AN Oxfordshire man who started working as an apprentice at a Bicester-based marketing firm 14 years ago has now managed to become a boss of the company.

The day-to-day activities of managing director Richard Boon, from Woodstock, are quite different to how they were back in 2007 when he first joined Webmart at the age of 17.

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The now 31-year-old makes important decisions on a busy schedule, ensuring the business is running smoothly.

Oxford Mail: Richard Boon who started working as an apprentice at marketing agency Webmart in 2007, is now the managing director of the company. 30/03/2021 Picture by Ed Nix

Mr Boon's career started after he was spotted by Webmart founder and owner Simon Biltcliffe during the finals of a Dragon's Den-style competition, which he won.

Mr Boon, who was appointed managing director on April 1 last year, said: "He [Mr Biltcliffe] said 'why don't you join us as an apprentice and trainee and work your way around the business instead of going to university?' so I did that and now I'm 31 and I'm managing director of a £20m business."

Mr Boon says teenagers interested in doing an apprenticeship instead of going to university should try their best to get as much work experience as possible.

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He said: "Don't fall for the peer pressure to do the same thing as everybody else, there's always opportunities to learn and get your education in the future. If you've got an opportunity to do some work experience, try out things to see what really fits with you.

"If you can do that and you can really stand out you've got the opportunity to then get hooked by a company outside of normal recruitment processes."

Oxford Mail: Richard Boon who started working as an apprentice at marketing agency Webmart in 2007, is now the managing director of the company. 30/03/2021 Picture by Ed Nix

Mr Boon, who worked in roles in tech, customer service and sales before his current one, says the biggest lesson he has learnt is having a variety of different opinions to help make decisions.

He said: "You need to build up a resilience when making decisions - that's been quite important to me. Don't accept the first answer. As much diversity as you can when it comes to making decisions helps."

Back in 2007, Mr Boon played in a band and has 'fond memories' of performing.

He said it is a 'passion' he hopes to get back into one day and that in hindsight it gave him the experience and confidence to speak in front of hundreds of people which he now does today.

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