If you’re an entrepreneur under the age of 30, there’s a strong chance you will be successful – just look at the founders of Facebook and Snapchat!  I know these guys are the exception and not the rule but they are changing lives from their bedrooms and college dorms.

Evan Spiegel is the 28-year-old entrepreneur behind Snapchat and according to a recent report in Forbes, is now worth a staggering $2.3bn.

As one of the world’s youngest billionaires, Spiegel is clearly super bright, innovative and business minded but in my humble opinion, one of his strongest assets is youth!

I take huge inspiration from the young Silicon Valley guys and I hope that one day, I can be even half as successful as they are.  One thing that stands me in good stead, like Evan hopefully, is age.

I launched We Buy Cars Today at 22.  Fast forward seven years and my business is about to turnover £9m.  For a 29-year-old “del boy” from Hertford, that’s quite an achievement but trust me, I have grafted HARD to get here.

Apart from having bundles of grit and determination to build a business from scratch, I think youth has played a massive part in my success.

No Commitment

Being a young business owner without a wife and kids to worry about frees me up to work as hard as I want to.

A typical working day starts at 5.30pm and can finish at 11.30pm.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not stuck in meetings or at my desk the entire time, but a big part of my day is dedicated to work - and my French Bulldog!

The beauty of being a young entrepreneur is that I can invest all my time and energy into making my company successful.

I try to book a holiday every 12 weeks, even if it’s just for 7 days – to recuperate and refocus my vision. Luckily I have a really strong team at We Buy Cars Today and the business can run without me.

Energy

Unlike older entrepreneurs, who I massively admire, I have a different kind of energy and maybe this goes back to being committed.

My mind is sharp and focused and I have an insatiable appetite to learn! Motivation

Like most entrepreneurs, I have a never-ending willingness to do and learn, and seeing what I’ve built already just makes me more motivated.

Inevitably, the older I get, the less energy I will have, so while I’m chomping at the bit to grind as hard as I can, I’m going to embrace it!

Thomas Delgado launched We Buy Cars Today at the tender age of 22.

Risk

In the early days of launching We Buy Cars Today - which is now the UK’s third most used online car buying company - I didn’t have too many overheads and I was lucky enough to stay rent free at my Mum’s.

The support from my family meant I could save money and also take a few risks, which I’ve learnt is important if you want to grow your business.

Also, unlike older entrepreneurs - who may have run several businesses, experienced bankruptcy or liquidation and are naturally more risk averse – I’ve always taken chances.

It might sound naïve but I personally think it’s a big advantage. The larger the risk the larger the potential return and that really excites me!  It’s a big part of the reason I’ve managed to grow this company so quickly.

As a young entrepreneur building his first empire, I am learning as I go and that means having no preconceived ideas of how I should and shouldn’t run my business.  I’ve got plenty of common sense which stops me from making blatantly bad business decisions but really, I’m free to run things as I see fit.

I don’t want to tempt fate but on the eve of turning over £9m, I can’t help but think, this young entrepreneur is doing something right!

Thomas Delgado is CEO of We Buy Cars Today.