Not many people can afford to rely on one of the world's most successful businessmen for career advice. Lord Sugar's grandson Joe Barron admits it has made his life easier, but he doesn't take it for granted.
Earlier this week it was announced that Joe, who turns 21 next month, will be heading up a new digital marketing company, Amstrad Digital, owned by business tycoon Lord Sugar, who fronted the BBC One reality series. apprenticehas bought back the rights to the Amstrad name 17 years after its sale to Sky.
However, financial support was not guaranteed for Joe. He had to market it through Lord Sugar's Amvest investment arm.
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When you talk to jewish news, Joe said: “I wanted to do that entirely in the book through Amvest – essentially doing the same thing.” apprentice Don't watch TV, talk to your advisor first, then talk to him. We wanted to make sure everything was done properly and that the investment was made for the right reasons. ”
Joe will run Amstrad Digital with digital marketer Tom D'Arcy – the pair had worked together at Crime Online – the company's new digital marketing agency. apprentice The winner, Mark Wright, was awarded the award, funded by Lord Sugar. It was reportedly sold in 2022 for £10 million.
Lord Sugar and his grandson Joe at their bar mitzvah
The fourth oldest of Lord Sugar's seven grandchildren, Joe, who he affectionately calls “Grandpa,” most often turns to him for advice.
“After I got my business diploma, I had two options: either go to university or start a job, so I talked to my grandfather, who was obviously the best person to talk to. We all agreed that it would be more beneficial to go straight to work.
“It’s incredible that he’s become someone I look up to, someone I look up to for advice, and now someone I look up to as a partner.”
Joe added, “I think he agrees that university is great for certain professions, jobs that require specialized qualifications, like doctors and lawyers, but where I was, it was great for gaining experience.'' I think that was the most important thing for me,” he added.
Joe attended St Edmund's College in Hertfordshire and then completed a Diploma in Business at West Hatch. In 2021, he landed an internship with his Climb Online and worked his way up to full-time project manager, where he worked closely with Tom D'Arcy.
“I owe a lot to Tom. He taught me a lot about digital marketing.”
The companies will each own 25 percent of Amstrad Digital, with Lord Sugar owning 50 percent.
The businessman founded the electronics company Amstrad in 1968, aged 21, and sold audio and computer equipment before producing the first Sky receivers and dishes. He was eventually sold to a major broadcaster for £125 million, which still uses the software but no longer uses the brand name.
Joe has recently been staying with Lord Sugar in Florida, where the business mogul has been spending a lot of time. “We talked a lot about business. I really enjoy talking to him about it, but I don't know if his grandmother enjoyed it as much,” he joked.
What advice did his grandfather give him about starting a new business? “Leverage your brand name and say, 'Instead of working from home, go out and run a business!'” And the more we work, the more we will achieve. ”
Joe lives at home in Chigwell with his mother Louise, one of Lord Sugar's three children, his sister, and two dogs.
He inherited his love of airplanes from his grandfather. Lord Sugar has held his pilot's license since 1975 and owns private planes, including a Cirrus SR20. “We were always on planes together,” Joe recalls. “I remember being so interested in watching him fly. I've been doing that with him for many years. I put a booster seat in the passenger seat of my car so I could see properly. I was there.”
Joe doesn't have a flying license, but said he might consider getting one when he's not so busy.
For now, he's very focused on following in his grandfather's footsteps in other ways and preserving the Amstrad Digital and Amstrad names.
“It's an incredible opportunity. He (Lord Sugar) said himself that the brand itself has tremendous value and we have to use it to our advantage.
“We intend to maintain the same values. Amstrad is known as the first company to make technologies that are normally out of reach available to everyone, and we will continue that tradition. We want to do the same with our marketing services, making it affordable and providing top-level marketing to businesses of all sizes.”
Joe believes there is a huge gap in the market for agencies that serve both small and large brands. “Many agencies have very high minimum commissions, but this isn't really an option for small businesses and doesn't give them the opportunity to get even bigger, so it's not just about being able to deal with large companies, but also allowing small businesses to Ambitious brands are also something we want to focus on.”
Digital media is expected to reach 70% of global advertising spending by 2025. When asked where he sees the big opportunity, Joe puts advertising on his TikTok first. “It is estimated that by mid-2025, TikTok will be the largest advertising platform. People use it like Google and search for ways to do things, so they (TikTok) usually use Google I wouldn't be surprised if you see search ads like the ones you see in Google. Another big opportunity is around AI. To learn more about it and how businesses can use it to reduce costs, I think this is a great opportunity because there are still many things that are not yet understood.”
Meanwhile, Joe, a member of Chabad Buckhurst Hill who held the bar mitzvah (Lord Sugar is a member of Chigwell and Hainault), is committed to the success of Amstrad Digital.
“It means a lot to me to have him trust the brand that started it all for him (Lord Sugar) so many years ago. , I have no doubt that it will be a success.”
amstraddigital.co.uk
