From £5 Petrol and a Battered Fiesta to Financial Freedom: Aaron Knightley on Escaping the 9-to-5

So at the time, and just thinking of your audience, like value, I didn't know what I wanted to do, and I think my best bit of advice whilst telling my story is, is actually doing what I did.

I didn't know about business.

I didn't know about, you know, h- what entrepreneurship entailed.

I didn't have it all figured out.

But one thing I was committed to doing is I started networking, and the first few times, uh, really, I mean, it's a great story.

A friend of mine who was in property at the time said, "Do you wanna come to Mayfair with me?" You know, 'cause I kept saying to him in the gym, "I'm, I don't wanna be in a job and I, you know, I w- I wanna provide my family.

I want more than what I had." I think that, like, inner boy, you know, and I had a boy, I was like, "I wanna give him everything."

Mm.

He said, "Come up to Mayfair, I'm raising some money." It just blew my mind.

I actually said to him, "What's Mayfair?"

[laughs]

And then years later, I ended up having an office in Berkeley Square House.

Oh, nice.

Um, you know, driving past it today, I took a quick video and stuff.

So I never even knew there was a place called Mayfair, and when I heard people raising money, which was the first business that I built, I just fell into it-

Mm

... because I was good at raising money, good at building relationships.

I did very well in my 20s and yeah, I worked my job.

I didn't tell anyone.

I just knew all this, by the way.

Yeah.

I was just, uh, because I-

Like instinctively.

Yes.

Yeah.