EdTech Entrepreneur Shares his Story in a Mount Spark Lecture.
EdTech entrepreneur, Thomas Mason, was the guest speaker at The Mount’s third Spark Lecture event with his fascinating talk: ‘Why the People Who Said ‘No’ Made Me a Better Entrepreneur.’
Thomas shared his background and career journey, discussing the highs and lows, setbacks and turning points, all the while drawing from his experiences to give advice (particularly useful for the pupils in the audience).
Through his positive mindset, Thomas has been able to turn adversity into prosperity, and is a strong advocate of the belief that “what does not kill you makes you stronger.”
Despite growing up in a deprived area, and almost going blind at 13, Thomas was resilient and ambitious. Despite being told he didn’t have the right qualifications to pursue a degree he persevered and was successful. He then studied engineering at the University of York where he also began his entrepreneurial career. He was told he was too young and inexperienced, but ignored the people who said ‘no’ and kept trying.
Thomas’ success began after he spotted a niche in the EdTech market: science equipment, such as crocodile clips, weren’t particularly child-friendly or easy to use. He founded MagneTronics, a company that provides magnetic electronic learning kits to schools in the UK. Early feedback and testing showed that children displayed a more positive attitude towards STEM after using these accessible kits.
Thomas describes himself as an entrepreneur, an engineer and an educator. His self belief has allowed him to prosper as an entrepreneur and educator; a position he now uses to inspire a love of STEM in the next generation.
A huge thank you to Thomas for visiting our school and giving such an engaging talk about his inspiring and impressive story.
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