A MULTI-MILLIONARE has told how he lived in a bungalow behind a transport café and only earned one GCSE before finding success.
Dad-of-one Adam Stott, 39, who recently appeared on Channel 5's Rich House Poor House, actually spent his teenage years in an Essex bungalow with his mum and two brothers.
The businessman, who's built up three successful companies over the last decade, has been able to splurge thousands of pounds on supercars including Ferraris and Lamborghinis.
He lives in a sprawling £2million seven-bed mansion with space for dozens of vehicles on the drive, a tennis court, and three employees – a gardener, housekeeper and dog walker.
But Adam knows what it's like to live without money.
His privileged childhood imploded aged ten when his businessman dad declared bankruptcy and his parents divorced.
Suddenly he went from wielding a briefcase at his private school every day to arguing with the teachers of his local comprehensive.
He moved out of a posh detached family home and into a bungalow behind a transport café where his mum started working.
He told the Sun Online: "It was a culture shock. I'd known what it was like to have money and suddenly we had nothing. I struggled.
"We had everything and I'd enjoyed it. Life was so good. When we lost it all it left its mark on me."
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Adam held jobs throughout his teenage years, from working with his mum in the café to getting a paper round and washing cars.
But he wasn't academically gifted and acted out at school.
He added: "Anything you can imagine a bad kid to do I did. I just didn't fit in. I have really bad concentration and spent 90% of my time at school causing problems."
Adam argued with teachers, got into fights, and disrupted class.
He said: "I wasn't a good kid. I was a rebel."
He left school with one GCSE in drama – getting Us in every other subject.
After school he worked a number of menial jobs.
He worked for his Dad on building sites and spent a few months at KFC.
But it was when he was 17 and working as a salesman at electronic goods store Powerhouse, where he earned commission, that inspiration struck.
He said: "It was the turning point of everything.
"Suddenly I was passionate about something. I'm a really good salesman. I'm good with people.
"I was over the moon when I learnt about the commission. I had control over how much money I could make."
Adam built his way up through jobs at Ford Motors, Sir Alan Sugar's AMS Air and BMW, earning a six-figure salary by the age of 24.
He said: "I had to leave and start my own business when BMW maxed out my salary and wouldn't pay me anymore."
Adam sold the home he'd bought aged 20 and used to money to set up his own business.
But the transition was a struggle.
"The first few months were torture," he said. "I started from scratch and was way out of my depth."
Adam said he worked on himself to learn how to properly market his business.
He added: "I didn't know how to manage people, or market anything. I was working from 8am to 11pm which just wasn't sustainable. I didn't realise I'd burn out working like that."
Adam's car sales business started in 2008 in the midst of a financial collapse, yet he wasn't fazed.
He said: "The whole world was falling around me. One good friend of mine said a great entrepreneur creates their own economy.
"You don't look at what other businesses are doing and just focus on whether yours is making money. Mine was."
Adam went on to start two more businesses, including Big Business Events, which works to train 300 other company owners.
He now claims to be worth millions of pounds, lives in a £2million home in Wickham Bishops, Essex, and drives a £100,000 Tesla.
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He appeared on Channel 5's Rich House Poor House in 2020, when he swapped his mansion on Essex's most expensive road with single mum Kiptieu Sheriff's council flat in Abbey Road, London.
It comes after a multi-millionaire told how he went from sharing a room with his Dad and brother to huge wealth after starting his own business.
Multi-millionaire Adam Stott’s recipe for success
Multi-millionaire Adam Stott has many words of wisdom for anyone hoping to become rich
Find out what you're good at
When you find something you enjoy it really builds your self belief, confidence, you feel passionate and want to work hard everyday.
Look for bigger opportunities
Once you've found what you're good at don't settle. Keep looking for bigger and better opportunities to learn and improve.
Work on yourself
Make sure you're constantly learning. I read books written by people I admired, including Sir Alan Sugar.
Confront mistakes
Wherever I was falling behind, whether in management or marketing, I constantly worked to be better. Don't throw your head in the sand.
Focus on your own success
Don't worry about the wider economy, just look at how your business is working for you. A great entrepreneur creates their own economy.
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