The truth about exploitation and how we used it to go from 37p to £100 million.
People hear the word exploitation and instantly picture villains, tricksters, and cheats.
But for us, exploitation wasn’t a dirty word.
It was survival.
It was strategy.
It was the only way out.
Exploitation is simply using what you’ve got to get where you want to go.
And if we’re honest, it’s the only reason we ever escaped the life we were supposed to have.
I left school with no qualifications.
I couldn’t read or write my own name.
I bounced through 18 jobs in 9 years.
And my brain, my brilliant, chaotic, restless brain refused to sit still.
But I wasn’t alone.
Marilyn saw something in me long before I ever saw it in myself.
Where I saw chaos, she saw potential.
Where I saw failure, she saw fuel.
Where I saw “not enough,” she saw “just wait.”
Together, we learned one truth early:
You either exploit every tiny advantage you can find…or you stay stuck forever.
The positive side of exploitation, the side that built our lives.
1. I exploited my curiosity and Marilyn protected it. School didn’t know what to do with me.
They saw a boy who couldn’t sit still, couldn’t keep up, couldn’t “behave.” They saw a problem, not potential.
But Marilyn? She saw the spark.
She saw the way I watched people. The way I questioned everything, the way I could see patterns others missed.
I exploited my curiosity. She made sure the world didn’t crush it.
I asked questions.
I studied how things worked.
I learned more on building sites, shop floors, and warehouses than any classroom ever offered me.
When you’ve got nothing, curiosity is free yet priceless.
2. I exploited every job, and Marilyn steadied the ship.
Eighteen jobs in nine years.
People judged.
People whispered.
People assumed I was a lost core’s.
But every job taught me something. I exploited each one for:
– skills
– patterns
– mistakes to avoid
– things I could do better
Every job was a stepping stone. Every boss even the difficult ones taught me something I needed later.
And through all of it, Marilyn held the line.
She kept us grounded.
She kept us moving.
She believed in the long game when all I could see was the next step.
3. I exploited my pain and Marilyn softened it.
There’s a special kind of pain that comes from being underestimated. From being told you’re “Not capable.” From feeling stupid, behind, or broken.
Pain can crush you or, you can exploit it.
I chose to exploit it.
I used the embarrassment as fuel.
I used the doubt as motivation.
I used the setbacks as training.
But Marilyn?
She carried the emotional weight with me.
She reminded me I wasn’t broken just different.
She turned my pain into purpose.
Pain became our engine. Not just mine. Ours.
4. We exploited opportunities others walked past.
Our retail business didn’t start as a dream.
It started as a gap, a gap most people ignored.
Others saw:
– hassle
– risk
– long hours
We saw:
– demand
– inefficiency
– a chance to build something better
I saw the opportunity. Marilyn saw the structure. Together, we exploited the gap. And it changed everything.
Sometimes opportunity doesn’t knock. Sometimes it whispers. And you need two sets of ears to hear it.
5. We exploited technology before it was cool. When the internet arrived, most retailers shrugged. They didn’t see the future coming, yet I was looking 5 years ahead imagining what customers would want from us.
We exploited it fully, fearlessly, obsessively, our children were working with us before they left school giving them the opportunity to exploit our knowledge. Children learn first from exploiting their parents knowledge.
Push your ides.
I pushed the ideas. Marilyn made them real.
We built systems, automation, online ordering, and customer service tech long before the big names even realised what was possible or what was happening to the market.
That wasn’t luck.
That was partnership.
That was exploitation the good kind.
The negative side of exploitation, the one we refused to play.
Let’s be honest: There’s a version of exploitation that destroys people.
We’ve seen it:
– underpaying staff
– squeezing suppliers
– manipulating customers
– abusing power
We never wanted that life. We never wanted success that left a trail of broken people behind it. So, exploit opportunities, not people.
Because when you treat people right, they don’t just work for you they build with you. They believe with you. They grow with you and that’s worth more than any shortcut.
When you start with nothing, you don’t have the luxury of pride.
You exploit:
– your time
– your hunger
– your mistakes
– your environment
– your imagination
– your resilience
You squeeze every drop out of what you’ve got.
That’s not greed.
That’s survival.
And survival, if you keep going long enough, turns into momentum.
Momentum becomes growth.
Growth becomes wealth.
Wealth becomes freedom.
Freedom to choose.
Freedom to breathe.
Freedom to build a life you weren’t supposed to have.
The reality: without exploitation, we’d still be broke.
I exploited:
– my dyslexia
– my strengths
– my weaknesses
– my ADHD brain
– my failures
– my opportunities
– my past
– my pain
– my ideas
– my timing
– my courage
And Marilyn exploited:
– her calm
– her clarity
– her detail
– her intuition
– her patience
– her belief
– her ability to see the whole board when I only saw the next move
That’s how you turn 37p into £100 million.
Not magic.
Not luck.
Not privilege.
Just exploitation done right. Done together. Exploitation isn’t bad, misuse is.
People fear the word because they only understand the dark version.
But the truth is simple:
Exploit your strengths.
Exploit your opportunities.
Exploit your potential.
Exploit your story.
Exploit your life.
Because exploitation, the good kind is how you turn what you have into what you want.