Influential in the worlds of fashion, business and technology, Amber Atherton has fast become a millennial authority on enterprise, marketing and social branding in the modern era.

Best known as the brains behind the cult online jewellery boutique, My Flash Trash, a company which has already been valued at £3.5 million, 24-year-old Amber was recently named the 5th most influential person on Vogue's Digital Power List and is regularly sought after by Venture Capital firms, global brands and start-ups to consult and deliver her insight on building a successful business in the technological age.

Much of the recent success of the multi-million pound business can be attributed to Amber’s inspired use of the social media platform Instagram to raise awareness of My Flash Trash and heighten the brand’s desirability. Amber enlisted five cool and prominent Instagram bloggers to be part of her #charmgang and post images of themselves wearing her jewellery on the platform.

These ‘ambassadors’ then nominated five more girls to join the charm gang, snowballing the brand’s social media engagement. The #charmgang army is now 350 girls strong and growing.

Here she explains in here own words how it all started.

When did you start your business, what was the motivation and what does it do?

In 2009 as a blog. I sold jewellery at school then put it online - my motivation at the time was just to reach a wider audience.

How did you go about attracting your first customers?

Online and pre-social media it was via blogging. I'd write about trends or fashion current affairs and google would pick that up and back link me. We had a presence on Facebook, Bebo and Myspace too.

What do think is the secret of its success?

Being able to stay lean, and pivot when necessary. Having an authentic community of fan girls and staying consistent to the brand's identity.

What was the biggest challenge you have encountered and how did you overcome it?

In a start-up you can find yourself rapidly growing and end up quickly hiring the wrong people. Planning and forecasting ahead enabled us to give more time to interview and select the right candidates to join the team.

What are the key components of a great website?

Tried and tested UX, personlisation, and the easiest possible checkout.

With success stories like this, why on Earth shouldn't we teach entrepreneurship at school?

Why do you think enterprise should be taught at school?

Purely because of the amount of young people who want to start a business. Really you should have to pass an exam before you set up a business. Understanding VAT, employee rights, intellectual property rights as well as more simply how to mange your supply chain, distribution and other key SWOT and Pestle models would be brilliant alongside practical demand and supply economics.

Do you think coding should be more prominent in the curriculum too?

Absolutely. Learning to code at any early age saved me costs as I was able to customise my website. You need to have a basic understanding of code before you start your business as it will most likely have online as a revenue stream, and if you don’t understand it then you’re going to get ripped off by the people who do.

What is your involvement with NEC and why are you taking part?

The NEC is a valuable opportunity to any young person wanting to start a business. It's a hands on experience giving you an insight into the very basics of a startup. Im getting involved to raise awareness of a challenge that every future entrepreneur should take part in.

What are the scheme’s main objectives – what do you think will represent success?

The Ryman National Enterprise Challenge is an exciting and engaging inter-school competition open to all UK secondary schools, I am the youth ambassador for the Challenge’s mission to expose 500,000 school children to entrepreneurial skills by 2020.

The current education system is antiquated and needs to be re-moulded to truly nurture enterprise among the next generation. By nurturing enterprise in the young, children who are not academically brilliant could excel at school.

Fifty per cent of businesses collapse in two years because people start without education. If we can get children enthused, it will drastically impact the number of failing businesses and ultimately affect GDP.

What are your best tips for other young people starting businesses?

Stay nimble, stay observant and stay determined.

Amber is a Youth Enterprise Ambassador for National Enterprise Challenge to help expose 500,000 school children to entrepreneurial skills by 2020. A passionate voice on the need for entrepreneurialism to be incorporated into the school curriculum and avid champion of small businesses, Amber has also received various awards and nominations for her contribution to young enterprise.