OBE shares his inspiring journey of resilience and risk-taking in entrepreneurship.

On the face of it, Michael Welch OBE seems to have it all: he’s the President and CEO of America’s largest tire distributor, and he sold his previous business – Blackcircles – to Michelin for £50 million in 2015. But, Michael’s start in life was not straightforward. Adopted as a baby and stymied by dyslexia and dyscalculia, he ended up working in a local garage, having left school at fifteen with no qualifications. Redundancy followed, but, supported by a grant from the Prince’s Trust, he set up his first business aged seventeen. Michael’s inspirational story is one of resilience, determination, and, crucially, a clear appetite for risk – be it writing a letter to business legend Sir Terry Leahy early in his career, which led to mentorship, friendship, and financial investment; leaving a role running Kwikfit’s e-commerce with only a month’s salary to begin all over again, from scratch; or, moving his young family to the US, compelled by the prospect of cracking a new market. ‘Luck,’ Michael says, ‘follows risk – in almost all cases.’ Join us for the latest episode of the Futureverse in which Y TREE’s Head of Brand and Marketing Harriet Johnston speaks to Michael Welch OBE about…

People in this episode

Host: Harriet Johnston

Guest: Michael Welch OBE

Topics covered

• entrepreneurship
• risk management
• resilience
• business success
• personal journey

Keywords

• entrepreneur
• risk
• resilience
• business
• dyslexia
• success
• mentorship

Sponsors

Intelligence Squared

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Y TREE, Prince’s Trust, Kwikfit, Michelin, Blackcircles

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