Want100youngsters nationtoitsverycore
TYCOON’S BID TO GIVE NEXT GENERATION A VOICE The Hunter Foundation have launched a competition that will award 100 grants of £1000 each to people under 26 with ideas to ‘positively disrupt’ Scotland
lot. People like me or people in power should take the time to listen to young people. “How we can help is we can give those young people a microphone and give them a loudhailer. If we can get behind it, that’s our role. We’re simply a catalyst.” Sir Tom believes it’s not just about providing money. He said: “Everybody thinks, ‘If only we had the money’. But we believe getting the money is a small part of it. It’s all about an attitude. “We see it with the successful entrepreneurs who we’ve met and who inspire us. “If the banks are saying they’re not lending any money, that’s not the end – so how are we going to do it? That attitude of mind is everything. “That’s why we believe education needs to keep evolving so we can teach some of these softer skills. “If your child is in primary school today, then by the time they get to the world of work, 65 per cent of the jobs they’re going to do have not even been invented yet. So how are we going to educate to that?
“Well, this attitude I talk about, softer skills of working in a smaller team, problem solving, is what you’re going to need.”
He added: “One of the things we are saying to young people is, ‘Give it a go, what have you got to lose?’
“When you’re young is the best time. Because once you get a mortgage, if you can get a mortgage, or you have responsibilities, it becomes harder to take risks.”
During the financial crisis, Sir Tom lost an estimated £250million of his fortune.
He admitted: “I’ve had lots of failures and very well-publicised failures. But I never felt defeated.”
Sir Tom started out using a loan from his dad and the bank to begin selling trainers from the back of a van. It led on to building a massive retail empire.
The turning point in his life came 20 years ago, when he made £252million from the sale of Sports Division and decided he wanted to do more to help others.
He insists he loves his work so much that he wouldn’t want to stop and do nothing.
Sir Tom said: “We have two sides – West Coast Capital, where we make money, and then The Hunter Foundation, where we invest the money for the common good. “I don’t see it as work as I love what I do. “It’s a fallacy to think you work for the day where you
don’t work. I think too many people are in jobs where they think that.
“If you find something where you love what you’re doing, you don’t want to stop it.”
His wife Marion is a big influence. He said: “I think having a wife who was from a council house in Stevenston has definitely kept me grounded.
“Having your roots in Scotland and having your roots in Ayrshire is a very good grounding.”
He’s determined his three children won’t be ruined by his money.
Sir Tom said: “I observed quite a lot of rich people mucking up their kids. We couldn’t think of anything worse than to have wealth but have kids who turned out without a purpose.
“We’ve thought a lot about it and we talked to them and basically said, ‘You’re not going to inherit great wealth, you’ve got to find your own purpose and we will back you to do what you want to do.’
“So far our kids are pretty grounded – they’ve all got purpose and we’re very proud of them.
“They’re not going about saying, ‘I’m Tom Hunter’s son or daughter’, they’re their own person.” ● GRANT applications, either via a page of script or a one-minute video message outlining a group or individual’s ambition, should be emailed no later than April 30 to disrupters@ thehunterfoundation.co.uk.
THF will contact the winners by May 30.
The 100 disrupters’ winning ambitions will be published on www.thehunterfoundation.co.uk.