Hi, I'm Scott! I'm 22-years-old, and the CEO and founder (or Chief Troublemaker as I like to call myself) of BOP Industries.
BOP is a company that I started as part of a grade nine business program when I was 14-year-old selling keyrings at local markets, and is now a company that sees me travelling around the world helping bridge the gap between industry and education as we prepare young people for the ever-changing future of work.
I never really considered myself as an entrepreneur, initially wanting to be a commercial airline pilot as a year eight student, but quickly found my passion for business and using entrepreneurship as a vehicle to develop my skills, access opportunities and bring my ideas to life.
Here is my story..
Hash-tag Keyrings
BOP looked very different in 2014 compared to how we look now. With a big blue logo made in Microsoft Word, a two page business plan, and a bucketload of ambition, we hit the local markets with our laser cut 'Hash-Tag' key rings as part of a year nine business project. That was how BOP (Buy Our Product) first came to life and that's how we started our journey growing the company from the fledgling school project, to the leading organisation it is today.
After making $400 profit within a term of selling key rings at local markets we, as a group of teenagers, were pretty happy with our return on investment and thought we'd give this business a shot. Over the summer school holidays after finishing year nine, I would head to the local markets on weekends to sell Hash-tags to anyone that might be interested.
After a few months of selling the keyrings at local markets and learning a lot about market research sales, and market stall set up, I then decided to create an online store to start selling these keyrings on platforms such as Ebay, Etsy and our own website. Before too long I found myself selling thousands of keyrings a month as a year 10 student and servicing clients around the world.
Holograms By BOP
From there I found myself diving headfirst into the events and marketing sector with 'Holograms By BOP'. Initially launched off the back of a youtube tutorial teaching me how to make holograms out of cut-out CD cases 'Holograms By BOP' grew quickly, becoming one of Australia's leading holographic entertainment companies as I graduated high school.
Throughout Year 11 and 12 I was creating holograms that ranged from the size of a phone and tablet, all the way up to our life-sized units that towered at 2 metres tall and before too long I started to see holograms appearing at leading events across the country and around the world.
As a year 12 student, I found myself juggling end-of-term exams with black-tie events and national conferences as my team and I created holograms for leading brands and organisations.
BOP Education
After graduating high school at 17 I was approached by a number of teachers asking if we could help teach their students how to do what I did. With an increased focus on 21st-century skills in education, schools were being pressured by industry, government and the community to equip their students for the workforce of the future, by teaching them skills around entrepreneurship, innovation and global citizenship. That was where BOP Education came in.
Initially running a handful of workshops in regional Queensland, word of our programs travelled fast and now, 4.5 years later our team have had the pleasure of working with over 80,000 students in 36 locations around the world.
Today we work with schools, government, and industry partners around the world as we deliver programs ranging in topics from smart cities to innovation in aviation, entrepreneurship 101, ethics in technology and more. On top of this we also have the pleasure of collaborating with our clients on projects that see us reviewing and developing curriculum, designing classroom resources, building workbooks and more!
We're on a mission to deliver real, relevant, and relatable programs to primary and high school students that get them excited about learning, and about the amazing opportunities available to Generation Z. Working with our industry partners we aim to bridge the gap between the industry and the classroom as we show students how they can bring their passions to life in the workforce of the future.
It's been quite a wild ride, but I've loved every second!
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About The Author:
The tech-head prodigy behind BOP Industries, Scott Millar is a young entrepreneur taking the world by storm. Compared to a young Steve Jobs after turning a year nine business project into a thriving business, Scott finished high school and deferred university to run BOP Industries full time, now with a growing presence around the world. As a now 22-year-old, Scott has recently been named one of Australia’s top 30 under 30 in business, Asia Pacific’s Inspiring Youth Leader for 2019, Queensland's Small Business Leader for 2021, Griffith University Entrepreneur In Residence and an LGBT advocate and leader in Australia and overseas.
To find out more about Scott and to see if he's available to speak at your next event, head to: www.iamscottmillar.com/speaking
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