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Logan Hall
Logan Hall has come along way from disappointing A-level results at school.
Logan Hall has come along way from disappointing A-level results at school.

Letter to my younger self: you'll have no money and live in a squat. Don't panic

This article is more than 6 years old

After a spell in the armed forces, a failed business and falling out with a co-founder, Logan Hall started Rebel Hack Studios with people he could trust

Dear Logan,

You’ve just finished your A-levels and are contemplating your future. I think we both know you could’ve done better. Everyone, including yourself, had expected you to become a doctor, vet or architect. Instead, you decide to go into the military. You’ll end up far from where you intended but hold on to your ethics and strive to always add value. Trust me when I say you’ll make it through.

You’ll join the Royal Marines but will start to doubt your choice after a few years. You really don’t agree with the politics of it all. It hasn’t been a waste of time – you’ll discover you can push yourself through anything. This grit will be a welcome ally in business.

Back home and unsure what to do, you decide to set up an extreme sports, music and art-inspired clothing brand with one of your best friends. You raise £110,000 investment and end up being sold in 13 countries, with a flagship retail store. It’s all going well for a while and you’ll party with professional skiers, snowboarders, skaters, surfers and musicians all over the world.

Only three years later, in 2008, it all goes wrong. The recession means credit dries up for small businesses and you go bust. You’ll end up with no money, living in a squat with rats. You think that life could not get much worse. Don’t panic. All you need is some time to figure out your next move.

You’ll sell everything you can, except your surfboard, and buy a ticket to Indonesia. While there, you’re offered a job in brand management for a Californian watch brand. The pay is poor, but you’ll learn what it takes to run an international team. Eventually you’ll try to buy the distribution rights from your employer – you’re still an entrepreneur at heart – but they negotiate too hard. Walk away. There are many other deals to be done.

Your boss says something that sticks with you. He recommends doing an MBA. So you apply, relying on your past business experience to qualify. Believe it or not, they will accept you and even offer you a scholarship.

You’ll meet someone on your MBA who has an interesting technology startup idea and join the founding team. You’ll move to London, raise a large seed round, hire a team and become obsessed with how data can help businesses grow. Sadly, your relationship with your co-founder will begin to fall apart. As painful as it is, this will be the time to quit and move on.

If you take only one piece of advice with you, it’s to go with your gut instinct about people. Bring those people you trust close. Push those you don’t as far away as you can. You’ll start your next venture with your brother-in-law and a close friend.

You will need to dig into your savings accounts to set up Rebel Hack Studios, an agency offering data-driven growth marketing strategies to technology businesses. You’re still learning to stay agile – you will need to move faster than ever before in this business. It will make you dig so deep that it’s painful. But you will love it all.

I’ll let you into a little secret, you’re not doing this for the cash. But you believe in the power of the data technology you’re developing and this is what will drive you to take your business to the next level. Embrace that passion and keep smiling. If you’ve achieved this much in 10 years, imagine what you can achieve in another 10. Your wonderful wife is about to give birth to your first child and a new adventure awaits. Keep moving forward. You’ll be less ignorant tomorrow.

Logan

Logan Hall is the co-founder of Rebel Hack Studios.

Are you an entrepreneur who would like to write a letter to your younger self? Email us at smallbusinessnetwork@theguardian.com to take part in this series.

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